Some of us, many of us our haunted by regrets. In private conversations, people have shared things done that can’t be undone, seasons in person’s life you wish could be erased entirely, sins and mistakes you may still be trying to come to terms with. Reading Jonah, we’re convinced that God can bring good to […]
Jonah 2, The Prayer in the Fish
The purpose of prayer is to express our trust in God, and as we pray, our trust in God increases all the more. The emphasis in the Bible is that we are to pray with faith, which means trust or dependence on God. The first words of the Lord’s prayer, “Our Father who is in […]
Jonah 1, The Sailors in the Storm
Every time you are confronted with a fear, financial ruin, political unrest, a relationship imploding, a negative diagnosis, Covid-19, a personal loss you never saw coming, in that moment, in all of those moments, when you are confronted with fear, you will make a decision of faith. Do not fear, only believe. I believe . […]
Jonah, The Runaway Prophet: Take 2
When people think Jonah . . . they think Jonah and the Whale, but the great fish is only mentioned in 3 of the 49 verses of Jonah; it’s only 6% of Jonah’s story, and the Book of Jonah is about so much more than Jonah being swallowed by the great fish. Focus only on […]
Jonah Outside the City, Pouting
The LORD had compassion on Jonah. Jonah, can’t you see the Lord blessed you, saving you from the sea. The Lord gave you this plant to comfort you in the heat of the day. The Lord had blessed Jonah; had shown grace and mercy to him. It would be wrong for Jonah to begrudge the […]
Jonah Inside the City, Preaching
Repentance keeps your heart soft toward others. When we pray, asking God to forgive us our sins, we recognize that we are sinful broken people in need of grace and forgiveness. Grace and forgiveness from God . . . Grace and forgiveness with each other. The greater my awareness of my own sin, and my […]
Jonah in the Fish, Praying
Jonah rebelled against the LORD. Jonah messed up. What do we do when we’ve messed up? What do we do when we’ve gotten ourselves in a mess as a result of our wrong, sinful choices, and we’re not sure how to get out? Or even if we can get out? In Jonah 2, Jonah is […]
Jonah on the Boat, Rebelling
The LORD commands Jonah to take a message to Nineveh, the capital city of the Assyrian Empire, an evil empire intent on conquering Jonah’s homeland, the nation of Israel. Jonah is prophet, that’s his job, delivering messages to those people and places the LORD sends him. But not this time. God says go and Jonah says […]