Thought for April 15, 2024

•  297: The seven martyrs of Samos are jailed for refusing to sacrifice to pagan gods; they will be crucified in late June
• 1802: William Wordworth sees a "long belt" of daffodils and writes, "I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud"
• 1817: First American school for the deaf opened by Thomas Gallaudet and Laurent Clerc
• 1865: Abraham Lincoln dies
• 1896: First modern Summer Olympics held in Athens
• 1912: Titanic sinks
• 1924: Rand McNally publishes its first road atlas
• 1927: Babe Ruth hits first of 60 home runs
• 1947: Jackie Robinson's first major league game
• 1952: First bank credit card issued
• 1955: Ray Kroc opens the first McDonald's
• 1992: Jay Leno's final appearance as host of The Tonight Show
• 2013: Boston Marathon bombing
• 2019: Fire at Notre Dame in Paris
• 2020: U.S. reports 2752 Covid deaths
• Born: Leonardo da Vinci, Mary Harris Thompson [first American female surgeon], Joseph Seagram, Henry James, Corrie Ten Boom, Bessie Smith [Empress of the Blues], Nikita Khrushchev, Elizabeth Montgomery ["Bewitched"], Roy Clark, Emma Thompson, Dara Torres [12 Olympic Medals earned in 5 Olympic Games, the last at age 41], Chris Stapleton, Seth Rogen, Emma Watson, 
• Died: Father Damien [missionary to lepers in Hawaii], John Singer Sargent, Jean Paul Satre, Greta Garbo, Byron White [Supreme Court], 

Thought:

Still stuck in the first chapter of Jonah this morning. Jonah is running from the presence of the Lord. He has gone in the opposite direction when the Lord said go to Nineveh. He is now on a boat in the storm and the captain has asked him to ask his god to save them,  Now read 1:7-16. The men cast lots so that the man who was causing their problems could be identified. Jonah draws the short straw or draws out the black ball. The scared sailors ask a series of questions about Jonah. Look at his answer in 1:9-10. Jonah says I am a Jew, I fear the God who made the sea and land, and I am fleeing from Him. Does this sound like me?

For if I was questioned like Jonah, I might say, I am a Christian, I worhip the Lord of lords and King of kings, and I am fleeing from Him. What must God think? I say I am His child, I worship Him as Lord and I am running from His presence. Sounds like me every time God gives me an opportunity or a command--yes I believe, yes You are God, but I have decided to run away or ignore Your directions. Maybe I am thinking I will follow Your commands as long as I like them, agree with them, want to follow them. And with the next breath, I say, "You are Lord of heaven and earth, the creator of everything." Reminds me of Jesus saying" Why call Me Lord if you don't do what I command." 

Now, in Jonah's defense, he volunteers to be thrown into the sea. He recognizes that he is the problem and that he deserves the punishment, but the sailors do not. This makes me think about how many times a very simple--I did it, I am guilty, it was my fault, mea culpa, would serve me well. No excuses, no blaming others, no passing the buck, it is me. Sometimes God sends someone into our lives to remind us that it is on us--like Nathan to David--you are the man. Sometimes our conscience tells us we need to confess. Sometimes we just don't have anyone or anything else to blame. Lord, teach me to understand my sin and guilt; to grasp the penalty You paid for me; to live a life of servant gratitude for Your sacrifice and forgiveness. 

Now notice what happens in 1:14-16. The sailors have stopped calling out to their gods [1:5] and now call on the Lord. Sometimes our honesty and confession, acknowledgement that we are sinners saved by grace, is used to cause others to call out to the Lord. When you read the reasons [or maybe excuses] of why people do not attend church, you read that people feel that Christians are self-righteous. Maybe there is something to that. Paul got it right, we boast only in the cross of Christ. 

Lord, help me run toward You and not away from You. Help me see my sin and confess. Help me boast only in Your amazing grace.

Blessings

Larry