Imperfect people in the Bible-Jonah

Oftentimes, we find ourselves in sinful places because we weren’t paying close attention. We got lazy and ended up in a whirlwind of terrible choices with terrible consequences. Other times we knew what we were doing when we chose to disobey God.

 

The prophet, Jonah, was told by God to go to the city of Nineveh to preach so that they’d repent and turn to God. Clearly, Jonah was far from thrilled at this command because he literally ran away from God and headed for Tarshish, a city in the opposite direction of Nineveh. He ended up boarding a ship to get as far away from Nineveh as he could.

 

Unfortunately, his poor choice in evading God’s command didn’t turn out well for him. Within a short time, a storm came upon the ship and threatened to kill the entire crew. Immediately, Jonah knew that his disobedience to God was the cause of the situation. So, he told the crew it was his fault. Jonah 1:15 NIV says, “Then they took Jonah and threw him overboard, and the raging sea grew calm.”

 

If that wasn’t bad enough, he was swallowed up by a giant fish once he was in the sea. And he would spend the next three days and three nights in the belly of that fish before being vomited up on dry land. Once he was no longer camping out inside the fish, he chose to obey God and preach repentance to the city of Nineveh.

 

Here are two takeaways from the life of Jonah:

 

Face It, Don’t Run From It

When God commanded Jonah to preach repentance to a large city of sinners, he wanted nothing to do with it. So he ran. Had Jonah just obeyed God and done what he was supposed to do in the beginning, he wouldn’t have had to deal with the consequences of his actions, including camping out in the disgusting belly of a fish for an extended weekend. Often, we experience hardships in life and we’d rather ignore or deny them, than face them. So, let’s deal with our difficulties and struggles head on and allow God to meet us in the midst of them.

 

God’s Plan Prevails

While the people in Nineveh were wicked and living lives full of sin, God desired for them to return to Him. That was His plan in the beginning and it came to pass. Regardless of our own plans and dreams, we have to understand that God is sovereign. This is His created world that we get to reside in. We are here for His purposes, not the other way around.

 

We’ll all have to do things we don’t want to do. Instead of fleeing from our responsibilities and callings, let’s obey God the first time and watch how He works to transform lives. He’s sovereign and we should consider it an honor to participate in His work on earth.

How to be like Job

Job 1:20 At this, Job got up and tore his robe(AS) and shaved his head.(AT) Then he fell to the ground in worship(AU) 21 and said:

 

“Naked I came from my mother’s womb,

and naked I will depart.[c](AV)

The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away;(AW)

may the name of the Lord be praised.”(AX)

 

I wish I could be like Job. I’ve gone through a lot in my years, but nothing like him. He had just had various messengers come to him and tell him that all of his livestock was dead, all of his workers, and all 10 of his children had died at once. All within an hour. So what does he do? Job 1:20 tells us that he fell to the ground and worshipped God. That is truly an amazing act of faithfulness!

 

How many times have we gone through just a fraction of what Job did, and yet all we did was complain or feel sorry for ourselves? I know I’ve done both. We need to become more like Jobe and find our ability to worship and love God in ANY circumstances.

 

So how do we become like Job? We take each set of circumstances that bring us a rough patch in life, and praise God that it’s not worse. Every time we do this, it becomes easier to do because we grow stronger. We become worship athletes if you will, and our ability to run the race that we call life much stronger in our faith, and much happier.

A look at 2 Chronicles

Today’s look at the books that most people know very little about is….

 

2 Chronicles: Be Wise and Learn from History

 

This is a book for history buffs. Along with 1 Chronicles, this book is a compilation of official and unofficial documents, the record of the history of God’s people. The history in 2 Chronicles extends from the beginning of King Solomon’s rule to the exile of Judah to Babylon. The author, likely Ezra, focused on telling the story of King David’s descendants and the centrality of the Holy City, Jerusalem, to their lives.

 

Solomon established his authority, unified Israel, and set about to put down early rebellions against his throne. He also built a glorious temple in Jerusalem. Israel’s history during these years included kings who “did right in the sight of the Lord,” others who “did evil,” and some who strayed and then repented. Solomon, on the other hand, started off following God but fell into sin.

 

While there are some who like to erase history, those who are wise will learn from it. Remember God’s blessings. Remember the consequences of sin. Use it all to grow in faith and obedience.

Don’t allow the crows to persuade you.

There is an old Persian fable of a hen, a mouse, and a rabbit who lived together in a little house in the woods. They shared all the work and lived in harmony. The chicken found the firewood, the mouse brought the water from a nearby brook, and the rabbit cooked the meals. Each did his work faithfully and contentedly.

One day, while the hen was out in the forest looking for wood, a nosy crow approached her and asked what she was doing. When he heard, the crow began caw, “That’s not fair! You’re doing the hardest part of the work! That rabbit and mouse are taking advantage of you!

The chicken continued about her work, but try as she would, she could not stop thinking about what the crow said. These feelings festered and festered, and by the time she got home, she was so upset that she burst out in tears, screaming, “It’s not fair! I do the hardest work of the three of us! That’s it! I’m not going to gather this heavy firewood anymore!”

