Jonah Did Not Want To Warn Them

And the word of the Lord came unto Jonah the second time, saying,

Arise, go unto Nineveh, that great city, and preach unto it the preaching that I bid thee.

So Jonah arose, and went unto Nineveh, according to the word of the Lord. Now Nineveh was an exceeding great city of three days' journey.

And Jonah began to enter into the city a day's journey, and he cried, and said, Yet forty days, and Nineveh shall be overthrown.

So the people of Nineveh believed God, and proclaimed a fast, and put on sackcloth, from the greatest of them even to the least of them.

And God saw their works, that they turned from their evil way; and God repented of the evil, that he had said that he would do unto them; and he did it not.

                                                                             (Jonah 3:1-5,10 KJV)

The story of Jonah is quite a story! The end result of finally doing God's will and going to Nineveh to prophecy their impending doom if they did not repent was that they repented!

Way too often in today's world those who are sent by God to warn others of the disaster that will fall upon them if they do not change their ways do not warn anyone. They would rather pretend that there is no sin where there is sin just so they can be liked by everyone; to get along with everyone. 

At first, Jonah didn't want to speak up. He did not want to go and warn the people. When the Lord told him to go he tried to run away from God, as if that were even possible. "But Jonah rose up to flee unto Tarshish from the presence of the Lord, and went down to Joppa; and he found a ship going to Tarshish: so he paid the fare thereof, and went down into it, to go with them unto Tarshish from the presence of the Lord." (Jonah 1:3)

Jonah ended up with much hardship himself for not obeying the word of the Lord. He ended up in a major storm on the sea; thrown into the sea to save others; saved from drowning by being swallowed by a big fish. When Jonah finally repented of not doing God's will; God had the fish vomit him out onto land where Jonah finished the mission to Nineveh. 

The story of Jonah's call to prophesy to Nineveh is prophetic in itself. It is a warning to all who are called to share the word of God to actually share the word of God. It is a warning to those who are called to proclaim the truth of God's word. We are not called to come up with another gospel that pleases itching ears. We are not called to water it down. We are not called to hide from the truth or hide the truth from others; but, to proclaim it. Jesus told the truth shall make you free.

If the truth, which is the Word of God, is not proclaimed; how will anyone know that they are on a path to destruction. If we truly love our neighbors we will let them know that no matter what they have done God loves them so much that he sent His only begotten Son to die for their sins. And... that is the crux of the matter. We must be able to recognize and call a sin for what it is: a sin. "If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us." (1 John 1:8)

Because Jonah had finally warned the people of Ninevah they repented and God forgave them.

Jesus told the disciples "the truth shall make you free." (8:32) The truth is that we are all sinners in need of forgiveness. We are all in need of being reminded of that from time to time. Let us not hide the truth or hide from it; but, share it with all in need of forgiveness and that would be all of us. We are all in need of God's grace and His mercy.

God's Peace - Pr. J. 

A Little Self-Control Please

If you find honey, eat just enough—
   too much of it, and you will vomit.
Seldom set foot in your neighbor’s house—
   too much of you, and they will hate you.
"Like a city whose walls are broken through
   is a person who lacks self-control. 
                                      (Prov 25:16-17,28 NIV)

Most of us probably lose "it" from time to time. From time to time, most of us, probably over indulge. For some it may be eating; for some sleeping too much; or watching television when they have chores or other work to do. Some may lose self-control and not know when to hold their tongue when talking about others or themselves. Some "lose it" in the area of anger management. We don't always do what we ought to be doing. For whatever reason, we feed our habits, by over-indulging. Most of the time, we can excuse ourselves, saying it doesn't hurt anyone but me. But, when we use that excuse we are usually lying not only to others; but, to ourselves. Whatever we do does affect the people around us.

Losing self-control opens us up to attacks; attacks that we cannot fully protect ourselves from. It's kind of like getting drunk, passing out, and having a robber come into your home to take what is yours. Or, if your mouth runs too much you set yourself up for blackmail or lawsuits. Or... you could simply be setting yourself up to look like a fool and any opportunities for your future may be lost.

The Proverbs of Solomon remind us to maintain self-control by observing the rule of moderation. "If you find honey, eat just enough—too much of it, and you will vomit. Seldom set foot in your neighbor’s house—too much of you, and they will hate you." 

When I was very young we lived in military housing. My husband worked mostly days while I worked an evening shift. Some of the neighbors took to visiting me every morning for coffee. I enjoyed having the company, at first, since I was so far from home. But, after awhile the visits got longer and longer. Consequently, I would run out of time to get the household chores done. I didn't know how to tell them that they should stop this habit. Frankly, they had worn out their welcome. Finally, my husband came home for lunch one day and they were still there. He handed out cleaning supplies to the women and asked them to help get things done there if they were going to be sitting around all day. They got the hint. Coffee time was reduced to once or twice a week and only for one cup of coffee...

There is a time and place for everything. Give everything its time and place. Self-control will help greatly in achieving all that you must or desire to do.

Think about it... What if Jesus did not have self-control? Would he have been able to wait in the Garden of Gethsemane that night knowing that he would be taken to trial and crucified the next day? His disciples, his friends, asleep, while He waited to be bound and taken to his execution. Where would you and I be today? In whom or what would our hope lie, if Jesus had run away? 

We are not Jesus. Most of us probably "lose it" from time to time. It is not an easy thing to maintain self-control all of the time. But, losing it is not a good thing. Like a city whose walls have been broken through, those who cannot or will not exhibit self-control will be overcome. 

But, the Spirit of Christ who abides in you, has the power to overcome all evil. Stand firmly then, trusting in the abiding Christ, to overcome all temptation to over-indulge in those things which will be harmful to you and others.

God's Peace - Pr. J