JONAH WAS IN A STORM (Jonah 1:1-17).

The Book of Jonah 1:1-17.

 1     The word of the Lord came to Jonah son of Amittai: 2“Go to the great city of Nineveh and preach against it, because its wickedness has come up before me.”

3     But Jonah ran away from the Lord and headed for Tarshish. He went down to Joppa, where he found a ship bound for that port. After paying the fare, he went aboard and sailed for Tarshish to flee from the Lord.

4     Then the Lord sent a great wind on the sea, and such a violent storm arose that the ship threatened to break up. 5All the sailors were afraid and each cried out to his own god. And they threw the cargo into the sea to lighten the ship.

But Jonah had gone below deck, where he lay down and fell into a deep sleep. 6 The captain went to him and said, “How can you sleep? Get up and call on your god! Maybe he will take notice of us so that we will not perish.”

7  Then the sailors said to each other, “Come, and let us cast lots to find out who is responsible for this calamity.” They cast lots and the lot fell on Jonah.

8  So they asked him, “Tell us, who is responsible for making all this trouble for us? What kind of work do you do? Where do you come from? What is your country? From what people are you?”

9   He answered, “I am a Hebrew and I worship the Lord, the God of heaven, who made the sea and the dry land.”

10  This terrified them and they asked, “What have you done?” (They knew he was running away from the Lord, because he had already told them so.)

11  The sea was getting rougher and rougher. So they asked him, “What should we do to you to make the sea calm down for us?”

12 “Pick me up and throw me into the sea,” he replied, “and it will become calm. I know that it is my fault that this great storm has come upon you.”

13  Instead, the men did their best to row back to land. But they could not, for the sea grew even wilder than before. 14  Then they cried out to the Lord, “Please, Lord, do not let us die for taking this man’s life. Do not hold us accountable for killing an innocent man, for you, Lord, have done as you pleased.” 15  Then they took Jonah and threw him overboard, and the raging sea grew calm. 16 At this the men greatly feared the Lord, and they offered a sacrifice to the Lord and made vows to him.

17 Now the Lord provided a huge fish to swallow Jonah, and Jonah was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights.

JONAH WAS IN A STORM (Jonah 1:1-11).

                The Lord asked Jonah going to Nineveh to preach against it, but Jonah run away from the Lord and headed for Tarshish. "The Lord sent a great wind on the sea, and such a violent storm arose that the ship threatened to break up" (Jonah 1:4)[1].

                This meant that God sent a great wind to the ship which charged Jonah. The wind obeyed the Lord, it came to the ship and became a violent storm. Speaking of obeying the Lord, we can learn that everything in nature obeys the Lord, except man and angel. In the Genesis, the Lord said, "Let the land produce vegetation: seed-bearing plants and trees on the land that bear fruit with seed in it, according to their various kinds. And it was so." (Genesis 1:11). When the Lord wished, "that evening quail came and covered the camp" (Exodus 16:13) the Israelites got them for their food. When Jesus wished fish going into the net, Peter and his friends, "were unable to haul the net in because of the large number of fish."  (John 21:6 ). When Jesus was in a boat, there was a furious squall came up, and the waves broke over the boat, so that it was nearly swamped. The disciples woke Him up, He said to the waves, "Quiet! Be still!" (Mark 4:39), the win died down and it was completely calm. And in the future, the fire will obey the Lord to destroy the earth on  "the day of judgment and destruction of the ungodly." (2 Peter 3:7). The Lord is the Creator, He is the almighty God, He has the power to order everything which has to obey Him.

                As we have seen that trees, seeds, waves,  wind, fish, birds… all obey the Lord, but it is regret that man many times not obey the Lord. The word of God taught man that, "you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.” (Genesis 2:17), but Adam and Eve ate. The Bible says that, "Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you." (Ephesians 4:32). But many people are very wicked to others. And many people often get angry to other and do not forgive for each other.

