Did God Give Jonah Another Chance?

Wow, the last time I wrote I was feeling uncertain, feeling like Jonah, just wanting to obey…and I left it at that.

The job situation has worked out.  Despite my uncomfortableness, I’m going to work everyday and dealing daily with situations that only in the world of logistics would bring me.  God has never left my side, even though it sometimes felt lonely and so overwhelming, I am still here, thanking God that He is a merciful Lord and Father.

At the end of the book of Jonah, we see him so angry, “It IS right for me to be angry, even to death!”  He screamed to God.  I can’t imagine Jonah believed himself to be in the right when he answers the Almighty so rashly and foolishly, but he did it just the same.  Why in the world did God not zap Jonah into oblivion?  After all Jonah had been through, it appears he still does not understand God’s mercy.  God would have been just to destroy Jonah on the spot, but he doesn’t.

I’m so glad God doesn’t decide to do away with us whenever we have our little tantrums because we do not understand His plan.  I found myself several times over the past 6 months absolutely defying the Lord because I was so stressed out in my new position.  I found myself screaming in the dark, crying, having fits behind closed doors, sometimes thinking I was going out of my mind and wanting nothing more than just to get out.  A couple of times my wife believed I was on the verge of having  a nervous breakdown.  I did realize I needed to go to the doctor and get some help.   Besides that, I was acting crazy in the face of the Lord who had called me to a different ministry in life.  Now, I’m so glad he has different plans for me and my family.  I still get stressed from time to time, but God is there, He always was and is. 

I’d like to think that maybe Jonah was pretty stressed out the day he answered God so angrily, maybe, at the time, he really did want to die.  I think that maybe God understood this, and though He would’ve been just to destroy Jonah then and there, he was merciful to him and allowed him to continue in His work.  How do I know this?  Well, who else would’ve written the book of Jonah?

Banjara For Christ 2007-2008 (Day 8)

Our teaching sessions ended this evening.  I almost hated for them too, the lessons I mean.  I’ve had so much fun teaching the Pastors of Banjara.  They are so attentive to what I have to say.  To what we ALL have had to say.

Steve has taught all his lessons on church planting, and they are not what a person might expect.  I know I was surprized at what he is teaching; though I don’t know why, all he taught we’ve discussed before.  I guess I had just forgotten what I once had learned.  Steve taught starting churches “the Master’s Way.”  Through a “person of peace” and then after that, theach them to observe those things that I was teaching about, disciplines through the wheel. 

“The Master’s Way” of discipleship is what we called my portion of lessons.  These were ALL methods in which Jesus showed his disciples during his time with them on earth.  Taking in the Word, praying, fellowship, and witnessing centered around the person of Jesus Christ.  All of these of course come after we surrender our lives to Him.  I went through a wheel illustration made up by Dawson Trotman, teaching the four very basic disciplines that every follower of Christ should have.

Richard’s been teaching personal evangelism, “witnessing the Master’s Way.”  He showed us how to use the Ten Commandments as a school master to show us our sin and how to use tracts as a witnessing tool.  He was nervous, but he did just great…I was nervous too.  We found that most of our lessons came across really well any time we involved the men in our exercises in a role playing fashion.  They played in skits, they drew pictures, they laughed and at one point I cried.  Once I had 5 of them laying in the floor piled on top of eachother to tell a parable Jesus taught about prayer.  These times were so precious and the Lord provided so much to say.  I can’t express my joy at these new and old friends we have made.  They are so open and honest and lively.  I love their culture.

Tonight was a night for singing and dancing.  Steve got some of it on video.  It was a lot of fun.

We just finished dinner with a Catholic priest who owns the hostel we’ve been staying in.  It was a fine meal but our normal Indian friends were not around.  Tomorrow we get to sleep in, which is a blessing, and then we have one last service to say farewell and then we are heading home.  I’m ready.

Complacent: To be or not to be

Today was a strange day…

I slept in.  I hate sleeping in, but I find myself, more often than not, hitting the snooze button a lot more than what’s necessary and developed a nasty habit of just going back to sleep.  Because of this, I missed my devotion time, my prayer time, and most of all, just my alone time with God.  However, I found the day to be absolutely beautiful and having very little difficulty getting ready for work as I just accepted that my normal “alone time” just wasn’t going to happen because I woke up late.  When I got out the door, with a hot cup of coffee in hand, I was 10 minutes earlier than I normally am.  I had plenty of time to get to work without having to drive like a maniac.

The rest of the day went…GREAT!  Odd as it sounds.  I know, I know…a lot of folks in this mode of thinking would say that they missed their quiet time and so the rest of the day was “off.”  Well, I’m not going to say that I didn’t have that initial conviction…it was there.  But all in all, it was a good day.

I guess because I was in the mode of looking for Christ, opportunities came up today I may not have seen before.  Ways of pointing to Jesus that wasn’t just coming from a “good ole boy” but real issues that Christ looked at and gave stern warnings for.  Things like “beware the leaven of the Pharisees” (Matthew 16).  I was also able to share the verse that made me realize what it meant to actually know Christ and make him Lord of my life (Matthew 7:21-23).  I also was able to share how God is a God of second chances, and third, and fourth and even fifth chances, not that we should tempt Him, but that we should remember He is gracious, no matter how stupid or sinful we are.  Aren’t our loved ones blessed, aren’t we blessed, that when we would normally give up on a person, God says, ” here’s another chance, oh yes, and if they screw this one up, I’ll give them another.”  Praise God for His mercy.

