“Open thou mine eyes, that I may behold wondrous things out of thy law.” - Psalm 119:18.
Date: Wednesday, September 24, 2014
Today's Chapters: The Book of Jonah
Message Title: The Lord Is Not Slack
Hello My Friend,
The book of Jonah is the thirty-second book of the Old Testament/Bible and contains four chapters. The author of the book is Jonah and it was written to the nation of Nineveh. The timeline for these events took place approximately between 825C and 790BC. The purpose of the book was to get Nineveh to acknowledge God, repent, and turn to Him. It was also to document to the Jews that salvation was not for them only, but for all who repent and turn to Him. What we are to learn from the book is that salvation is not restricted by race, religion, culture, or any other barriers, it is for all who shall call upon the name of the Lord. “And should not I spare Nineveh, that great city, wherein are more than sixscore thousand persons that cannot discern between their right hand and their left hand; and also much cattle?” - Jonah 4:11.
Jonah was a Jew, native of Galilee, God commanded him to go the Nineveh, a Gentile nation, to warn them of the destruction that would occur, just like He did with Israel, if they did not repent and turn to Him they would be destroyed. Jonah believed Ninevehdid not deserve to be warned of the judgment, so, he fled on a ship to try to escape the presence of God. “Now the word of the LORD came unto Jonah the son of Amittai, saying, Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and cry against it; for their wickedness is come up before me. 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. But the LORD sent out a great wind into the sea, and there was a mighty tempest in the sea, so that the ship was like to be broken.” - Jonah 1:1-4.
We always talk about how God's is always with us, and how He turns His back to us if we sin, but we rarely talk about God's presence when He calls us to do something. Let me tell you, when God calls us to do something He means business, and He will do whatever it takes, however long it takes, to get us do it. “And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose. For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren. Moreover whom he did predestinate, them he also called: and whom he called, them he also justified: and whom he justified, them he also glorified.” - Romans 8:28-30.
One thing about our trying to escape God, He sends us to a place where we will actually be useful. The men on that ship got saved also that night, before they threw him off the ship and he ended getting swallowed by a big fish. “Then Jonah prayed unto the LORD his God out of the fish's belly, And said, I cried by reason of mine affliction unto the LORD, and he heard me; out of the belly of hell cried I, and thou heardest my voice. For thou hadst cast me into the deep, in the midst of the seas; and the floods compassed me about: all thy billows and thy waves passed over me. Then I said, I am cast out of thy sight; yet I will look again toward thy holy temple. But I will sacrifice unto thee with the voice of thanksgiving; I will pay that that I have vowed. Salvation is of the LORD. And the LORD spake unto the fish, and it vomited out Jonah upon the dry land.” - Jonah 2:1-4,9,10.
An amazing illustration is played out in Jonah being in the belly of a whale for three days and three nights, it portrays the image of Christ, in which He said Himself that Jonah was a sign of His death, burial, and resurrection. “An evil and adulterous generation seeketh after a sign; and there shall no sign be given to it, but the sign of the prophet Jonas: For as Jonas was three days and three nights in the whale's belly; so shall the Son of man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth. The men of Nineveh shall rise in judgment with this generation, and shall condemn it: because they repented at the preaching of Jonas; and, behold, a greater than Jonas is here.” - Matthew 12:39-41.
After three days and nights of soul searching, Jonah sought forgiveness from God and did what he was told to do. He became the greatest evangelist of his day, and saw the entire city of Nineveh get saved. “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. For word came unto the king of Nineveh, and he arose from his throne, and he laid his robe from him, and covered him with sackcloth, and sat in ashes. Who can tell if God will turn and repent, and turn away from his fierce anger, that we perish not? 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 3:3-6,9,10.
Since people are precious to God, He gives everyone the opportunity to come to be saved, God does not want to see any person die and end up in hell, that is why Jesus has not returned yet. We have no idea when He is coming, but He is coming, and we all need to do what He calls us to do and tell all we can about how they can be saved. “The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance. But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up. Ye therefore, beloved, seeing ye know these things before, beware lest ye also, being led away with the error of the wicked, fall from your own stedfastness. But grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. To him be glory both now and for ever. Amen.” - 2 Peter 3:9,10,17,18.
Today's Prayer: God, You have blessed us with so much, You have given life to all who believe in and receive Your Son. We are saved only by trusting in His death, burial, and resurrection, and He alone not only saves us from hell, but brings us out of every mess that we have gotten ourselves into over the years without Him if we come to You. How merciful You are, how wonderful You are, to save a sinner like me. Thank You, Jesus, and thank You God for giving me the opportunity to repent and enjoy a new found, abundant, never boring, life with You in it. I love You Lord, and pray in Jesus' name. Amen.
