The good news??

We all have heard to rejoice with one another and again I say, "rejoice"? So, the question of the day coming straight from Nineveh to you and to me is, "Why oh why was the good news not good?"

Consider the text,10 When God saw what they did and how they turned from their evil ways, he relented and did not bring on them the destruction he had threatened.

Jonah’s Anger at the Lord’s Compassion

4 But to Jonah this seemed very wrong, and he became angry. 2 He prayed to the Lord, “Isn’t this what I said, Lord, when I was still at home? That is what I tried to forestall by fleeing to Tarshish. I knew that you are a gracious and compassionate God, slow to anger and abounding in love, a God who relents from sending calamity. 3 Now, Lord, take away my life, for it is better for me to die than to live.”

4 But the Lord replied, “Is it right for you to be angry?”

I'm so sorry to feel like laughing like mad, but "I tried"....???? I tried to resist the goodness of God because it didn't seem so good to me?  We have to see the humor in this human thinking!! Here we are at the bottom of the sea in the belly of a whale and yeah, it just cannot get much worse than that...and there's more!! We are in this position because we were foolish enough to try things our own way...and then, we ask God to use His power and His wisdom to get us out of this unbelievably scary fix...!! Amazingly enough, as soon as He does help us...we cry, "foul!" Still, we try to resist the good news and we run for something that appears to be good...like the shade of a plant..but more on that later...LOL! 

Therefore, ...Let's rhyme together, I tried and I died!!

Principle: When you try, you lie and then you die!!!

Food for thought...okay..sea food for thought....

We do not need "to try" when the Lord is on our side!! 

What? Am I saying that trying is a bad thing? Before any of you foam at the mouth or decide that I'm an extremely crazy writer...consider this salient passage of Scripture full of Biblical imperatives out of Romans 12,

Love in Action

9 Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil; cling to what is good. I have to add something here...I suppose we are really good at pointing out what is evil or what is evil against us specifically...but are we equal to the task in clinging to what is good...even when the good news doesn't seem so good? (emphasis mine) . 10 Be devoted to one another in love. Honor one another above yourselves. 11 Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord. 12 Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer. 13 Share with the Lord’s people who are in need. Practice hospitality.

14 Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse. 15 Rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn. 16 Live in harmony with one another. Do not be proud, but be willing to associate with people of low position.[c] Do not be conceited.

17 Do not repay anyone evil for evil. Be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everyone.18 If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone. 19 Do not take revenge, my dear friends, but leave room for God’s wrath, for it is written: “It is mine to avenge; I will repay,”[d] says the Lord. 20 On the contrary:

“If your enemy is hungry, feed him;
    if he is thirsty, give him something to drink.
In doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head.”[e]

21 Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.

Biblical imperatives mean that you have to do certain actions...never through our own devices or efforts, but in Christ..! Therefore, we don't try in our own strength or we will land in death every time...we rely on the power of God!! Also, in Christ, there is no negotiation or compromise!! We cannot look at the Lord of lords and say, "Well, at least I tried"!!  Ha! I didn't do it your way, Lord, but I tried!! In the same way, we cannot aim for something opposite of what God is asking of us and say I tried to resist the will of God and I'm just not sure why life stinks right now!!  Really? Life could smell so beautiful if we'd let Him lead it!!

Principle: when the good of God doesn't seem good at all..remember that it's you, not He that is a creature of the Fall!! 

Stop trying...start rejoicing with the truth!! 

Jonah...Jonah...It's time to agree!!

Have you ever had an encounter with your "true" feelings about God? Have you ever warred with yourself about the King of kings and the Lord of lords' ways being sooo different than yours? If not, then you are not human!! Ha...!! All humans are far from God until His blood draws us nearer and closer to Him, and even then...even those of us with incredible light see sooo dimly!! Consider Jonah..a true prophet of God and follower of Yahweh!! Jonah knew His master so well that he even knew where He differed from God! In Jonah's own confession he lets the world know that he does not agree with the Lord...Read the following text and read with the pursuit to find where You disagree with the Lord. 

Jonah 3:6-10

When Jonah’s warning reached the king of Nineveh, he rose from his throne, took off his royal robes, covered himself with sackcloth and sat down in the dust. 7 This is the proclamation he issued in Nineveh:

"By the decree of the king and his 
nobles:

Do not let people or animals, herds or flocks, taste anything; do not let them eat or drink. 8 But let people and animals be covered with sackcloth. Let everyone call urgently on God. Let them give up their evil ways and their violence. 9 Who knows? God may yet relent and with compassion turn from his fierce anger so that we will not perish.”

