Are You a Jonah?

How often we watch the news and get so irritated at the people we see who commit crimes or neglect their kids. We really hate those who abuse animals. This week I was in the Book of Jonah. Finishing up today I couldn’t help but see myself within those pages. No I’ve never been swallowed by a giant fish. But I’m pretty sure I’ve been given similar orders from God, which is written in His Holy Word. My pastor constantly reminds us of the Great Commission.  In case you’ve forgotten here is the command right from the mouth of Jesus.

Matthew 28:19-20
Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age."

Maybe you’ve forgotten the story of Jonah. If you just think it’s a silly story about a guy who spends 3 days inside the belly of a fish then you are missing God’s point. The story is about a man who is called by God to go and preach to the Ninevites.  These people were the scum of the earth and Jonah did not want to go. He didn’t want them saved. Running from God is a bad idea. You can’t do it. So God brought the proverbial fear of God to him. He finally went and preached the message. But then he was ticked because they all repented as a result.

So I ask you today; do you look at the modern day equivalent of a Ninevite with disdain and as you see them arrested say, “Good. They got what’s coming to them.”?  If we call ourselves Christians and do that then we are in a bad place. I suggest you take a little time tonight before you read the paper or watch the news and read over Jonah in your Bible. Read a little of the Gospel of Matthew around chapter 28. Then get on your knees and ask God to reveal the truth about how it is He wants you to feel about the lost, about that Muslim co-worker, the neighbor’s kid who uses drugs, your alcoholic uncle, and yes, even the child molester you see at Wal-Mart.

We have a decision to make. Are we going to follow Jesus or are we going to follow Jonah and sail away from the lost and broken people of this world? Be careful when you answer that question. The answer has eternal consequences.

Do you believe God? - 2 Lessons From Jonah

A couple of great lessons from Jonah:

Jonah 3:1
"Then the word of the LORD came to Jonah the second time..."

Jonah was, like us, rebellious. He flat out refused to do what God called him to do. If we are honest with ourselves we will admit that we do not always do what God tells us to do. We all have our Ninevehs. An obvious lesson from Jonah is that God will discipline us for being rebellious. Hebrews 12:5-6 tells us this saying, “And have you forgotten the exhortation that addresses you as sons? "My son, do not regard lightly the discipline of the Lord, nor be weary when reproved by him. For the Lord disciplines the one he loves, and chastises every son whom he receives."

But notice the great message of Jonah 3:1, “the word of the LORD came to Jonah the second time.” God is a God of second chances. No matter how much we blow it, God will give us another chance. Scripture is filled with this truth.

Another great lesson from Jonah chapter 3 is that prayer and fasting work when offered from a repentant heart and in faith. The message Jonah was to give Nineveh was not good news. Nineveh was to be overthrown. But watch what happened.

Jonah 3:5-9
“And the people of Nineveh believed God. They called for a fast and put on sackcloth, from the greatest of them to the least of them. The word reached the king of Nineveh, and he arose from his throne, removed his robe, covered himself with sackcloth, and sat in ashes. And he issued a proclamation and published through Nineveh, "By the decree of the king and his nobles: Let neither man nor beast, herd nor flock, taste anything. Let them not feed or drink water, but let man and beast be covered with sackcloth, and let them call out mightily to God. Let everyone turn from his evil way and from the violence that is in his hands. Who knows? God may turn and relent and turn from his fierce anger, so that we may not perish."

Take careful note of what verse 5 says and what it does not say. It does not say the people believed in God. It says they believed God. What happens when they believed God?

Jonah 3:10
“When God saw what they did, how they turned from their evil way, God relented of the disaster that he had said he would do to them, and he did not do it.”

Friend do you believe God? It is not enough to simply say we believe in God. James 2:19 reaffirms this saying that “You believe that God is one; you do well. Even the demons believe—and shudder!”

We must believe God and His Word. All of it; even the parts we don’t like. Then we must live out our lives in faith.

I don’t know where you are today with God. But I know this; if you will cry out to Him with a heart of repentance He will answer you. He will forgive and restore you. This is why Jesus came, died, and was resurrected. It’s not too late.

Sufficient Grace For A Monday Morning

Monday morning and it all starts over again. The pressures of day to day life seem to overwhelm us. Some of us face a job where the pressure of performance seems too hard. Maybe it’s school. Maybe Friday was payday but here it is Monday morning and it’s clear; there isn’t enough to get through the week. Tough decisions will have to be made. Maybe you’ve awaken this morning and you realized you failed in your determined commitment to not fall back into that same sin again only to face another week feeling like a loser. The list goes on and on. We feel as if we just cannot do this anymore.

There is a great verse in the Bible. Psalm 118:24
“This is the day that the LORD has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it”

We know we should be praising and thanking God but it’s Monday morning and we just can’t. There has to be a way. But we just can’t go on.

I know the answer my friend. But it is going to take faith. Faith means sometimes we have to believe things we really cannot see. The answer is in the Word of God. The answer is Jesus.

The Apostle Paul knew what it was like to wonder how to go on. He knew what it was like to think God was not answering his prayer, even when he kept asking just as we are told to by Jesus Himself.

Take a moment right now to pray. Ask the Holy Spirit to come and be your teacher and your counselor. Ask Him to take the verse I am about to quote and make it real in your mind and in your heart. For it is the answer to every single problem we face. Commit this verse to memory. Write it down. Stick it on your fridge. Stick it on your car dashboard and on your desk at work. Maybe you need to have it tattooed on your arm. Whatever it takes make this verse a part of your every breath. Ready? Here it is.

