OUR GREAT GOD –AGAIN

Life often serves up situations that can be described in just one word: impossible. Humanly speaking, there’s no way that anything can change, and the end is a foregone conclusion. But as we saw at the beginning of our journey with Jonah, with God, all things are possible. Some conservative scholars have searched for a way to explain how a human being can remain alive inside a fish for three days. They’ve looked for a species with a mouth large enough to swallow a man, and even speculated that God might have made some design amendments to that particular fish to accommodate Jonah. But none of this is necessary. The writer of the story is not concerned to tell us how the event happened, only that it did happen. And the wording of the episode tells us that God ‘ordained’ or ‘appointed’ the fish. That word is used four times in the Book of Jonah: God is the Lord who appoints the creatures of the sea, gives commands to plants (4:6), worms (4:7), and the wind (4:8).

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Jonah 1:17

Ephesians 3:14-21

I said this earlier, but it bears repeating: sometimes it’s really hard to hold on to the truth of the greatness and power of God, especially when we find ourselves stuck in a place where nothing is happening to change things, and our prayers seem unheard or, worse still, ignored. As I write, I find myself in that place right now. If you’re staring at the impossible, may you be strengthened with grace to trust, and faith to continue to look for God’s intervention.

To ponder: What might be dubbed ‘impossible’ in your life right now?

Jesus Is Greater

Jonah is a ‘type’ of Jesus Christ. That doesn’t mean that he is Jesus, but rather that his life and ministry points forward to the life and work of Christ. And Jesus used the story of Jonah to speak both of the need for genuine repentance (which the Pharisees and teachers of the law stubbornly resisted) and then His own redemptive work – just as Jonah spent three days inside the fish, so Jesus would go down into death and the grave, before rising again. But as we’ve considered the faults and fragilities of Jonah, the teaching of Christ reminds us that we follow One who is far greater.

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Luke 11:29-32

Matthew 12:38-42

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‘The men of Nineveh turned away from their sins when Jonah preached to them. And now one who is more important than Jonah is here.’

Luke 11:32

Jonah was nationalistic and selfish – Jesus welcomed despised Samaritans and tax collectors. Jonah ran from God’s commands, but Jesus embraced the will of the Father with gladness. Jonah felt that his ideas were better than God’s plans, but Jesus submitted Himself to God, even in the Garden of Gethsemane when He was so close to the horrors of the cross. Jonah was delivered from death, but Jesus went through death itself and conquered it forever. His obedience was perfect, and His wisdom outshines even that of the legendary Solomon, reputedly the wisest king of all antiquity. And Jonah is now long dead – but the Christ that we love and serve is alive forevermore. One day He will return, and every knee will bow.

Jesus is quite literally the greatest of all –let’s celebrate and worship the Name that is higher than every other name!

Prayer: Lord Jesus, You are the Alpha and Omega, the Beginning and the End. And You are my rescuer. I worship You with words and life. Amen.

TUE 08 AUG

REPENT!

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Isaiah 30:15-22

Jonah 2:1-10

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The Lord and King is the Holy One of Israel. He says, ‘You will find peace and rest when you turn away from your sins and depend on me.’

Isaiah 30:15

Going Deeper

lifewithlucas.co.uk/ goingdeeper

Love, according to the classic weepy film Love Story, ‘means never having to say you’re sorry’. This is surely one of the most ridiculous statements of all time. All relationships need repair sooner or later, and anyone who cruises through life thinking that restoration happens automatically, without showing remorse and repentance for their mistakes, will quickly find out how wrong they are – and they may lose friends, and indeed lovers, in the process. The second chapter of Jonah shows us that repentance is a bridge to better days, and is at the heart of the Christian message. This section of the Jonah text has been read for centuries on the Day of Atonement, or Yom Kippur – the most solemn fast day in the Jewish liturgical year. Even today, Yom Kippur marks the time when Jewish people come in penitence before the Lord and seek restoration with the human community, including not only their immediate circle of family, friends and colleagues, but also the wider human community of peoples and nations. It’s good to feel guilty when we are guilty – when that sorrow leads us to genuinely repent (2 Cor. 7:10). But was Jonah really repentant – or was he actually pompous enough to turn a fish’s stomach? Over the next few days, we’ll explore repentance together – and let’s do so with hearts open to the Holy Spirit, ready not just to gather information about repentance, but to respond to the convicting promptings that the Spirit might bring.

Prayer: I want to be quick to turn when I stray, Father. Show me where repentance is needed in my life. Amen.