10 When God saw what they did and how they turned from their evil ways, he relented and did not bring on them the destruction he had threatened.

Jonah 4 New International Version (NIV)

Jonah’s Anger at the Lord’s Compassion

4 But to Jonah this seemed very wrong, and he became angry. 2 He prayed to the Lord, “Isn’t this what I said, Lord, when I was still at home? That is what I tried to forestall by fleeing to Tarshish. I knew that you are a gracious and compassionate God, slow to anger and abounding in love, a God who relents from sending calamity. 3 Now, Lord, take away my life, for it is better for me to die than to live.”

4 But the Lord replied, “Is it right for you to be angry?”

So...? Is it right for you and I to be angry??? Sad??? The Good Lord knows that we will have feelings and moments of sadness...but are they correct and right..or as Our awesome God might say, "righteous"?? 

Principle: Whenever our feelings with the Lord do not agree, normally we wish to flee!!

Interestingly enough, we still want to be the

 judge!! Sadly enough, we still want to be the

 only one...!! 

Food for thought:

When we are the center of our prayers 

and 

requests 

perhaps our feelings will be misled.

Funny! Isn't it?? We have been given such

 light and great information, and yet we 

don't want to go towards the light...I guess

 the darkness is just way too comfortable!!

Just a note...God does feel our pain...He 

weeps over our darkness, but he would 

not wish for us a moment longer lingering 

in the shadows...Let His light expose your 

darkness and experience righteous 

agreement with Him.

Please worship with me during this song about saying, Yes! 

The waiting game...

Jonah was only in the belly of a whale for 3 days...LOL....Moses was in the desert for 40 years and  Joseph waited 13 years, most of which was in jail...!! Abraham waited 25 years and Jesus waited 30 years, to die BTW...!! So, if you are concerned over a wait of some kind...Fear Not for you are in Good Company!! I was thinking this morning about the Wait....

Principle: When the wait you have is not on the Lord it's a painful wait that's tough to Face!!

However, when you wait upon the Lord, the Bible tells us that we will renew our strength and will rise up with wings as eagles, that we will soar and never grow weary (paraphrase mine)!!

Isaiah 40:31 New International Version (NIV)

31 but those who hope in the Lord
    will renew their strength.
They will soar on wings like eagles;
    they will run and not grow weary,
    they will walk and not be faint.

Interestingly, the NIV uses the word Hope here and that is absolutely perfect!! Know what? Waiting on the Lord is Hoping in Him and in His strength and power that the best is coming...!! Painfully waiting on something today?? Trust me...no don't ...LOL Trust God that you are waiting and hoping in something that is not God!! False hope in some worldly contract or device is meaningless and bound for nowhere fast!! Quickly wait upon the Lord and even if the outcome is death..remember that He reserved that for His one and only son....!! He always takes the ugliest things and makes them the most beautiful...

Also, consider these words from Spurgeon's sermon on the "I am" 

Yesterday, today, and tomorrow belong to dying mortals; the Immortal King lives in an eternal today. He is the I AM; I AM in the present; I AM in the past; and I AM in the future. Just as we say of God that he is everywhere, so we may say of Him that He is always; He is everywhere in space; He is everywhere in time. God is today in the past; He is today already in the future; He is today in that present in which we are.  

Please consider being "in" His time..no matter the wait, and no matter the pain..we have "gain" in He who is above time and space....His promises are true and everlasting...His rewards beyond imagination.  In fact,  ponder this principle, 

Principle: The more pain in the game the greater the reward in His name.

My Grandfather once said that there was simply no reason to worry because the one who is the way 

makes the way...!!  I love the maker of my way...He is the way and the truth and the life....Let Him be the real source upon whom you wait out this current storm and watch for the rainbows...whenever rain and light get together, the rainbows of His promise are coming.

Death comes unexpectedly....

Did you know that I'm just crazy in love with Husky Dogs?? Well, I have a story to tell you...Once upon a time, there was a little girl, a little girl with blonde hair and bright eyes and well, a whole lot of ideas about dreaming! Would you like to see her?  Close your eyes and picture the little boy in the photo up above and exchange hazel eyes for those blue eyes and make the hair a little bit longer. Well, this little, blondie was raised in a family who loved lots of Dachshunds!! Yes, those little "Hot-dogs" that wiggle and giggle their way into the hearts of many, were the love of my family. As for me, I always thought I'd own one and have one just the way my Grandparents did and my mom and dad did. Kind of like all of us, we tend to need legacy and tradition to give us identity don't we? Therefore, I was going to own a dachshund!

FYI...this is a picture of Heidi...my parent's most recent Doxie!!

