jonah- responding to god in all the right ways

8/7/2019 Jonah- Responding to God in All the Right Ways

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Jonah

Responding to God

in All the Right Ways


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Jonah: Responding to God in All the Right Ways

Copyright 2008 by New Song Press

All rights reserved. Written permission must be secured from thepublisher to use or reproduce any part of this book, except for briefquotations in critical reviews or articles.

All Scripture quotations, unless otherwise noted, are from the Holy Bible: New International Version NIV , Copyright 1973,1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission ofZondervan Publishing House. All rights reserved.

Seed, Harris W., III, 1957Jonah: Responding to God in All the Right Ways/Hal SeedISBN-13: 978-0-9797878-3-6ISBN-10: 0-9797878-3-1

Also by Hal Seed:The God Questions: Exploring Lifes Great

Questions about GodFuture History: Understanding the Book of Daniel

and End Times Prophecy

To purchase copies, and for other books, cds, articles and freeresources, visitwww.halseedbooks.com
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Jonah is dedicated to Chuck Riffe, Dennis DeMille, DonKuhn, and Scott Evans, the men of my small group, whohelped test and refine the Bible Discussions, as well astest and refine me in our weekly times together. How

good and pleasant it is when brothers live together inunity!

I am indebted to Kim Bilas, Jan Funchess, Lisa Frost

and Eric Vasilades, a stellar team of servants who enableresources to flow from The Church Next Door. If youbenefit from the word choices and easy-to-read format,thank Kim. If you listen to CDs or utilize ourPowerPoint presentations, thank Jan. If you found outabout this resource or accessed items fromwww.halseedbooks.com, thank Lisa and Eric. Of deep

significance to me is my wife, Loris contributions to thequality of the text, and my daughter, Amys contribution

of theAfterward.
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Contents How to Get the Most out of this Book 7

Introduction

How to use Jonah as a Small Group Study 11

How to use Jonah as a Church Wide Study 14

Week One-Responding to

Gods GreatnessDay 1Responding to God 18

Day 2The Fine Art of Question Asking 21Day 3Fear That Builds Faith 27

Day 4How to Harden a Tender Heart 31

Day 5Why Great and Gracious Are So Important 37

Week Two-Responding to

Gods CorrectionDay 1Responding to Gods Correction 44

Day 2Praying Through Your Circumstances 50

Day 3Enquiring Minds Want to Know 55

Day 4Open Hands 59

Day 5Whats on Your Mind 64

Week Three-Responding to

Gods Grace

Day 1Responding to Gods Grace 72

Day 2Nin facts 76Day 3Putting On Sackcloth 82

Day 4Fasting 87

Day 5The Sign of Jonah 92


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Week Four-Responding to

Gods Correction (Again)

Day 1Responding to Gods Correction-Again 99Day 2Getting Mad at God 105

Day 3The First and Last Word 110

Day 4The Message of Jonah 114

Day 5The End? 118

Afterward

By Amy Seed 124

Discussion Questions

Running the Other Direction 129

Indigestion 132

A Second Chance 134

Frustrated with God 137

Key VersesKey Bible Verses to Memorize 143


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How to Get the Most out of

this Book

Jonah: Responding to God in All the Right Wayswas written to help you understand the book of Jonah,and to apply what you learn by responding to God innew and appropriate ways every day. The book isstructured with five daily readings and a DiscussionGuide for each chapter of the Book of Jonah.

Ideally, youll follow the daily readings Mondaythrough Friday, take Saturday off, and go to church onSunday. If youre part of a small group, youll meet with

your group sometime during the week to go through theDiscussion Guide for that chapter.

Each daily reading concludes with the questionHow do you respond to a God like that? followed by

suggestions or guidance relevant to that days topic.

Jesus said, Everyone who hears these words of mineand puts them into practice is like a wise man who built

his house on the rock. (Matthew 7:24). My prayer isthat you will become a more authentic responder to God

at every turn as a result of your experience with thisbook.


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Introduction

Want to hear an irony?

The story of Jonah is one of the best knownstories in history. People who attend church and peoplewho dont attend church are familiar with it. Stop ten

people on the street and ask, Have you heard the story

of Jonah and the Whale? and nine of them will say,Yes. This is slightly humorous, considering there is

no whale in Jonahs story.

A whale is a mammal. The Bible says Jonah wasswallowed by a big fish. But thats not the irony. The

irony of the story of Jonah is that the story isnt aboutJonah. The story of Jonah or, more properly, the book ofJonah is about God. Think of the book as a screenplay.

Jonah is the best supporting actor, and God is the heroand main character. God is the star of this four chapternovelette in the middle of the Minor Prophets. Ivewritten this brief book because I want you to see God forwho He is. Once youve seen Him through the eyes of

Jonah, youll never see or think of Him in the same way

again. My hope is that by seeing the right and wrong

ways Jonah and others respond to God, youll moreeasily find and choose the right ways for yourself.

What youre beginning is a four-week adventureinto one of the great stories of history. Along the wayyoull encounter wind, waves, worms, and one very

reluctant prophet. Watching over all of them is a great

and grace-filled God. As much as any book in the Bible,the book of Jonah showcases Gods two most important

qualities: greatness and grace.Ill explain why these areso important a little later. For now, let me paint you apicture.


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My children were born in Longmont, Colorado.Longmont is a quiet city at the base of the RockyMountains. Wherever you go in this perfect little town,your view is dominated by two mountains: Longs Peakand Mt. Meeker. Together, these mountains are called,The Twin Peaks. Visit Longmont and youll agree:

theyre aptly named. Longs Peak and

Mt. Meeker are toweringcompliments to each other.Individually, theyre impressive;

together, theyre breathtaking. Thebook of Jonah has its own TwinPeaks. Gods lofty traits of greatness

and grace tower over every chapterof the book. By themselves, Gods greatness and grace

are both impressive. Together, theyre everything a

creature could hope for in his or her Creator. Chapters

one and two major in Gods greatness as Goddemonstrates His power over nature, and chapters threeand four major in His grace as He demonstrates Hiswillingness to forgive.

My family doesnt live in Longmont anymore;

were beach bums these days. Still, I will never forget

those peaks. By the time youre through with Jonah, Ihave a hunch, neither will you.


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How to Use Jonahas a

Small Group Study

Jonah was designed to be used as a four weeksmall group experience and/or church-wide campaign. Ihave written five devotional readings plus a discussionguide for each of the four chapters of the book of Jonah.Ideally, youll hand out books one week prior to your

first small group discussion, and each member will read

the five devotions for Jonah 1 before discussing chapterone, repeating the process each week thereafter.

I have five strong convictions about small groups:

1. Life is sweeter when its shared with others. Thehighs are higher, and the lows arent as low.

2. Iron sharpens iron. Life change happens best inthe context of a small group of trusted friends.3. God sometimes speaks through the voice of a

good friend.4. The most important meeting of the church is

when it gathers for worship and teaching. Thesecond most important meeting is when

community happens.5. Community, by definition, means knowing andbeing known, loving and being loved, servingand being served, celebrating and being

celebrated.1

If you are part of an existing small group, I hopeyou will find that the discussion guides in this bookstimulate you to deeper intimacy and spur you to greateraccountability with one another. If you are not already

1Bill Hybels taught me this.


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part of a small group, I hope you will use the resourcesofJonah to inspire you to develop or join one.

Each discussion guide begins with a questiondesigned to loosen the group up and help you get toknow each other. Dont skip these! Theyll help you

bond, which will make all the difference in your sharing.If your group members become close, there will be dayswhen you wont get to the discussion because someonein the group will have a question that needs attentionthat day. In my experience, those are some of the best

days.

How to Start a New Group:

If youre not currently part of a group, heres how you

start one:

1. Decide what time and day will work best foryou. One key principle of a small group is thatthe leader has to be able to make almost all themeetings. Make it a time and place you cancommit to.

2. Decide what kind of a group youd like to have.Personally, I prefer to be in a mens group. I find

that men open up better without women present.I suspect the same is true for our femalecounterparts. Single folks might prefer to be in amixed-gender group, and married folks mightlike to have their spouses present. Decide whatyoud like best, and then make a list of four tosix people who fit that profile that youd like to

get to know better.3. Call and invite three to five people to join your

group. Say, Hi _______! I just found this paperback on the book of Jonah. Its calledResponding to God in All the Right Ways, and it


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looks really good. Id like to do a group study on

it. Would you like to join me?4. Stop inviting when youve got four or five in

your group. Groups can become larger than that,but if they start larger than that, it will takelonger for them to gel. It is better to start withfour to five and then invite 1 or 2 new peopleafter youve been meeting for a few months. (My

group started with just three of us.)5. Bring books for everyone to the first meeting. If

youre not sure how many will be there, make a

photocopy of the first chapter, with the promisethat youll have the real thing for them next

week.6. Introduce yourselves, tell why youre meeting,

pray, and begin the discussion of chapter one.Its that simple. Dont ask for a long-termcommitment. If this study goes well, that will

come naturally.7. Call anyone who misses the group and see how

theyre doing. Find out if theyre okay, see ifthey hope or plan to come next week, and letthem know you want them there.


