Jonah & The Sailors

Jonah 1:1-16

God asked Jonah to go and share His message with the people of Ninevah. Jonah just turned and ran instead, and hopped on a boat to Tarshish. [Go ahead and say that name a few times, it’s a guaranteed party.] God did not take Jonah’s disobedience lightly, so He created a violent storm strong enough to break ships in half. 

--> God does not take your obedience/disobedience lightly.

In the midst of the violent storm, all the sailors on the ship that Jonah caught “were afraid and each cried out to his own god.” They threw out cargo in the hope that they could lighten the load and feel the storm less. The sailors even tried to row their way out of the storm, which resulted in the storm growing increasingly worse. They turned to their own gods, and they tried to help themselves. Both failed.

They then asked a million questions of Jonah:

“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?”

Jonah’s reply:

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

--> Jonah’s entire identity and answer to all their questions was wrapped up solely in the God that he worshipped. Where's your identity at?

The sailors then prayed to this God, the God of the land and the sea. God in His magnificent power calmed the sea. 

“At this the men greatly feared the LORD, and they offered a sacrifice to the LORD and made vows to him.”

The sailors, who had just cried out to their own gods to no avail, now worshipped the One True God. Their own strength had failed them, but they now stood in awe of the strength of the Almighty God.

Although God despises disobedience, He used that, along with Jonah’s declaration of his faith as an opportunity to display His glory to some sailors who may never have seen Him otherwise. God is bigger than everything, so let Him use every part of you including your moments of disobedience, to bring His redemption to your world.

The best thing is to obey. But when do you run away to your Tarshish instead, remember that God is there too. Repent, before God has to use a storm to rock the boats of everyone around you. Then arise and speak His name. Who knows, in the midst of violent storms you may see redemption come to your ship.

Broken

Hosea 8:6

“This calf--a craftsman has made it; it is not God. It will be broken in pieces, that calf of Samaria.”

In Exodus 32 the Israelites “gathered around Aaron and said, ‘Come, make us gods who will go before us.’” They lost sight of God, the God in whose presence and glory they had trembled not long before. They lost sight of their God, so they became impatient and looked for anything that they could worship and give their lives to.

The Israelites went for a golden calf, something I’m fairly certain you don’t have chilling in your garden. But if you’re anything like me, you do have a few potential non-golden, non-calf idols scattered around your world. Idols came in all shapes and sizes these days: cars, money, jobs, family, friends, dogs, holidays, dreams, hobbies…

All these things require more of us then I think we often realise. But even worse, they take away from the people who love us: “Aaron answered them, ‘Take off the gold earrings that your wives, your sons and your daughters are wearing, and bring them to me.” We start taking our time, gifts, energy and resources away from the One who deserves it and the ones that need it, and invest them in unworthy idols.

We give our lives, forgetting that “This [idol]; it is not God. It will be broken in pieces.”

This friend, they are not God. Though they love and care for you, they cannot save or satisfy your heart. They will disappoint you; they will be broken in pieces.

This job; it is not God. Though it will allow you to provide for yourself and your family, it is not your ultimate Provider. It will be broken in pieces.

This dream; it is not God. Though it may be from God and of God, the dream in itself is not enough for you. Don’t hold on too tightly, it will be broken into pieces.

This [______]; it is not God. It will be broken in pieces.

Fill in the blank for your own life, and remind yourself often.

God alone can rescue, save, satisfy, provide, fulfil, forgive and never let you down.

Look to Him, worship Him, give your time, gifts, energy and resources to Him. 

He alone is worthy.

This Jesus; He is God. He will never be broken in pieces.

See also: Last God Standing

Armour [Righteousness: 1]

Ephesians 6:14

"Stand firm then...with the breastplate of righteousness in place."

Our heart and lungs are pretty vital to our survival, making the breastplate a necessity in our suit of armour. The material that makes up the breastplate is important. It needs to be light so as not to be a heavy weight to carry yet at the same time impenetrable, solid and lasting in the face of an onslaught.

Going out to battle with a rag over your chest is a certain death sentence.

[Isaiah 64:6 "But we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags..."]

Yet some people will go out to face their life, with their own righteousness covering them, their own stinking, unclean, filthy attempt at righteousness. But when the bullets start flying, a rag will be pointless.

We need something so much stronger to cover us.

[2 Corinthians 5:21 "God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God."]

Jesus took our rags, and he took our place. In exchange he gave us his perfect, impenetrable righteousness. His righteousness is an easy burden, and it is an everlasting protection. 

But how can we afford this breastplate of the finest material? We can't. It is a beautiful gift from our heavenly Father. He gave us his Son.

