Molding Jonah Part 1

Two Sunday's ago we had a fill-in pastor preaching at my church, it was the first Sunday in three months that I've sat in on a morning service as I have been teaching Children's Church.  It felt so good to be back:)

The message was on Jonah- I may have to do this post in two parts- but I'll try and make it in one:)

Jonah 1:1

The first verse in the book of Jonah says that God commands Jonah to go to Nineveh and preach against it and expose their wicked ways.  Now in verse 3 the first word that starts this sentence is: "But" Now if any sentence starts with the word but, be forewarned!! Trouble is looming!

"But Jonah ran away from the Lord and headed for Tarshish.  He went down to Joppa, where he found a ship bound for that port, After paying the fare, he went aboard and sailed for Tarshish to flee from the Lord."

Now what floors me in this passage is that Jonah really believed he could flee from the Lord!!! Did he truly believe that the Lord wouldn't be in Tarshish as well???

Yet how often do we flee from the Lord when an unwelcome task comes our way, or a ministry opportunity that could open doors- yet we say "I'm too busy to commit to one more thing!"  Whose time are you working on?

Now you must also understand that Jonah is headed to Tarshish- and if you looked at a map you would see that Nineveh and Tarshish are in the complete opposite direction!!

So once Jonah boards the boat he goes down into the hold and falls asleep.  While he is 'sleeping' a great storm begins to rage- greater than any storm anyone had ever seen.

Now it says that Jonah was asleep- let me ask you- if you were in a boat and it was in a violent storm- would you be asleep?  I imagine that Jonah was in a fitful sleep while thinking "I know I'm the reason for this- but I'm not going to listen! It's not me! It's not me! It's not me!!"

Meanwhile on deck all the ship hands are calling out to their gods to save them, they are throwing cargo over the side in an effort to lighten the load.  But the storm is worsening and their boat is threatening to come apart.

So the Captain runs downstairs and finds Jonah- crying out in despair he yells "How can you sleep? Get up  and call on your God!  Maybe he will take notice of us, and we will not perish."

Now it's interesting, the pagans are now ready to cry out to any god- they don't care who.  But Jonah remains silent in calling out to his God.  He went up on deck- but never cried out to the Lord.


Jonah is the #1 on his agenda- he didn't care if anyone else died, whether it was the pagans or the Ninevites.

Now at this time there was nothing else the sailors could do to keep their boat afloat, so they decided to cast lots and find out who was responsible for their misfortune- and the lot fell to Jonah.

Can you picture yourself in Jonah's shoes, the men are terrified, they decide that the only way to stop this storm is to deal with the one who caused it.  So they quickly cast lots...and as this is going on can't you see the wheels in Jonah's head turning saying "It's not me!" his conscience replying "Yes it is!"  Then the lot is cast and the fingers all point at him.

The men immediately turn to him and drill him with questions,
 
"Tell us, who is responsible for making all this trouble for us? What do you do? Where do you come from? What is your country? From what people are you?"
And he answered:
"I am a Hebrew and I fear the Lord, the God of Heaven, who made the sea and the dry land."

Jonah lied in this small speech of his, he said "I fear the Lord".  Well if he truly feared Him he certainly wouldn't be out on that little boat right now waiting to drown now would he??  And it's interesting that he mentioned God making the sea and dry land- maybe he was thinking of dry land and how wonderful it would feel right at that moment.:)


Now once he made his statement of being a prophet of the Lord the men were terrified, they asked him,  

"What have you done?" 

Then it says in verse 10  
"(They knew he was running away from the Lord, because he had already told them so.)"

Now it doesn't say when Jonah told them he was running away from God, but it is interesting that they knew.

"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?" and he replied "Pick me up and throw me into the sea, and it will become calm.  I know that it is my fault that this great storm has come upon you."