God Bless You, I am praying for you,
Christina
Are You 100% Sure That You Are Going To Heaven? Visit: God's Price
Like Us On Facebook: I'm Following Jesus
©2014 I'm Following Jesus
Today's Chapters: The Book of Jonah
Message Title: The Lord Is Not Slack
Hello My Friend,
The book of Jonah is the thirty-second book of the Old Testament/Bible and contains four chapters. The author of the book is Jonah and it was written to the nation of Nineveh. The timeline for these events took place approximately between 825C and 790BC. The purpose of the book was to get Nineveh to acknowledge God, repent, and turn to Him. It was also to document to the Jews that salvation was not for them only, but for all who repent and turn to Him. What we are to learn from the book is that salvation is not restricted by race, religion, culture, or any other barriers, it is for all who shall call upon the name of the Lord. “And should not I spare Nineveh, that great city, wherein are more than sixscore thousand persons that cannot discern between their right hand and their left hand; and also much cattle?” - Jonah 4:11.
Jonah was a Jew, native of Galilee, God commanded him to go the Nineveh, a Gentile nation, to warn them of the destruction that would occur, just like He did with Israel, if they did not repent and turn to Him they would be destroyed. Jonah believed Ninevehdid not deserve to be warned of the judgment, so, he fled on a ship to try to escape the presence of God. “Now the word of the LORD came unto Jonah the son of Amittai, saying, Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and cry against it; for their wickedness is come up before me. 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. But the LORD sent out a great wind into the sea, and there was a mighty tempest in the sea, so that the ship was like to be broken.” - Jonah 1:1-4.
We always talk about how God's is always with us, and how He turns His back to us if we sin, but we rarely talk about God's presence when He calls us to do something. Let me tell you, when God calls us to do something He means business, and He will do whatever it takes, however long it takes, to get us do it. “And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose. For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren. Moreover whom he did predestinate, them he also called: and whom he called, them he also justified: and whom he justified, them he also glorified.” - Romans 8:28-30.
One thing about our trying to escape God, He sends us to a place where we will actually be useful. The men on that ship got saved also that night, before they threw him off the ship and he ended getting swallowed by a big fish. “Then Jonah prayed unto the LORD his God out of the fish's belly, And said, I cried by reason of mine affliction unto the LORD, and he heard me; out of the belly of hell cried I, and thou heardest my voice. For thou hadst cast me into the deep, in the midst of the seas; and the floods compassed me about: all thy billows and thy waves passed over me. Then I said, I am cast out of thy sight; yet I will look again toward thy holy temple. But I will sacrifice unto thee with the voice of thanksgiving; I will pay that that I have vowed. Salvation is of the LORD. And the LORD spake unto the fish, and it vomited out Jonah upon the dry land.” - Jonah 2:1-4,9,10.
An amazing illustration is played out in Jonah being in the belly of a whale for three days and three nights, it portrays the image of Christ, in which He said Himself that Jonah was a sign of His death, burial, and resurrection. “An evil and adulterous generation seeketh after a sign; and there shall no sign be given to it, but the sign of the prophet Jonas: For as Jonas was three days and three nights in the whale's belly; so shall the Son of man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth. The men of Nineveh shall rise in judgment with this generation, and shall condemn it: because they repented at the preaching of Jonas; and, behold, a greater than Jonas is here.” - Matthew 12:39-41.
After three days and nights of soul searching, Jonah sought forgiveness from God and did what he was told to do. He became the greatest evangelist of his day, and saw the entire city of Nineveh get saved. “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. For word came unto the king of Nineveh, and he arose from his throne, and he laid his robe from him, and covered him with sackcloth, and sat in ashes. Who can tell if God will turn and repent, and turn away from his fierce anger, that we perish not? 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 3:3-6,9,10.
Since people are precious to God, He gives everyone the opportunity to come to be saved, God does not want to see any person die and end up in hell, that is why Jesus has not returned yet. We have no idea when He is coming, but He is coming, and we all need to do what He calls us to do and tell all we can about how they can be saved. “The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance. But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up. Ye therefore, beloved, seeing ye know these things before, beware lest ye also, being led away with the error of the wicked, fall from your own stedfastness. But grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. To him be glory both now and for ever. Amen.” - 2 Peter 3:9,10,17,18.
Today's Prayer: God, You have blessed us with so much, You have given life to all who believe in and receive Your Son. We are saved only by trusting in His death, burial, and resurrection, and He alone not only saves us from hell, but brings us out of every mess that we have gotten ourselves into over the years without Him if we come to You. How merciful You are, how wonderful You are, to save a sinner like me. Thank You, Jesus, and thank You God for giving me the opportunity to repent and enjoy a new found, abundant, never boring, life with You in it. I love You Lord, and pray in Jesus' name. Amen.
God Bless You, I am praying for you,
Christina
Are You 100% Sure That You Are Going To Heaven? Visit: God's Price
Like Us On Facebook: I'm Following Jesus
©2014 I'm Following Jesus
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