Jonah 3 & 4 - Childish behaviour

3 January 2019

Jonah 3 & 4 - Childish behaviour
Following on from Jonah's repentance and obedience in going to Nineveh as God directed, one would hope that there would be a happier outcome. However, this was not the case.
Jonah does go to Nineveh and prophesies in the city about their need of repentance. A fast is declared by the king that everyone has to take part. The whole place repents and God is pleased and forgives them.
However, Jonah was not pleased with this, in fact he became angry and in prayer complained to God basically saying, "I knew you'd do this Lord. I knew you'd forgive them. That's why I fled to Tarshish in the first place. Take my life, I've had enough, the people  should not have been forgiven" (Paraphrase).
Jonah had the audacity to be angry with God and question Him about forgiving the people. He was being bigoted and selfish in his attitude and began to sulk like a spoilt child because he couldn't have his own way.
He went out of the city, made himself a shelter and sat there waiting to see what would happen to the people. I am sure he considered that God would change His mind and bring severe punishment on the people. However, when nothing happened, he sulked even more. Because of the heat of the sun, God caused a large plant to grow up and offer Jonah some shelter. Jonah was very pleased with this and tended it lovingly. Then God caused a worm to eat the plant so it offered no shelter at all. This caused Jonah to wish death upon himself again. God spoke with Jonah and told him that he had shown more compassion on a plant than he had shown towards one hundred and twenty thousand people.

Jonah was selfish, acted like a child and his motives were all wrong. He felt that these people should not have received God's blessing and forgiveness. Tell me, are we like this when certain people are blessed, saved and raised up to significant positions within our church? Do we have a "What about him or her'" attitude towards certain people? A,"They need to hear this sermon they do, it's for them." Have we now become a judge? If God had wanted us to be a judge, he'd have given us a black gown and a curly white wig to wear. It's time that we looked at ourselves instead of other people. If God wants to bless others, it's nothing to do with us. We need to mow our own grass, not theirs.

At the end of the day, we will have to give an account for all we've done and said. It may be a good idea to check out God's Word concerning this in The Great White Throne Judgement recorded in Revelation 20:11 - 15.
We can either meet God as our friend or take our fate upon ourselves. Now that's food for thought.

Jonah 2 - Call out to God

2 January 2019

Jonah 2 - Call out to God
Jonah through his own disobedience and stubborn nature, ended up in the raging sea and was swallowed up by a large fish. Now whether this was a whale or a large shark we don't really know. Many have argued that this is a myth and tend to ignore this piece of scripture. That is rather foolish because, 'All scripture is given by inspiration of God and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, throughly equipped for every good work.' 2 Timothy 3:16-17. If God said it, that's all I want to know and I believe it.

Jonah came to his senses once installed in his smelly surroundings and realised that sin, really does separate someone from God. He had the sense to cry out to God, acknowledging his foolishness and repented and God ordered the fish to vomit him up onto dry land. Not an ideal way to come back into the world but I doubt at the time, that Jonah was complaining about this.

When we try and turn from God, He sees this and watches to see how we will handle things. He'll never leave us, but will also not intervene unless we call and ask Him too. Sin is a major matter with God. He cannot look at this because He is Holy. Because of this, He became a man and came down to earth as Jesus. He is the Son of God but He is also fully God. Maybe hard to get your head around this at first but that is fact. Jesus is God and because of this, we can call out to Him and ask Him for His help. but we need to ask His forgiveness when we have done wrong. God can't look on sin but Jesus can but His hands are tied until we repent. When we do, He is there to help in our time of need.

We all have stuff in our lives that we hide from people. People have been trapped into pornography, fornication, homosexuality and whatever else and yet have been preaching the Gospel. Others may not know but Jesus does but He shows us Grace. However, if we continue to ignore the fact that we need to ask Him to forgive and free us from whatever is in our live, we stand the risk that He may expose us to someone to set us free. Scary stuff and one that we don't wish to happen, but it has happened to many prominent men and women of God.

Therefore if you are struggling with something, give it to Jesus and get help. You know it makes sense.

Jonah (1) The peril of running away from duty

1 January 2019

Jonah (1)
Let's look at the book of Jonah for the next few days.
Jonah was a prophet but, a very reluctant one. When he received the call to go to Nineveh to warn people of the peril of living life without the Lord God, he flatly refused. In fact, he rebelled and bought a ticket on a ship going to Tarshish, to escape the presence of the Lord.

