Story of Jonah

I recently was lead, through my daily Bible readings, to the short Book of Jonah. I had not read it before because I thought I already knew the story. Poor guy, gets eaten by a whale and God delivers him. HA! To say that is the story of Jonah is like saying I had a birthday and thats the story of my life. I had no idea how much more there was to Jonah’s story. I also learned another interesting fact. about the Book of Jonah. It is the only Book of a prophet that doesn’t tell of his prophesying.....instead it tells his story.

The story starts with a message form God to Jonah. God tells Jonah to go and preach before the wicked city of Nineveh. The problem is that the Jews hate Nineveh.....they are bitter enemies. So, Jonah, instead of going to the city of Nineveh, actually gets on a ship and heads in the opposite direction. HA! Talk about running from God! While Jonah is on the ship, a storm breaks and everyone begins to worry they will die. To make a long story short, Jonah tells the crew it is his fault that God is angry and they should just throw him overboard. The crew at first hesitates, but then.....fearing for their own lives....they toss him over....into the angry sea. Thus, Jonah, ends up in the belly of a “big fish”. Inside the “fish”, Jonah, finally gives in and prays .......asking God for deliverance and promises he will go to the city of Nineveh.

Jonah keeps his promise to God and does go to the city of Nineveh. He does not tell them to repent and to be saved, as God directed......he simply declares that in 40 days the Lord will make Nineveh no more! BUT, the city does repent and God shows his compassion and the city is saved. This makes Jonah angry. Jonah would have rather seen the city perish. This would have made his prophecies true. Instead, his enemies were saved and he is made to look the fool. Angry Jonah now wishes to die. This leads to a closing dialogue between he and God. God continues to be compassionate and forgiving, even toward this unruly servant.

Few Biblical personalities are as transparent as Jonah......fear, selfishness, spitefulness, proud, and hateful. For even when Jonah stopped physically running from God.....he was still resisting.....inside. He put on a show of obedience to cover his inner feelings. When he arrived in Nineveh, he declared God’s message as a summary judgement.....you are all screwed! He left no way out or any escape. When the city was saved.....he was angry and demanded comfort from God.....in the form of death. How self centered he was......with so little disregard for others.

How often I have suffered from the condition of “Jonah”. How often I ran from God and still demanded other things from him. Our God is truly a compassionate and caring God......to put up with my petty self-centeredness.......A person can learn a lot from the “short” story of Jonah.

Witnessing

Recently I spoke with my mother about one of my blogs. This is not an uncommon occurrence because of my situation. As some of you know, I write this blog from jail by hand. I then forward it to my retired, traveling, mother....who then lovingly publishes it for me on the internet. My blogs get sent all over the US in paper form to get to her. It is by God’s blessing that it all comes together.

Anyway, my mother, had more than her usual “It sounds great, honey.” comment on one of my blogs the other day. She was agreeing with me how she feels that God will and does speak to us....whether it be in church by a sermon or in life through signs. It meant a lot to me that she agreed with me. She has always given me the impression that she believed in God......but, something about that conversation.....at that exact moment.....made me want to ask her if she believed not only in God, but in Jesus Christ. Jesus is so important, without him there is no salvation.....and if there is no salvation then knowing God doesn’t really matter much. The entire second half of the bible is about His teachings and Him. We are told that all things were created through Him, (John 1:3). In other places, He is referred to as “The Light”, “The Way”, and “The Truth”. Jesus Christ is clearly not only the rock of Christianity.....HE is Christianity.

Witnessing on a personal basis or on a one to one basis is or can be very difficult. Many times I don’t want to feel rejected or have to answer those ‘tough’ questions. What if I get stumped and look like a fool or worse make God and Jesus look like fools? But....you know what? With it being Christmas..... what better gift could be given. Now that I have done all this talking.....I have a duty......

My Mother means the world to me, “ you know that.... right Mom?”. (“Yes, I know that, Son.) One day you are going to pass away....probably before me. I need to know that I did everything I could do to tell you about the one Man you can count on in death. His name is Jesus and He walked the earth some 2000 years ago. He came so that one day, after you are gone, and after I am gone.......we can be together again. Sounds like something you would want, right? (”Right!“) I worry I sound like a fruitcake right now and if I’m wrong.......(”You are not wrong and you are certainly not a fruitcake“). I believe that Jesus gives every human being enough spiritual experience in their life to know that there is something more beyond these little years now. So, with that in mind, I beg you to stop buying me Bibles and get yourself one. Read John and look up this guy named, Louie Giglio. He’s made some powerful speeches about the universe that Dad would even enjoy. This is my Christmas Gift to you, Mom......the road map to everlasting life.....it is more than God.......Love, Your Son, Samuel
(”Thank you, Sam. I love you more than you can imagine......I look forward to the day when you and I can read the Bible together.“)

Why are We Not?

