What a difference obedience produces

"The Word of the LORD came to Jonah a second time. 2 'Get up! Go to the great City of Nineveh and preach the message that I tell you. 3 Jonah got up and went to Nineveh according to the LORD's command."                         Jonah 3    CSB

What a major difference to Jonah's last call to obedience. This time he got up, got ready and began the three day journey to this great city. Just think for a moment about the difference God makes in a person's life. When a person meets with Jesus they are changed; they are not perfect by all means but, the changes are evident. What a difference God makes to our situation, we can be in the deepest of problems but a call to Him can bring total rescue.

Jonah was full of God's power as he began to preach out God's message. (By the way, God's message changes things, our own pre-fabricated message, the one with little sign of the Holy Spirit, does very little. Ensure you have the power behind you). Jonah had this message of fire and it spoke directly to the people of Nineveh. They believed; a fast was proclaimed and they put on sackcloth. (Sackcloth is a coarse fabric made of goat's hair which was worn to express grief, sorrow and repentance). The king of Nineveh reinforced this proclamation and issued a decree that they must honour the fast, and call on God, repenting of their wicked ways, 'Who knows? God may turn and relent; He may turn from His burning anger so that we will not perish' v9. God showed them tremendous grace by giving them a window of forty days to get their house in order, the result being that He relented and gave them a chance.

As we know, earlier Jonah had rebelled against God and ran away, the result being that He ended up in a place he didn't really want to be, - in a huge fish. When we disobey God, refusing to do what He asks, we too, can end up in our own personal fish - no job, no money, things going wrong all the time and problem after problem. It doesn't always end this way but it might. If you refuse to do what God wants, you may even miss out on major blessings. God will not change His mind but, He can adjust to changes in a person when they repent. He can also get you through something that you find impossible.

If you want to be blessed, remain in obedience

Copyright 2022 Grahame Howard.                                 

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Try praying from the belly

"As my life was fading away, I remembered the LORD and my prayer came to You, to Your Holy Temple"                                                                 Jonah 2    CSB 

If Jonah could pray from the belly of a huge fish, this proves that we too can pray from anywhere - on a walk, in the gym, at work, in the shower, everywhere. Jonah needed to do this to get back in fellowship with God. Sometimes it takes traumatic circumstances before we even consider this.

Things had gone seriously wrong for Jonah, through his own fault; he had been totally disobedient and rebellious to God's calling and had run off in the opposite direction. This is always unwise. If we have made a commitment to God then He will take us up on the offer, this is part of the deal - living for Him. Jonah disagreed with this, until he had spent a few days in this smelly fish; he then changed his mind and prayed:

"As my life was fading away, I remembered the LORD and my prayer came to You"

Sometimes we have to reach rock bottom and sink below the surface; lose everything and become swallowed up with problems. In this situation, it is a sure way to remember how things were and call on God to rescue us.

God calls us to obedience. He will not change His mind or His Word. He expects us to adjust to it and as we obey or repent, He adjusts to our circumstances and helps us back on our feet. Jonah had to learn this and, so do we. He spent 3 days and 3 nights inside this fish until he came to his senses. 

In Matthew 12:38-41, we see that the Pharisees and scribes demanded a sign from Jesus that He was genuine. Jesus told them that the only sign He would give them was the sign of Jonah the prophet and there was a comparison of Jonah being in the fish 3 days and nights and He being in the grave for the same length of time. Tony Evans comments on this:

'When Jonah came out of the fish, he carried a message of repentance to Nineveh. God would show compassion on Nineveh through the symbolic death and resurrection of a prophet. But in Jesus Christ He showed mercy on you and me by the actual death and resurrection of the Son of God. Indeed then, "something greater than Jonah is here" Matthew 12:41'

                                      Tony Evans, (2019) The Tony Evans Study Bible. Holman

Indeed, something is greater here than Jonah and His name is Jesus Christ, your Lord and Saviour. Don't wrestle with Him or His directions, He always wins. Just make obedience to Him upper most in your life. I remember and old army joke, 'If you can't take a joke, you shouldn't have joined up.' It's true, you accepted Jesus and told Him that you would obey and follow Him, so, there really is no more to say on this.

