Jonah Part 4

"But it displeased Jonah exceedingly, and he became angry."   Jonah 4:1  NKJV 

Jonah had problems that he had internalised and, when we fail to vent our feelings, they become like a cancer within us and lead us to being hard-hearted and lacking in love and compassion. This showed in the way he felt about other people, especially the Ninevites, whom he felt should be destroyed. When he couldn't have his own way, he wished death upon himself.

Here we find him having a good old whinge to God v1-3. God listens and asks him if he has any right to feel anger. Jonah decides to ignore this and goes outside to sulk and look over at Nineveh with the hope that God might change His mind and destroy the place. He was feeling very sorry for himself and his lack of love and compassion could not be hidden. He was seething. You may not think this but, people can tell when you are angry. It is in your body language.

God had used Jonah mightily, this could not be disputed and, one would have thought that his evangelistic heart would have been on fire because of the success of his preaching. But, not so, he wanted nothing to do with it all and probably deep down, wished he hadn't accepted God's call. Whereas, God's heart melts when people repent from their sinful life, Jonah was totally opposite, he hated the fact that this wicked people would share in God's kingdom.

Are there people in your life that make you feel this way? They have repented and received God's forgiveness but, you still have a few remarks in your Record of Wrongs book. If there is, God doesn't make mistakes so, as you are going to share heaven with these people, perhaps it is a good idea to change your thinking and find some grace.  If not, Jesus' words can come back at you 'Judge not, that you be not judged. 2 For with what judgement you judge, you will be judged'  (Matt 7:1-2). 

God prepared a plant for Jonah so that he had some shade from the burning sun. There's no record that he thanked God for this, only that he was very pleased. Sadly, overnight, a worm completely destroyed the plant and Jonah turned to his child ego with threats of anger and ending his life again. God gave him both barrels saying that he had pity for the plant that had been killed and yet, he had no compassion on the thousands who would die without repentance. It was almost like God was saying, 'You need to get your values right Jonah.' 

How can we be heartless to sinners when we know where we have come from before we were saved? Without compassion we will never make it. What happened to Jonah is unknown. Perhaps he did eventually turn from his hard-heartedness, perhaps he didn't'. We will find out one day. 

Conclusion

The thing that has come through loud and clear to me is, we need to forgive people, we need to stop judging them and we need to show them the love and peace of God. We may be tempted to point the finger at times but remember, when we do, that finger will point back at us. We need to sow love and compassion wherever we may go.

If you don't know Jesus or, have fallen away, why not say this prayer right now:

'Lord Jesus, I have sinned and I ask you to forgive me and be my Lord and Saviour. Please come into my heart, fill me with Your Spirit and give me a brand new start today.

In Jesus' Name. Amen'

Copyright 2024 Grahame Howard.                                

dailylifewithjesusbygrahamehoward.blogspot.com  

If you would like to contact me, grahame.howard@hotmail.co.uk

Member of the National Association of Christian Ministers

Why not order my Daily Commentary from Amazon - Paperback or Kindle 

Check it out

 https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B084G9S4FD/ref=dbs_a_def_rwt_bibl_vppi_i2

 

 

 

 

Jonah Part 3

"So Jonah arose and went to Nineveh, according to the Word of the LORD."  

                                                                 Jonah 3:3. NKJV 

God called Jonah again and, this time Jonah obeyed. It would be easy to say, 'If he had gone the first time, all of this time wouldn't have been wasted'. This is true, however, the sailors would not have been saved. So, from one point of view, Jonah's refusal to go to Nineveh, was used to God's glory. Had Jonah learned his lesson? He chose to go this time so, it's possible that his thinking was a little more positive. But, there were still some deep-rooted problems within Jonah's life that needed attention and they would soon re-surface after the Nineveh trip.

When God calls you to service, He is not going to change, you must. He has nothing to change because, 'Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today and forever' (Heb 13:8). There are things that you will need to alter in your life so that the Holy Spirit has a clear channel to flow through. Therefore, it is best to get these things sorted right from the start. If Jonah had spoken with the LORD about his feelings towards Nineveh, God may have helped him to have a better understanding of love and forgiveness, Sadly, he didn't and internalised his bad feelings.

