JONAH'S RUNNING
"The Lord gave this message to Jonah son of Amittai; "Get up and
go to the great city of Nineveh! Announce my judgment against it
because I have seen how wicked its people are. But Jonah got up
and went in the opposite direction…" (Jonah 1:1-3)
Has God ever told you to do something and you decided to go in
the opposite directions? What are you running from or who are
you running from?
I wanted to do what ever I wanted. I did not like restrictions
and rules. I did not want to take the blame or take
accountability for my actions. Like Jonah I did not want
responsibility. I ran from my problems until I realized that it
was hurting others.
OTHERS ARE EFFECTED BY YOUR CHOICES
Jonah ran as fast as he could to the sands of the sea. He
boarded a ship sailing far from land. Jonah thought that he
could run and hide from the almighty God but God knew he was on
the ship. "But as the ship was sailing along, suddenly the Lord
flung a powerful wind over the sea, causing a violent storm that
threatened to send them to the bottom." 9 Jonah answered, "I am
a Hebrew and I worship the LORD, the God of heaven, who made the
sea and the land." 10 This terrified them and they asked, "What
have you done?" 11 The sea was getting rougher and rougher. So
they asked him, "What should we do to you to make the sea calm
down for us?" "'Throw me into the sea,' Jonah said, 'and it will
become calm again. For I know that this terrible storm is all my
fault.'" (Jonah 1:8 -12)
Jonah did not obey God, therefore those that were on the ship
experienced the correction of the Lord. Although the men on the
ship did not sin the sin of another man affected them greatly.
The sailor felt unstable, fear of death, and insecurity. Jonah
was not worth the risk they threw Jonah overboard.
THE CURSE THAT COMES FROM DISOBEYING GOD
27 the blessing if you obey the commands of the LORD your God
that I am giving you today; 28 the curse if you disobey the
commands of the LORD your God and turn from the way that I
command you today by following other gods, which you have not
known. 29 When the LORD your God has brought you into the land
you are entering to possess, you are to proclaim on Mount
Gerizim the blessings, and on Mount Ebal the curses.
(Deuteronomy 11: 27-29)
Please know that because you do not know the truth you are still
held accountable for God's command. That is why it is important
to know God's commands and to follow them.
Jonah's Discomfort
Jonah was thrown over- board in order to save the men and the
ship. Once he fell into the water a great fish came up and
lifted Jonah into his mouth and Jonah sat in its belly.
Jonah's Prayer
1 From inside the fish Jonah prayed to the LORD his God. 2 He
said:
"In my distress I called to the LORD,
and he answered me.
From the depths of the grave [1] I called for help,
and you listened to my cry.
3 You hurled me into the deep,
into the very heart of the seas,
and the currents swirled about me;
all your waves and breakers
swept over me.
4 I said, 'I have been banished
from your sight;
yet I will look again
toward your holy temple.'
5 The engulfing waters threatened me, [2]
the deep surrounded me;
seaweed was wrapped around my head.
6 To the roots of the mountains I sank down;
the earth beneath barred me in forever.
But you brought my life up from the pit,
O LORD my God.
7 "When my life was ebbing away,
I remembered you, LORD,
and my prayer rose to you,
to your holy temple.
8 "Those who cling to worthless idols
forfeit the grace that could be theirs.
9 But I, with a song of thanksgiving,
will sacrifice to you.
What I have vowed I will make good.
Salvation comes from the LORD."
10 And the LORD commanded the fish, and it vomited Jonah onto
dry land.
(Jonah 2:1-9)
DO YOU FEEL LIKE JONAH
Jonah felt engulfing waters threaten him. Sea weed was wrapped
around his head. Roots of the mountains he sank down. The place
Jonah dwelled in was described was in darkness. Depression and
fear strangled his existence and death was knocking at his door.
Yes, God caused the storm but it was man who threw Jonah
over-board. So who is to blame the God who caused the storm
because Jonah would not obey, the men who throw Jonah over board
to save their own lives, or the fish that was hungry and thought
Jonah the bate? How silly are we to run from a God?
GOD SAVED JONAH
Jonah remembers to call on God. Jonah says" 7 "When my life was
ebbing away,
I remembered you, LORD, and my prayer rose to you, to your holy
temple. (Jonah 2:7) He continued to talk to the Father, "9 But
I, with a song of thanksgiving, will sacrifice to you. What I
have vowed I will make good.
Salvation comes from the LORD." 10 And the LORD commanded the
fish, and it vomited Jonah onto dry land. (Jonah 2:9-10)
Sometimes we find ourselves in the belly of a fish when we are
disobedient to God. God may cause the storm to get our attention
but the storm is to teach us that we can not hide from God.
Sometimes the storm is to stop us from running because running
might cause us more pain. Jonah was trapped in the belly of
great fish. He was sad, afraid, and alone. He remembered God and
allowed him into his life again and God set him free from his
sadness, fear, and loneliness.
