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

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"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

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 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!

The Lord is Near

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 The Lord is at hand; do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Philippians 4:5b-7

In my lifetime there have been times that we prayed, and God miraculously answered, by healing my back so that I could return to work, blessing our children and grandchildren, so that nine out of ten are still serving the Lord and attending church regularly. But I have also begged for a daughter-in-law to be healed and yet she died, prayed for a son’s marriage, yet it still ended in divorce. At those moments, the promise of today’s Bible reading and God’s peace felt far away. But as I was listening to this chapter the other night, I noticed something which I had missed all these years. I missed it because I forgot that when Paul wrote his letter, he did not use chapters and verses. Now, usually those nifty divisions give us a great way to find a passage, but as I listened to the chapter being read, I realized that the end of verse five, gives us the reason we should have hope. He is at hand! (or in other translations, “He is near.”).

Paul urges us to pray with confidence, but not because we have great faith. Yes, faith was and always will be important, but not everyone that Jesus healed had a lot of faith. He raised a widow’s son from the dead, and we can be sure that fellow had zero faith because he was dead! But something else was at play even greater than our faith or our lack thereof. Jesus came so close to where they were that He could reach out and touch the funeral bier. Or, remember on the road to Emmaus, when two of the disciples were walking along, talking about the death of Jesus and strange reports they had heard about his resurrection. They had a lot of questions and doubts, but the Bible tells us, that Jesus came and walked along with them. We also see Mary standing outside the empty tomb weeping and asking the “gardener” where the body of Jesus was. Did Jesus show up and try to make her feel terrible about her doubts or ignore her tears? No! Jesus drew near. Do I understand all of what these passages mean? No! But they give me a peace that reaches far beyond anything that I understand. I remember that the Lord is near; He won’t allow hopes to be buried forever, he walks with us when we struggle with doubts, and he stands nearest when tears stream down our cheeks and He calls us by name!

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