Jonah part 3 – “REVIVAL”

Posted by David Ward on 13/02/2021
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Jonah – a fishy tale

God gives Jonah a second chance, and this time Jonah does what God asks. It’s a long journey from the sea to Nineveh, about 900 miles. But, despite making a long outward journey it seems that in Jonah’s internal journey he’s only prepared to go so far before he draws the line.

Read: Jonah 3: 4-5 and 10

  • Even in the worst places and people God is often at work behind the scenes…and He often uses us to give people a gentle prod in the right direction.
  • God doesn’t give up on us…even if we’re stubborn and disobedient – and that applies to Jonah and to the Ninevites
  • God may forgive us and doesn’t give up on us, but the memories and the scars of what we were often remain. The question is, do we learn from them
  • Thomas Merton said, “The only mistake that remains a mistake is one from which you do not learn”
  • God cares about our communities…the Gospel is about more than getting a few individuals into heaven…it’s about bringing the life of heaven to earth. “Your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven”
  • No place or person is beyond hope…past reputation should not be a barrier to our seeing God’s possibilities now.
  • We also need to learn that sometimes my ‘enemy’, the person I struggle with, can be more open to God’s grace than I am.
  • Being a follower of Jesus is about working in partnership with God. The Bible is full of stories about a God who loves to be in a relationship and to work with people to make things happen.
  • Do we all have more of a significant part in working with God to see his plans realised in the world than we previously imagined, whatever some theologians may say?

Is there someone you’ve written off as being so anti-God that they are just not interested in him? Pray for an opportunity to be like Jesus to them, showing hope, grace and compassion. And pray that God will give you the right words to say if you’re given opportunity to speak for him.

Ask the Holy Spirit to open your eyes to the places God is at work in your community…you may find him in unexpected places (and maybe not in the places you expected him to be!). If appropriate, look for ways to join in with what you see.

Jonah part 2 – “REMEMBER”

Posted by David Ward on 12/02/2021
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Jonah – a fishy tale

Today we join Jonah as he sits in the darkness inside the great fish. Sitting in the darkness is not comfortable. We avoid times of darkness at all costs. We want to hurry on to resolution and what happens next.

Real life is not always like that…even for followers of Jesus.

Read: Jonah 2: 5-7

  • Could the darkness actually be an invitation to be alone with God?
  • We’re not good at living in the dark times of our lives…times that are difficult and doubting, painful and problematic
  • Sometimes our agendas, dreams, aims and objectives have to wait
  • When the dark times come, we have all kinds of ways of ignoring or avoiding them. We distract ourselves with shopping, alcohol, the media, busyness (even church stuff). We are experts at avoiding pain and darkness.
  • Ultimately these substitutes don’t satisfy us or save us from the darkness
  • God allows times of darkness so we can change and grow. We are not alone in the darkness.
  • We need to prepare for the dark times, by nurturing our relationship with God, being aware of the Holy Spirit in our everyday lives and spending time with God in prayer, in the scriptures and as we worship and share with godly friends. Growing spiritually doesn’t just happen…it needs to be fed and encouraged.
  • Then, when the dark times come, like Jonah, we will remember the Lord

Are you aware that your relationship with God is not as close as it once was? I find that dark times in my life often make me painfully aware of this.

What small steps can you make to rekindle the relationship? Maybe setting aside time to use a simple daily prayer app, like Lectio 365 from 24/7 Prayer, will help…think about it.

Talk to a friend you trust about what’s going on for you. Maybe they will agree to help you by regularly meeting up and by not being afraid to ask you difficult questions…good friends can do that!

Jonah part 1 – “RUN”

Posted by David Ward on 11/02/2021
Posted in: Bible, Personal thoughts. Tagged: , , , , , , . Leave a comment
Jonah – a fishy tale

We’ve often turned this story into one about disobedience (Jonah runs away from God’s mission) and punishment (Jonah gets swallowed by the fish until he gives in). All this may be true, but it completely misses the main point of the story. What did God want the people of Israel to learn from the story, and what can we learn today?

Read: Jonah 1: 1-3

  • The Assyrians, whose capital was Nineveh, were Israel’s number one enemy, and a nasty, brutish, violent oppressor at that, who made things hard for Israel year after year.
  • This is the backdrop to the story of Jonah.
  • It seems that Jonah thought that his people, Israel were the only ones God cared about, and that God couldn’t possibly love people as terrifying and bad as the Assyrians. If Jonah thought that, you can bet that the people of Israel did too.
  • Do we ever think we’re the only one who matters to God, getting lost in our church culture and forgetting God loves us all.
  • We all have our Nineveh’s…people we’re not prepared to mix with, or share the gospel with. It may be their culture, their lifestyle, the fact we’re afraid of them…
  • We all have our Tarshis’s…place we run and hide when God challenges us and things get uncomfortable. It may be our job, our family, our church, our “if only” dreams
  • Sometimes, when God wants to break us from the comfortable and the familiar he goes to great lengths to change our attitudes and our willingness to work with him. Sometimes he does things we don’t expect!

What small steps can I make to move in the direction I sense God is wanting me to go, rather than running away. It might involve actually surrendering something which gives me a false sense of security. Perhaps I need to reach out to someone that God has been encouraging me to show some love.