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How to Use Jonahas a

Church-Wide Campaign

Church-wide campaigns can have a powerfuleffect on an entire church. When Dan Grider and I wroteThe God Questions, it surprised us how powerfully ourchurch members (and church attendance) grew duringthose campaigns. Dan often says, The sun can warmyou, but a laser cuts through steel. What he means is,

when you focus light in a single direction, it becomesmuch more powerful. We found that the differencebetween a normal sermon series and a sermon serieswhere everyone in the church is covering the samematerial is palpable. For maximum growth and impact, Ibelieve pastors should try to focus the entire church, itssermons, readings and small groups, on a single subject

at least once or twice a year. The richness of the mutuallearning, interpersonal relationships, and discussions issuperior to studying one topic on Sunday, a second topicin your personal devotions, and a third topic in yoursmall group.

Weve developed Jonah with all the tools you

need to create an all-church campaign. Your pastor canorder full-length, adaptable sermon manuscripts andmessage notes templates for inserting in your churchbulletin from www.halseedbooks.com. Well even giveyou the cover artwork to use in your services.Everything else you need for the campaign is included inthis book.

How does a campaign work?

Much like a capital funds campaign, an all-church campaign requires a little (though not a lot) of
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advance planning. Usually campaigns work better in theOctober December and late January April timeframe, because those are the times when most churchmembers are consistently attending. Jonah is anespecially flexible campaign because of its length. Youmight even consider using it as a short summer series, ora quick post-Easter campaign leading up to MothersDay. Below are the simple steps to help you from startto finish with a successful church-wide campaign.

1. Six weeks ahead: make the final decision tohold the campaign. Order sermon CDs and/ormessage manuscripts, plus message notestemplates.

2. Five weeks ahead: alert your weekend programor service planning team about this specialseries. They will want time to plan appropriatelyfor special music, and/or artwork. They may

even want to do some extra decorating aroundthe church.

3. Four weeks ahead: make a great announcementto the whole church. Showcase Jonah artwork,make the books available for those who want totouch, feel and read ahead. Include a sign-upsheet in your church bulletin and host a sign-up

table for people to register for a small groupand/or volunteer to be a small group discussionleader.

4. Three weeks ahead: hold an orientation huddlewith your staff and small group leaders.Information is power. Be sure they know whatJonah is all about, and why youre holding the

Campaign. Continue taking small groupregistrations. (By the way, Jonah is all aboutlearning to respond to God in all the right ways.)

5. Two weeks ahead: post or publish small grouprosters, allowing room for those who still havent


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signed up. Encourage members to invite theirfriends to the beginning of the series and to theirsmall group.

6. One week ahead: make sure everyone has abook, forecast the benefits you hope all willexperience from studying Jonah, and askeveryone to pray for God's work during theCampaign.

7. The week of the series: celebrate and enjoy thewonders of everyone studying and learningtogether.

8. During the series: look for and share stories ofwhat God is doing in peoples lives through the

campaign.9. When the series is done: email me

([email protected]) to share what youveexperienced. Gather a small group of leaderstogether to evaluate what went well and what

might be improved during your next all-churchcampaign.
mailto:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]


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Week 1

Jonah 1

Responding to

Gods Greatness


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Jonah 1

Day 1

Responding to God

But Jonah ran away from the Lord and

headed for Tarshish. -Jonah 1:2

Youll find Jonah in the section of the Biblecalled the Minor Prophets. When I want to find Jonah,

I think about a little poem I memorized to navigate thissection of the Bible. If you put the first letters of the firstfive Minor Prophets together you get, Ho Jo A Oh Jo.(Hosea, Joel, Amos, Obadiah, Jonah.) Its a dopey

rhyme, but it gets me there. Once Im there, I read a

story of a man who hears from God.

Jonah opens with, The word of the Lord came to Jonah son of Amittai: Go to the great city of Ninevehand preach against it, because its wickedness has come

up before me. (Jonah 1:1-2). So, Jonah goes theopposite direction. Nineveh is east of Israel. Jonah goeswest. He boards a ship sailing for Tarshish, which is inmodern day Spain. You may think Jonahs an idiot for

going the wrong way, but on Day 4 youll see that hehad his reasons. (Now might be a good time to beginreading the first chapter of Jonah if you havent already

done so.)

Soon after setting sail, God sends a strong wind.Waves start pounding the ship and the sailors are

terrified. They lose their lunch, and then they lose theircargo. When sailors start jettisoning their payload, youcan bet thats some serious sea. At this point in the

story, a little comedy sneaks in. Everyone gets religionexcept Jonah, the prophet. These crusty pagan sea-goers


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start praying their knuckles white, but Jonah fluffs hispillow and sleeps in the now empty cargo hold. From ahuman perspective, it looks like all is lost. Fortunately,there is more to this world than the human perspective.

Jonah chapter one is a classic example of agreat reversal. All seems to be lost, then an

intervention happens and all is saved. In this case, Jonahgets tossed overboard, and everyone lives happily everafter. From a cosmic perspective, the hand of God is allover this story. Its a hand that is both great and

gracious. The story begins with a call, Go to the greatcity of Nineveh and preach against it. (v. 1). God is toogreat to ignore what is going on in Nineveh and toogracious to judge them without warning. Next, theres

Gods greatness over nature. God controls the windsand the waves; they move to His purposes. He controlsthe fish; it follows where

He leads it and swallowswhat He feeds it. Hecontrols fate; when thesailors cast lots, the lotfalls to Jonah. Even thesailors are moved by thismighty God as they pray

(v. 5). They even offersacrifices and make sacred vows (v. 16).

Jonah 1 shines a spotlight on a great andgracious God. It begins with grace: sending a warning toNineveh; and ends with grace: the saving of the sailors.In the middle is Gods greatness over wind, waves, seas,

sailors, lots, fish and prophets.


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How do you respond to a God like that?

1. You can do what He asks.Thats what nature did. The

wind, waves, and fish all responded by doing exactlywhat God asked them to do.

2. You can worship Him. Thats what the sailors did.Right on the deck of the ship, they knelt and madesacrifices to God.

3.You can change your lifestyle

. The sailors did that,too. They made vows about what they were going to doand how they were going to live once their voyage wasover.

4. You can run the other direction. Thats what Jonahdid. He wanted nothing to do with Gods plan, so

instead of heading east, towards Nineveh, he sailed west,towards Spain.

What about you? As we begin this study together, take aminute to benchmark your current condition before agreat and gracious God. How have you been respondingto Him lately? How do you want to respond to Himtoday? We will take a closer and more personal look at

these questions as we journey with Jonah over the nextfour weeks together.


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Jonah 1

Day 2

The Fine Art ofQuestion-Asking

So they asked him, Tell us, who is responsible

for making all this trouble for us? What do you

do? Where do you come from? What is your

country? From what people are you? -Jonah 1:8

Have you ever noticed that the most engagingpeople are always good question-askers? While my wife(Lori) and I were in graduate school, we were invited todinner by Gary and Suzanne Prestontwice. During thefirst dinner, we had the time of our lives. Why? Simply

because Gary and Suzanne asked us athousand questions. Before our second dinner,Lori suggested, Lets try to turn theconversation to them tonight. So we did. Or at

least, we tried. All night long, one of us wouldask a question, one of them would answer briefly,ending with something like, And what about you?

Once again, we had the time of our lives. Since then,Ive tried to become good at question-asking myself.One thing Ive discovered: good question-askers asklotsof questions, sort of like the sailors in Jonah 1:8. Tellus, who is responsible for making all this trouble for us?

What do you do? Where do you come from? What is

your country? From what people are you? Five

questions in one verse. Thats got to be some sort ofBible-record.

I dont know if these mariners were normallygood question-askers. I suspect they fired so many


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questions at Jonah because they hoped to learn how tosave their lives. By the end of the chapter, they seem tohave done just that. Jonah 1:16 says, At this the mengreatly feared the Lord, and they offered a sacrifice to

the Lord and made vows to him.