Well, Dad decided one day to take us to the World Famous San Diego Zoo. Naturally being residents of Southern California, we had all been there before, but Dad decided it was just time to take us to the place that had the most exotic animals in the world, well, I'm sure there are other pretty animals somewhere else other than that zoo, but this is my story, so get over it. LOL! Sadly, and most unfortunately, Dad had picked the hottest day known to the inhabitants of Earth to go to this zoo. Being 13 at the time didn't help the situation, because I was oddly enough developing a bit of a teenage outlook and attitude to go with that outlook!! So, my level of patience wasn't the greatest during this hot day at the zoo. Therefore, we were walking small hills and big hills up and down in 100 degree heat to see turtles that were staying in their shells and bears that were staying in their caves and even a cage full of alligators that were definitely not coming out of their water hole. Ugh! "Oh my heavens,  it's hot" I said. My mom just gave me that look that only mother's give that can communicate a whole novel's worth of instruction in about 3 seconds flat. "Just drink some water, Jennifer and then let's just keep seeing the exhibits." she said. "You know what?" I retorted. "I would just love to do that, but I need a diet coke and I'm going to find one and meet you back over at the elephants, who are probably napping behind a rock!" I said with amusement. "Alright" my mom said, but hurry. So, off I went to find the street rolling vender that had the answer to my problems. Yes, I could almost see the silver and red design of the Ice-cold, diet Coke. In fact, I could feel the money in my jean shorts' pocket and I knew I had just enough to get a panda bear souvenir cup for that vendor to put my diet coke in and seal it shut. To my chagrin, that ridiculously necessary vendor was no where to be found and I'd already scaled three big hills past the tigers and the jaguars and I was almost to the park exit. "Shoot!" I thought...not that I wanted to shoot anything furry, but just that I was so disappointed that I could not find something so simple. Interestingly enough, I am reminded at this point in the story that some things in life seem so simple to find, so easy to accomplish that we focus on those things..when God has something far greater waiting just around the corner...Well, back to my story....! So, not only was I exhausted, sweating and ready to just give up, but I was not sure how to find the elephant cages. Now, before you judge me, your fellow sister in Christ, please remember that the San Diego Zoo is World Famous because it carries every animal out there and is massively large, okay?  Then, as if something big were happening....crowds of people began to move down a ramp and around a corner to see something...but what? At around the same moment, I spotted that elusive vendor and made a dash for my diet coke. However, at the corner of my eyes and ears was this sense of adventure and curiosity all rolled into one and I couldn't help but turn in the direction of the exciting murmurs. Rushing quickly and hoping like crazy that the vendor wouldn't leave me again...I turned away from my simple pleasure and dashed in the direction of excitement. Suddenly, my eyes beheld the most beautiful and the most majestic creature I had ever seen on a leash!! A White, Arctic wolf.  My mouth dropped open and my eyes locked with that white wonder, who just stood at attention.  Oh my word, that creature was soooo beautiful, and so completely wonderful! Another dream for Jennifer was beginning slowly in my heart. I was dreaming of owning an animal like this one! Dachshund who?? Most unsafely, I reached out without thinking at all and touched the wolf. The trainer quickly made it known that I should stop! I pulled back my hand with great speed and yet did not jump back away from the wolf. Unbelievably, he was staring at me! At that moment, We locked eyes and I blurted out, "I love you"! In a complete daze, I ran over to the Elephant cages without a diet Coke and without an attitude and yet full of something special! A new dream...a dream to have an animal like that wolf. Definitely, the white wolf was my favorite animal and it's proving to stay that way to the present.  However, as most of you know, owning a wolf is kind of impossible...so my dream seemed silly as I headed to college and started to think about my future family and dog..Hee Hee...! Then, one day on a routine jog, I saw a Husky!! Oh wow! White fur, blue eyes and gorgeous paws.  Full of wonder, I stopped the owner and the husky dog and just asked to pet the gorgeous animal. The Siberian Husky just licked me everywhere and gave me a typical Husky hug!! "Yes", I thought to myself..."This is it, the dog I'm going to have someday!" Okay, I know it's not a wolf but the Husky sure resembles a wolf and sure is smart and clever like one!! So, how many years later after waiting and waiting and hoping and dreaming to have a Husky, my wonderful husband surprised me with a little Husky puppy just before Easter. We named our little, baby girl, Blue! At 7 weeks old, Blue was already the answer, the best gift ever and the dream fulfilled of many, many years. Know something, I can remember little kisses she gave on my face today..yes, I can feel them even right now. Tragically, my little angel, my puppy...my baby died! Without warning, and without cause, our other dog, seemingly having bonded with her over 3 weeks and everything, turned on Blue and attacked her...ripping her to pieces, leaving her for dead. My husband and I ran screaming to save her, and she was barely still alive.  