                There is a joking story. A boy chases his younger brother to hit him. His mom tries to stop him and says, "Forgive your younger brother, son." He says, "No." His mom says: "You do not forgive your brother,  if tonight Jesus come back in His second coming, how can you answer to the Lord?" The boy says, "This is Ok, I forgive him. But if tonight Jesus not comes, tomorrow I will give him a strong punch!"

                Man is not perfect, but we thank God that He has not destroyed us, on the contrary, He loves us. He "demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us." (Romans 5:8). Through the death of Jesus, when a sinner believes in Him, he was forgiven and can be reconciled "to God."  (Ephesians 2:16).

                In His love, sometime the Lord rebukes us, then He gently says that, “For a brief moment I abandoned you, but with deep compassion I will bring you back." (Isaiah 54:7). Thank God for His abounding in love. Even we are not deserved, but He does not forsake us. How great His compassion is for us! Each of us should thank Him and pray Him help us to have a better life to please Him.

                Dear believers, when Jonah fell into a deep sleep in the below deck of the ship, God sent a storm to the ship. What for is this? Through this storm God wished say to Jonah that, "Jonah, I send you to Nineveh, but you go to Tarshish. This is against my will. Come back!" When God told to Jonah that, “Go to the great city of Nineveh and preach against it, because its wickedness has come up before me.” There was not a storm. Why now He wanted to call Jonah go back, He said through a storm? Because Jonah did not obey the gentle voice, so God sent him a storm voice.

                Dear brothers and sisters, let us obey  the gentle voice of the Holy Spirit though the Bible. If we do not obey, probably the Lord will send some storm to our life to teach us. Which way do we like? The way we listen to the voice of the Lord is much better for us.

                Bible continues that, "a great wind on the sea, and such a violent storm arose that the ship threatened to break up." (v.4). This verse told us that on the sea there was a terrible storm. Unless Jonah was sleeping, all others were very terrified! They said themselves,

                People on the ship say "if the waves freely lapped against the ship, it were broken, what thing would happen for us?"

                Let us think: When God sent a storm to the ship, did He let the storm work freely or He still concerned to the ship?

                Please think of the words "threatened to break up ". Threatened to break up but not break up! Why did the ship not break up? Because the wind was not strong enough to break the ship. Maybe people on the ship said that, "we are lucky, if the wind was stronger a little bit, the ship was broken and we all died. But they did not know that God decided the limit of the storm. The storm only had its power to threat to break up the boat, not allowed to break up the boat. He knew clearly the strength of timbers of the ship. The book of Job teaches us knowing that our God is the Mighty God. Even the sea is strong, the waves are high, but the Lord has authority to give them a limit… that, "This far you may come and no farther; here is where your proud waves halt!" (Job 38:11). The waves, the sea must obey Him.

                Not excepting, Satan was allowed to bother Job, but God decided a limit "you must spare his life" (Job 2:6), Satan had to obey God.

                Dear brothers and sisters, living on the earth, may times we are facing with difficult situations, we are panic and think that we are totally hopeless! Do not be like this, let us believe the word teaching us, "Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you." (1 Peter 5:7). We belong to Christ, He "had loved his own who were in the world, he loved them to the end." (John 13:1).

                All the sailors and the captain were very terrified the storm. They said to each other that, “Come, and let us cast lots to find out who is responsible for this calamity. They cast lots and the lot fell on Jonah." (Jonah 1:7). Jonah had sin against the Lord, he hid everyone. However, now all people knew. Because God revealed for all people knowing that Jonah is "responsible for this calamity." Jonah could not hide his sin anymore.

                Studying this story,  we should be afraid the Almighty God. Because He can fulfil His teaching that, "There is nothing concealed that will not be disclosed, or hidden that will not be made known." (Luke 12:2). So let us pray God help us to be careful, not to do the bad things, avoid to sin against God, because soon or late, what we have done will display, we will not be able to hide them as Jonah. There is the key to avoid to do bad thing is, "Whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God." (1 Corinthians 10:31).