How to Ask Good Questions

Good questions show youre interested in other

people, interested in learning, and, more importantly, not

interested in impressing people with how much youknow. Im sure there are more, but these three simplesteps might help in asking good questions:

1. Try: Decide that you really want to learn,understand, and/or get to know a person.

2.Once youve made that decision, ask questions andlisten: Often people ask questions as a means to turn the

subject to what they want to talk about. Instead oflistening to the answer, these types listen for an opening.As soon as the other person is done, they jump in. Greatquestion-askers dont jump in. They reflect (Hmmm. Isee what you mean.), clarify (Am I hearing

you say?), or nod in agreement,encouraging the speaker to continue.

3. Use non-verbals: Good question-askersare always good listeners. Good listeners show theirinterest with eye contact, facial expression, and posture.Around 94% of all communication is non-verbal, sogood listeners can sometimes communicate more

without words than good speakers can communicatewith words.


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What if Im not a Good Listener?

Good listening is an attitude. Philippians 2:4

says, Each of you should look not only to your owninterests, but also to the interests of others. If youreinterested, youll listen. If you wantto know, youll ask.If you ask, youre well on your way to mastering one of

the most important skills in getting along withpeople. In Jonah 1, we find one great listenerand a boatload of good question-askers. Look

at this dialogue:

Sailors: Tell us, who is responsible formaking all this trouble?

Jonah: No response.Sailors: What do you do?Jonah: No response.

Sailors: Where do you come from?Jonah: No response.Sailors: What is your country?Jonah: No response.Sailors: From what people are you?

Jonah didnt want to self-disclose. If it was

available back then, he would have pled the FifthAmendment. Since it wasnt, he answered, finally, Iam a Hebrew and I worship the Lord, the God of

heaven, who made the sea and the land. (Jonah 1:9).Good question-askers that they were, the sailorsresponded with, What have you done?

Jonah: No response.Sailors: What should we do to you to make

the sea calm down forus?


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Finally a response!

Jonah: Pick me up and throw me into the sea,and it will become calm. I know that it is my

fault that this great storm has come upon

you.

Reluctantly, the sailors do. First, they try rowingback to shore. Gods greatness keeps them from making

any progress against the waves. Next, they appeal to Hisgrace. They cried out to the Lord, O Lord, please donot let us die for taking this mans life. (Jonah 1:14).Theyre not only good listeners, they have good hearts.

They try everything in their power to keep from harmingthis irresponsible Hebrew, even though he is theinstigator of their distress. At the end of the day, thesenameless sailors got not only what they asked for theirlives are saved, but more than they asked for their

souls seem to have been saved as well.

Picture this scene for a minute. Youre a

Phoenician sailor. Youve picked up cargo and a few

passengers, and youre sailing north towards Phoenicia,anticipating a healthy payday. You believe in God, infact, from your childhood, youve been taught that there

are many gods, one for every river,tree, mountain, and ocean. Nowyoure out on the ocean, and what

youre experiencing is a God-sizedstorm. You do what you know.You and your mates pray to yourfavorite god and even jettison the cargo, but that doesnt

help. Youre about to sink and you know it. What doyou do? You ask questions, as many as you can untilyou find the truth. One of the passengers claims that hisGod is the God of heaven, the Creator God who made

the land and the sea. Youre not sure thats possible but,


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minutes from drowning, youll keep asking questions.

Why is God mad at you? What can we do about it?

Youre tempted to follow up with, And why should we

believe you? but theres really no time. At this point,

its either believe or perish. So you offer a quick prayer

to this new almighty God, and you throw His prophetoverboard. The seas calm. Youre going to live. Youregoing to reach land. Youre going to embrace your wife

again, hold your children again, eat again, sleep again,dream again, and hope again. Can you imagine theaftermath of all that just happened?


If youre a Phoenician sailor, you worship your

newfound God. You offer Him tangible sacrifices toshow your gratefulness. You make vows to Him aboutthe quality and direction of your life. Thats what

honest, well-meaning people have been doing since timeimmemorial. These men encountered the greatness ofGod in the seas, and the grace of God in the calming ofthe sea. They responded by submitting to Him.

Maybe this is something youd like to do today.

The truth is, though it may not be as obvious, God has

been great and gracious inyourlife as well. Hes createdamazing things for you to see and Hes created you with

an incredible ability to see and feel them. You may betempted to say, Why should I believe? Theoretically,

that might be a good question. My simple answer to youis, because He is worthy. That answer may not be

enough for you. If you need to ask more questions, ask

them. Hes a big God. He can take it. Ask yourquestions. Ive written an entire book (The God

Questions) to help good question-askers find answers.Jesus said in Mathew 7:7, Ask and it will be given toyou. The sailors prove this principle. They asked and


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subsequently received more than they hoped for. Theynot only lived, they found the one, true, living God. Ifyou keep asking, you will, too.

Perhaps you dont need to ask more questions. If

you already believe, you may want to respond as thesailors did. Offer some words of worship to this greatGod today, or a tangible sacrifice of your time, talents,or treasures. Maybe you can start with a vow of, Heres

what you can expect from me today, Lord. However,

what if today is the dawn of your believing? Like the

sailors, youve asked enough questions and now youreready to submit. If thats the case, say these words outloud:

Lord, I believe that you are a great andgracious God. I am submitting my life to you today.

Forgive me for the ways Ive run from you, and the

things Ive done that hurt others. From this momentonward, I want to be afollower of yours.

Thats a life and eternity-changing prayer. If youprayed it today for the first time, you will daily begin toexperience more of Gods greatness and grace. Mark

this day, and tell someone about it.

Lori and I havent seen Gary and SuzannePreston in years, but I think of them whenever I find agood question-asker. I wonder if theyre somehowrelated to a few ancient Phoenician sailors.


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Jonah 1

Day 3

Fear That Builds Faith

All the sailors were afraid and each cried out to

his own god. -Jonah 1:5

I went to see The Perfect Storm when it first

appeared in movie theatres. Large-action adventurefilms have a much greater impact when seen on the bigscreen. If you havent seen it, The Perfect Storm is abouta crew of fishermen who get caught in the middle of theAtlantic at the convergence of three storms. The plotlineis built on rising suspense and rising waves. The sailorsembark on a sunny day; they encounter a little rain, then

a little more rain, then twenty-foot waves, fifty-footwaves, and finally one-hundred-foot waves. By theclimax, your heart is pounding and youre leaning as far

away from the screen as you can in order to get awayfrom the sheer terror of the sea.

The sailors experienced something like that in

Jonah 1. They weigh anchor in Israel, heading for theirhome port of Phoenicia, just up the coast. Mild weatherturns inclement, then nasty, then brutal. As waves batterthe sides of the ship, then crash over their gunwales, andfinally break mast-height, it takes all their courage tokeep from panicking. Thats the plotline on the physical

plain. Peel back the veneer and a similar plotline bleeds

through on the spiritual level.

Focus on one word in the story and youll see it:

fear. It appears four times in the text. First, the sailorsare afraidof the storm (v. 5). Then, they interview Jonah


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and discover that hefearsYahweh, the God of heaven,who made the sea and the land. (v. 9). This escalates

their fear. Verse ten says, This terrified them Thechapter concludes with, At this the men greatly fearedthe Lord. (v.16). If youre reading a moderntranslation, you might miss this progression. The verbsused by The New International Version are afraid,worship, terrified, and greatly feared,but theyre all thesame word in Hebrew (yare). If you follow the

progression, you can see into the psyches of these heartymen of the sea.

As the stormprogresses, there is growingfear of Mother Nature. Thesemen are pagans, meaningthey believe that each facetof nature is ruled by a

particular god. Yamm, forinstance, was the god of the sea. They start out fearing agod (little g). Then they hear from Jonah that there

is a greater God in the universe; one who not onlyinhabits nature, but created it. The men probablyreasoned, IfthisGod is involved in whats causing thestorm, were not just in trouble, were in big trouble!

After all, this is the GREAT God; who can survivebefore Him? What they experience in the next fewhours changes everything for them. They fear this greatGod.

In an attempt to save His prophet, all hands rowfor shore. Making no progress, they decide their only

choice is to trust the prophets advice and throw himoverboard. Before they do so, they plead to this greatGod for mercy and understanding.


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O Lord, please do not let us die for taking thismans life. Do not hold us accountable for killing aninnocent man, for you, O Lord, have done as you

pleased (v.14).

It is from that prayer they discover a God theynever expected - this great God is also gracious! Hegives mercy to those who ask for it!