Now this was pure disobedience. When we are committed to God, as I am sure Jonah was or he wouldn't have been named as a prophet, then God would be expecting him to obey and go and execute the word He had given Jonah. However, the strong-willed, rather selfish Jonah was having none of this, and went off the other way to escape the presence of God.
This is a total impossibility. We cannot escape God, He is everywhere, but at times, we may have  tried to ignore what He is telling us, especially when He's pinpointing some sin in our lives that we want to hang on to. Disobedience can be costly, as Jonah found out.

A massive tempest was overcoming them and threatened to smash the ship and deposit them to a certain death in the raging water. Whenever, we're in danger we all have someone we cry out to for help. The captain and the crew were no different. They called on their gods, however, to no avail. Eventually they thought of Jonah down below, sleeping and ran and questioned him. Finally, satisfied that the was the reason for this peril, they considered throwing him overboard. But firstly, they tried to row back to land.But it was useless. They were sinking. You know, we need God in our lives to help us through dangers. He's the only one who can offer reasonable help. When their effort failed, they actually tossed Jonah into the waves, and the sea ceased from its raging.

Important points for today:

Disobedience We cannot continue to live in disobedience without God intervening

We need God We cannot try to make it alone. Trying to solve things and do things alone is a no go

Watch your attitude God requires our love and obedience as much as we require His

Cry out to God Whenever you need Him, He is there. Call on Him today

Countdown

31 December 2018

Countdown
It's not long now before people all over the world will be standing around a clock counting the seconds down to the commencement of a New Year. Some people view this time of year with excitement - it's the beginning of a new era, we have a new start. All over the place, people will be making New Year's Resolutions about this and that. At the time, I believe that we really mean them, sadly though, many come to nothing and the humdrum of the world re-commences with the alarm clock ringing, alerting us to the fact that it is time to get up and get back to work or school, wherever.
With the winter time dark nights and mornings it is so easy for many people to become depressed. Doctor's put this down to Seasonal Depression and many people are affected. Many times we have put our hopes and dreams into something only to be let down when we don't receive what we have been waiting for. Some of us are lonely and never really seem to get the breaks in life that others do. At times like this, it's so easy to feel like giving up. But that comes down to choice. Choice of whether to throw the towel in and give up totally, or to readdress our thoughts and make the decision that there is life out there and all we have to do is reach out to it.
You may be thinking, 'Oh yea, it's ok for him to say this. He doesn't know how hard it is. I have nothing.' Believe me, I have been at rock bottom in my life, with no where to turn and I realise how difficult things can be. However, I found that there is someone who loves me unconditionally. Someone who puts up with my mistakes and bad habits, my moaning and groaning, judging and pointing the finger at others. His name is Jesus. I'm far from perfect but He's perfect for me. He gives me the reason to face each day.
As the countdown for the New Year begins, why not do something different this year. Why not ask Jesus to be your friend. It may be the best decision you've ever made. In Revelation 3:20, Jesus says, 'Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and dine with him and he with Me.' 
Basically, this is Jesus knocking on the door of your heart. He won't force His way in - He's a gentleman. He just waits for your invitation. Listen-- He's knocking now!

Lord Jesus, please be my friend

Come into my heart and forgive my sins,

I've messed up Lord but trust that You can help me

Please fill me with Your Spirit

And be my way forward

Amen

A Dreamer

30 December 2018

A Dreamer

If we read the book of Genesis, we come across a young man called Joseph. (Chapters 37 - 50).
Joseph as a young man, was sold by his brothers to travellers who sold him on in Egypt. Joseph had become a pain to them because he was his father, Jacob's favourite and could do nothing wrong. He was also telling them of the dreams he was having, with him having power over them. He had to go.

Joseph eventually started work in Egypt, working in Potiphar's house, who was an officer of Pharaoh.
Joseph was a faithful worker and very soon found favour in Potiphar's eyes. However, through false accusation of attempted rape by Potiphar's wife, he was placed in prison.
Again, through faithfulness and diligence, Joseph found favour in the the eyes of the head jailer and he was given charge of the place.

