Month: March 2016

In Relentless Pursuit

Posted on by Wendy
What if the story of Jonah is a love story and not a cautionary tale?
What if the story of Jonah is a love story and not a cautionary tale?

I have been reading a Lenten Bible study on the website #shereadstruth. We are studying Jonah, which makes perfect sense for Lent. The entire account of the Book of Jonah revolves around repentance and turning back to God, both personally and as a nation.

I’m very familiar with Jonah. As a child, he regularly appeared on the black felt board with the whale that swallowed him. As an adult, my focus has become on the fact that when we run from God there are consequences. There is forgiveness, but there are also consequences.

Quite honestly, Jonah’s story makes me squirm a bit. The city of Nineveh, where he was called to preach, is modern-day Iraq. I certainly wouldn’t want to go there. Can we really blame him for being reluctant to obey?

But, one of the writers at #shereadstruth, the other day, threw an entirely different idea about Jonah out and I’ve been down that rabbit hole for days. She pointed out that God could have simply struck Jonah down on the spot for his disobedience, or He could have let the ship that he tried to escape on, sink, or He could have let Jonah drown in that angry sea.

But, He didn’t. God wasn’t interested in destroying Jonah for his disobedience. God wanted to use Jonah for a purpose that He alone had preordained him for, before he was even born. Our merciful God wanted to give the people of Nineveh an opportunity to choose salvation and He wanted Jonah to be the catalyst for it.

And so, instead of striking Jonah down, God pursued him relentlessly in ways that only God can do. He made it very clear that He would use all of Creation to get His message across. Think of the old Uncle Sam poster, that proclaimed “I Want you,” on steroids.

Why didn’t God just raise up another more agreeable prophet? Because, God wanted Jonah and He intended to have him.

That same God calls to us today. The Bible reminds us that we too, are created for a purpose, just like Jonah was.

“For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he has planned for us long ago.” Ephesians 2:10

My latest study of Jonah’s story has me thinking of it as more of a love story than a cautionary tale. It’s a story of a father who loves His children so very much that He will stop at nothing to have them, even sending them to the bottom of the ocean in the belly of a fish for a few days, but bringing them back safely, even enough to send His son to die to redeem them.

That’s a powerful love story. That’s a love worth pursuing.

Have an awesome day!

Wendy 🙂

 

Daffodil Reminders

Posted on by Wendy
Spring is coming whether we believe it or not.
Spring is coming whether we believe it or not.

We have had gorgeous weather here in Georgia over the past few days. Leap Day had the thermometer touching seventy degrees. I have never been a fan of cold weather and have been desperately searching for signs of spring even when they have been difficult to find.

The daffodils, which I consider the most optimistic of the earth’s flowers, began to spring up a few weeks ago in different places. The weather was still very dark and chilly; yet they rose anyway, promising that spring was on the way, even when I couldn’t feel it or see it any place else.

The daffodils are always a reminder of better days ahead. They remind me the weather will finally get warm again and that the barren earth is really not dead, but just sleeping. They remind me that it won’t be long before Creation in its entirety, will spring to life as if God painted each petal and leaf by hand.

They remind me that Easter is just a few weeks away and I suspect that Heaven rejoices on Easter in a display even more stunningly beautiful than those of us on earth could even begin to imagine. Yes, the citizens of Heaven and earth join together to celebrate Easter. What a glorious day.

But, sometimes I forget and I feel that I may be stuck in endless winter forever. Maybe, you too?

It’s supposed to rain tomorrow and get cold again. I won’t have the warmth or the sunshine to remind me of better days to come, yet I hold on to the promise that they are coming regardless of whether I believe it or not.

Isn’t that the definition of faith?

“Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.” Hebrews 11:1

Thankfully, God blesses us along the way with little reminders of His promises like those perky yellow daffodils. I sometimes need reminding. Perhaps you do too.

Have an awesome day!

Wendy 🙂

Lead Us Not into Temptation

Posted on by Wendy
The Holy Spirit can help us resist anything.
The Holy Spirit can help us resist anything.

Have you ever noticed that when you try to intentionally start doing the “right’ thing or living in a better way, that bad things sometimes begin to happen? Sometimes when we make the effort to draw closer to God, it seems that the world around us is against it.

Ever wondered why that would be?

As I read through chapter four in the Gospel of Luke the other day, it struck me that Satan didn’t even take notice of Jesus until He was baptized and filled with the Holy Spirit. Of course, before that, He was just a carpenter, doing carpentry. He hadn’t yet begun His mission that God had sent Him to do.

It occurred to me that this is also the case with us today. When we are living our lives and doing our thing, apart from God, Satan doesn’t have much of a desire to interfere. Even if we are Christians, but aren’t really making an effort to learn what we are called to do and then do it, we aren’t really a threat.

Sure, we are one less soul for him, but we aren’t really affecting the landscape of Heaven, if we are just attending church intermittently and doing little else.

No, it’s when we really start to draw closer to God and bring others along, that he takes interest in us. That’s where the temptations start, just anything to draw us away from our true purpose.

Often it’s things that are benign like skipping worship service to go to the lake or skipping Bible study because we are too tired. It can also take on the form of that one person who drives us so crazy, that we elect not to get involved with some sort of ministry that we know we are called to.

Satan is more than happy to help us come up with all types of excuses to keep us home, because if we aren’t worshiping God with other believers, we aren’t growing and learning. We aren’t becoming a part of a community to help each other stay accountable.

It’s really important for us to remember that we have an enemy. It’s the same enemy that Jesus had. Jesus resisted His wilderness temptation with the help of the Holy Spirit. Christians today have the same access to the Holy Spirit.

It’s kind of humbling and inspiring at the same time. We will be tempted, but we will have help if we ask. The Holy Spirit always knows exactly how to help.

The Bible says to, “Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you.” James 4:7

That’s strong protection, but should we really expect anything less? God looks after His own. It’s up to us to stay close to Him and He will provide.

Have an awesome day!

Wendy 🙂