THAT SINKING FEELING

Jonah 2:5 Psalm 69:1-36

These days, we don’t often hear people using the term, ‘saved’ – so we’d do well to remind ourselves that God is our ultimate rescuer. Jonah was in really dire straits – fighting for air in the choppy waves, marooned in fathoms of dark water, and even tangled up in suffocating seaweed – he was in a real mess, and could do nothing to save himself. But God brought his life up. And He’s done the same for us. The cross declares God’s utter power and our total helplessness. There was nothing that we could do to rescue ourselves; we were helpless. It was at the cross that God stooped down to the chaos and scooped us up in His arms.

Focus

‘I had almost drowned in the waves. The deep waters were all around me. Seaweed was wrapped around my head.’

Jonah 2:5

I love those stories that celebrate the impossible rescue: the swashbuckling hero, against all odds, shows up at the last minute to snatch a captive from the jaws of death. Of course, there’s one small problem: usually, those stories aren’t true. When the lights come up at the end of the film, we’re a little deflated because we know we’ve been enthralled by a work of fiction. But the gospel is no fairy tale. We’ve been saved. We will think about this a little more tomorrow, but in the meantime, let’s give thanks for our salvation!

Prayer: I was lost, and You found me; helpless, and Your love lifted me. I praise You, loving, mighty Saviour. Amen.

Death Swallowed Up

It was a cold day. I stood outside the funeral director’s front door, clutching the urn containing my father’s ashes. Reunion seemed unlikely, resurrection a faintly foolish idea. But in my grief, I was wrong. Follow me as we unearth a wonderful truth.

The ‘pit’ that Jonah described is also translated elsewhere as Sheol, the place of the dead. In Old Testament thinking, Sheol was viewed as being like a city with gates, an image that speaks of the power of death to imprison its captives. Isaiah speaks of death’s insatiable appetite, so Sheol ‘swallows’ its prey. But in Jonah’s experience, Sheol –drowning and death – was ‘swallowed’ up by another ‘swallower’ – the great fish!

Jonah 2:6

1 Corinthians 15:35-58

Hosea looked towards the destruction of death and Sheol. Sure of God’s power to redeem His people even from death and Sheol, Hosea celebrates God’s promise: ‘I will set these people free from the power of the grave. I will save them from death. Death, where are your plagues? Grave, where is your power to destroy?’

(Hosea 13:14). Isaiah 25:8 says of God: ‘He will swallow up death forever. The Lord and King will wipe away the tears from everyone’s face.’

Focus

Jonah 2:6

Then in his letter to the Corinthians, Paul writes, ‘Death has been swallowed up. It has lost the battle. Death, where is the battle you thought you were winning? Death, where is your sting?’ (1 Cor. 15:54–55). Jesus, in His work on the cross, ‘swallowed up’ death, together with the sins of us all! The eternal reunion will be sweet.

Prayer: Your work is finished, Lord Jesus. In and through You, death’s power has been stripped away, swallowed up by Your triumph. Amen.

Remember

Read

Jonah 2:7

Luke 22:7-20

Decades ago, Michael Griffiths wrote a pithy, prophetic book about the Church, called Cinderella with Amnesia. That’s what the Church is: a beautiful bride in the making, but one with frequent memory lapses. How often do we ask the same old hackneyed questions, and insist on treading tired, wellworn pathways of sin – always hearing, never learning, seemingly oblivious to the pain we cause Him? Temptation has a way of creating something like madness in us. We absolutely know what is right and wrong, and may even be acutely aware that we are making choices that are likely to lead to terrible consequences, but still we plough ahead. Filled with remorse, we apologise to God, vowing never to tread that pathway again –until the next time. Like Jonah, for some it’s only when life is nearly gone that we wake up – although for him, his remembering didn’t last very long.

Focus

‘When my life was nearly over, I remembered you, Lord.’

Jonah 2:7

The history of Israel illustrates this pattern so painfully. Over and over again, despite miraculous sea-crossings and manna falling from heaven, hers was the repeated malady described in just two words: they forgot. Stunning moments just slipped their minds. Desperate that they remember, God gave them feasts and festivals, circumcision and ceremony. Still they forgot. Nothing’s changed. That’s why one of Jesus’ parting gifts to His friends was a remembrance meal. So today, let’s think clearly, learn from our failures, and by grace, live beautifully. Let’s remember.

Prayer: When sin beckons, help to me think clearly, recall what I know is true, and make choices that please You, loving Father. Amen.