I reflected on how easy it was, to wake up and just go, and have a great day, and the appeal that most Christians have just to run out the door as quick as we have what we “need.”  Not often do we think that the real NEED went sufficiently ignored, in fact, probably not even thought of.  Isn’t it easy to think the next day will be just as good, and the next, and the next?  Soon we are just running out the door everyday, asking the Lord to bless the day (and fooling ourselves that this is enough).  Maybe, this is the danger of complacency.  It sneaks up on you, one day you are serving the Lord, praying for people, having quiet time, genuinely caring for folks, and the next, it’s okay to excuse one ignored area of your life for another…the next…your soul is struggling to catch up with you as you’re running out the door. 

Be diligent church, be diligent to run the race as Paul encouraged us too (1 Corinthians 9:24).  Let us stop being complacent.

The Wheel – The Second Spoke “Prayer”

Very recently I’ve been what I would have to say “cautiously optimistic” about my prayer life. 

I have tried to incorporate the teachings of Dawson Trotman’s illustration into my own life as I train in a life of discipleship in Christ Jesus.  Prayer has never been a strong point in my life, despite my own efforts and desire.  Personally I’m not sure that I really understood the need for it.  I always believed it to be a request for resources, rather than a need for communication between me and the Lord.  Many times I felt unworthy…after all, EVERY SINGLE TIME I knelt in prayer I was asking for something.  So what’s the point? 

Even further study has revealed there is so much more that happens through prayer than a request for resouces.  More than I have ever realized.  I’m viewing prayer now as “a battlefield.”  I’m sure more insight will come later on, but my reasons for seeing it this way are two fold (for now).  First, I can’t be everywhere at the same time.  Physically my body MUST be in one space at any given time and I can only do so much for any other person.  But God is everywhere, sees everyone, and can do anything.  If I pray for someone’s health in India – God can meet the need.  If I pray for the Holy Spirit to move in Henryetta, OK – God can meet the need – even if I can’t.  Secondly, God is depended upon wholly in prayer.  Think about it – if he’s not depended upon – why bother?

The whole reason for prayer is to ask God to move in some way shape or form.  The very act of praying means that I am acknowledging there is a God out there and He is capable of anything asked (as long as I am not asking amiss).  I have faith God can do what He says in His Word (remember the first spoke), so I speak to Him.  Not asking resources for MY life, but in most cases lately, asking resources for OTHERS!  

As long as I am praying His Word, I know I am praying His will.  In praying his will I can be praying expectantly.  Yes – this certainly is a new attitude and fire I have found thanks to the grace of God, and I plan on it changing my life.  I have more thoughts on praying God’s Word from the Bible that I’ll write later on.  God bless everyone.

The Wheel – The First Spoke “The Word”

Blessed is the man that walks not in the council of the ungodly,  nor stands in the path of sinners, nor sits in the seat of the scornful; But his delight is in the law of the LORD, and in His law he meditates both day and night.  He shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that brings forth its fruit in its season, whose leaf also shall not wither; and whatever he does shall prosper.  (Psalm 1:1-3)

It’s the only absolute, positive sure way we can know God’s will.  What disciple can have Christ as the hub of their life and not have a daily, conscious effort in studying God’s word?  The Bible, The Word, Jesus Christ himself (John1:1-5) is available to us in America on a daily basis and as a disciple (a real live, submissive learner of Christ) we must STOP and read His Word.  Soak it up, sop it up, read it up, breathe it, eat it, however you want to call it, just READ IT. 

In our example of the wheel (one of these days I’ll have a picture of it on here) “The Word” is the uppermost spoke.  Coming down from the top of the Wheel to the hub of the Wheel.  Signifying “The Word” (notice I didn’t say “The Voice?”) comes down to the center of our lives from an upward direction.  From Heaven – to us.  

Now, I for one, know how things go.  We think we know God’s opinion of something.  We think we know how God will feel.  We just assume because “we grew up in church” or “that’s the way I’ve always believed” that our beliefs are the gospel truth.  SO WE DON’T EVEN BOTHER PICKING UP A BIBLE?!  The other day a friend asked me “but don’t you believe there’s good in all people?”  No I don’t.  It’s unbiblical –  and that’s a Star Wars, Luke Skywalker philosophy we somehow picked up when we started swinging around our imaginary lightsabers to take the arm off some alien (some “good” huh?).  Only God is good, the rest of us have just been given grace to follow Him or had someone in our life that led us down a path to Him or His Law or His Ways.  The Bible says “ALL our righteousness is like filthy rags.”  (Isaiah 64:6).  It’s not that I’m a grouch and against all things not specifically laid out in the Bible, but where do we draw the line between our knowledge and God’s?  Why are we even wondering when it’s right there for us to pick up and look for ourselves?  Even as Christians we’re guilty of not consulting God first and assuming we know His heart.   (Isaiah 55:8) 

As disciples of Jesus Christ, hiding the Word in our hearts, reading it and studying it should be one of the first commitments we should make to our Lord.  To not do so, would make one wonder if Jesus is your hub, the center of your wheel, your life.  Pray that the Lord give a desire in your heart for more of His word.  It will be one of the best prayers you ever prayed.