Copyright 2022 Grahame Howard.                                 

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The God of Second Chances

"The word of the LORD came to Jonah son of Amittai. 2 Get up! Go to the great city of Nineveh and preach against it, because their evil has come up before Me. 3 Jonah got up to flee to Tarshish from the LORD's presence."    Jonah :1-17   Christian Standard Bible

Jonah heard the call from God to go and preach to the City of Nineveh but, instead, turned tail and grabbed a boat which was on route to Tarshish. Jonah would have been aware of the people's reputation there; they were violent and would torture, murder and leave the body on display in the streets. He would obviously have been afraid or concerned at least. He also resented the townsfolk being saved because of all this. Nineveh was also a great Assyrian city, and he felt if they were to repent and escape God's judgement, they could eventually attack and conquer Israel.

So Jonah ran off to Tarshish - away from the LORD's presence. But as they usually do in these circumstances, things began to go wrong as soon as the boat sailed. A great storm hit them threatening to cause them to sink. The petrified pagan sailors started to throw things overboard and eventually considered that Jonah was the reason for all of this. The captain challenged Jonah to pray to his God, which he refused. When they all discovered that Jonah was fleeing from God, they panicked and after speaking with Jonah, threw him over the side. They even prayed that God would forgive them for such an act. At once, the water calmed and all was well. A big fish swallowed Jonah and swam off. 

We can't just runaway from God; He will do all He can to bring us back to Him and this, is what He did with Jonah. Like Jonah, we do not know what is best, only God does. Jonah was rebellious, judgemental, fearful and disobedient. In this time of backsliding, he became very sulky and began to feel sorry for himself because he couldn't get his own way and just refused to speak with God. We can shout and stamp our feet, scream, swear and refuse to read our bibles but, God is still in control and waits for us to calm down. He will have His way. Jonah wouldn't pray so God caused the pagan seamen to pray and they witnessed the power of God and a miracle. I often wonder if they began to believe from this point. I believe it was possible.

God could have pulled the plug on Jonah but He didn't, instead Jonah had a trip in the stomach of a whale. Think about it, that must have been a foul and smelly place to be. God really has a sense of humour. However, this was all Jonah suffered because, God is the God of Second Chances. He never gives up on us

Just stop and think for a moment, can you relate to Jonah's behaviour? Have you been like this, even a little? Do you need a second chance. Say this prayer:

Father God, I know that I have blown things in lots of ways. Please forgive me and rescue me from the belly of this fish. Fill me with Your Holy Spirit and give me a second chance to serve You. In Jesus' name, I ask. Amen.

Copyright 2022 Grahame Howard.                                 

dailylifewithjesusbygrahamehoward.blogspot.com          

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Who told you that?

"Who told you that you were naked? Did you eat from the tree that I commanded you not to eat from?                                         Genesis 3:11   Christian Standard Bible

Let us recap on the past two days concerning Adam and Eve in the garden:

(1)  The devil tricked Eve (and Adam).

(2)  They ate the forbidden fruit after falling into temptation and ignoring God's Word

(3)  Adam failed in his duties; he didn't take reponsibility 

(4)  They hid from God because of their guilt

(5)  The world fell into sin and death

Now the LORD God is showing them the cost of their disobedience. They are to be banished from the garden. Mind you, God did this for their own good; if they had remained in the garden and ate from that tree, in their sinful state, they would have been locked into that sinful state and its consequences forever, which would have led them into hell. 

Also note, God's love and compassion for them; He even made clothing for them from skins. His love knows no end. Just think, His heart must have been breaking as He watched them leave the garden.