Shaking like mad, I picked her up all broken and watched her trying to take one last breath. Strikingly, as I told her how much I loved her, she looked at me and then died in my arms. Just like that, my Blue was dead and my dream was over....!! Death is like that you know...just over!! We know that there is just no coming back from this one!! Yes, when death hits....we know that there is just no fixing it, is there? To this day, I'm still grieving her precious life. However, the good news is that because Christ died...Because of Easter, ironically just two days before Blue's death, we have reason to know that Death has no sting for us!! Oh how the disciples must have thought the end had come....He died? Oh how the disciples of Christ must have grieved and questioned the death of Christ. Surely those followers of Jesus thought he would suffer or struggle, but Death?  What?? Everyone knows that there is just no fixing that!! Well, the next time tragedy hits your life or mine I want us to say, "Even for God?" Your God conquered the grave my friends!! Is my Husky coming back to life? NO! However, I serve a God who tells me that this world and all its death is not the end of the story....There is a Savior..what joy we can express...Is your hope on what's coming or on what's past? Don't hope in a Diet Coke and miss the White wolf...Don't let the wreckage of this world and the death that stings sting your eyes from seeing and your ears from hearing the good news of what is coming to fix the unfixable damage!! Your Savior is coming again to erase death forever...what dreams of God's future hope are you missing? Listen to this hymn

1 Corinthians 15:55New International Version (NIV)

55 “Where, O death, is your victory?
    Where, O death, is your sting?”[a]

The great interruption

Know what?? I don't like being interrupted!! You? Have you ever just been cut off in the middle of a thought? Have you ever thought that no one really understands what you are trying to say or communicate when they interrupt you?  Well, I was talking to someone this morning and right in the middle of the story I was telling, this person interrupted me, finishing the story for me...LOL and finishing it incorrectly of course!! Imagine how much we miss when we interrupt others in the middle of their story? Not only does it hurt to realize that another person doesn't value what you have to say enough to let you finish, but it hurts to know that another person who claims to love you misses out on the real story of your heart, the one you so desperately wish to share.  However, and here is the clincher...."Don't we interrupt God in all of His words, thoughts and stories?? Sadly, the greatest interrupter of the greatest Lover of all time is me!! Been in His words lately?? Listened to His thoughts and plans lately? Hopefully, all of us will be slow to speak and quick to listen before the Lord since we know how much interrupting doesn't benefit anyone!!

James 1:19New International Version (NIV)

Listening and Doing

19 My dear brothers and sisters, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry,

knowing more! A good thing or a bad thing!!

Sometimes we just want to know more information, more detail! Interestingly enough, we don't normally feel this way about Him, you know....the Lord of lords and the King of kings? Kind of like a marriage we think we have this partner all figured out don't we?? Yet the Scriptures say...that is not the case.  Rather  the Scriptures have said from the Old Testament to the New...that a lack of knowledge has been our destruction.

Hosea 4:6New International Version (NIV)

6     my people are destroyed from lack of knowledge.

“Because you have rejected knowledge,
    I also reject you as my priests;
because you have ignored the law of your God,
    I also will ignore your children.

Hmmmmm kind of sounds like you and me doesn't it?? Have you ever prayed...ha ha..barely prayed and then marched forward with plans that were not God's? Have you ever ignored His laws??  Ever?? Just like Jonah, we are God's people, and we love to ignore the greatest of His laws...the one about obeying Him!! 

Furthermore, we think that knowledge of Him doesn't really pan out too much gold!!! In Romans we read, 

Romans 1:28New International Version (NIV)

28 Furthermore, just as they did not think it worthwhile to retain the knowledge of God, so God gave them over to a depraved mind, so that they do what ought not to be done.

However, if all of this incriminating evidence right out of God's mouth is not enough...God comes right out and tells you and I that even if we thought knowledge of Him was awesome and worthwhile, we could never know the depths of our God. 

Romans 11:33New International Version (NIV)

Doxology

³³ Oh, the depth of the riches of the wisdom and^[a] knowledge of God!
    How unsearchable his judgments,
    and his paths beyond tracing out!

I don't know about you...but I know, because He tells me so, that the Love of God and the Knowledge of God are completely inexhaustible!! 

So, take time praying..take time knowing Him and know that you don't know enough of your Savior and that's a good thing!! He just keeps us singing doesn't He?  He just keeps surprising us right? Go out today full of new wonder and surprise!!