In The Fish

The fading bumper sticker says, ‘Smile, God loves you.’ But there’s more to the Christian message than a call to grin about grace. The love of God will at times provoke us to tears. Repentance is at the very heart of New Testament Christianity.

When John the Baptist appeared, with his odd clothes and odder diet, his opening words were a call to true penitence, backed up by the fruit of changed lifestyle (Matt. 3:8). And when Jesus began to preach, His opening message called people to repent: ‘Turn away from your sins!’ He said. ‘The kingdom of heaven is near’ (Matt. 4:17)

Jonah 2:1

Psalm 51:1-19

Repentance is not something negative; on the contrary, it’s part of the good news, as a bridge to life (Acts 11:18) and freedom that opens up our horizons to a brighter future. God wants us to be a people of repentance, not because He is a killjoy, but because He cares. So Paul shows us that ‘God’s kindness is meant to turn [us] away from [our] sins’ (Rom. 2:4).

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From inside the fish Jonah prayed to the Lord his God

Jonah 2:1

And it begins today, where we are. The gut of a fish is an odd chapel, but it worked well enough for Jonah, and he begins a repentance of sorts: as I’ve said, scholars are divided about how sincere he was. But as he cries, dawn starts to appear in his story. If God is gently prompting us about changes in our lives, let’s not wait for a better time, or a better place before we respond. However low we’ve gone, and however deep we find ourselves entrenched in the mess we’ve made, there’s a way back. We start where we are.

Prayer: Where sin has hardened me, take me on a journey of renewed repentance, Lord. Amen.

The School Of Hard Knocks

Jonah 2:1-2

Psalm 50:1-15

Jonah was a tough nut to crack. Entombed in darkness for 72 hours, and surely feeling close to death, he could have easily lost his mind – but instead, he starts to come to his senses. At the end of his tether, he re-establishes communication with the Lord. But trouble was the unwelcome teacher that drove him to call out to God once more – the first time that he prays in this whole story. Some of us have to tread some really hard pathways before we learn the lessons of life. Only yesterday I spoke with a minister whose son had been jailed for drug-dealing. He and his wife wept as they recounted their decision not to bail him out, feeling that it was more faithful to let him face the consequences of his lifestyle. They could have spared him discomfort, but excused him a vital lesson. That young man finally got tired of a life without God, and made a radical decision to live for Christ.

Focus

‘When I was in trouble, I called out to the Lord. And he answered me.’

Jonah 2:2a

It’s surely the hardest prayer to pray, but there are situations when we need to ask God to do whatever it takes to bring someone back to himself. That certainly doesn’t mean that we wish them harm, or stop loving or practically caring for them, but to allow someone dear to us to learn that fugitives end up down in the mouth may be a great act of love. And when they do yell for help, God instantly hears. He immediately responds to the cry of those who decide they want Him, even if it’s trouble that has led them to that choice.

Prayer: Lord, when people I love make huge mistakes, redeem those moments. May distress be a teacher, rather than a destroyer of hope. Amen.

DID GOD DO IT?

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Matthew 6:1-15

Jonah 2:3

Today I want to return to a question that I raised earlier. Was it really God’s plan that Jonah was thrown overboard by the sailors? Jonah seemed to think the Lord was responsible for this. In posing this question, I need you to know that I am breaking step with just about every commentator I have studied. They all look to the idea of the sovereignty of God – God ultimately controlling all events, even evil. But I don’t believe that everything that happens is ultimately directed by God and is His will. If that is the case, why do we pray ‘Your kingdom come, Your will be done?’ That said, this is a huge issue and can’t be resolved in a few sentences. But the question must be posed. It's also possible that the sailors thought that throwing Jonah overboard was an act of sacrifice to their gods. And then, as we’ll see, although Jonah was repeatedly quoting Scripture in his prayer – truths – his application of those truths was mostly erroneous. Jonah’s prayer was a mixture of truth and deception – later we will consider his perception that he was ‘driven away’, when the reality is that he ignored God and ran from Him.

Focus

‘May your kingdom come. May what you want to happen be done.’

Matthew 6:10

So why do I raise the question? Some readers have experienced terrible tragedy, and have been told that, ultimately, ‘It’s all part of God’s will.’ But today, it’s not part of God’s sovereign will that babies are trafficked, warmongers plunder, and predators rape and abuse. So did God want Jonah tossed into the sea? Just asking.

Prayer: May Your kingdom come. May what You want to happen be done, on earth, as it is in heaven. Amen.