But if we are the body,
Why are not His arms reaching....
Why are not His hands healing....
Why are not His words teaching....
And if we are the body
Why are not His feet going
Why is His love not showing them there is a way....

Jesus is the way

These are the words to the chorus of a song we sang in worship a few weeks ago. Sadly I can’t share the tune with you, but the words themselves are still moving. God has a purpose for us all. As Romans 12:6-8 confirms: “God has given us all a gift and we have a responsibility to use it wisely and well”. I believe that goes to the very heart of this song. God has literally chosen us to be His arms, hands, feet......WE are the body. Christ is the head. How would you feel if your body did not do what your mind ask or told it to do? How many times have you made a limb suffer to accomplish a greater task?

God will preform all the miracles in the world, but if we are not there to point out these miracles and carry them forward......then God’s efforts are in vein.

When the day comes that I go to meet God, I know I don’t want to have the feet that did not walk or the hand that did not heal. I hope and pray that whatever God has made me to be that I now do it well and that I do it humbly.

In closing, I ask you to ask yourself....“What is my gift from God and how can I best use it?”. When will you use the gift and to whom will you share this gift..........W

Many Meanings.....

Once again I must apologize to my readers and God for my laziness. Unfortunately, when I’m lazy it also shows that I am ungrateful. In order for the words that I write to get to this screen for you to read.....many things have to fall into place.....but it all starts with me.

So often, I sit back at night with my bible and begin to read. It is never long before my mind is spinning with topics and scripture that I want to write about and share with you. But, it is always late and I work the next day, and , and, and it doesn’t get done........that topic or idea is lost by morning.

On one special morning; however, I woke to read my “Daily Bread” and it discussed the same scripture I had chosen to read last night. How amazing, right? I love God’s little signs that he is listening. It let’s me know that I’m right where I’m suppose to be.....he left that little ‘treat’ for me so that I would know I’m doing good. But, there was something else.......if I had chosen to write about this particular scripture, I would have taken a different meaning from the one I read on my “Daily Bread”.

I was once told by my dear friend, a story of how her pastor used the same scripture three weeks in a row at church. Each week the minister started his sermon with the same scripture, but each week there was a different message or meaning. That is how awesome our God is. So many people call the Bible a “book of stories”. That, to me, does not ring true. A story has a plot and if you miss it then really the book means little to you. God uses the Bible to speak to everyone on all occasions. Sure the new testament plot might be that Jesus gave his life so that we could go to heaven. But the Bible contains so much more. There are so many life lessons to be learned inside the Bible’s pages. To say that the Bible is just a “book of stories” is to say that the US Constitution is just a piece of paper. NO! The Constitution is a living, breathing, word of the people. Well, the Bible is the living, breathing word of God! God uses it to speak to each of us differently as we need to hear it in our lives. For this I am thankful. As the only species on the planet that can read his word, it is proof to me that we are truly God’s chosen creation.

Spreading The Word

Acts 9:1 says: “Meanwhile Soul was still breathing out murderous threats against the Lord’s disciples.”. After reading that verse, if you would have told me that this same man would go on to write 13 of the 27 books of the New Testament I would have told you that was just crazy! But, sure enough, God singled out Soul (also known as Paul) to be one of the primary authors of the New Testament. I find it completely amazing that Paul despised Christians at one time only to become a leading minister in the good news of Jesus Christ.

How God used Paul reminds me of how the English used double agent spies in World War Two. The English spy network was effective because they were using German spies against the Germans. When I originally began to move form Satan’s side to God’s side, I found it difficult to pray and understand the Bible. Over time God healed me and trained me in his word......much like the English had to do with the Germans. Now, I feel that I am a ranking solider in God’s army and I am proud of my new allegiance.

Sometimes; however, I don’t feel like I’m one of God’s common soldiers. In fact, I feel like I belong to God’s ‘special forces’ of Jesus Christ. Just as Paul used to persecute early Christians, I use to live in the darkness of sin to Satan’s delight. I believe, it was Paul’s history that made him so effective in spreading God’s word. Because of Paul’s previous hate, he knew exactly what doubts he had to confront in unbelievers. I consider myself like Paul on that note. Because of my previous allegiance to Satan, I have a unique understanding of where the weakness lies in Satan’s armor. I know the temporary satisfaction brought with binge drinking, drugs, and unprotected sex. But I also understand the turmoil and pain that these activities carry with them. For this reason, I feel I am well suited to carry the message of Jesus Christ to people who would otherwise not normally hear his word.

