The Second Commission

"Then the Word of the Lord came to Jonah a second time." -Jonah 3:1

The hardest group of people to minister to in the local church are those who have felt a call to ministry but for one reason or another rebelled. They are frustrated at work and at home. They long to be doing something else, something more. Sometimes the fire begins to die and they become cynical, skeptical, belligerent.
For those who find themselves tossed on the beach, wrapped in seaweed, and staring up into the hot, blazing sun, there is hope. Ask forgiveness of God. Go to the elders of your church. Explain the passion of your past and the frustration of your present. Trust them, show honor to them and follow their advice. The Lord is gracious and the elders can help you find a place to serve again. Don't miss it this time around!

The Heart and Repentance

It was an incredible revival. The capital city, rich and poor, great and small, old men and children, repented. Led by the king, a nation turns to God and a city sees disaster averted.
So the recipe for revival is one part prophet, one part message, and one part hearer. Is this a dependable formula for revival? Not so fast. The heart is deceitful and desperately wicked.
What worked for the Ninevites did not work for the Jews. A "Greater than Jonah" came, preached judgment and repentance, but the Jews remained unmoved. In Revelation, the bowls of wrath are poured out, yet mankind refuses to repent of what had been done and glorify God(Rev. 16).
The heart is capable of great hardness. Ask Pharaoh, who sometimes hardened his heart and other times, according to scripture, found his heart hardened by God. Is there a line that the rebellious heart can cross that makes repentance impossible? Or, ultimately,is all repentance a supernatural work of God? "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"(Ezek. 36:26).

By the Decree of the King

Who Knows? God may yet relent and with compassion turn from his fierce anger so that we will not perish. Jonah 3:9

Much of the strife of this political season is wasted energy. However, there is much to be said for working hard to get godly men in places of leadership. Godly men will understand the times, listen to the word of God, and lead those whom God loves away from disaster.
The circumstances of Nineveh were dire. God had announced judgment- destruction of Nineveh in 40 days. Their violence, immorality, and guilt were catching up with them.
The people of Nineveh were blessed because they had a king who listened to the words of the prophet. He got up from His throne, exchanged royal robes for those of mourning and sat down in the dust. Then, he charted a course to plead for mercy for His nation.
The military security and economic prosperity of our nation, like Nineveh, does not depend on the power of men or government. Our security and provision depend on God alone. In the formative years of our nation, calls for national repentance, humility, and thanksgiving were common. They were common because our nation was led by leaders who understood that "unless the Lord builds the house, the workers labor in vain."
One decree of the king saved Nineveh. May God give us leaders like that.

Forfeiting Grace

"Those who cling to worthless idols forfeit the grace that could be theirs. Jonah 2:8

Grace is not always spread about in equal measure. It is true that the goodness of God is available to all through the cross of Christ. It is also true that there is more grace available to those who will combine their faith with the promises of God.
In this verse, Jonah warns those who cling to idols (anything we consider more important than God)that their dedication will be useless. In the end, time dedicated to idolatry is worthless. Energy, resources and wealth are wasted.
This is not the worst loss, however. What was the potential of the time, energy, resources and wealth? What else did God want to do that didn't get done? What grace and reward might have accrued to our account at the Judgment Seat of Christ? Let us abandon our idols today and plead for grace. More grace.

Radical

Radical by David Platt is one of those books that make you want to beg for grace to live out the message. Augustine prayed- "Command what you will, but will what you command." I am praying for grace to extend God's glory in just that sort of way.

Teaching Dissonance

"Beware of the sound of one hand clapping." Most of our education is parallel monologue. Public education knows nothing of a Creator. Homeschooled children are never taught to wrestle with the real arguments of science. As a result, both cast aspersions on the other without really listening to what the other side says.
Ideas come together in a variety of ways. Some ideas naturally fit, some eventually resolve themselves. Some ideas are false and will always clash with the truth. Many church leaders and parents are afraid of the dissonance. This leaves the student to experience the clash in a college classroom when he is without support. I'd rather build dissonance into the curriculum so that the student learns to defend his faith against all comers without fear that the truth will one day let him down. Teach the dissonance, feel the sting, search for answers. Remember the admonition: "Beware the sound of one hand clapping."

"Well-Done Days"

Scripture teaches us that persevering in the good stewardship of our lives and resources now will result in an eternal commendation from Christ: "Well done, good and faithful servant!" I was reminded recently to examine each day at its end and ask myself in judgment, "Was this a well-done day?" A string of well-done days will issue in an eternal "Well done."