                To everyone on board, the storm was a natural calamity, but to Jonah was not only a natural calamity but also a disastrous storm. The lot fell on Jonah. The lot exposed that Jonah was the source that made the ship in the danger. Jonah was a son of God. Did God love him? If yes, why did God let him in an impasse? Now was it better for Jonah to forsake God or to continue to worship Him?

                The Bible teaches that, "the Lord disciplines the one he loves, and he chastens everyone he accepts as his son." (Hebrews 12:6). Now there are two things:

                1. The Lord said, "Jonah is my son, I asks him going to Nineveh, Jonah runs away from me and heads for Tarshish. Let him do what he wishes, I do not care." or

                2. The Lord says, "Jonah is my son, I asks him going to Nineveh, Jonah runs away from me and heads for Tarshish. I love Jonah, I do not want Jonah going   astray. I send a storm to draw him back to my loving arms."

                Two above ways, which way is blessed for Jonah?

                Dear believers, the Lord always wants to train us growing up in the faith of Christ. When facing with any situations, by the grace of God, we can stand firm in Christ. Therefore, in our life, if we have any tribulation, we pray God that what lesson we can learn? Please remember that, "No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it." (Hebrews 12:11).

                And, "Endure hardship as discipline; God is treating you as his children. For what children are not disciplined by their father?" (Hebrews 12:7). By the discipline of God, Jonah is blessed. So even in any situation, may God help each of us stand firm in Him, we still are children of God, belonged to Him. Do not forget that God loves you always.

                May God bless each of us. Amen.

Rev Thành Hữu Trần.

Click on this link to view the English Page

---

[1] All quotations are from the New International Version Bible, unless otherwise noted.

Jonah Flees From the Lord (Jonah 1:1-6).

            1. The word of the Lord came to Jonah son of Amittai: 2. “Go to the great city of Nineveh and preach against it, because its wickedness has come up before me.”

            3. But Jonah ran away from the Lord and headed for Tarshish. He went down to Joppa, where he found a ship bound for that port. After paying the fare, he went aboard and sailed for Tarshish to flee from the Lord.

            4. Then the Lord sent a great wind on the sea, and such a violent storm arose that the ship threatened to break up. 5. All the sailors were afraid and each cried out to his own god. And they threw the cargo into the sea to lighten the ship.

But Jonah had gone below the deck, where he lay down and fell into a deep sleep. 6. The captain went to him and said, “How can you sleep? Get up and call on your god! Maybe he will take notice of us so that we will not perish.”

Jonah Flees From the Lord.

(Jonah 1:1-6).

                The book of Jonah in the bible was written by the prophet of the same name under the guidance of the Holy Spirit. It was because of cases like this that we are able to study the word of God today.

                The bible states that the word of the Lord came to Jonah and said, “Go to the great city of Nineveh and preach against it, because its wickedness has come up before me. But Jonah ran away from the LORD and headed for Tarshish. He went down to Joppa, where he found a ship bound for that port. After paying the fare, he went aboard and sailed for Tarshish to flee from the LORD.’ (Jonah 1:2-3 NIV)

                Jonah was in Israel when God requested that he go to Nineveh, a city situated on the way to Iraq and Tarshish in the direction of Spain. If we take notice of this, God asked Jonah to head East but he actually heads towards the West.

                Why did Jonah refuse to preach the word of God in Nineveh? This is because Nineveh is the capital of Assyria.  During this time, Assyria and Israel were enemies. Jonah thought that if a war were to break out, the Israelites would be defeated. He was a prophet after all, Jonah knows that the LORD hates sin therefore Jonah didn’t want to afford the Assyrians the chance to confess their sins and have them forgiven. They would remain sinners and God would punish them and the Israelites wouldn’t have to go to battle to be the victors.

                Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, Jonah followed his own way of thinking, making excuses for why he didn’t follow God’s instruction. Has Jonah sinned against God? What about us? Do we follow God’s instruction? His word teaches us “Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, love for the Father is not in them.” (1 John 2:15 NIV). Things of the world, what does that mean? There’s a saying in Vietnamese that when translated it means such is the love for money that you’re even reluctant to spend silver coins. Truth be told, we do need certain materialistic things to survive in this world. God knows this. He has blessed us with a place to live, cars and financial stability. This is already more than enough. We should be wary of wanting our homes to be larger and grander than others and desiring our cars to be the latest models. Furthermore, we shouldn’t worry ourselves with keeping our treasures here on Earth. Let’s live our lives according to the word of God “If we have food and clothing, we will be content with that” (1Timothy 6:8 NIV) and not focus on increasing our wealth beyond measure for “those who want to get rich fall into temptation” (1Timothy 6:9 NIV).

                The bible also teaches us not to be money hungry and for those who are slaves to it is in themselves like Jonah, God gives an instruction to go one way and we end up going down a completely different path.

                Jonah ran away from the Lord in a bid to hide from His view. Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, do you feel like chuckling when you hear this? How is it even possible to hide from the almighty, all-knowing, all-seeing God’s view? The Psalmist says “Where can I go from your Spirit? Where can I flee from your presence? If I go up to the heavens, you are there; if I make my bed in the depths, you are there.”  (Psalms 139:7-8 NIV). Therefore today, when we do anything we should remember that we cannot avoid God, He sees all things and He knows all things, every little detail that we conceal from others we cannot hide from Him.

                The Lord commanded Jonah to go to Nineveh and instead he went to elsewhere. He went down to Joppa and found a ship bound for a port in Tarshish. Jonah asked how much the fare was, paid it and boarded. Everything went smoothly and it appears as if one event simply flowed nicely onto the next. Does this mean that God has blessed Jonah’s decision?

                There was a person who wanted to claim more welfare money and went to the social security office, telling the officer there that he had separated from his wife and asked for a form to fill out. The request was put through by the officers and the man earned more welfare thereafter. He went home once all was approved and boasted to everyone. “God has blessed me! Everything went well, no difficulties encountered.” Brothers and sisters, what do you think? Was it God who oversaw this? Let’s think back to Eve who gave in to the devil’s temptation and ate the forbidden fruit in the Garden of Eden. God didn’t intervene or force her not to. In that moment, Eve was able to pick the fruit and eat it. Just because she was able to, doesn’t mean that the very thing Eve did was because the Lord blessed her. God was simply respecting Eve’s freedom of choice therefore, we need to be wary of what we do and take personal responsibility for our actions.

                The story of Jonah continues, “But the LORD sent a strong wind on the sea, and the storm was so violent that the ship was in danger of breaking up.” (Jonah 1:4 NIV).  Anyone who has been a refugee by boat knows that one of the biggest fears  while navigating the seas are storms. But the fear isn’t just limited to this, severe storms can happen on land as well. An example of the devastation and destruction that can result from these natural disasters is Hurricane Katrina in the U.S. These can happen anywhere, even in a powerful first world country like America.

                People are afraid of these natural disasters occurring but for us, we need to be fearful of the storms that can rage in our families, our congregation and in our wider church community as well. If we’re not careful, these can damage the happiness and foundation of some of the most important relationships in our lives.

                Dear Friends, why do you think the boat Jonah was travelling on experienced such rough conditions? It is because of Jonah’s sin. This is akin to our own families, if we store sin within the four walls of our home, then such storms like the one Jonah faced will hit as well. The word of God teaches in Hosea 8:7 “When they sow the wind, they will reap a storm!” Sowing the wind in our families involves parents not taking law and order seriously, husbands and wives lying and cheating, dishonest children, one person holding a grudge against another… Even though these issues that crop up in our families mightn’t be a big deal, they can in time build up to become real problems. This is why we hear people lament and say, my family is not blessed.