How sacrificial! How noble of Jonah to lay down his life!!! NOT!  In order for the seas to stop churning and the fears of everyone to be waylaid, all Jonah had to do was walk away from the men, cry out to God for forgiveness and tell God that he was wrong to try and run and that he will humble himself and go to Nineveh

But no, Jonah is still trying to get out of this, "Throw me to the waves! I will not bend my pride and go warn those sinful Ninevites!!"

Then in verse 13 it says: "Instead, the men did their best to row back to land.  But they could not, for the sea grew even wilder than before."

These pagans had more compassion for Jonah than Jonah did for them or for the Ninevites!! 
They didn't want to kill him, they didn't want to have the guilt of his death... so they tried to save him.  But God had a point to prove, and He was going to make it.

"Then they cried to the Lord, "O Lord, please do not let us die for taking this man's life.  Do not hold us accountable for killing an innocent man, for you, O Lord, have done as you pleased."

These pagans were more concerned with pleasing God than Jonah was!!!! It is sad that sometimes God has to use an unbeliever to show us what we should be behaving like!! What a rebuke!!!

"Then they took Jonah and threw him overboard, and the raging sea grew calm.  At this the men greatly feared the Lord, and they offered a sacrifice to the Lord and made vows to him."

Through Jonah's disobedience God was able to teach these pagans about Himself.  It is hard to take that sometimes through our pain and discomfort we are simply being used as a tool to teach someone else.  As the waves grew calm the minute the pagans threw Jonah overboard these men began to make vows to serve the Lord- something the entire nation of Israel was refusing to do at the time!!!

"But the Lord provided a great fish to swallow Jonah, and Jonah was inside the fish for three days and three nights."  Blech!!!!!!!:P

I will post part 2 soon!
God Bless!

Giveaway!

The Duggar Family Blog is having a giveaway of their newest book entitled:  

A Love That Multiplies

You can check out the blog here:http://www.duggarsblog.blogspot.com/

 

Shearing Day at the Farm

Well, shearing is finally done for another year!!!  My body always forgets how much pain goes into this project- but the end result is always satisfying:)

During the shearing process the shearer takes off all the old fiber to let the new fiber grow in, just like in our lives when God wants to bring us through something new we must "Put off the old man". 

However the fiber is nice and warm during the winter months and very much appreciated, it is good for a season and then new growth must be allowed to come forth.  Otherwise the alpacas fiber will mat and they might have heatstroke during the summer months.

God gives us what we need for a season in our lives, and although at the time we greatly appreciate it we must be flexible and ready to let go of it when Christ wants us to bring forth a different kind of fruit.

This was Faith's first time being sheared, and although she threw a hissyfit during the process she is much better off and enjoying this sun!!:) I just had to share some pics of her:)

Day before Shearing

Almost done! (And no, the ropes and position do not harm the alpacas:)

Sweet Freedom!

Too Cute!! (Yes, I know I'm biased:)

8 months 19 days old

I loved the blue sky!! We haven't seen it in so long with the rain we've had!!

All tuckered out- A great day in the sun!

 Have a blessed day everyone!
God Bless!

God is Enough

Revelation 19:11 "I saw heaven standing open and there before me was a white horse, whose rider is called Faithful and True.  With Justice he judges and makes war."

A rider on a white horse, a hero named Faithful and True.  Our God is a jealous God, He loves us with an intensity that surpasses all others.

When you are in a relationship with someone you are willing to sacrifice your time, rearrange your schedule, and be available as much as you possibly can so you can spend time with your special someone.

The same principle should apply to God. Do you want to fall in love with Him?   Feel devoted and absolutely lost in the embrace of His love and grace?  Well, the only way to accomplish this is to spend time with Him, go on picnics, for walks, take Him with you to your special place and just set aside time to talk with Him.  He desires to cultivate a relationship with you, but how can He if you only set aside a small portion of your day to do devotions and then commit the rest of your day to other pursuits?

While you are spending time with Him, you are getting to know Him.  Let Him know who you are, He already knows, but He loves hearing your voice and words as you pour out your heart to Him.