Let us check out two points:

(1)  In verse 11, God asked them, 'Who told you? We need to be careful about what people tell us, even if it is in the guise of prayer. Do not have anything to do with gossip or misleading information. If you do, you can be easily hooked because it can appear to be the truth. Nip it in the bud before it gets out of hand.

(2)  In verse 17 God said to Adam, 'Because you listened to your wife.' God should always be our starting point. As partners, yes we do say things like, 'What shall we do?' or 'What do you think about that?' This is normal and part of a relationship. However, for the important decisions of life, we should both seek God's opinion; this is what He wants and this is what Adam and Eve didn't do. God tells us in Proverbs 3:5-6:

'Trust in the LORD with all your heart and do not rely on your own understanding, 6 in all your ways, know Him and He will make your paths straight.'

Don't allow anyone to trick or mislead you, be wise because if you are easily swayed it may cost you a lot as it did Adam and Eve. Therefore, tread carefully, walk in God's shoes and heed God's Word.

Copyright 2022 Grahame Howard.                                 

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Learning to say, 'NO'

"The woman saw that the tree was good for food and delightful to look at, and that it was desirable for obtaining wisdom. So she took some of its fruit and ate it; she also gave some to her husband who was with her, and he ate it.           Genesis 3:6    CSB

This particular time, the devil was having a hey day; he had completely hooked Eve and he was now reeling her in to make things worse. This is what the devil does. He plays on our weak spots; he knows what works and what doesn't, in fact he has a dossier about us, containing many of the things he has gathered throughout your life time. This makes him able to pick out certain things that he knows you will struggle with.

Here, we know that he had avoided speaking to Adam, even though he was there, the serpent concentrated on Eve because he knew that her experience with God, was weak. He had already given her taste buds a tweak, now he encouraged her to look at the tree with its fruit exposed and ready for picking. If we focus on the wrong things for long enough they can begin to look 'delightful' and this adds to the unsatisfied desire within us. This is not always sexual lust, it can be the lust for power - to be a somebody having great wisdom and strength. It can lead to dictatorship and yearning to want more. It is a want, want, want yearning, never being satisfied with what you have, there is always a longing to have what someone else has. 

The devil encourages this type of behaviour by presenting the picture before you, rather like here with Eve. The more she looked, the more she wanted and she may have said, 'I'll just try it once, that won't hurt.' The devil may have replied, 'You never know until you try,' and then, he had her in his clutches. 

As we have seen, Adam never lifted a finger to stop this; he went ahead with it all and even ate some of the fruit himself. A while later when they heard the LORD God walking though the garden and calling their name, they hid from Him. Why did they do that? What does this tell you?  It tells you that they were feeling guilt; this was why they hid away; they knew they were in the wrong. It is the same with us. When we have committed sin, in fact premeditated it, the majority of us feel the guilt of it all, especially if a pastor or close Christian friends share fellowship with us. I have read that some counsellors have admitted that some of the things people have told them about, they have done also and it has brought a feeling of hypocrisy upon them. 

We are all the same, we are all prone to a sinful nature and we need to be in charge of this by being in control. We know when something is forbidden and we know when we are feeling temptation towards such things. That is the time to say, 'NO', rather like Joseph when he walked away from Potiphar's adulterous wife (Genesis 39). He took control and so should we.

Copyright 2022 Grahame Howard.                                 

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The devil in disguise

"Now the serpent was the most cunning of all the wild animals that the LORD God had made."                                              Genesis 3:1   Christian Standard Bible (CSB) 

Be very careful, the devil is very cunning and he will trap you, lie to you and convince you that, what is wrong, is actually right. 'It's ok, you'll be ok,' type of thing. God intended that the husband should be the head of the house; it was an ordained rule. It is still the same today. The husband should be the head of the Christian marriage, he is responsible to God for it. However, a word to husbands, this doesn't mean that you should rule with a rod of iron having your wife standing by the bed each morning for a kit inspection. You can try this if you want to but, I guarantee that you may have to pack your bags and leave pretty quickly. Being the head of the marriage is not like this. The husband should love his wife as Christ loved the church and treat her as if she is a precious vessel that could so easily break if treated in a wrong way.