                When Jonah decided to go into hiding from God, he paid his fare, boarded a ship at Joppa and went “below and was lying in the ship’s hold, sound asleep.” (Jonah 1:5 NIV). We see here that Jonah was heading on a down slope.

                When following God, our lives are on an upward trajectory. Hymn number 242 contains the lyrics “The Lord uplifts me, higher and higher”. Experience would tell us that moving uphill is difficult and going downhill easy. We lie in bed on Sunday mornings, thinking it would be much easier than sitting up and getting ready for church. A spiritual life going downhill manifests itself in not wanting to attend church, not reading God’s word, easily angered, judgemental, and meagre when it comes to offerings… Not wanting to think of what ways one can serve the Lord, what ways would please Him?

                When Jonah went below to the ship’s hold, he believed that he was safe. He had no qualms with anyone on board, the captain and crew and could sleep soundly in this knowledge. Jonah was at peace with everyone except God. Why? Because he had not followed the Lord’s will and had acted on his own. It is because of this that Jonah’s path would not be straight.

                Today, there are many who are just like this. Isaiah says “All of us were like sheep that were lost, each of us going his own way…” (Isaiah 53:6 NIV). At times, we are like Jonah, acting upon our own thoughts and desires. In doing so, we are opposing God. Those who do are “far away from God and were his enemies” (Colossians 1:21 NIV). When we are far from God, there is no way that we can be at peace.

                Jonah sinned against God and even though he went far below the ship’s hold and fell asleep, he would still face trouble. The storm was threatening the ship. Everyone on board was afraid. They tried to throw cargo overboard to lighten the load. All were praying to their gods to save them, however we know that these idols “do not really exist” (1Corinthians 8:4 NIV).  Because of this, the storm did not subside. The captain rushed to wake Jonah and said “What are you doing asleep? Get up and pray to your god for help!” (Jonah 1:6 NIV).

                While everyone was frantic and believing that they would die at sea, Jonah was sleeping soundly! Why was he able to do this, despite the situation? Perhaps Jonah thought that because he was a believer he would be saved regardless, his name has already been written in the book of life. Jonah rest assured that this was the case. Do you think this is the right attitude?

                Today, is there any brother and sister in Christ who has that same thought process? We have been saved by the blood of Jesus Christ, of course we’re going to go heaven and be with our God. Whoever is not, then that’s their business? If so, do you think that this pleases God? The Lord is able to send a storm into our lives to awaken us.

                My brothers and sisters in Christ, we all know that life is short. Moses noted in Psalms “Seventy years is all we have – eighty years, if we are strong… life is soon over, and we are gone” (Psalms 90:10 NIV). It was only the other day that we were young and all of a sudden we’re not! Where did the time go? Time flies and if we don’t make the most of it, we’re going to feel as though it’s wasted; time watching TV, playing video games, time spent on things that have little benefit. It won’t be long until our time will run out and we will step into eternity, not spreading the good news to anyone else while we were still here on Earth. And then when we meet our God, what will we say to Him? Don’t let that be a regret that you carry.

                Jonah did not follow God’s plan to preach at Nineveh. What about you my friends? The word of God says “…but when the Holy Spirit comes upon you, you will be filled with power, and you will be witnesses for me” (Acts 1:8). The Lord calls us and the Spirit reminds us to share the amazing gift He gave us in the form of His one and only Son. We can’t say to Him “God, in time, just a few more days”. We make these promises but we can easily forget, isn’t it?

                My brothers and sisters in Christ, go out and love others, share the good news with those who are still living in sin and bring them to know Jesus Christ so that they can be saved. We are called to do good works like this. The bible teaches “… if we do not do the good we know we should do, we are guilty of sin” (James 4:17 NIV). What do you all think? We know what is good, so do we act on it?

                I pray that God will give each and every one of us the strength to reject our own will so that we can follow His, that we will remain alert and ready, not falling asleep like Jonah did when the Lord calls. I pray that God will bless us with the words and opportunity to spread the good news so that more people will come to know the unending, merciful love of Jesus Christ. Amen.