Christless Faith

READ

Jonah 2:7

John 15:1-9

I’ve met some of the most incredible Christians in my travels; genuinely marvellous human beings, full of faith and kindness. They remind me of Jesus because they have spent so much time rubbing shoulders with Him. I’ve also bumped into a few who profess to have been walking with Him for years, yet who are shrivelled, mean-spirited people. How can they be as they are when they’ve been around beauty and love for so long? Surely we can all drift into a vague, cold imitation faith where we follow the basic doctrines of Christianity, but have little day-to-day interaction with Jesus Himself. Ironically, some of us busier Christians fall into this trap, becoming so busy for God that we have little or no time to be with God. Of course, our service is part of our spirituality, and actions in God’s name can be prayers in themselves, but it’s still possible to get lost in the blur of doing and saying all the right things, and never take a pause to specifically talk to God, or hear Him speak to us. We end up living Christless lives that may even be quite good, but still godless. Jonah gradually reset his compass to Nineveh, and accepted his missionary call, but he began a slow return to the person of God Himself.

Repentance means running headlong into the arms of the Lord; more than moral realignment, it’s also about relational reengagement. We are called to be with Jesus, not just serve Jesus.

To ponder: What does it mean, practically, for us to ‘be with Jesus’?

MON 21 AUG

Humility

READ

Jonah 2:8-9a

Matthew 18:21-35

Focus

‘Some people worship the worthless statues of their gods. They turn away from the grace you want to give them. But I will sacrifice... to you.’

Jonah 2:8-9a

Going Deeper

lifewithlucas.co.uk/ goingdeeper

Today, we are treated to the disturbing sight of a Jonah who barely takes two steps back to God, before he trips up and bursts into pious condemnation of those who are ‘idol worshippers’. How quickly the newly forgiven forget where they came from, and become harshly critical of others. Jonah announces he will now become a grateful worshipper once again. But the truth is that the ‘pagan’ sailors had already gone running towards the real God while Jonah had sat sulking in stubborn rebellion. Pride can so quickly spoil our friendship with God. Driven by a profound desire that others see just what committed Christians we are, we subtly – and unsubtly – advertise our piety, pray long, grandiose prayers, dazzle with our breathtaking revelations, and generally become painful to be around. And sometimes we who have been freely and outrageously pardoned withhold pardon from those who sin against us. Like the unmerciful servant in Jesus’ story, we suffer from spiritual insomnia, and forget that we have been shown great grace. In that parable, Jesus described a man who had been forgiven the equivalent of around eight million pounds, who then immediately throttled a debtor who owed him a measly sum – between four and twelve pounds. We who have been forgiven quickly must learn to forgive quickly. ‘Put up with each other. Forgive the things you are holding against one another. Forgive, just as the Lord forgave you (Col. 3:13).

Prayer: Father, help me to forgive as I have been so wonderfully forgiven, or at least to start that journey. Amen.

Just Sorry

His words had the effect of a stun grenade. ‘I know that the affair that I’m in is wrong. But I’m being honest about it, and God will forgive me. I need this relationship in my life right now.’ The man, a Christian for some years, had fallen into the trap of believing that grace is a licence to blatantly continue in sin, an idea utterly contrary to what the New Testament teaches. His ‘confession’ made him feel even more noble about his destructive and unfaithful choices.

Jonah 2:9b

Romans 6:1-14

Writing in the Daily Express, columnist Vanessa Feltz lamented our confession-crazy culture, where we seem addicted to shouting out our sins – but don’t feel any need to reform or change. Vanessa raged: ‘It doesn’t matter what you do as long as you admit it. This makes it possible to commit the vilest iniquities, and, as long as you make a brazen and flamboyant confession, come out of the whole thing scot-free. Thus... a politician can admit to knowingly impregnating a married woman and still assume the moral high ground.’

FOCUS

Jonah 2:9

She’s right. Public airing of dirty laundry, to the delight of the public, is no substitute for true repentance, and if anything, just gives the impression that sin is acceptable. True repentance leads to genuine change; so Jonah made promises to obey God and take the trek to Nineveh. But today’s heady decisions don’t always lead to anything lasting and substantial. What would happen in Nineveh? What will happen tomorrow to the pledges that we make today?

Prayer: Father, when I fall, help me not just to admit that I’m wrong but to turn from wrongdoing. Amen.

