A Life Worthy

Then they took Jonah and threw him overboard, and the raging sea grew calm…But the Lord provided a great fish to swallow Jonah, and Jonah was inside the fish three days and three nights  (Jonah 1:15-17).

Was it real?  Is Scripture literal in this case?

Well, the theotechnical answer would be…yep.

In Matthew 12, Jesus said, “For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of a huge fish, so the Son of Man will be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.”

Yeah, so, apparently Jesus believed it.

That’ll work for me.

What amazes me—apart from, you know, being in a fish for three days and living to tell the tale (tail?)—is that God provided rescue in the midst of discipline.  I mean, God could have let Jonah drown—he deserved it—and then raised up someone else to preach to the Ninevites.  But God’s message of judgment, repentance, and mercy was played out in Jonah’s life before he ever even got to Nineveh.

Also worth noting is that Jonah did not experience that provision—that grace—until he accepted responsibility for his sin and stepped out in faith and obedience.  Perhaps the fish was there the entire time, but Jonah didn’t see it until he hit the water.

Last thought: did you notice that Jonah did not throw himself into the sea?  He knew what needed to be done, and he was willing, but it seems that the idea of leaping into the raging storm was a little much for him.  Spirit willing, flesh weak—that sort of thing.  I’m kinda glad about that.

It makes me think that there may be hope for us yet.

Happy Monday, Beloved.

They asked him, “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?”

He answered, “I am a Hebrew, and I worship the Lord, the God of Heaven, who made the sea and the land.” (Jonah 8-9)

He ran from God.

But…

He stood for God.

In the midst of the calamity that was his fault, surrounded by angry, frightened accusers pointing the finger at him, confronted by the disastrous results of his own disobedience, Jonah did not deny who he was or to whom he belonged.

Would we do as well, Beloved?

I hope so.

Happy Thursday.

Then the Lord sent a great wind on the sea, and such a violent storm arose that the ship threatened to break up.  All the sailors were afraid… (Jonah 1:4-5).

The Law of Unintended Consequences.

I’m sure that Jonah wasn’t trying to put a bunch of pagan sailors in jeopardy.

I’m sure he wasn’t thinking about them at all.

He was just…running.

But when you run from God, when you deliberately put yourself outside of His will, stuff’s gonna happen.  You put yourself and others in situations that God never intended for you.  Sin is like a nuclear blast, with fallout that you can neither predict nor control.

Bottom line—your sin is not just your own.  People can get hurt because of your disobedience.

Time for a heart check, Beloved.  Are there areas you need to fix, places you need to change your attitude and get obedient?

Because you know, there’s only one way to calm the storm.

Whatever happens, conduct yourself in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ. (Philippians 1:27)

What will happen to you today?

Oh, you can probably guess a good portion of it, but you don’t really know, do you?  Laughter, tears, love, anger, pain, joy, indigestion—who knows what the next hours hold?

Better question—How will you conduct yourself today?

Will your laughter be at others…or with them?

Will your tears be for yourself, or for the broken?

Will your love be selfish or selfless?

Will your anger be trivial or righteous?

And what of your pain?

And your joy?

Perhaps we need not elaborate on the indigestion.

Live worthy today, Beloved.

I eagerly expect and hope that I will in no way be ashamed, but will have sufficient courage so that now as always Christ will be exalted in my body, whether by life or by death.  (Philippians 1:20)

The word that strikes me in this verse is courage.  The walk of faith is not for the faint of heart.  If I want my life to exalt Christ, it will take courage.

And I have so stinking little.

A while back, I encountered a man who was perhaps not entirely stable.  He was sitting at a table in a coffee shop, sort of streaming consciousness to whomever might be listening.  Some of what he was saying was a denial of the deity of Christ.

I knew I should talk to him, but for the longest time I just sat and tried to ignore him.

While I typed a devotion on preaching Christ.

Why?  Hard to articulate, but it comes down to fear.

Eventually, I went over and engaged him in gentle debate—if I hadn’t, I doubt that I would be sharing this with you.  I didn’t change his mind, but I stood.

I take minor victories where I can get them.

Pray for me, and I will pray for you, that we will have the courage to live a life that glorifies God.

Be not ashamed, Beloved.