The typical hallmark of an evangelist came through when Jonah cried out, 'Yet, forty days, and Nineveh shall be overthrown' v3:4. With power like dynamite, this statement put the fear of God into the whole city. There was panic all around and the king declared a fast on the whole city with people in sackcloth and ashes calling on Almighty God. The king's words were, 'Who can tell if God will turn and relent, and turn away from His fierce anger, so that we may not perish' v3:9. God did relent and gave them a second chance and lived up to His Word 'For whoever calls on the name of the LORD shall be saved' (Joel 2:32 & Rom 10:13).

There were two parts to Jonah's word that day (1) Nineveh would be judged for its sin. 

(2) The people had forty days to fix the problem. God was offering grace and would not bring this judgement if they would repent. This is how God works with us too. There is still sin in our lives but, as we work towards changing this, He meets us halfway and helps us. If there is one flicker of repentance within someone, God will offer them another chance. Let us be so grateful that He is so loving and gracious towards us.

As we've seen. God never changes but, He can adjust to the changes that we make until we are walking in His steps. He gave grace to the sailors; grace to Jonah and grace to some of the wickedest people on the planet - Nineveh. We may give up on some people we have been ministering to but, God never gives up!

If you don't know Jesus or, have fallen away, why not say this prayer right now:

'Lord Jesus, I have sinned and I ask you to forgive me and be my Lord and Saviour. Please come into my heart, fill me with Your Spirit and give me a brand new start today.

In Jesus' Name. Amen'

Copyright 2024 Grahame Howard.                                

dailylifewithjesusbygrahamehoward.blogspot.com  

If you would like to contact me, grahame.howard@hotmail.co.uk

Member of the National Association of Christian Ministers

Why not order my Daily Commentary from Amazon - Paperback or Kindle 

Check it out

 https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B084G9S4FD/ref=dbs_a_def_rwt_bibl_vppi_i2

 

 

 

 

Jonah Part 2

"I cried out to the LORD because of my affliction, and He answered me."  

                                                              Jonah 2:2  NKJV 

What a situation Jonah had caused because of his disobedience and rebellion. He had caused grief to the sailors he had been travelling with. He had walked away from God and flatly refused to relent. When the chips are down and we are in dire straits, we nearly always call on God, have you noticed this. The sailors were no different, they called on their own gods 1:5 but alas, there was no change. This brought further panic and eventually Jonah confessed that he was on the run from Almighty God. This panicked them further but notice what happened here, 'Therefore, they cried out to the LORD and said, "We pray, O LORD, please do not let us perish for this man's life" 1:14. What a difference this made. As Jonah had requested, they threw him into the sea and there was peace all around. God had used Jonah's disobedience to encourage the sailors to call out to Him and He saved them. They would never forget this. Joseph said something very similar in Genesis 50:20. Talking to his brothers he said 'But as for you, you meant evil against me; but God meant it for good.' God will always bring good out of evil.

In his terror, God also provided for Jonah - he was swallowed by a large fish and banished from God's sight 2:4. He was out of fellowship with God and in the pit 2:6. Now the pit is not a bad place to be if it gets you back into the will of God. It can bring us to our senses and help us realise that we can't do everything that we feel we should. God must have the first choice. While in the body of this smelly, slimy awful stomach of this fish, Jonah remembered the LORD. 'I cried out to the LORD because of my affliction, and He answered me' v 2:2. Jonah called on God and his prayer was heard, so the LORD spoke to the fish and it vomited Jonah onto dry land. There has been a lot of debate over the years from theologians about whether the fish was real? - was it a whale? There are large fish in the ocean that are capable of swallowing a man. The thing is, I believe God and His Word, and if it is in the bible, no scholarly conversation is going to change my mind. It was a fish and it was a miracle!

One thing is for sure, things were not going to get any better until Jonah came to his senses and repented and called on God. Yes, he had been driven to this decision; like a game of chess, he was in check and if he didn't change his ways, it would be checkmate. Remember, God didn't have to answer him. It is called grace.

If you don't know Jesus or, have fallen away, why not say this prayer right now:

'Lord Jesus, I have sinned and I ask you to forgive me and be my Lord and Saviour. Please come into my heart, fill me with Your Spirit and give me a brand new start today.