That day was a day of progressive revelation forthe sailors. They woke up believing one thing about theuniverse and went to bed with a completely revisedunderstanding. They knew first hand that there is oneGod in the universe who creates and controls the windand the waves, and who listens and loves when peoplepray. So the sailors offer Him sacrifices. Its what they

know to do. Theyve made sacrifices to pagan deities all

their lives. Now they make sacrifices to the One TrueLiving God. And they make vows. From now on, Imgoing to From this day forward, I will never

again We dont know exactly what they sacrificed or

vowed. It really doesnt matter. What matters is

howyou will respond to this God today. Here

are some questions that might help you withthat:

1. Is there a sacrifice youd like to make today to

the One True Living God?

2. How would you like to complete these

sentences? From now on, Im going toFrom this day forward, I will never again

3. You can bet one of the first things the sailorsdid upon arriving home was tell friends and


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family about their experience with Gods

greatness and grace. Who would you like to tellabout your experiences with God today?

If you dont keep a journal already, this might be a great

time to start. Seeing your own answers to thesequestions in print might inspire you to take action.


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Jonah 1

Day 4

How to Harden aTender Heart

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. -Jonah 1:12

Proverbs 28:14 provides a great contrast betweenwhat we learned about yesterday and what well learn

about today: Blessed is the man who always fears theLord, but he who hardens his heart falls into trouble.In chapter one, trouble is Jonahs middle name. Hes

in capital T trouble with God, people and nature both animal (a fish) and mineral (the ocean). Only theplant world has not turned against him, but it will, inchapters two and four. How did it come to this? How didJonah develop a hard heart? More importantly, how canyou avoid the same mistake? Lets walk through what

we know of Jonah to see how his experience can save us

some trouble.

Jonah was a prophet, a spokesperson for God.Theyre a rare breed. Less than 50 prophets are

identified in Israel during the 920 years between thetime of Moses (1350 BC) and Malachi (430 BC). To putthat into perspective, America has had 43 presidents in

the 220 years between George Washington (1789) andGeorge W. Bush (2008). Prophets are an elite class,chosen for their sensitivity to God, ability tocommunicate, and willingness to risk ridicule and harmfor Gods sake. Jonah must have been an impressive


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man, steeped in wisdom and insight, walking closelywith the Lord. No doubt, at some point prior to Jonah 1,he possessed a tender-hearted soul.

We know two things for certain aboutJonah. (1) His name means Dove. Manypeople in the Bible have strong correlationsbetween their name and their personality. (2)His birthplace was Gath Hepher, in NorthernIsrael (2 Kings 14:25). According to legend,Jonah was the son of the widow of Zarephath (1 Kings

17:7-24). He lived during the reign of Jeroboam II (782-753 BC). Jeroboam II was an expansion-minded kingwho restored some territory that Israel had previouslylost to her neighbors. Does all this really help usunderstand him? Perhaps, but consider this additionalinformation and how it might have affected Jonahsfeelings.

Jonah lived at a time when the nation ofNorthern Israel and the nation of Assyria weremortal enemies. The Assyrians were known fortheir brutality. In the records of Ashurbanipal II(884859 BC), he describes the way he and hismen treated the peoples they conquered:

I besieged and conquered the city I captured

many troops alive. I cut off some of their armsand hands. I cut off others their noses, ears andextremities. I gouged out the eyes of manytroops. I made one pile of the living and one ofheads. I hung their heads on trees around the

city. I flayed as many nobles as had rebelledagainst me and draped their skins over the pile ofcorpses I flayed many, right through my land

and draped their skins over the walls. I cut offthe heads of their fighters and built therewith a


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tower before the city. I burnt their adolescentboys and girls.2

Jonah may have witnessed this kind of cruelty.We dont know for sure, but imagine what losing a sonor father in this way would do to your heart. Bottomline, Jonah hated the Ninevehites. When God said,Jonah, Im going to judge them for their wickedness,

Jonahs thought was, The sooner the better. When

God said, I want you to warn them first, Jonahthought, Not a chance. This thinking was the first

step, the first understandable step, away from God.People believe Jonah ran from God because he wasafraid of God. Nothing could be farther from the truth.Jonah ran from God because Jonah knew God. He knewthat God is great and gracious. (For proof, skip aheadand read Jonah 4:2.) Jonah ran becauseof Gods grace.He didnt want that grace extended to the Ninevehites.

They didnt deserve it, couldnt merit it, and hadntearned it. If it were possible, Jonah was going to makesure they never received it.

Since they lived to his east, Jonah ran west. Themetaphor in his running is interesting. He went down toJoppa (v. 3); he went below deck, where he lay

down (v. 4); when the lots were cast, the lot fell toJonah (v. 7). Do you see the direction hes heading? By

the middle of chapter two, Jonah will be at the bottom ofthe ocean. Ill bet he never saw it coming. You see, the

hardening of a tender heart almost always starts with ajustifiable action. Jonah probably was thinking, Thesepeople dont deserve mercy, so Im not going to give it

to them. True, they dont. However, its not about whatyou or I or Jonah thinks; its about Gods grace. The

2http://www.adam.com.au/bstett/BAssyriaVsGod.htm


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minute you refuse to let God be who He is youve got awhole complex of problems on your hands.

First, Jonah makes a decision: Im going to

disregard Gods request. Then, a rationalization: My

thinking is right. Next, he makes a direction-change:Im going to go the opposite direction God wants me togo. That precipitates an altitude-change: down toJoppa, down below deck, lying down going lower and

lower and lower. Before he knows it, this once tender-hearted prophet has an attitude-change: Pick me up and

throw me overboard (v. 12), I dont care. By the end ofthe book, his outlook is so low, he despairs of life, OLord, take away my life, for it is better for me to die than

to live. (Jonah 4:3). The outcome of a hardened heart isoften an inability to imagine joy again, or believe thatgood things will come to you if you return to Gods

faithfulness. When our hearts shrink, or calcify, our

eyes lose the ability to see the good around us. I knowmany people whose depression started from a decision.They decided to walk their way instead of Gods way.3

When we first started New Song CommunityChurch, I led a Bible Study for seekers who wanted toknow if God was real and trustworthy. One of the men

in the group, Dave Allen, struggled with the concept ofgrace. His boss had been killed in a tragic crime and thepain he felt for her and her loved ones almost kept himfrom embracing the love God was extending to him. Afew weeks after his bosss death, Dave read a news

article about a serial killer who had asked for Gods

forgiveness days before his execution. This, too, put

Dave in a quandary. Can God really forgive Ted Bundy

3In fairness, I also know many people whose depression started

notfrom a decision, but from a chemical imbalance outside of their

control.


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after all hes done? he asked me. The thought of that

much grace was almost enough for Dave to decide hedidnt want to worship a great as well as gracious God.

I gave Dave the only answer I know. Can God reallyforgive me after all Ive done? And can He really

forgive you after all youve done? If you were God,

where would you draw the line on forgiveness? Whatsins would you forgive and not forgive? How muchgrace would be too much? Thankfully, Dave choseGods grace. Within a few weeks, he asked Christ to

forgive him and to lead his life. Today, he and his family

are active members in a local church. I heard recentlythat his son, Russell, was a contender for the DickButkus Trophyawarded to the best college linebackerof the season.

For whatever reason, Jonah just couldnt bring

himself to draw Gods line of grace around theNinevehites. So, he turned his back on God, just thisonce, just in this one instance. Im sure Jonah intendedto be loyal to God in everything else. Ill bet you know

someone whos said that as well, and isnt walking with

God today. To me, the really interesting part is, God stillused Jonah. In chapter three well discover that God

used Jonah to pull off one of the greatest harvestmiracles in history, as an entire city turned to the Lord.Few of Gods spokesmen see that breadth of fruit in a

lifetime. Apparently, hard heartedness is not an absolutedisqualifier from fruitfulness. Its just an absolutedisqualifier from hope, and joy, and closeness with theFather.

How do you respond to a God who

extends more grace than youd like Him

to?


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As Im writing this, God has recently extended a

great amount of grace to Mike McFadden. Mike, afireman in his 40s, came home from the hospital last

week with a new heart. Not a Jesus made my heart

new, kind of heart, but a new hearta heart transplant.A month ago, Mikes heart failed. He was put on the

emergency donor list and given only a few weeks tolive. Four days later, he had a new heart. Twelve hearttransplants took place in San Diego County in 2007.Mike received one of them, installed by one of the

leading cardiologists in the country. He came up to mein church yesterday to thank me for praying for him.Dont you love a story of grace like that?

If you were the McFadden family, how wouldyou be responding to God right now? Maybe thats how

we ought to respond to God every day. Psalm

118:24 says, This is the day the Lord hasmade, let us rejoice and be glad in it. There

are plenty of things to worry, complain, pout andprotest about. But in the face of a God who can forgive apeople like the Ninevehites and put breath in the lungsof a fireman, how can you not rejoice today? The realquestion is: what will that rejoicing look like for you?