Rev Thanh Huu Tran.

Click on this link to view the English Page

IGNORING GRACE

Read: Matthew 7:13-23.

            In the hectic downtown of one of Asia's great cities, I marveled at the busy sidewalks filled with people. There seemed to be no room to move in the crush of humanity, yet it also seemed that everyone was moving at top speed.
            My attention was drawn to the soft, almost mournful sound of a single trumpeter playing "Amazing Grace." The crowds appeared oblivious to both the musician and the music. Still, he played  sending a musical message of the love of God out to whoever knew the song and would think about the words as he played.
            I thought of this experience as a parable. The music seemed to be an invitation to the masses to follow Christ. As with the gospel message, some believe in God's amazing grace and choose the narrow way. Others ignore His grace, which is the broad way that leads to everlasting destruction. Jesus said, "Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it. Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it" (Matt. 7:13-14).
Jesus died for sinners so that "whoever calls" on His name (Rom. 10:13) can find forgiveness in His grace. 

- Bill Crowder

Amazing grace how sweet the sound
That saved a wretch like me!
I once was lost but now am found,
Was blind but now I see. - Newton

Back to The Spiritual Nurturing Page

DREAMS OR CHOICES?

Read: Philippians 1:1-11.

"Approve the things that are excellent, that you may be sincere and without offense."

(Philippians 1:10).

                I've received a lot of good advice in my life. Near the top of the list is this wise observation from a friend: "Life is not made by the dreams that you dream but by the choices that you make."
               He's righty our life today is the sum total of all the choices you've made up to this point. The apostle Paul gave similar advice in Philippians 1:10, when he said to "approve the things that are excellent" (1:10). In any given situation, we have a whole continuum of choices ranging from really rotten choices, to the mediocrity of average choices, to choices that are good, and then to those that are excellent. God wants to move us across the continuum, past our natural impulses, all the way to excellent choices.
              Often it's challenging to make the most excellent choice, especially if there aren't many others joining us. Sometimes it may feel as if our desires and freedoms have been suppressed. But if you follow Paul's advice, you'll notice some really positive outcomes like being pure and blameless and fruitful (v.11).
Make the choice to live a life filled with love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control (Gal. 5:22-23). Then revel in the result! 

        - Joe Stowell

The little choices we must make
Will chart the course of life we take;
We either choose the path of light,
Or wander off in darkest night. - D. De Haan

Make an excellent choice and watch the ripple effect of blessing.

Back to the Spiritual Nurturing Page

CHANGE

Read: Matthew 3:1-12.

"Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand!...

Therefore bear fruits worthy of repentance." (Matthew 3:2,8)

            Medical studies have shown that even though people who have had heart-bypass surgery are told that they must change their lifestyle or die, about 90 percent do not change. Typically, 2 years after surgery the patients haven't altered their lifestyle. It seems that most would rather die than change.
            Just as doctors preach a physical message of change to prevent death, John the Baptist came preaching a spiritual message of change. "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand!" (Matt. 3:2). He was preparing the way for the ultimate manifestation of God's reign the Messiah, Jesus.
            Repentance means to change one's mind and attitude about God, which ultimately changes a person's actions and decisions. Those who repent and accept Christ's provision of forgiveness from their sins through His death on the cross will escape spiritual death (John 3:16). Repentance involves confessing sin with godly sorrow, and then forsaking sin. John the Baptist was calling people to turn from one way of living to ways that honour God.
            Today, the Lord is still calling us to repent and then to respond with the "fruits worthy of repentance" (Matt. 3:8).

                                                   - Marvin Williams

Repentance is to leave the sin
That we had loved before,
And showing we are grieved by it
By doing it no more. - Anon.

Repentance means hating sin enough to turn from it.

Source: Daily Bread.

Back to the Spiritual Nurturing Page