[Jeremiah 23:6 "This is the name by which he will be called: The Lord Our Righteousness."]

When Jesus lives inside of us, he becomes our perfect righteousness, our everlasting protection.

Armour [Truth]

Ephesians 6:14

"Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist..."

The main purpose of a belt (fashion aside) is to keep the wearer from looking like a fool with their pants on the ground. A belt prevents moments of embarrassment and shame, and gives the wearer the freedom to let go of their pants and move.

The truth of God is like a belt, holding us together and keeping our lives in place. The truth sets us free from the lies of the devil and his conniving plans to embarrass and shame us and helps us be everything we were made to be.

But in order to be effective, the belt must be buckled around your own waist. Your dad/mom/friend/brother/sister wearing a belt won't keep your pants in place, you have to wear the belt! You have to know and believe the truth for yourself, in your own heart and mind. Without it, your life is in constant danger of falling down and falling apart. When the world comes crashing down all around you, God's truth will remain.

The truths of God are beautiful and they are endless, but here are a few basic truths to buckle around your heart that you may stand firm and stand strong til the end:

God is everything he says he is. Nothing less, nothing more.

- Exodus 34:5-7

You are fearfully and wonderfully made.
- Psalm 139:14

There is amazing hope in what God has planned for your future.
- Jeremiah 29:11

Every single time you do something against God's will, ie sin, you deserve to die.
But for each death you deserved to die, Jesus died so that you may live forever.
- Romans 6:23

Jesus will take care of you and supply you with everything you'll ever need.
- Philippians 4:19

We will live with Jesus and and worship and adore him with everyone that believes in him in heaven forever.
- John 14:3

Know the truth. Believe the truth. It will hold you together and it will set you free.

Psalm 51 [Trash]

Psalm 51:11

"Don't throw me out with the trash, or fail to breathe holiness in me.”

I think one of the biggest reasons for suicide, for depression, for broken hearts, is the sense of worthlessness. Worthlessness kills people. It kills joy and hope and life and contentment.

People see themselves as trash, and as a consequence they treat themselves and those around them like trash too. Because if you’re not worth anything to anyone, who cares what the hell you do?

But what people don’t realise is the worth placed upon them by the simple fact that they were created in the image of the majestic Creator. By his breath in us we live. Therein lies worth.

When we give our lives to Jesus, he doesn’t throw us out with the trash, instead he throws the trash out of us. And in its place he breathes his holiness. In Jesus, we not only live by his breath, but by his holiness too.

There is NO condemnation for those inside Christ Jesus [Romans 8:1]. But there is a whole lot of worth. Meaning. Importance. Significance.  

Jesus believes you are worth it; worth putting his holiness inside of you.

How about you believe it too?

Psalm 51 [Mulligan]

 Psalm 51:10

“God, make a fresh start in me, shape a Genesis week from the chaos of my life.”

There’s a thing in social golf called a Mulligan. If you shank a shot badly, and your fellow players are feeling graceful, they will tell you to take a Mulligan. This means that you do not count that shot, and you get to take the ball back to where you hit it from (or if it is completely lost, take out a new ball). You then carry on as if that previous shot did not even happen.

There are times when I’d do anything for a Mulligan in my life; a chance to take back the words I said, and erase my actions and the chaos they caused.

My wonderful God offers that to me.

He offers me a new heart (Ezekiel 36:26*), and a pure spirit; the chance to start over again. He offers me the opportunity to have all my miss hits erased from my scorecard forever. And boy, do I take it! And though I won’t pretend like that stuff didn’t ever happen, I will repent and I will learn from it; learn how not to take the shot, how not to do life.

I will try again, but this time with God’s Creator hand that makes all things new guiding me and pointing me in the right direction. In his direction.

* “And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh.”

Psalm 51 [So Caught Up]

Psalm 51:9

“Don't look too close for blemishes, give me a clean bill of health."

I think we sometimes get more caught up on our sin than we should. Don’t get me wrong, sin is the most serious, most deadly thing out there. But when you hand your sin over to God, Jesus’ most serious death covers it and he considers it fully dead and gone. Your account is completely paid off; your slate is entirely clean; your bill of health is totally clear.

So stop dwelling on the bad stuff of the past (Philippians 3:12-14). Stop it! God’s made you new. He’s declared you clean. How about you start living that way?

Stop looking for your blemishes and weaknesses and bad things, and start living in what God says you are: a beautiful and pure daughter or a strong and beloved son of the Most High God. That’s what you are! Why live any differently?

Stop getting so caught up on everything that you've done, and start getting caught up on everything that Jesus has done for you.