Jonah 2 - Begging God

"From inside the fish Jonah prayed to the Lord his God. He said:

'In my distress I called to the Lord,
    and he answered me.
From deep in the realm of the dead I called for help,
    and you listened to my cry.'

And the Lord commanded the fish, and it vomited Jonah onto dry land." (Jonah 2:1,10 NIV)

Here's what happens when you go in the opposite direction of where God is leading you: you end up begging Him to save you from your very poor decision.

Been there... Done that... Prayerfully and hopefully, I won't do that too often in the future. But, being the sinner that I am, it is highly probable.

Thanks be to God that He loves us enough to have mercy and to keep calling us to Himself!

God's Peace - Pr.

Ezekiel 37 - Valley of Dry Bones

"The hand of the Lord was on me, and he brought me out by the Spirit of the Lord and set me in the middle of a valley; it was full of bones. He led me back and forth among them, and I saw a great many bones on the floor of the valley, bones that were very dry. He asked me, “Son of man, can these bones live?”  (Ezekiel 27:1-3 NIV)

Can dry, dead bones live? Of course, they can! According to Jesus: "...with God all things are possible.” (Matt 19:26) In Ezekiel's vision he was told to prophesy to the breath and when he did the breath came into those dry bones. The breath of God, the Spirit of God, gives us life. It was the very breath of God that brought Adam to life. It is His breath that gives us life. It is His breath that gives us abundant life.

So if you're feeling pretty dried out and dead, ask and you shall receive. Jesus told his followers: "Very truly I tell you, my Father will give you whatever you ask in my name. Until now you have not asked for anything in my name. Ask and you will receive, and your joy will be complete." (John 16:23-24)

So what will it be: a dried out life or a life filled with joy and peace in the Body of Christ? So many people running (more like crawling) around filled with depression and gloom and doom when they could live filled with the breath of God, the Spirit of God, united with one another in peace and joy. It is unimaginable, to me, that more will not walk in the way that brings eternal life in Christ, even now.

Dry bones, get up, receive the Spirit of God, and live life abundantly.

God's Peace - Pr. J

Isaiah 64 - Potter and Clay

"Oh, that you would rend the heavens and come down, that the mountains would tremble before you!" (Isa 64:1 NIV)
     I know this prayer from Isaiah. No, I haven't memorized it. But, I know it. I've prayed it at least a few time: "O that you would tear open the heavens and come down, so that the mountains would quake at your presence!" And, I have a feeling that I'm probably not alone in having prayed a prayer similar to that one from time to time - when things get tough - when you feel persecuted or all alone. Haven't you ever thought or prayed: "This is enough. Please, make your presence known o all people so they'd straighten out and we cold live in peace already!"?
     Yet, Isaiah reminds us, that it’s not everyone else, but me, too. Isaiah reminds us that we have all become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous deeds are like a filthy cloth. It’s not just everyone else. We are all guilty and our iniquities – our sins – just as the wind - have taken us away – out of God’s presence. 
     But, we’re not out of God’s presence. He is with us. In spite of the fact that we often do not hear nor do we see the answer, the prayer has been answered. For God did indeed come down to us. The great God Almighty came down to earth to meet humankind right where we are. As we drifted further and further away from God’s good will for us, He, Himself, broke open the heavens and came down, as a little child, to be one of us. 
     The one who formed us with his own hands, who breathed His breath of life into us, took on the form of man in order that he might live with us and that we might have whole and abundant life in Him.
     This potter, (potter and clay; vs. 8) who as the water receded to form dry land, took the wet sticky clay from beside the sea and formed humankind with His hands continues to mold us. The one who formed us out of clay and breathed His life into us, came among us when His clay vessels were cracked and broken. He came to repair what we had damaged. The great sculptor came down to earth so that he could continue the work of his hand - molding all His people into what he intended us to be.
     There may be and probably will be days when we will think: "Oh, Lord God, break down the heavens already and come down - show us your majesty - show your greatness - make the mountains quake - so that all the nations will tremble and fall down to honor you." Then may God help you to remember that He, the Potter, the Great Creator, in fact has already broken through and come down to earth. He assumed the nature of His created humankind and came down, not to destroy His or our enemies, but to save, to renew His work - His creation. As Jesus the Christ, He picked up all the broken potsherds and continues His marvelous work of creating in you and throughout the world.

 

God's Peace - Pr. J

P.S. Not getting why I can't fix background colors.... I appear to lack the gifts of a good sculptor as I cannot even sculpt a simple blog post in the way I would like it to look :) 

Psalm 124 - If The LORD Had Not Been On Our Side

"If the LORD had not been on our side..." (Psalm 124:2 NIV) If, indeed!  Where would we be if He had not saved us?

When we are attacked, the LORD is there. We will not be swept away by the flood of lies and deceit. We will not drown in the deep waters. God led Israel to their freedom from bondage through the sea. He separated the waters so that they could walk firmly on dry land. He leads us from bondage through deep water and turbulent seas. Let us walk on the firm path that He has set before us to freedom in the promised land.

"Our help is in the name of the LORD, the Maker of heaven and earth." (vs 8)

God's Peace - Pr. J