Will you infect your workplace with a positive attitude?Will you hug your spouse more passionately thanyesterday? How about working a little harder on yourschool project, out of gratefulness to a God who let youexperience life today? Youve got a lot of choices ofhow to respond to grace this day, just dont choose

Jonahs way, okay?


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Jonah 1

Day 5

Why Great and GraciousAre so Important

Then the Lord sent a great wind great storm

great fish -Jonah 1:4, 12, 17

My dictionary defines great as powerful;influential, and gracious as merciful; compassionate.

Why, of all the character traits of God, does Jonahspotlight these two? What makes greatness andgraciousness so important?

When theologians try to describe God, they

divide His attributes into two categories. They call thesethe personal and impersonal characteristics of God.

Personal traits describe how we relate to others, whileimpersonal traits cover everything about us that doesnt

have to do with relating. You may be a great negotiator,poor sport, good conversationalist or polite schmoozer.Those are personal traits, or better, interpersonal,

because they express how you relate to people. At thesame time, you could be handsome, buff, smart, or short.Those traits are impersonal no people or persons areinvolved with them.

Gods personal traits include loving, merciful,

kind, patient, and helpful, etc. If you summed all of

those up, youd come up with one word:gracious

. Godis gracious. The New American Webster Dictionarydefines gracious as generous; magnanimous. WhenHe relates to people, He is amazingly gracious. Hisimpersonal traits include big, strong, intelligent and self-


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sufficient. (Or, if you want the fifty-cent versions, He isomnipresent, omnipotent, omniscient, and possessesaseity.) Sum those up, and you have great. God is great.If it were possible to distill Gods character into two

words, they would be greatand gracious.

You might be thinking, What

difference does this make to me? It

makes all the difference. Godsgreatness means that He can doanything. Anything you need done, God can do. If Godwere only great, wed have to add a warning to Him. Danger: this one is all-powerful! The good news is,however, Gods graciousness means that He cares. I canpray to a God like that and I can trust a God like that because Hes not only able, Hes willing. Thats awinning combination. In Jonah 1, God is able to controlthe seas and willing to respond to the sailors. In chaptertwo, youll find Him able to control the fish and willingto rescue Jonah. In chapter three, youll see His ability

to get the attention of an entire city and His willingnessto forgive every one of them. In chapter four, Hes ableto grow a plant and willing to counsel with a sulkingprophet.

If you turn to other books of the Bible, youlldiscover these same traits. In Daniel 4, God towers overthe most powerful man in the empire, a despot namedNebuchadnezzar. In His grace, God warnsNebuchadnezzar about pride; in His greatness, Hehumbles the king. In His grace (again), He restores theking, who then affirms Gods greatness by issuing a

proclamation to his entire realm. These Twin Peaks ofgreatness and grace are hallmarks of the life of Jesus.One minute He walks on water, feeds five thousand,calms a storm, transfigures His body (greatness), andanother He heals a paralytic, raises a widows son from

Great and

Gracious


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the dead, weeps with a father, or requests forgiveness forthose who hang Him on a cross (grace).

True Examples of Gods Grace

In October, 2007, San Diego County experiencedthe worst disaster in its history. Fires enveloped largesections of East County, Escondido, Fallbrook, CampPendleton, and more. A few hours after these fires begantwo of the fireballs in our church sprang into action.

Suzanne Duntley and Edwin Samson offered ourbuilding as a shelter for evacuees. What started as SanDiegos worst disaster became the best week of ministry

in New Songs history. We saw Gods greatness in the

provisions that poured in. Cots, bedding, blankets, food,water and clothing came from all quarters of ourcommunity. We saw Gods graciousness through the

actions of the volunteers. New Songers roamed thebuildingjoyfully cleaning bathrooms, humbly prayingfor those in need, counseling with those who lost homes,and all with smiles on their faces. We saw the greatnessandgrace of God as the Lord added to our number dailythose who were being saved. By the time it was all over,

we had fed and sheltered over 600people; saw 92 pray to receiveChrist, and starting a Spanishspeaking congregation the next

weekend for our new Spanish-speaking brothers andsisters.


During that week, I saw hundreds of peopleresponding to Gods greatness and grace through

service, prayer, and giving. The first were our ownchurch members. One member, Dave Wade, visited

Greatness

and Grace


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every Target and Wal-Mart in our area, buying anddonating every air mattress they had in stock. His wife,Susan, spent ten or more hours a day directing traffic inour front office. One of our college students, MattBellamy, slept 19 hours the entire week, preferring toserve while the opportunity was available. One of ourhigh school students, Sydney Darling, set up an updateboard to keep track of each fires progress so our guests

could stay informed about their homes and situations.When Sydneys neighborhood received the call to

prepare to evacuate, she said to me, Its only ten

minutes away. Mom will call if we really have toevacuate. I dont want to give up what Im doing. Roy

Vallez walked around the building with the widest smileIve ever seen, all the while saying, It doesnt get any

better than this.

Theres a church twenty minutes south of us,

Tri-City Church, led by Pastor Jim Harper. Tri-City alsoresponded in a big way. New Song has not yet been ableto afford to build a kitchen, but Tri-City owns a portableone. The kitchen is housed in a fifty-foot trailer, and

comes complete, ready to make almost any type of meal.Hearing about our need, these dear brothers and sistersbrought their trailer to our shelter, along with dozens ofvolunteers, who cooked meals for 300 to 700 peoplemorning, noon, and night.

Theres a church forty-five minutes north of us,

Compass Bible Church, pastored by my friend MikeFabarez. On the morning the fires struck, Mike calledmy house to see if Lori and I were alright. He offered hisown home, in case we were threatened by the fire. Whenhe found out about our shelter, he sent his associate

Gods Grace Working

through His people!


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pastor to help with counseling, a check to pay forplumbing repairs, and mobilized his church to provide500 dinners for the following evening. The Tri-Citypeople were so passionate about cooking for us; Iactually think they were a bit disappointed the night theydidnt get to prepare the meal!

One of the most moving examples of respondingto Gods greatness came from our congressman, DarrellIssa. Congressman Issa visited us on Thursday morningof the week of fires, and asked, What else do you

need? Upon learning that we had no showers, he madea quick phone call. Rite-Aid has a building with showersjust two-hundred feet from us. Within four hours, Rite-Aid was sponsoring free showers for our fire victims.The next morning, Congressman Issas assistant showed

up a second time to see if we had everything we needed.As she left, she handed me a personal check from

Congressman Issas family. This is to help with yourcosts, she said. Without embarrassing our

congressman, I will tell you it was not a small check. Isaw a similar response from the Credit Union that holdsthe mortgage on our building. As the fires began,ECCU4 decided to help those who were helping firevictims. After hearing our story, CEO Mark Holbrook

authorized his staff to deposit $10,000 in our account.

Our Youth Pastor, Jim Britts, studied what wasgoing on in our building and came to a conclusion. We

have plenty of volunteers, but everyone is so busy, noone is praying. So Jim spent hours that week in theprayer room, praying about the fires, praying for the fire

victims, and praying for fruitfulness for Christ. Whatsthe right way to respond to Gods greatness and grace?In the way that fits you. Ideally, at some point youll

4Evangelical Christian Credit Union, Anaheim, CA.


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pray like Jim, give like Mark Holbrook and Darrell Issa,and serve like Susan, Matt and Sydney. Most likely,there will be one or two predominant ways you like torespond, and thats really the key.How do you wanttorespond to God? What would makeyou feel good? Mostof the time, whatever it is you feel like doing will be thevery thing that brings the most joy to the Fathers heart,

and the most satisfaction to yours. Take that step andbegin!


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Week 2

Jonah 2

Responding to Gods

Correction


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Jonah 2

Day 1

Responding to GodsCorrection

In my distress I called to the Lord, and he

answered me. -Jonah 2:2

In chapter one Jonah responded to Godsgreatness. The size of the God-generated waves was toomuch to ignore. In chapter two Jonah learns to respondto Gods correction. Its a lesson hell need to master if

the Lord is going to use him. And does God use Him?Just wait until you read Jonah 3. Youll read what might

be known as the greatest evangelistic movement of God

in all of history.

As you read through the pattern of Jonahs

correction, it will seem familiar to you. Its the normal

course God uses to correct those He loves. The patternstarts with disobedience, which initiates discipline. Thisin turn causes distress and usually results in a decision to

obey, which then leads to deliverance. Im almostcertain youll be able to relate to it. Hebrew 12:6 pointsout that The Lord disciplines those he loves.Discipline is a recurring aspect of the spiritual life. Ifyouve ever been disciplined from on high, its because

God loves you.

