06/27/2018
I knew several of our regulars were vacationing but three showed for a quick word about Jonah. Recently at the Forge we have been studying different men in the Bible and I selected Jonah as I haven’t studied much about him in years and thought it would be interesting. I wasn’t really interested in the historical part of Jonah but more about what life lessons we could get from studying his story. We quickly covered the familiar story about how Jonah ran from God but was eventually used to achieve God’s purpose even though he didn’t want to. He even hated the people who would benefit from his actions. One author I read, said Jonah was a lot like the Grinch in that his heart was two sizes too small. A few points we can learn from Jonah’s story:
1) We tend to notice others’ sins much more than our own.
2) Do not take God’s grace and love for granted.
3) Believers should always remember that we were once non-believers.
4) God can use a reluctant, even defiant person for His purpose.
5) God’s plan is always for good.
I think Jonah and many of us could use this verse. In Ezekiel 36:26 God promises “I will give you a new heart, and I will put a new spirit in you. I will take out your stony, stubborn heart and give you a tender, responsive heart.”
Ask yourself these questions:
Have you ever felt like God was pushing you to do something helpful that you really didn’t want to do?
Do you dislike anyone enough not to minister to them if they needed you?
Have you ever looked back and saw where you missed a chance to something God wanted you to do?
We had a great discussion about this and several other topics. Thanks for the chance to talk with these fine gentlemen!