After a time, two other prisoner's, the chief baker and the chief butler, who had recently offended Pharaoh and found themselves in prison, came to Joseph with their dreams, asking if he could interpret them. He did and showed them the meaning of their dreams. The chief butler would be restored to his position. However, the chief baker would be executed. Just before their release, Joseph asked the chief butler to make mention of him to Pharaoh and say how Joseph had looked after him and treated him well and try to get him released. However, he forgot and it was a further two years before he remembered Joseph.

Pharaoh had had a dream and no one could interpret this. All of a sudden the memory of Joseph returned to the chief butler and Joseph was sent for. He interpreted the dream and very soon found himself the Prime Minister of Egypt.

What I want you to see here is that Joseph had been waiting all this time for the chief butler to make mention of him to Pharaoh. It had been over two years but Joseph didn't give up. He didn't give up his dream of being released from prison. You see, when you give up your dream, you die.

A Brand New Start

29 December 2018

A Brand New Start
I have  heard these words spoken many times over the years, sometimes by myself. It seems to be a built in thing for us humans, that when we fail or are losing at something, rather like sport, we want to start again. Sometimes that is possible. Great inventors over the years have failed many times in their endeavours to bring something new into the world and on their last attempt, before they give up entirely, they have been successful.
However, many times people may be going through situations where things have  gone so wrong that there is no way that it can be resolved. This may be a broken marriage where one partner has cheated upon the other one. The clock cannot be turned back. We've all regretted doing or saying things that cannot be reversed. Once we've said it, it is too late.

Jesus is the only one that can give us a brand new start. He will forgive our wrongdoings, yet He doesn't come along and wave His hand over us and all is well. He expects us to face up to our responsibilities, but will, if we allow Him, find the way through for us.

In John 8:1 - 11, we read about a lady who had been caught in the act of adultery. The Mosaic Law commanded she should be stoned and Jesus, who was faced with this problem, was tested about it by the scribes and Pharisees. They expected Him to agree with this. Otherwise they could accuse Him of breaking this law.
Jesus knew what He was up against and spoke the ideal answer to them. "He who is without sin among you, let him throw a stone at her first."
This cleared the place and Jesus was left alone with the lady. Jesus told her that no one had condemned her and neither did He. He said to her, "Go and sin no more."

This lady was elated. She would have heard about Jesus and all He was doing. And now this day she had been set free and given a brand new start. Yes, she would remember what she had done, but Jesus wouldn't. He had said to sin no more and that was her lifeline. That was what He expected.

There are so many things we wish we could change and often, we may try to do this with New Year's Resolutions, but to only fail, hours later. Jesus changes lives. He can change yours and give you that brand new start you are seeking. Why not start the New Year with Him!

"Lord Jesus, come into my life and forgive my sins.
I offer my life to You.
Please fill me with Your Holy Spirit
And be my Lord, Saviour and friend.
Amen

If you do this, please let me know bu giving some feedback below. Bless you.

Keep right on to the end of the road

28 December 2018

Keep Right on to the end of the road

Every road through life is a long, long road,
Filled with joys and sorrows too,
As you journey on how your heart will yearn
For the things most dear to you.
With wealth and love 'tis so,
But onward we must go.


Chorus:
Keep right on to the end of the road,
Keep right on to the end,
If the way be long, let your heart be strong,
Keep right on round the bend.
If you're tired and weary still journey on,
Till you come to your happy abode,
Where all you love that you're dreaming of
Will be there at the end of the road.

As the New Year approaches, I'm reminded of this old song that in my family,  always used to be sung around New Year's Eve. It was a song recorded by the infamous Scot, Sir Harry Lauder in 1926. I remember it so well as a child.
The words of the song could be taken as Christian. However I'm not sure they were intended to be. They remind of words the Apostle Paul used in Philippians Chapter 3:12 - 16.

'Brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended ; but one thing I do, forgetting these things which are behind, and reaching forward to those things which are ahead, I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.' v 13 - 14

Sometimes when things push us to the brink and there does not appear to be a way forward, it would be so easy to throw the towel in, give up and walk away. But come on we are Children of the King of Kings. If He says we can do this, then we can do this. We've come too far to pack it all in. Your goal may be just around the corner. You haven't struggled this long to falter.
Dust your bible down, get a coffee and spend some time with Jesus. Press on.