Disobedience

In Jonah 1:2, God issues a direct command to theprophet. Go to the great city of Nineveh and preachagainst it because its wickedness has come up before


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me. This is not a suggestion or request. Its an order;like a father saying to his son, Jason, its time to take

out the trash. The command from God includes the

what (preach), the where(Nineveh), the when (go[now]) and the why(because of its wickedness). Thisis not the first time Jonah has heard the voice of God.He recognizes it as authentic and authoritative; heunderstands whats being asked of him. Jonah feels the

full intensity of Gods resolve on the issue, and without

reply, he pivots on his heels and runs. Bold moveJonah!

The unwilling prophet is thinking, The Lord isnot going to budge on this one, so theres no point in

arguing. Under no circumstances am I going to preach tothe Ninevehites, and since I cant reason with the

Almighty, I might as well put as much distance betweenus as I can before He realizes Im digging my heels in.

What Jonah hadnt factored into the equation was Godsgreatness. The eye of the Lord is clear enough to see toJoppa and beyond. His arm is long enough to reach farinto the sea. Jonah runs, but he doesnt get far before

God begins the inevitable work that every parent mustinitiate when their child disobeys. Godbegins the discipline process.

Discipline

When one of my children needed correction, wewould sit down and talk about what theyd done wrong

and why their behavior needed to be modified. Theconversation was always theoretical. Suppose you

continue to do this? Heres what could happen to you...If you choose this course of behavior for your life,

heres what it leads to... As a human father, I didnt

have visual aids at my disposal, or the ability to createthree-dimensional portraits of what I was trying to

GodsCorrection


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illustrate. In chapter two, Jonah learns that God hasneither of those limitations.

God, like all good parents, disciplines with loveand logic. In Jonah 1:4-17, God employs several visualaids. First, He extends His hand to bring Jonah home.Home is the best place to carry out discipline. If home istoo far away, someplace private is the next best thing.Can you think of anywhere more private than thedigestive tract of a large fish? Gods thinking must havegone something like this. What Ive asked of Jonah is

challenging, but reasonable, so Im going to expect fullcompliance. Ive got to stop Him from running and help

him do the right thing. This great God has power overthe wind and waves, so He uses both to bring Hiswayward prophet home. You might know God wouldmulti-task. While disciplining Jonah, He demonstratesHis power to the sailors in such a compelling way that

they turn and worship Him.

When our children were little, our disciplinepattern followed a careful script. When Bryan or Amys

behavior reached a certain magnitude of disobedience,they were sent to their room and given a few minutes to

calm down and think about their actions. I would jointhem, with a wooden kitchen spoon. My goal in the nextfew minutes was to apply loving discipline in order tohelp them learn self-discipline. We would talk aboutwhat had gone wrong and how to make it better. Ourconversations would be something like this: Honey, doyou understand what you did? Lets talk about how you

might be able to do that differently next time. My job isto help you grow up respecting things, and I love youtoo much not to take my job seriously. When the

conversation went well, I didnt need to use the spoon. Ifthere was a belligerent spirit, the spoon brought


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necessary correction. I applied it to the fanny, with aslap that would only sting, never damage or bruise. Thepoint was not to hurt, but to help. Sometimes a tiny swatdid the trick. Occasionally a second and third werenecessary. There would be tears, which always led totender discussions, hugs, and a prayer together. All ofour discipline was personal. We never asked (norallowed) others to do it for us.

In the same way, all of Gods discipline ispersonal. It was God who brought the seas against Jonahand God who summoned and opened the fishs mouth.Jonah gets this; in Jonah 2:3 he credits God, not thesailors, with casting him into the water.

In our spanking, we used a spoon, never a hand.The books we read cautioned about a childs associating

pain with his or her parents hand, so we chose the

wooden spoon. God does something similar. Instead ofdirectly disciplining Jonah, He creatively uses a fish.When our kids got a little older, we used confinement totheir rooms as a means of correction. God usesconfinement in this case as well.

Distress

Change of attitude is the major purpose ofdiscipline, and inside the fishs belly, Jonahs attitude

begins to change. The waterlogged prophet says, In mydistress I called to the Lord, and he answered me.(Jonah 2:1). Sometimes, when I sent the kids to theirrooms for a cooling off period, I would hear, Daaaad,

can you come in so we can talk? When a child is readyto talk, positive learning can begin. Jonah spends eightverses (2:1-8) describing this phase of his discipline.Hes sinking, hes drowning, hes in trouble, and he

knows it. What did he do? He called to the Lord.


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Notice, for a minute, how Jonahs attitude has changed.

In chapter one everyone prays, except Jonah. Jonahs

heart is hard. In chapter two, every word is a prayer.God has his sons attention, and he wants to talk again.Thats what happens in most successful child-disciplinesituations.

Decision to Obey

After talking for awhile (vs. 1-8), Jonah says,

I will sacrifice to you. What I have vowed I will makegood. (v. 9). You know things are back to normalwhen your son or daughter wants to do what you ask.His or her heart is soft again. When my children reachedthis stage, we would usually develop a game plan forwhat to do if this situation came up again. I believethats what God and Jonah did between verses nine andten. Jonah said, What I have vowed, I will make good.and the Lord said, And Ill help you with it. Once the

game plan was settled, The Lord commanded the fish,and it vomited Jonah onto dry land.(v. 10).

Deliverance

The final step in Jonahs discipline process was

deliverance. In the analogy of child-discipline, hes letout of his bedroom and allowed to return to normal life.Jonahs final words before being expunged from the fish

were, Salvation comes from the Lord. (v. 9).Deliverance is another word for salvation, and viceversa. Chapter one ends with a picture of Gods greatness: He

summons a fish to disciplineJonah. Chapter two ends with apicture of Gods grace: He summons

the fish to restore Jonah to land.


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Isaiah 55:8 says that His ways are not our ways.

Please note, however, some of His ways are like ourways, like the way He disciplines His children. Mychildren are grown now. Theyve turned out betterthan Ihoped. Most of the credit goes to God, but I think atleast some of the credit goes to the way they weredisciplined. Thinking through and following throughwith the spanking process was painful for me. It was the

right thing to do, but I never enjoyed it. Like most parents, I would think, This is going to hurt me a lotmore than it hurts you. It always did. God never enjoys

disciplining His children. No healthy parent can feelgood about causing any sort of pain to their offspring.We discipline because we love our kids too much to letthem develop patterns that will harm them later in life.God doesnt need us to feel sorry for Him, but think for

a minute about all the uncomfortable situations He mustface every day on this planet because of His love for Hiswayward children.

How do I respond to a God like that? I want toapologize for so many things Ive done that have hurt

Him. I want to be a joy to my Father, not a nuisance,

problem, or troublemaker. After I finish typing this, Ithink Ill spend a few minutes talking through somethings I may be doing that are troubling, disobedient, orrebellious to Him. You might want to do the same.Heres what Im going to pray: Im sorry, Father, for

the pain Ive caused you recently. I know its no funwatching me behave this way, and I know you dont

enjoy correcting me. Thank you for Your discipline.Like Jonah, I want to say, What I have vowed, I will

make good.(v. 9). Oh, and thanks for not using the fishon me.


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Jonah 2

Day 2

Praying Through YourCircumstances

You hurled me into the deep, into the very heart

of the seas, and the currents swirled about me;

all your waves and breakers swept over me.

-Jonah 2:3

In 1985 Lori and I volunteered for the missionfield. Our destination was Brazil. Our first task wassupport-raising, which took eighteen months. Whilemaking plans to ship all of our worldly goods to SouthAmerica, we were bombarded by second thoughts. For

three-and-a-half years wed been trying to have children.Specialists told us, Frankly, if you move to Brazil,

youll never have children. For weeks we struggled

with Jesus words in Matthew 10:37. Anyone wholoves his father or mother more than me is not worthy of

me; anyone who loves his son or daughter more than me

is not worthy of me. We knew two things: One, we had

what we believed was a God-given desire to havechildren. Two, Brazilians believe that children are a signof blessing. A childless couple would not make a greatimpression on them. We counseled with parents, pastors,and missions executives. Some said, Go anyway.

Others said, You should stay home. Gods opinion

was the most important to us, so we spent a lot of time

praying. Increasingly, we felt the Lord saying, I haveother plans for you. To make sure, we set aside anentire day, drove to a secluded park, and spent the day inprayer.