In Jesus' Name. Amen'

Copyright 2024 Grahame Howard.                                

dailylifewithjesusbygrahamehoward.blogspot.com  

If you would like to contact me, grahame.howard@hotmail.co.uk

Member of the National Association of Christian Ministers

Why not order my Daily Commentary from Amazon - Paperback or Kindle 

Check it out

 https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B084G9S4FD/ref=dbs_a_def_rwt_bibl_vppi_i2

 

 

 

 

Jonah Part 1

"Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city and cry out against it; for their wickedness has come up before Me. 3 But Jonah arose to flee to Tarshish from the presence of the LORD."  Jonah 1:2-3  NKJV

Over the coming week, let's explore the book of Jonah and dig our way through the chapters and see what we find.

The book of Jonah is about the will of God and how we respond to it. It is also a book about the love of God and how we share it with others. God gave Jonah a direct order,"Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city and cry out against it; for their wickedness has come up before Me." Jonah's response is classic, he totally refused and fled to Tarshish. When you think about it, Jonah's response is unbelievable and yet, we may have done this from time to time. Many's the time when God is wanting us to change a particular thing in our lives but, we refuse. Something's in life, we don't want to change so we disobey. I remember when myself and Hazel, my wife, were at a particular bible college. We met a guy there who told us that God had wanted him to go into prisons and preach Jesus. However, he had refused. Following a holiday abroad, somebody had placed some drugs in his luggage and customs found it. He was arrested and spent a little time in prison. He was eventually cleared of this. But the fact was, God had had His way, the guy had begun preaching in the prison. He went on to have a prison ministry. Amazing. So before we judge Jonah, let us consider this.

Nineveh was a great and powerful city in the Assyrian Empire full of evil people with evil practices who thought nothing about torturing and eventually killing someone. Possibly the thought of preaching there brought a fear for his life, so the rebellious Jonah went the opposite way to God's direction. Alternatively, may be he didn't want to preach to the Ninevites because they may repent and get saved. Jonah felt that they needed to be punished for their behaviour and possibly destroyed. 

What about you? We've probably all had a 'Nineveh' type of thing in our lives at some stage. It may have been in the style of being bullied. Perhaps you were humiliated by this bully and suffered a great deal. How would you feel initially, about praying for this person/s and telling them about Jesus? You may be ok about it but then again, the thought of it may provoke a feeling of revenge. Think about the atrocities of WW2. How did they feel towards the torture, pain and killings that they had to suffer through. Would they have liked to go to their very own 'Nineveh' and preach to them. One can see Jonah's point. However, it was still disobedience to God.

The thing is, when we disobey God, it's possible that He will send something along the way to get us to change our minds. With Jonah, it was a great wind (v4). With the chap we met, it was a spell in prison. Jonah had checked on a boat trip to get away from the LORD. Surely He knew this was impossible. The storm threatened to sink the vessel and the crew were very scared. Eventually, Jonah was honest with them, he knew this great wind was from God. Therefore, he told the crew about his disobedience and suggested that they throw him overboard and the sea would remain calm. Reluctantly, they did this and peace came to their situation. More tomorrow!

If you don't know Jesus or, have fallen away, why not say this prayer right now:

'Lord Jesus, I have sinned and I ask you to forgive me and be my Lord and Saviour. Please come into my heart, fill me with Your Spirit and give me a brand new start today.

In Jesus' Name. Amen'

Copyright 2024 Grahame Howard.                                

dailylifewithjesusbygrahamehoward.blogspot.com  

If you would like to contact me, grahame.howard@hotmail.co.uk

Member of the National Association of Christian Ministers

Why not order my Daily Commentary from Amazon - Paperback or Kindle 

Check it out

 https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B084G9S4FD/ref=dbs_a_def_rwt_bibl_vppi_i2

 

 

 

 

We are all one

"What God has cleansed, you must not call common."  Acts 10:15  NKJV

God was putting Peter through a complete, life-changing training session here. What God has accepted, so must we. Cornelius had requested that Peter visit him to discuss Godly matters. Peter, although struggling with the idea of going to a Gentile's home, went because God had earlier shown him how God can change and cleanse people and situations.