The serpent however, wanted to twist God's direction and therefore avoided Adam and spoke directly to Eve. As he so often does, he misquoted God's words. God had said, 'You are free to eat from any tree of the garden, 17 but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for on the day you eat it, you will certainly die'  Genesis 2:16-17. The serpent said to Eve, 'Did God really say that you couldn't eat from any tree in the garden or you will die?' v1-4 Eve replied that they could eat of any tree in the garden except, the tree in the middle. They were not even allowed to touch it.

A word to the wise; know your scripture. God had not said this, whether God had told her directly  or Adam had relayed this to her later, she had not listened properly. This is so dangerous; scripture must never be altered, misquoted or made to fit the situation. Stick to what God says. This led the serpent to tell Eve that she wouldn't die. In other words, he was intimating that God was holding out on her or she had heard it wrong and that sin doesn't really carry any consequences.

At this stage, Adam should have put a stop to it and said, 'Serpent, get out of my garden.' He had the right to do this, God had placed him in charge but instead he remained quiet and ate the forbidden fruit and death and sin entered the world. One question that comes to mind is, why didn't he shout for God to help. He was in the garden because He often walked around it v8. But he didn't take authority and he didn't shout for God's help. He failed in his role. It's easy to blame Adam. A lot of people have said it was Eve's fault but the bottom line is, Adam should have taken responsibility of the situation. He was to blame.

Husband and wife, take your place, work as a team but husband, remember that God holds you responsible for spiritual care. 

Heed scripture properly, listen, study and apply it

Be careful of the the devil, he is a trickster

Take authority straightaway

Copyright 2022 Grahame Howard.                                 

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Your security

"for You have been a refuge for me, a strong tower in the face of the enemy."  

                                                                                                       Psalm 61:3   CSB 

There are times in life when some people need a Place of Safety to go to. This may be a refuge or a hospital where treatment and counsel may be offered. It may also be someone's house, a place where people know they can go if they need help and support. We could call this, an open door. Jesus' door is always open and He would like us to offer the same. Could you allow people to come to your home for help, support, a listening ear or just to be with someone they feel safe with, for a time? Jesus always had a crowd around Him wherever He was; in fact, at one time, the roof had to be taken apart for someone to be lowered down because it was impossible to walk in by the door. Alternatively, you may also need a place to go to for some prayer and counsel and a door may be open to you so that you can visit.

In this Psalm, David felt exhausted and alone. He made a plea to God for help because he needed strengthening, he was totally drained. Do you feel this way? We all become like this at certain times of our life and, it is such a blessing to have a refuge - a strong tower to run to so that we can have our batteries re-charged. Jesus is always a refuge to us; He is that strong tower in the face of our enemies and possibly at the time of writing this Psalm, David may have wanted to spend the rest of his days in this place of safety - this tent of love, for the rest of his life.

When needed, God is like a mother hen (v4) and carefully and lovingly shelters us under His wings. David actually mentions this in Psalm 91:4 where he writes: 'He will cover you with His feathers; you will take refuge under His wings. His faithfulness will be a protective shield.' Though David was without strength, God was a rock above him. David recognised his own limitations and we need to do the same. We can't be everything to everybody without something snapping eventually. We are only flesh and blood and we need rest and recuperation because we are in a battle. We need to take care of ourselves.

Could you create a Place of Safety to someone, somewhere people can find a listening ear and feel special about themselves? Why not open up your home to provide this. However, it may be that you need to go to a Place of Safety for your own reasons. You may need prayer, you may need to vent your feelings and you may need to feel the love of God enveloping you.

Only you know the answer to this. Why not ask God about it!

Copyright 2022 Grahame Howard.                                 

dailylifewithjesusbygrahamehoward.blogspot.com          

If you would like to contact me, CLICK HERE

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