A Sick Fish

At first glance, Jonah being on dry land is a good ending to the episode – but there’s a twist in the way he was rescued... via vomit. Because Jonah’s repentance was so flawed, some commentators believe that the big fish threw him up because it found him to be nauseating! The writer’s use of the word ‘vomit’ here is curious. The NRSV translation isn’t the best, because Jonah wasn’t spat out, but forcibly, viscerally ejected.

In the Old Testament, the Hebrew word for vomit was connected with judgement. God called His people to be holy, and pledged they would be ‘vomited out from the land’ if they continued in rebellion. A similar threat is issued in Deuteronomy 28. In Jonah’s prayer/ speech, there is no mention of him dealing with the core of his problem, which was his outright defiance to God and rejection of God’s call.

Jonah 2:9-10

Leviticus 18:24-30

High-sounding speeches and vows that lead nowhere and ignore the essential issues in our lives are sickening – to large fish, and more importantly, to God Himself. Jesus addressed the church in Laodicea with some very challenging words: ‘You aren’t hot or cold. So I am going to spit you out of my mouth’ (Rev. 3:16).

Focus

The Lord gave the fish a command. And it spat Jonah up onto dry land.

Jonah 2:10

I’m challenged, and I hope you are too. Are there significant matters that we know that God is calling us to attend to, but we are covering our ears, and distracting ourselves by mouthing pious prayers and singing worship songs?

Prayer: Save me, Lord, from emotional moments that lead nowhere. Give me grace and courage to respond to what really matters to You. Amen.

THU 24 AUG

Yom Kippur

Read

Jonah 2:1-10

1 John 1:5-10

As we take a last look at Jonah in chapter 2, why don’t we pause and ask the Holy Spirit to clear our hearts and minds from that clinging fog of deception, and show us where we need to seek forgiveness and truly repent? During the Jewish festival of Yom Kippur, as we saw earlier, the prayer of Jonah is used – but it’s interesting to note that our Jewish friends do this to celebrate the God who forgave the people of Nineveh; not Jonah’s ‘repentance’, perhaps further questioning its authenticity. Join me in reading this through, reflect on the phrases used, and then offer the prayer again.

'We have grown accustomed to sin, and the fragments of Scripture lie shattered in our life. Charity has withered with calculation, and the sparks of purity have burnt out.

Focus

From inside the fish

Jonah prayed to the Lord his God.

Jonah 2:1

GOING DEEPER lifewithlucas.co.uk/ goingdeeper

Yet still we come on Yom Kippur, and God who said, ‘I have forgiven’ whispers it again to us, and waits for our reply.

What shall it be? What form will it take?

Let us repair what can still be repaired.

Let us give back the gain we earned by injustice.

Let us make peace with our injured brother.

Let us restore the person we wronged.

Let us admit what is false in ourselves.

Let us put right what is wrong in our family life.

Let us not sour the joy of living.

May God give us the courage to do these things and help us to rebuild our lives.

And when we have finished our tasks, may He permit us to enjoy the light sown for the righteous so that He can delight in us.

The Gates of His Mercy are still open. Let us enter in. Amen.'

FRI 25 AUG

During one bout of travel, I spent nine hours on a plane sitting next to a leading light in the World Solar Heating Movement. She was excited, passionate even, about all things solar. I was given a magazine, a website address I could visit, and an invitation to attend one of their conferences. I was impressed and challenged by her energy about energy. Her zeal put my quiet, ‘balanced’ Christianity to shame.

Mission

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Matthew 28:16-20

Jonah 3:1-10

Over the next couple of weeks, as we consider the arrival in Nineveh of a prophet who smelt rather fishy, we’ll take another look at mission, and realise we are all called to be witnesses for Christ. I’m bracing myself already for a bumpy ride as we journey through Jonah 3 together. I’ve often written about my early Christian years, when I was a loud, clumsy, aggressive evangelistic-type, much given to extended monologues with innocent and bewildered strangers. But as I’ll illustrate further later, I’m wondering whatever happened to evangelism, in my own life, and in the lives of others too? These days, especially in the UK, I don’t hear so many reports of people sharing Christ one on one. Perhaps we’ve lost confidence, or inclination, or both.

Focus

‘So you must go and make disciples of all nations. Baptise them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.’

Matthew 28:19

God loved the hapless rabble that was the citizens of Nineveh, and needed someone to tell them so. Nothing’s changed: God loves His world, and wants all to hear of His heart for them. Let’s take another look at mission, and be prepared to respond to the Holy Spirit as we do.

Prayer: Father, Scripture describes our world in just one word: lost. As I consider the challenge of mission, stir me afresh to boldly go. Amen.