Jesus

Jonah said “No!” but Jesus said “Yes!”

/ pastorpete51 / 3 Comments 
"But Jonah rose to flee to Tarshish from the presence of the Lord..." Jonah 1:3a ESV


When God told Jonah to go to Nineveh, Jonah decided he had a better idea. Maybe he even asked God if He had read the news about how bad Nineveh was. When we consider how evil and violent the people of Ninevah had been, I can sympathize with Jonah. It would be as if one of us were asked to attend a Ku Klux Klan meeting and tell them they were completely wrong, needed to repent and start loving blacks, Jews and others they didn’t approve of. “No! I think I will just pray for them from here God!” might easily be our first response. Jonah even went so far as to distance himself as far as possible from obeying God by taking a cruise to the opposite end of the known world. He was a guy who took disobedience to a whole different level. But God had another idea and as the book of Proverbs tells us, “Man may make His plans, but God has the last word.” Proverbs 16:1 (my translation). God prepared a fish to swallow Jonah, take him back to his starting point by the scenic route and give him a second chance.

Jonah getting a second chance at obedience was good, but even better is the news that, while Jonah had said “No!”, Jesus said “Yes!” When God sent Jesus to the stable of Bethlehem, Jesus could have asked to stay safe and warm in Heaven seated next to the Father: but He didn’t! He freely chose to grow up in a poor village, be misunderstood, rejected by the religious leaders, arrested, spit on, beaten and nailed to a cross. Jesus prayed in the Garden, “…“My Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as you will.” Matthew 26:39b ESV

And the wonderful news for me and you is that because Jesus said, “Yes!” our sins are forgiven. Because Jesus said, “Yes!” we are given even a better second chance than Jonah. Because Jesus said, “Yes!” we have a home in Heaven if we will put our faith in Him and follow Him. Have you said “No!” to God? I am so glad that God doesn’t take “No1” for a final answer but through the Cross, He offers us a chance to say, “Yes!” to His grace, forgiveness and will for our lives! Will you say, “Yes to Jesus today?

Our Blessed Hope

/ pastorpete51 / 1 Comment 
 Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ 
Titus 2:13 KJV

For years, my wife dreamed about us going on a cruise. Though bobbing around on the ocean, trapped on a boat, did not sound appealing to me, I finally agreed to a short cruise. Though I was a little apprehensive, after we found our stateroom and had eaten a delicious supper in the dining room, I began to think that this was not so bad. The next day, we had a great time, roaming around Cozumel and soaking in the hot tub at night. But what I loved most of all were the sunrises. I suppose for folks who have been on many cruises, the sight of the sun rising may be ordinary, but as I held on with one hand to the railing while, clutching my camera in the other, the beauty of the first rays of the sun shimmering over the waves took my breath away.

Yet, as lovely as that moment was, the Bible tells us of a far more beautiful event – The return of Jesus Christ. Just as the sky slowly brightened as dawn approached that morning on the ship, so also, we who are Christians have a little of God’s light beginning to shine in our hearts right now. But one day the Bible says that when Jesus returns this tiny light of ours will be eclipsed by the brightness of the light of Jesus at His return. In today’s verse, the Apostle Paul calls this, “That blessed hope.” and it is the gift that God gives, to carry us through our darkest nights and wildest storms. The blessed hope of Jesus’ return calls us to come out of our cabins, walk out on the top deck of our faith, and look out over the sea, watching for the eternal dawn at the return of Jesus Christ!

Prayer: Father thank you that no matter what we are going through we have a blessed hope as we wait for Jesus to return!

What’s Your Story?

/ pastorpete51 / 1 Comment 
Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book; but these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name. John 20:30-31 ESV

It is almost impossible to rank the 10 bestselling autobiographies of all time, because no matter where you look, what you actually see are the ten books that someone else likes the best or are hoping to sell to you. But if we were to rank by the number of readers, that list would certainly include the Gospel of John. Interestingly, while in these books, most authors make themselves, either the hero or heroine of their tales, John barely appears. John’s passion was to tell the story Jesus and the lives that He changed forever.

Now as we know, the original document was a scroll and was not divided into chapters. Instead, as it unrolls, we encounter the stories of many different people. First, he introduces us to John the Baptist, who we find shouting to anyone who would listen, “Prepare the way of the Lord!” Second on the list is Mary, the mother of Jesus, whose advice is, “Whatever he tells you to do, do it.” Our third person is Nicodemus, whose question about being born again, brought us perhaps the most loved verse in the Bible, “For God so loved the world…” Next in line comes the woman at the well who joyfully discovers the living water that Jesus gives. As the scroll continues unrolling, we encounter a man that Jesus heals, who for 38 years had waited by the pool of Bethesda. Then, in possibly the most dramatic story so far, we find Jesus multiplying bread for 5,000 men on a hillside, all from the gift of one special young boy. Each chapter tells us the story of another person, and though John is writing the account, he finds little opportunity to mention himself. To me, most amazing of all, though Matthew, Mark and Luke speak regularly of John, in John’s own gospel, he never once mentions himself by name. John chose to make the story of His life, about the story of those who Jesus blesses, and only includes himself as, “The disciple who Jesus loved.” So, what’s your story? What is mine? If someone were to sit down with us at a party and ask, “Tell me about yourself.” How would we answer. What stories could we tell?