WHAT DO I DO TO BE SAVED
Before Christ was born, people could talk to God but they became
disobedient. God promised a Messiah to come to save the people.
It is my opinion that the people of the Earth were like Jonah
and instead of sending a storm God sent Jesus. Jesus taught
right from wrong and the way to God's Kingdom. Jesus brought the
truth to the world and the message that God existed.
When we acknowledge God's Son Jesus this helps us to connect
with God. God sacrificed His Son Jesus so we could see how much
He loves us. When we ask God's Son Jesus to come into our hearts
and believe that Jesus died for us God puts his love (Jesus)
into our hearts. When Jesus is in our hearts this seals his love
and the promise that we will never be alone again. We learn by
reading God's word that we have nothing to fear.
Some people reading this may be in the belly of a fish and may
have been suffering from fear, loneliness, and depression. There
is a way out of the fish. Remember God and his Son Jesus and He
will save you from the fish.
PRAYER
Lord, I am in the belly of a fish. I do not want to run or hide
anymore. Please save me. God I believe that you sent your Son
Jesus to teach me the truth and die so that you can show your
love for me. Please forgive me for my sins and give me a second
chance to do what it right. Please Jesus come into my heart and
make me a new person. I do not want to be alone, afraid, or
depressed any longer. Thank you Lord, for saving me from the
fish's belly.
In Jesus name Amen.
A NEW LIFE
Romans 12:1-2
So
brothers, since God has shown us great mercy, I beg you to offer
your lives as a living sacrifice to him. Your offering must be
only for God and pleasing to him. This is the spiritual way to
for you to worship. Do not change yourselves to be like the
people of this worked. But be changed within by a new way of
thinking. Then you will be able to decide what God wants for
you. And you will be able to know what is good
.
Corinthians 1:32
Do not be
fooled, bad friends will ruin good habits. Come back to your
right way of thinking and stop sinning.
2
Timothy
Do the
best you can to be the kind of person that God will accept, and
give yourself to him. Be a worker who is not shamed of his work
--a worker who uses the true teaching in the right way. Stay
away from those that talk about useless worldly things. That
kind of talk will lead a person more and more away from God.
Their evil teaching will spread like a sickness inside a body.
2
Timothy 2:15-26
The words
are written on the foundation, “Everyone who says that he
believes in the Lord must stop doing wrong."
If anyone
makes himself clean from evil things, he will be used for
special purposes. He will be made holy, and the Master can use
him. He will be ready to do any good work.
Stay away
from the evil things young people love to do. Try hard to live
right and to have faith, love, and peace. Work for these things
together with those who have pure hearts and who trust in the
Lord.
The devil
has trapped them and causes them to do what he wants. But maybe
they can wake up and free themselves from the devil's trap.
Colossians 3:5-7
So put all
evil things out of your life: sexually sinning, doing evil,
letting evil thoughts control you, wanting things that are evil,
and always selfishly wanting more and more. This really means
living to serve a false god. These things make God angry.
1
Corinthians 6:18-20
So run
away from sexual sin. Every other sin that a man does is out
side his body, but the one who sins sexually sins against his
own body. You should know that your body is a temple for the
Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is in you. You have received the
Holy Spirit form God. You do not own yourselves. You were
bought by God for a price. So honor God with your bodies.
1
John 2:16-17
These are
the evil things in the world: wanting things to pleasure sinful
selves, wanting the sinful things we see, being too proud of the
things we have. But none of those things come from the Father.
All of them come from the world. The world is passing away.
And everything that people want in the world is passing away,
but the person who does what God wants lives for-ever.
John 8:34
Jesus
answered, “I tell you the truth. Everyone who lives in sin is a
slave to sin.
Hebrews 12:13
Live in
the right way so that you will be saved and your weakness will
not cause you to be lost. Try to live in peace with all
people. And try to live lives free from sin. If anyone's life
is not holy he will never see the Lord.
Galatians 6:7-10
Do not be
fooled: You can not cheat God. A person harvests only what he
plants. If he plants to satisfy his sinful self, his sinful
self will bring him eternal death. But if he plants to please
the spirit he will receive eternal life from the Spirit.
We must not give up! When we have the opportunity to help
any-one, we should do it.
Hebrews 2:2-3
And anyone
who did not follow it or obey it received the punishment he
earned. The salvation that was given was not important. It was
the Lord himself who first told about this salvation.
1
John 3:6
So then
person who lives in Christ does not go on sinning. If he goes
on sinning, he has never known him. If he goes on sinning, he
has never really understood Christ and has never known him.
Dear children, do not let any person lead you the wrong way.
Christ is right. The devil has been sinning since the
beginning. Anyone who continues to sin belongs to the devil.
The Son of God came for this purpose: to destroy the
devil's work.
When God makes someone his child,
that person does not go on sinning. The new life God gave
that person stays in him. So he is not able to go on
sinning, because he has become a child of God. So we can
see who God's children are and who the devil's children are.
Those who do not do what is right are not children of God.
And anyone who does not love his brother is not a child of God.
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