Satan is cunning and powerful, but we must remember that God is the Alpha and the Omega. When God calls on an individual to serve him, there is no denying him. God has provided each of us with special talents, skills, and histories to help us perform his work. If God’s message was only heard in churches or spread only by your stereotypical church goer, how many people would Jesus’ message not reach. I guess my point is this: It doesn’t matter if your tattoo covered or clean cut, we all have a responsibility to carry the good news of Jesus Christ to whomever we can........

Too Busy, Too Lazy, or Too Tired?

I am afraid to say that I have been unable to write or post anything on this blog for sometime now. Recently, I have just felt that I did not have a topic to write about.... which is really not the case. I have just been too busy, or too lazy, or too tired, and the list goes on. Excuses are what it amounts too. I guess the truth is that I have not taken the time to write. It is not that my spiritual walk with Christ has not been growing. It is not that I have not seen God’s presence in my life. It is just that I have not taken the time myself.

As you should know by now, I pray. I pray for a lot of different things. In Ephesians 6:18, we are told to pray on all occasions. That’s good, because when I pray it is usually pretty important stuff.... to me.......and then it hit me....

Lately, I have been too lazy to devote more of my time towards God. Would I want the same treatment in return from God? What if our God was a lazy, forgetful, and tired God? What would my life be like? What would the world be like? Imagine a world without any miracles. Or a world without values of what is good verses what is evil. All because God was too lazy to write the Ten Commandments. Stop.....think about that for a whole 60 seconds.

Thankfully, that is not the way it is. When I pray, I never get a busy signal. Even when I’m too lazy to pray, God never stops working. But! That does not mean that it is okay for me to let these things slide.....including this blog.

I, We, You, ask so much of the Lord and really he ask for so little in return. The least I can do is put forth the effort to take care of some of the things He needs done by me.......

Forgive and Forget

For me, forgiving and forgetting are perhaps the two most difficult acts for me to accomplish. There are so many aspects involved; Confessing to God and asking forgiveness, forgiving others of their trespasses, forgiving ourselves, and finally moving on......and forgetting. Because of the life I lived, run by drugs and alcohol, forgiving and forgetting are one of the more difficult parts of my journey. I am constantly finding my thoughts drifting back to times past.....remembering my sins and my trespasses and those that trespassed against me. I still find myself confronted by new sins and new trespasses.

MY Life MY Sin
Today, I deal much better with forgiving and forgetting my sins. I pray and ask for forgiveness every night. The sins I commit through out the day, I can honestly say I try to avoid. For example: Advertisers love to use ‘sex’ to sell their products. I do my very best not to have a lustful heart. No matter how my individual battles with sin turn out, I can honestly say that I feel God’s presence in my life. God knows I am trying and that alone makes my journey an easier one.

My Life, Their Sin
Just thinking about this is enough to draw my face tight and clench my teeth together. This, for me, has by far been the most difficult part......especially when someone else’s trespass or sin has affected me in a negative way. I’ve been directly lied to, found my past girlfriend in bed with other men, been robbed, been beaten, and been falsely accused. I’ve even been reported to the police. Many of these trespass were by people whom I thought to be my friends. With all this, it is amazing I have people in my life I still call friend. On the other hand, I have been on the opposite side of all those situations (except reporting someone to the police). I have been the lover begging for forgiveness and I certainly have lied over and over again to my friends and family.

How I Handle It
I don’t dwell on the past, I don’t gossip about it, and I don’t throw it back in the person’s face. Following those three ‘don’t's' and you are on your way to achieving your goal of forgiving and forgetting. EPH 4:32 says.....Forgive each other....and when I think about it now as a Christian.....I conclude that I have NO right to withhold forgiveness from anyone. Men, like myself, beat and hung the Son of Men, Jesus, on a cross to die. Still, God forgave us. Jesus, after that ugly calcification, still forgave us. This is a perfect example of not only, “do as I say” but “do as I do”.
Furthermore, Jesus provided us with a bridge. A bridge which allows us to come back to God and repent our sins. Isa 1:18 says....“He will make us white as wool”. God chooses to forgive us of our sines and he chooses to no longer remember our stained past. I choose to do the same. In closing, I most proclaim to all those it concerns that.......In Jesus’ name, I forgive you......In Jesus’ name, I choose to no longer remember. Your debt with me is settled my friends, now please go make your peace with God.