When your significant other and you are talking; you are both eager to learn whatever you can about the other person.  What are their interests, views, standards, joys,and sorrows?  You enjoy learning about their day and are excited to be a part of their life.

Our Savior gets just as excited, if not more, when we come to Him bursting with news and excitement.  Then we settle down beside Him and eagerly ask Him to teach us of His ways.  He is delighted when we desire to know His ways and understand them!  He wants to know everything!  He is genuinely interested in your life and is craving to share with you what His desires are.

When a young woman is in a relationship she is constantly checking her phone, e-mail, or the post office.  Just to see if he has tried to contact her.  She desires to hear from her special someone and is anxious to hear what he has to say.

God has already written numerous love letters to us.  His letters are so valuable and precious!  Read His letters!  Daily!  His promises and love for us are etched in each line, every letter is designed to touch your heart and have you fall further in love with your Savior.

One of my favorite endings in movies and books is when the leading man enters and either rescues or recaptures the heart of his young woman.  Stories like these usually involve a matter of peace in the beginning, and then turmoil during the middle of the story and then it gets worse towards the end, and then finally in the last two chapters\scenes everything rights itself and the couple are reunited.  However, these are just stories.  We have the privilege of knowing a true hero who is actively right now working to win our hearts.

God already slew the dragon, (Satan).  His love for us was so great that He died on a cross, and by doing this He released us from the bondage of sin.  This enormous sacrifice was given completely out of a heart that was so full of love for us, He sacrificed His life.  There is no greater sacrifice than when one lays his life down for a friend.


How could you not fall in love with the Lord who sacrificed everything- His glorious home, His Father, His life!  He gave up everything of His own, yet what have we given Him?

Do you tell Him of your love for Him?  Do you sing His praises and seek to please Him in all things?

When a young woman is in love she is devoted to pleasing the man she loves.  Her life revolves around making him excel in everything he puts his hand to.  Her own desires become small as she seeks to serve him.

Would you not fling your arms around your hero's neck after he had saved you from an evil dragon that was about to devour you?  Would you not try to serve him in in every way you could?  

God does desire our complete submission to Him, but He will not have us work for Him like slaves.  As He sends you out to work for Him, He walks right beside you to help.  Even though everything we are doing is for Him, He is constantly helping and supporting us.  Even though He has already saved us, He never wants us to leave Him and wants our hearts to be full of Him.


So is your deepest desire to bring glory to God?

Now I did not start out this post and give you these truths to sustain you until your future spouse comes along!  Being in a relationship with Christ is more real than anything you can ever experience in life!!  Your relationship with Christ must be stronger than your relationship with anyone else, no matter what situation He has put you in.   He cannot move you forward and He won't move you back if you are not actively seeking Him.

When you are a bride-to-be, you will find it hard not to bring up your Fiance's  name in every conversation.  He will constantly be filling your thoughts!  You will love telling others how blessed you feel to be chosen to be in this relationship with him!

So tell others about Christ!  If someone speaks ill of Him, defend Him!  Tell of His greatness, mercy, but most of all His undying love for all people!  If He is the love of your heart, shouldn't you be speaking about Him with every third word that comes out of your mouth?  Shouldn't His love overwhelm you and cause you to want to tell everyone about Him, how He became your hero before you even knew Him.  How He chose you to be a part of His family before you came into being, how He walks through every day with you and offers advice, comfort, and understanding in every situation.  This relationship is unending!  It doesn't break with time or the end of life, it endures and stretches out for eternity!  The excitement is running through my body as I contemplate His constant care and desire to know my heart and hold me close!

Do you seek this relationship?  Do you want to absorb your time and life in enriching your life through His plans?

First you must: Spend time with Him
Second:  Get to know Him and share with Him your life and He will show you His desires
Third: Read His love letters, daily!
Fourth: Realize His sacrifice and cling to your Hero
Fifth:  Seek Him and make it your goal in life to glorify Him in all things, to serve Him no matter what.
Sixth: Teach others what you have learned!  Open your heart to show others what He is capable of!