When he arrived, Cornelius fell down at his feet and began to worship him. However, Peter lifted him up saying that he was a man just like him. Peter also spoke some profound words: 'You know how unlawful it is for a Jewish Man to keep company with, or go to one of another nation. But God has shown me that I should not call any man common or unclean' Acts 10:28. 

God was showing Peter that Old Testament rituals were no longer binding. Believers were not to call unclean what God had cleansed. The wall between Jew and Gentile had been torn down by Jesus Christ 'But now in Christ Jesus, you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ' v13 of Ephesians 2:11-22. If God has cleansed a person regardless of their ethnic or religious background, His people ought to accept that person as brother or sister.

In this day and age, racism is still a great problem - everywhere, one only has to check the news each day to see this. But we don’t have to follow suit. None of us know what we will find when we go to heaven. There will be people there that we probably felt at the time, were 'dodgy' and would never make it. Jesus didn't feel the same and they made it. Alternatively, those who we class as fine, upstanding men or women of God, may not be there. Why, I don't know but God knows all of us through and through, nothing is hidden from Him. It is quite a scary thing to discuss really but also, it makes us examine ourself. Is there something that you do that you know, you shouldn't be doing? Could that prevent you going to heaven or losing some rewards? It is best to analyse this now as it will be too late when your time comes. Jesus is having a clean up, I think we should also!

If you don't know Jesus or, have fallen away, why not say this prayer right now:

'Lord Jesus, I have sinned and I ask you to forgive me and be my Lord and Saviour. Please come into my heart, fill me with Your Spirit and give me a brand new start today.

In Jesus' Name. Amen'

Copyright 2024 Grahame Howard.                                

dailylifewithjesusbygrahamehoward.blogspot.com  

If you would like to contact me, grahame.howard@hotmail.co.uk

Member of the National Association of Christian Ministers

Why not order my Daily Commentary from Amazon - Paperback or Kindle 

Check it out

 https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B084G9S4FD/ref=dbs_a_def_rwt_bibl_vppi_i2

 

 

 

 

Accepted by God, then accepted by us too

"Then Ananias answered, 'Lord, I have heard from many about this man, how much harm he has done to Your saints in Jerusalem. 14 And here he has authority from the chief priests to bind all who call on Your name."  Acts 9:13-15 NKJV 

Saul had been a great persecutor of the Christian church and had held Stephen's clothing, while he was being stoned. He was a strong Pharisee and would stop at nothing to block the way of Jesus Christ. But he met his match on the Damascus Road that day (Acts 9:3-6). He was struck blind and directed by Jesus to go into the city to meet with a man called Ananias. God spoke with him and told him that Saul would be visiting him: “Ananias.”And he said, “Here I am, Lord.”11So the Lord said to him, “Arise and go to the street called Straight, and inquire at the house of Judas for one called Saul of Tarsus, for behold, he is praying.  12And in a vision he has seen a man named Ananias coming in and putting his hand on him, so that he might receive his sight.”13Then Ananias answered, “Lord, I have heard from many about this man, how much harm he has done to Your saints in Jerusalem.  14And here he has authority from the chief priests to bind all who call on Your name.”

Now Ananias was reluctant - wouldn't you have been? But he obeyed God and he laid hands on Saul and his eyes were opened and he was baptised. Word went out about this and when Saul tried to join the disciples; they were all very wary of him; disbelieving him as if he had another motive.

Put yourself into this situation. For a moment, watch Saul persecuting and having people killed for their faith. These are people that you know, you grew up together, and this man is hurting them. You've already seen what he had done to Stephen - your friend, who will be next? Now you notice Ananias walking up the street called Straight. He walks into Judas' house. Word has it that Saul is in there and Ananias is healing him. What??? The next thing is, Saul wants to join up with the disciples. You are not having that, this man is not one of ours. But the thing is, Jesus tells you that Saul is your brother, he now belongs to Jesus and is a fellow believer - one of the team. 

This must have been how the early Christians would have felt about Saul, who was soon to be known as Paul. The twelve struggled, just like you would have done. You struggle when someone 'suspicious' comes into the church and takes up a leading position. 'Who is this?' You declare. Jesus says, 'this is going to be your new pastor, accept him like I accepted you.'