Discontent spreads, as you know, and immediately the rabbit and mouse also began to argue that they had been doing the hardest work and that they were not going to do their jobs anymore either. The three argued until they were tired and finally decided to switch jobs – from now on the rabbit would gather the firewood, the hen would bring the water and the mouse would cook.

As the rabbit hopped into the forest for wood, a fox trailed him, caught him, and ate him. The chicken put the pail into the creek, but the current pulled the pail down under and the chicken with it. The mouse, while sitting on the edge of the big pot of soup, lost his balance and fell in.

Discontentment not only destroyed their happiness but their very lives.

We all have a job to do here. No job is greater than the next — no person is greater than the next, no matter what those crows might tell you. We are all working for the same King and we can worship Him even while gathering firewood, if that’s what He’s called us to do!

Hebrews 13:5 Let your conduct be without covetousness; and be content with such things as you have: for He has said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.

The Auction. A must read story

The upstate NY man was rich in almost every way. His estate was worth millions. He owned houses, land, antiques and cattle. But though on the outside he had it all, he was very unhappy on the inside. His wife was growing old, and the couple was childless. He had always wanted a little boy to carry on the family legacy.

Miraculously, his wife became pregnant in her later years, and she gave birth to a little boy. The boy was severely handicapped, but the man loved him with his whole heart. When the boy was five, his mom died. The dad drew closer to his special son. At age 13, the boys’s birth defects cost him his life and the father died soon after from a broken heart.

The estate was auctioned before hundreds of bidders. The first item offered was a painting of the the boy. No one bid. They waited like vultures for the riches. Finally, the poor housemaid, who helped raise the boy, offered $5 for the picture and easily took the bid. To every-one’s shock, the auctioneer ripped a hand written will from the back of the picture. This is what it said: “To the person who thinks enough of my son to buy this painting, to this person I give my entire estate.”

The auction was over. The greedy crowd walked away in shock and dismay.

How many of us have sought after what we thought were true riches only to find out later that our Father was prepared to give us His entire estate if we had only sought after His Son alone?

The forgotten Diamond…PLEASE READ IT.

A rose-cut synthetic diamond created by Apollo Diamond using a patented chemical vapour deposition process. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

This story I found on the internet is a strong reminder of how easy it is to let our relationship with the Lord go stale if we take it for granted. This is a must read.

Ashley turned the beautiful stone over and over again in her hand. “Are you really giving this to me?” she whispered in awe and wonder. The thought that her father was giving her this priceless diamond seemed almost too much to comprehend.

“Yes, my darling daughter, I am giving you that diamond. Love and cherish it, and keep it ever in your thoughts.”

Ashley threw her arms around her father’s neck. How she loved him! She couldn’t imagine life without his love.

For the first several months after Ashley’s father gave her the diamond, she guarded the diamond as she would her own life. She spent hours gazing upon it, then went and told everyone she knew about her father’s marvelous love. Her heart of gratitude showed in everything she did. She was kind and loving toward others because her thoughts were focused on her father’s kindness to her. She was always eager to serve and praise her father because her thoughts were completely consumed with him.

I’d like to stop here and say that Ashley faithfully treasured her diamond for the rest of her life and continually lived in the same joy she had those firs few weeks. But I’m afraid that would not be true. Ever so gradually, Ashley began to become accustomed to the diamond she’d been given. Although the diamond itself never diminished in value one bit, she stopped thinking of it as much throughout her day. While she was still kind toward others and told others of her father’s love, she did so more from habit and duty than from gratitude and joy. Her words sounded like hollow recitations instead of heartfelt realities.

“Ashley, can I talk with you?” Ashley’s friend Eliza asked one afternoon.

“Of course,” Ashley replied, wondering what Eliza could want.

“The diamond your father gave you—can you describe it to me? And can you tell me what that diamond means to you?”

“Why, of course I can,” Ashley replied. She stumbled through a description that sounded strangely vague even to her.

Ashley’s encounter with Eliza awakened Ashley’s sleeping conscience. I have forgotten to gaze upon the diamond my father gave me! I’ve forgotten to let it bring me joy. Saddened at her folly, Ashley slowly walked upstairs and knocked on her father’s study. One look at her father’s face showed Ashley that he already knew how she had neglected his treasure.

“Come, my dear, let’s go look at the diamond again together,” he said as he gently wiped her tears.

With that, Ashley’s father led her to the special case in which she kept her diamond. Ashley broke into a fresh set of tears when she saw the diamond. She had forgotten how beautifully it glittered and glistened! Her heart felt overwhelmed once again by the incredible gift that her father had given her.

“Oh, Father, please help me to never forget!” she whispered, looking up in love and admiration into her father’s face.

“Again, the kingdom of heaven is like unto treasure hid in a field; the which when a man hath found, he hideth, and for joy thereof goeth and selleth all that he hath, and buyeth that field.” Matthew 13:44