Thought for April 18, 2024

•  1506: Cornerstone of the current St. Peter's is laid in Rome
• 1775: Paul Revere and William Dawes spread the word, "the regulars are coming."
• 1783: Washington issues a General Order--hostilities with Britain are ended. thanks be to the almighty, and authorizing an extra ration of alcohol to the troops
• 1906: San Francisco earthquake kills about 4,000 and destroys 75% of the city
• 1909: Joan of Arc beatified by the Catholic Church.
• 1924: First crossword puzzle book published by Simon & Schuster
• 1934: First laundromat opens [Fort Worth TX]
• Born: Lucrezia Borgia, Clarence Darrow [Monkey Trial], Barbara Hale ["Perry Mason"], Hayley Mills, James Woods, Rick Moranis,  Conan O'Brien, David Tennant, 
• Died: Yamamoto, Albert Einstein, Thor Heyerdahl, Dick Clark, Kenneth Schermerhorn, Mason Rudolph, 

Thought:

Reading Jonah 3:2-3. As Yogu Berra might say, deja vu all over again. Verse 2 looks like 1:2--arise and go to Nineveh. But between 1:2 and 3:2, what do we have---disobedience, rebellion, running away from God, a  great storm, an angry sea, a big fish's belly, vomited onto a beach. Just think about that this morning. God gives a clear instruction to one of His servants. the servant disobeys. The servant encounters God's response. And now the servant obeys. Does this sound like your life? God speaks, I resist/run/disobey. God, who does not change, disciplines me [Hebrews 12:7-11]. I obey. Do you think Jonah wishes he had simply obeyed and we had no chapters-1-2 in our Bible. Reminds me of disobeying my parents--it would have been much easier to simply obey than to rebel. But my encouragement is that God still uses Jonah. God is patient and kind, so He gives Jonah another chance. How wonderful that our God gives more chances for service even after I fail.

Now look at verses 4-5. Jonah says, "forty days and Nineveh will fall." And look at the response, "the people believed in God, fasted and repented.”  How would media describe this event today? What I see is that God's message is simple and direct. I may try and make evangelism difficult, try to work on my testimony and witness. I may say that I just don't know the right program, the right words. But here, Jonah simply tells the truth in simple, direct language. You have 40 days to get right with God. And the people respond. I can complicate the message, add all the frills and extras,  but God always speaks clearly and directly--the wages of sin is death, the free gift of God is eternal life in Jesus. This reminds me that I don't have to be smart, educated, gifted in speech to deliver God's message--why, because the power is not in the messenger, but in the message.

Lord, help me understand that it is Your word that has power, not my program. It is Your name that saves, not my process. And because Your message is simple, I have no excuse for hesitating. All you asked Jonah to do was go and say what You said. That's all You ask me--help me skip 1:3-2-10 and get about 3:2-3. 

Blessings

Larry