If you don't know Jesus or, have fallen away, why not say this prayer right now:

'Lord Jesus, I have sinned and I ask you to forgive me and be my Lord and Saviour. Please come into my heart, fill me with Your Spirit and give me a brand new start today.

In Jesus' Name. Amen'

Copyright 2024 Grahame Howard.                                

dailylifewithjesusbygrahamehoward.blogspot.com  

If you would like to contact me, grahame.howard@hotmail.co.uk

Member of the National Association of Christian Ministers

Why not order my Daily Commentary from Amazon - Paperback or Kindle 

Check it out

 https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B084G9S4FD/ref=dbs_a_def_rwt_bibl_vppi_i2

 

 

 

 

You can't take God on and win!

"but if it is of God, you cannot overthrow it - lest you even be found to fight against God."  

                                                                   Acts 5:39  NKJV 

In parts, this piece of scripture looks like a comedy scene. Peter and John had once again been caught preaching about Jesus in public. So Peter and John were once again arrested and placed in a guarded cell. During the night, an angel turned up, opened the prison doors and freed them, directing them to go and preach in the temple about Jesus.

God always has a way, no one can outsmart Him, But when God starts working, the devil does too. Jonathan Edwards is quoted as saying something similar, 'When the church is revived so is the devil.'  So when you are in blessing, it is not the time to sit back, have a day off and enjoy things. We have to stay vigilant.

It's amazing when you think about it, the guards were still on the door keeping things safe, or so they thought and then an angel escorted by Peter and John passes them by and the angel locks the door again. v23. The angel sent them to preach in the temple, not to hide away from their enemies. It was time to move forward, retreating gets us nowhere. So there they were preaching on the streets again. Have you ever done this? It is quite scary at first until you get used to it. Then it  comes as second nature. There will be hecklers though but this goes with the territory.

The next day, the high priest and Sadducees, sent for Peter and John but were quickly told that the cell was stilled locked up, guarded but there was no one in there. Eventually they were found in the temple teaching about Jesus v25. One would have felt that they would have asked Peter and John how on earth had they got out of their cell but, surprisingly they didn't. Perhaps they had figured it out themselves but didn't want the crowd to be considering miraculous ideas. They took them back to the council and as they were deliberating about all what had happened, Gamaliel, a respected teacher of the law spoke up with these words of wisdom:

'And he said to them: “Men of Israel, take heed to yourselves what you intend to do regarding these men.  36For some time ago Theudas rose up, claiming to be somebody. A number of men, about four hundred, joined him. He was slain, and all who obeyed him were scattered and came to nothing.  37After this man, Judas of Galilee rose up in the days of the census, and drew away many people after him. He also perished, and all who obeyed him were dispersed.  38And now I say to you, keep away from these men and let them alone; for if this plan or this work is of men, it will come to nothing;  39but if it is of God, you cannot overthrow it—lest you even be found to fight against God.40And they agreed with him, and when they had called for the apostles and beaten them, they commanded that they should not speak in the name of Jesus, and let them go.'

We really cannot take God on and win. Many have tried and, many have failed. Gamaliel was a wise man and could see that, if this was of God, no one would be able to stop it. And it's the same today. There may be great Christian outreach's all over the place, if God is in them, then no matter what protesters try to do, He will win. Don't ever, allow people to prevent you from speaking about Jesus. It is your right as a Child of God, no matter what all of the protesting organisations are saying we can't do. We can, because Jesus said so!

If you don't know Jesus or, have fallen away, why not say this prayer right now:

'Lord Jesus, I have sinned and I ask you to forgive me and be my Lord and Saviour. Please come into my heart, fill me with Your Spirit and give me a brand new start today.

In Jesus' Name. Amen'

Copyright 2024 Grahame Howard.                                

dailylifewithjesusbygrahamehoward.blogspot.com  

If you would like to contact me, grahame.howard@hotmail.co.uk

Member of the National Association of Christian Ministers

Why not order my Daily Commentary from Amazon - Paperback or Kindle 

Check it out

 https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B084G9S4FD/ref=dbs_a_def_rwt_bibl_vppi_i2