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Spending so much time in prayer can seem like adaunting task. How do you pray for eight to ten hoursstraight? Actually, once you get started, its surprising

how quickly the time passes. More surprising than theswiftness of the day was what happened inside of us.The day in the park gave us a sense of peace thats hard

to describe. Imagine how awkward and embarrassed youwould feel if you told everyone you know that you weregoing to spend the rest of your life in a foreign country,and then you had to come back and tell them youd

changed your mind. People who complete less than a

full four years on the mission field are called, first termcasualties, not an easy stigma to live with. Not only

were we not going to complete four years in Brazil, wewerent even going to get on a plane. Still, we found

peace through prayer!

Lori and I drove home from our prayer day witha peace-filled confidence that the Lord wanted us to

pursue the call He had originally given me thirteen yearsearlier. When I was 15 years old I had a distinct sensethat God wanted me to serve in a local church. Sincethat day in 1985 I have taken scores of prayer days. I tryto schedule at least four per year. They are good for me,and good for every person I touch because I come homea better, more passionate, focused and well-intentioned

leader. Every time I invest extended time in prayer, Iexperience the promise of James 4:8 (NASB), Drawnear to God and he will draw near to you. Our day atthe park not only clarified our career, we came homefeeling closer to the Father. We felt His presence, and

Philippians 4:6-7 says,Present your requests to God.And the peace of God

will guard your hearts


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that presence stayed close for many days. Exodus 34reports whenever Moses met with God, His face glowedfor days.5Ours got slightly sunburned. The glow forus was the tangible sense of Gods nearness.

What was happening inside of the fish in Jonah 2was pretty much like what happened inside Lori and meduring our day at the park. Jonah was praying throughhis circumstances. He was nearly dead when the fishrescued him. The engulfing waters threatened me, thedeep surrounded me; seaweed was wrapped around my

head. My life was ebbing away (v. 5, 7). At best,he was dazed; at worst, he may have been slipping intounconsciousness. Its possible that when he revived

inside the fish he didnt know exactly where he was. In

verse two he says, From the depths of the grave [inHebrew the word is Sheol, which is the place of thedead] I called for help. For a brief moment, he may

have thought hed died and gone to hell.

The Fish Prayer

What would you do if you were locked in awatery grave? My guess is youd pray your knuckleswhite. Jonahs fish-prayer followed a pattern that

troubled saints have found helpful for ages. Lets take alook at that pattern:

1. Jonah begins by recounting what happened tohim (vs. 1-7), then makes a request.my prayer rose to you (v. 7b).

2. With a growing sense of peace, he expressesfaith in the Lord.I will sacrifice to you (v. 9a).

52 Corinthians 3:13 explains that Moses wore a veil after those

meetings because he didnt want the people to see that the glow

was fading.


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3. Next, Jonah commits to doing Gods will.I will make good on my vow (v. 9b).

4. Ultimately, he closes with a word of praise.Salvation comes from the Lord. (v. 9c).

The next time you need Gods guidance, you might find

Jonahs pattern helpful, and heres an easy way to

remember it: FAITH

Feelings Express your thoughts and feelingsabout your circumstances.

Affirmation Affirm that God is big enough tohandle them, and that you trust Him.

Intentions State your intention, in faith, tofollow wherever He leads.

Thanks Thank Him for what Hes done in thepast.

Hope Choose to believe that He will come

through again.

I follow this pattern often. Somewhere in themidst of the process, I either get a sense of clarity onwhat He wants me to do next, or a sense of peace thatHes with me, even though the circumstance might stay

messy for awhile.

Jesus prayed the first part of this pattern whenHe was in the Garden of Gethsemane. My soul isoverwhelmed with sorrow (Feelings, Matthew26:37). My Father (Affirmation, v. 39a). Not as Iwill, but as you will (Intentions, v. 39b). At this pointthe pattern changes because it is Jesus who needs to be

thanked, and instead of needing hope, Jesus was (and is)the hope of the world. In Psalm 17:6, David sums upthe reason people pray: I call on you, O God, for youwill answer me We pray because God listens andresponds.


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Give this pattern a try. What circumstance are

you facing that needs Gods input or guidance? Take ablank sheet of paper and write a prayer to God, usingthese headings:

1. Lord, these are my feelings right now.2. I affirm my faith in You because3. My intention is to4. Thank you for

5. My hope now is

Listen for God to speak to you while you arewriting. You might find that you get through the entireoutline and still havent sensed His presence. If thats

the case, wait quietly for a few minutes. Psalm 46:10says, Be still and know that I am God. Wait for Him.Peace doesnt usually come while youre moving 90

miles an hour. Slow your heart rate and talk to Him or just listen. If He can speak to Jonah in the belly of thefish, He can speak to you right where you are. When Hedoes, write down what you think He said, or how itmade you feel. If youd like to share it with someone,

email me [email protected].


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Jonah 2

Day 3

Enquiring Minds Want toKnow

You brought my life up from the pit,

O Lord my God. -Jonah 2:6

Like most good books, Jonah raises almost asmany questions as it answers. I wonder if these madeyour top ten list:

1. After Jonah was thrown overboard, how long did ittake the raging sea to calm down?

2. How long was Jonah in the water before he was

swallowed by the fish?3. How far from shore was he when the fish scoopedhim up?

4. Was Jonah conscious or unconscious at the time ofswallowing?

5. Could someone actually survive in a fishs stomach

for three days?

6. How badly did the gastric juices sting, and how muchof Jonah was digested by the time he was vomited up?

7. What did Jonah look like when he reached shore?

8. What motivated Jonah to write his story? After all, it

doesnt paint him in a very flattering light.9. The prayer Jonah recorded: did he memorize it, or didhe re-create it mostly from memory when he was finallyin a place where he could write it down?


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10. When Jonah ran, why did God give him a secondchance? Why didnt He choose someone else?

After days of study, I can only conjecture andguess. (You might find it interesting to spend a fewminutes thinking about the answers and perhaps beginsome clue-searching for yourself.) On the other hand,there are some things I do know about this story:

1. Jonah did not make it to Nineveh inside the fish.Check a map. For the fish to get to Nineveh, it would

have had to swim westward the full length of theMediterranean Sea, then south and circumnavigate all ofAfrica, then northeastward to and through the entirePersian Gulf, and finally up most of the Tigris River.Thats approximately 14,000 miles. Granting it a full 72

hours, this aquarian marvel would have to average 200miles an hour.

2. One of the gods worshiped by the Phoenicians wasthe fish god Yamm. If Jonahs fish deposited himanywhere near Phoenicia (just north of Israel, on theeastern Mediterranean coast), this event would havemade quite an impression on all Phoenician Yamm-worshipers one that might have reverberated all theway to Nineveh. I suppose this might explain why theNinevehites were so receptive to Jonahs message ornot. Thats another one of those unanswered questions.

3. Nineveh is about 700 miles from Phoenicia. Jonahhad a long walk, and a long time to recover from anyinjuries he experienced from the fish incident. If, forinstance, his eyebrows, hair and outer layer of skin had

been digested, they would have grown back by the timehe reached the city. However, if chunks of flesh deeperthan the epidermis were digested, well, thats another

story.


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4. Jonahs rescue by a fish is a miracle. A miracle, by

definition, is something beyond the laws of nature. SinceGod invented the laws of nature, miracles are justrecreational activity for Him. R.K. Harrison6 hasdocumented cases where people have been swallowedby fish or whales and survived. But this one not onlyswallowed Jonah, it deliberately deposited him on dryland.

5. Jonahs fish-miracle was a rescue miracle. TheNinevehites repentance was also a rescue miracle. The

prophet was saved from death. The Ninevehites weresaved from the judgment of God, as well as impendingdeath.

6. Jonahs miracle would not have been necessary if he

had obeyed the first time.

7. When God spoke to Jonah, Jonah ran the opposite

direction. When God spoke to the fish, the fish swam toprecisely where God wanted him. Sometimes fish aremore faithful than prophets.

8. God used this miracle to forecast the miracle of theresurrection of His Son (Matthew 12:40).

9. In the minds of ancient Middle Easterners, the nationof Israel was associated with the constellation Pisces(the fish). This fish-miracle may have contributed to theassociation. Numbers 24:17 says a star will rise out of

Jacob. The star that guided the Wise Men may havebeen some sort of stellar phenomenon going on in theconstellation Pisces, which is how they knew the Kingwas born in Israel (Matthew 2:2).

6Harrison, R.K.: Introduction to the Old Testament; with a

Comprehensive Review of Old Testament Studies and a Special

Supplement on the Apocrypha. Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, June,

1969. Pages 908-909.


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10. Gods greatness in breeding, directing, andproviding the amazing fish at just the right moment, andgrace in using it to rescue Jonah from the sea are bothdisplayed in this one miracle.


