It is the first time in a long time that I had a siesta. I slept all the way from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. Wow, five hours. I actually did not want to wake up yet, but I still had to finish some laundry I left earlier this morning, because the sunday Service had started at 9 a.m.
Blessed be your Sundays, everyone. I have decided I will publish fixed themed- articles every Sunday. I figured this could be my own way of sharing God's word, every week.
Verse of The Day: Jonah Chapters 1 to 2
First Part: Chapter 1:1-17
In the first chapter of the book Jonah, the Bible reads:
The story goes simply as how the prophet Jonah, escapes God's order. God instructed Him to go to a big city called Nineveh, and tell the sinful people there God's message and warning. But Jonah did not obey God and he went to Tarshish instead.
While on the trip, God sent a strong typhoon that almost wrecked the ship. All of the travelers, except a sleeping Jonah, were filled with fear that they started throwing their cargoes into the sea. They woke up Jonah and the latter revealed his story, and volunteered to be thrown into the sea. After some hesitation and praying to Jonah's God, they proceeded on doing what Jonah said, and the sea instantly calmed.
Seeing this happen, the people were filled by fear of God, and vowed to serve Him. Meanwhile, Jonas was swallowed by a big fish, and he stayed there for three days and three nights.
Jonah's Mistake
We all know that the Lord is a God of Order. He is a righteous God that delights in his children who are obedient. We can see here, that Jonah, although already a servant of God, still committed an act of disobedience, which is something that God does not like.
It is a weak point for some of us Christians, I think. It is indeed hard to live in order, and according to the will of someone higher than us, especially when we are accustomed to living by doing just the things that we want.
Consequences of Disobedience
Since God hates disobedience, it comes with a punishment. What's to be noted here, is not only did Jonah experience the consequences, but also the other travelers, too, who had nothing to do with his deed.
The amount of the cargoes these people had to give up, or their anxieties and fears alone that they experienced, are enough proofs on how Jonah did not only trouble himself, but those that surround him.
All because of a single cause: Disobedience.
Acceptance
In the verses 9 to 10 of the first chapter, Jonah confessed about what he did wrong, without thinking twice. He acknowledged that he was wrong about something. This is the first step to reconciling with God. Accepting that you have sinned, instead of denying this.
We people, even Christians, sometimes still have this defense mechanism of denying what we did, even we're already caught red-handed. This is, of course, wrong.
Second Part: Chapter 2:1-10
Moving on the Jonah's experiences inside the great fish, the story continues as this:
Sources of the Bible images below. Jonah 2:1-10
Realizations. While inside the belly of the fish, Jonah reminisced the times God has been good to him, and how He helped him no matter what happened. Amidst all of his inequities, God is still there for him.
Confession and Appealing to God. Jonah made a sincere prayer that asks for forgiveness from God, plus his desire to serve Him and fulfill his promise to Him.
God's Response. God felt the sincere heart of Jonah, and He instructed the fish to release Jonah onto the seashore.
We all recognize that even we are devoted Christians that always seek God's will, we still commit acts of disobedience that disappoint God. Sometimes, this act results in some storms coming into our lives. There are instances we blame these hard times on God, but we forget to realize that we have committed sins that we haven't confessed to God yet. Sin separates us from God, and blocks His answers to our prayers.
Conclusion:
Obedience is such a vital quality that we as servants and children of God should always practice. As servants, we ought to obey God's instructions that are for our own good. Leaning on to our own understanding will not do any good, because we are only humans. We still fail to assess the real range of the consequences of our actions.
And as children, nothing is more that delightful to a Father than such obedient children. I am sure every father out there would always be happy if his kids obey him always.
In Jonah's example, the consequences of his disobedience did not only affect him, but all those who are around him. However, in the end, when he decided to obey God, he became his instrument to saving a lot of souls in Nineveh, which we are going to tackle next Sunday.
The book of Jonah has four chapters and I was only able to cover the first two. Next week, I will finish off with the third and the fourth chapter, where we will see the results of Jonah's obedience, and the new realizations God has taught him.
Until next Sunday! Godspeed, brothers and sisters in Christ!
Hello there! I am thankful you read this one. I hope you are blessed with God's message today. I am planning to continue this Sunday series with God's word, to help strengthen my muscles of faith as well. So, it's gonna be a Bible Study every Sunday. :)
It is okay if you don't have the same beliefs as mine. I respect your own beliefs, so I hope we'll still be friends here, okay? (smiles).
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To God be all the glory.
Click pictures for sources. :) Others without embedded source links have their sources indicated above already.
Jonah's story can be likened to the life of many Christians today. They flee from God's presence because they know God is faithful and forgiven.
Disobedience is a great sin and likened to the sin of witchcraft in the Bible. Thank God Jonah decided to obey and come back to God.
This writeup is a call up to us all, to turn back to our maker. Thanks a lot.