2 Corinthians 12:9
But he said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me.

Study out the rest of this scripture. Then commit it to your life. Stop thinking YOU can do this. YOU cannot. Stop thinking your pastor can do it. Or your therapist. Or any other human being or self-help book or whatever.

Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life. His grace is sufficient. Humble yourself and give it to Him. May God richly bless you today.

Quit? Nuts to That!

There is a great story from WWII about General Anthony Clement McAuliffe. McAuliffe commanded the 101^st Airborne Division when his unit found themselves surrounded by the Nazi Army in Bastogne, Belgium during the battle we know now as the Battle of the Bulge. The Germans sent over a message demanding surrender as they were confident the 101^st was about to go down in defeat and to fight was pretty much hopeless. McAuliffe sent back a one word response that simply said this, “Nuts!” The following day thanks to a change in the weather that allowed air support in and the arrival of Patton’s troops from the south resulted in a victory that would help assure the defeat of the Nazis.

Do you feel like giving up? Sometimes life becomes a siege and it’s as if the enemy has us surrounded. Defeat stares at you from every side. Each of us faces our own evil axis and at the core of that axis is the commander of evil itself, Satan. It doesn’t matter what our battle is. Maybe it’s addiction. Or depression. Or finances. Or a child dealing with these issues. Maybe it’s even your own spouse. So you want to give up.

The Bible says don’t. The Bible says “Nuts!” to the devil and his evil schemes. The Word of God never says give up. Instead it says let go and give it to Jesus. Jesus tells us this in Matthew 11:28-30, "Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light."

Christian brothers and sisters know this; we are at war. Some 285 times God is referred to as Jehovah Sabaoth, otherwise known in our language as Lord of Hosts and the simple translation of this is The Lord of Armies.

Many of us know the feeling of battle as we fight with the issues of life that threaten our lives, our families, our marriages, and our walk with God. But the battle does not truly lie in the physical aspects of the battle. The drugs, the pornography, the alcohol, or whatever physical problems fight us are not really where the battle lies. The real war is spiritual and is being fought in spiritual realms and places. The worst of the pain is happening within our souls, for that is what is truly at stake. Ephesians 6:12 is clear. “For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.” But don’t be fooled we are at war.

In truth most Christians understand that Jesus has already won the war; He won it on the cross and in the resurrection. But the battles remain to be fought until He returns to wrap things up. And the battles are hard. So we must not quit.

We cannot quit on ourselves. We are going to fail at times. We are going to fall down. But we must remember the words of Lamentations 3:22-23, “The steadfast love of the LORD never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning.”

We cannot quit on others. If God’s mercies are new every day so must ours be. People are going to fail us. They will let us down. They will hurt us and even sin against us. But the Word of God commands us in 1 Peter 4:8 to “Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins.” Don’t quit on people; love them.

We cannot quit on God. Sometimes we get impatient. We think He has not heard our prayers. He has. But as Isaiah 40:31 reminds us it is “they who wait for the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint.”

Don’t quit. Call on the name of Jesus and stand firm. When the enemy surrounds you and yells out for your surrender, don’t quit. Respond with one simple word: NUTS! Then rest in Christ.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Sin of Spiritual Adultery and How God Reacts to it

There are times in most of our Christian lives that we turn away from God and drift back into old ways. In the Old Testament we see this repeatedly in God’s own chosen people, Israel. But even though we slip we can have hope knowing that all is not lost, our God is more than willing to take us back even though we have fallen into spiritual adultery. The Bible is replete with examples of God’s desire for us to repent and come back to Him and then He will bless us. But when we fall away God calls us back to Him and often it is through suffering and tribulation by which we again remember that in Christ is our only hope.

There is a great story in the Old Testament that speaks to this exact thing. This morning I was reading chapter 2 of Hosea where we see so clearly the truth of God’s pursuit of His people. Prior to this scripture reading God has first charged His people with adultery as they have chosen to give worship and praise to Baal. Then God sets forth judgment for their sin. But hear the great words of hope from Hosea 2:14, “Therefore, behold, I will allure her, and bring her into the wilderness, and speak comfortably unto her.”

Notice the three things God declares He will do.

1. He will allure her.

In other words God will not just let His adulterous wife carry on in her sin. God pursues us and calls us back to Him.

2. He will bring her into the wilderness.

As sad as this is usually in good times we tend to forget God. Though this should not be, it is too often true. We get caught up enjoying the fruits of a good life and forget who gave us these things and who it is we should be thanking. But when God allows us to go through the storms of life and things seem hopeless or too painful to bear we call out to Him. America is the greatest example of this in modern history when we as a nation fell to our knees in prayer after 911. But where are we today? We have rejected God and turned far from Him. So God will allow us to enter into seasons of wilderness life so that we remember He is our very life.

3. He will speak comfortably to His wife.

Even though it was only through tribulation we called out to God to help us, He brings comfort to us. He will remind us gently that he loves us and longs to restore us through His great mercy and grace. He forgives those who cry out in confession. And He does it over and over and over.

This is the story of repentance. Have you drifted from God? Have you denied you even know Christ even though just yesterday you walked with Him? Peter did. But Jesus gently restored and forgave Peter.

Take time this morning to get on your knees and ask God to forgive you and restore you. Turn your eyes upon Jesus. Think you’ve fallen too far? You haven’t. Pick up your Bible, dust it off, and turn to chapter 15 of The Gospel of Luke where you will find three parables in which Jesus teaches the truth of His mercy, grace, and forgiveness.

God is waiting to hear from you.