One way to respond to a God like this is to watchfor Him. His greatness is reflected in everything He hasmade, which includes people. Until reading the book ofJonah, I didnt think about Gods greatness and grace

very often. Now Im seeing these qualities everywhere.

For instance, my office window at home looks out onsome amazing foothills. They change hue as the sunrises behind them, shines above them, and then descendsto the west. At every hour they exude greatness. Andgrace abounds. Last night I attended the wedding ofEdwin and Amy Samson. Edwin is a member of NewSong Churchs staff. His life is a daily unfolding of

grace. As a young Navy Corpsman, Gods gracepreserved him during Operation Iraqi Freedom. Hereturned home and found Christ in our church anotherexample of grace. Not long after, his first wife left him.While working at night as a custodian, he completed hisbachelors degree. Now hes excelling in seminary, just

a few semesters away from a masters degree. Last nightwas one big great-grace moment, as 400 New Songerswitnessed Edwins union to an outstanding young

woman with a heart and zeal equal to his own.

Gods grace flows daily in sustaining, providing,

forgiving, restoring, infusing hope, giving second

chances the list is endless. Look for it today andyoull see what I mean.


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Jonah 2

Day 4

Open Hands

Those who cling to worthless idols forfeit the

grace that could be theirs. -Jonah 2:8

You may have heard of a study taught in mostintroduction to psychology classes about a monkey

reaching his hand through the bars of his cage to get apeanut. The bars are just wide enough for the monkey toget his hand through, and just narrow enough to keephim from bringing his fist back inside when its wrapped

around the peanut. The result: the hapless monkey sitsthere clutching the peanut. Hed rather be immobilized

with his prize than free without it. I picture that scene

when I read the eighth verse of Jonahs prayer: Thosewho cling to worthless idols forfeit the grace that could

be theirs. Picture a creature clinging to a worthlessstone; only its not a monkey, its a human. Maybe its

you, or me.

I have discovered that many of lifes turning

points are triggered by flashes of insight. I callthem Aha!-Moments. One of my firstAha!-Moments came when I realized Icould swim faster than most of myfriends and I enjoyed it. That momentmotivated me to spend much of my childhood in thewater. One of my most important Aha!-Moments came

when I realized that I wanted to spend the rest of my lifewith Lori Hammer. That moment motivated me to popthe question.


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Jonah experiences an Aha!-Moment whilecamping inside the great fish. Upon first swallow, theprophet was near panic. Thinking he might actually bedead7, he did what most of us would do in a similarsituation, he cried out to God. Prayer has a calmingeffect8, so before long, Jonah was able slow down hisheart rate and think rationally about his situation. Thats

when hisAha! came. Suddenly it dawned on him that hewas better off inside the fish than most people areoutside the fish. Its better to be fish food, he

reasoned, than to live outside of a relationship with

God. His exact words were Those who cling toworthless idols forfeit the grace that could be theirs.

Heres what I picture happening. As Jonah isthrown off the ship, his eyes are imprinting the looks on

the sailors faces. Theyre terrified, coupled with atwinge of hope. Theyre wondering if Yahweh is really

the God behind the storm, and if so, will He be graciousto them once theyve jettisoned His servant overboard?

Now, inside the fish, Jonah thinks about these faces.Phoenicians worshiped a family of deities. El was thehead of the gods, with his wife/consort Asherah. Adonis

was a young, handsome god. Mot was the god of death;Yamm, the god of the sea; Yarih, the god of the moon;and Shapsh, the god of the sun. None of them weregracious or compassionate. What if this Yahweh, whomJonah claimed was the Creator God, really wasdifferent?

72:2, From the depths of the grave I called for help. Grave is

the Hebrew word, Sheol, the place of the dead.8

Philippians 4:6-7, Do not be anxious about anything, but in

everything present your requests to God. And the peace of God

will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.


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As soon as Jonah hit the water, the sea began tocalm down. Thats when the sailors responded to God

with vows and sacrifices. I dont know whether Jonah

could still see these men after he landed in the water. Isuspect the raging sea distanced him from the boat tooquickly for him to get a glimpse of their Yahwehworship. I imagine that in his fish-belly musing, hethought about them again. Were they still clinging to

Yamm and Mot, like the monkey behind the bars, or didthey recognize the greatness of the One True Living Godand choose to let go and follow Him? Then it hit him:I know the God of the One True Living God personally! I have a relationship with Him. Hes been

gracious to me! I am better off inside this fish withGods love than people who arent in fish bellies, butworship idols made of stone.

I have never worshiped a stone image in my life.

I imagine youve resisted this as well. Most of theimages we worship are far subtler the Americandream, achieving a coveted position at work, earning acertain annual figure, or even owning a particular car,truck, boat, plane, four-wheeler, etc. Those are thethings Americans live for, or at least trade large blocksof their time for. An honest way to measure what, or

who, youre living for is to look at your calendarand inyour wallet. Where are you spending the bulk of yourtime and treasure? Those may be your idols.

Notice two words in Jonahs musing: Thosewho cling to worthless idols forfeit the grace that could

be theirs. One is cling. Once the monkey grasps the

nut, hes caught. Unable to get the nut and unwilling tolet go of it, he clings to it, rejecting all rationality. Theother word is grace. The New Testament word for

grace is charis.It means unmerited favor. This is theOld Testament word, hesed. Its used 248 times in the


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Bible. Usually its translated unfailing love, steadfastlove, or kindness. Hesed is Gods loyal love. He lovedthe nation of Israel because of their relationship, in spiteof all the times they turned their back on Him. Hesed isGods fierce love for His children. Its available to

anyone who will follow Him. God commissioned Jonah,directed him to the Ninevehites, whipped up the storm,summoned the fish, and calmed the sea, all because ofHis hesed. Hes a greatGod, and because of His hesed,he cared enough about the Ninevehites to send them aprophet, enough about the sailors to save their lives, and

enough about Jonah to restore himand give him a second chance.Hes a gracious God.

Imagine yourself with yourhands through the bars. Theyre grasping something

material or ethereal, something less than God, but

something you deeply desire. Would it be worth it torelease your grip and reach out that now-free hand to theOne True Living God?


Sometimes when Im praying, I will open both

my hands and say, Lord, whatever youd like to putinto my hands, theyre open to you. The key is to open

your hands. Have you ever opened your hands to God?Have you ever said, Lord, Im yours, everything I amand all I have are yours.? If not, your perfect response

today is to open your hands and invite Him in. Praysomething like this, Lord, come into my life today.

Forgive me for the things Ive clung to in the past andthe things Ive done that I shouldnt have. Lead me fromnow on. Put into my hands whatever youd like. Imyours.

God is

Gracious


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If you prayed that prayer, Id like to give you

some tools to help you in your new relationship withGod. You can reach me [email protected].

Another possibility is that youve already given

your life to Christ, but youve stuck your hands back

through the bars and taken hold of something thats now

taken hold of you. Your response to a great and graciousGod ought to include releasing the thing to which younow cling. You might want to pray, Lord, I have been

clinging to ______________ and shouldnt be. I now

release him/her/it to you. Lead me once again.

In talking about being part of a local church,Paul says, Cling to what is good. Be devoted to oneanother in brotherly love. Honor one another above

yourselves. (Romans 12:9b). If youre not part of asmall group or team in your local church, another valid

response would be to join a group this week and beginbuilding some close, God-honoring friendships.


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Jonah 2

Day 5

Whats On Your Mind?

In my distress I called to the Lord, and he

answered me. From the depths of the grave I

called for help and you listened to my cry.

-Jonah 2:2

Scott Campbell gets the credit for opening myeyes to a new dimension of spirituality. The Campbellslived two doors from us many years ago. We bumpedinto each other a lot and eventually became fast friends.Scott has a deep faith in Christ, so one day I asked himif hed like to get together to pray once a week. His

response was, Ill pray with you, if you memorize

Scripture with me. I didnt really think I couldmemorize Scripture. I certainly never thought Id enjoy

it, but Scott was an excellent tutor. Hed been trained bythe Navigators while in college and knew exactly whatto do to absorb Scripture into the brain. The first weekwe met, I got so motivated that I memorized nine verses.After that, I settled down to a more realistic pace one

or two verses a week. At last count, I had memorizedover 1300 verses. What I discovered truly surprised me.It might surprise you as well.

I discovered that memorizing Scripture increasedmy memory. Our brains are like the other muscles in ourbodies: the more we use them, the more they adapt and

become useful. Better memory is only a side benefit,though. Of far greater significance is what Scripturememory has done to the purity of my mind. Americansare exposed to approximately five-thousandadvertisements every day. Five thousand messages that

8/7/2019 Jonah- Responding

jonah- responding to god in all the right ways

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