“When my life was ebbing away, I remembered you, Lord, and my prayer rose to you, to your holy temple."
TO PONDER
At risk of echoing yesterday's thought, I think it bears repeating, that Jonah recognises multiple times throughout this prayer of his, that it was at his lowest point that he remembered the Lord and he turned back to God and God heard him.
I guess that today, in the interest of keeping things a little different from yesterday, I want to offer us all some encouragement for the times we find ourselves in the same kind of situation as Jonah - not in the gullet of a mullet - but in the kind of place where your life seems to be slipping away and out of control.
It's at these times that we are usually most vulnerable. It's often right in those places where things hang in the balance. And it is often there that we are most likely to be challenged in our faith with thoughts like, "I've gone too far, God could never forgive me for this." or something similar. This is often the devil's last ditch attempt to tear us away from God. He knows that if we turn to God in the middle of these situations and God gets the chance to rescue us, then we are likely to end up closer and more commited to God because of our deeply personal expereince of his love and mercy towards us in the midst of our distress.
The key to the whole affair is simple. Remember God and pray to him.
Once God has met you in the pit of your despair, something changes. His love is no longer an abstract concept but an experienced reality. I don't want to trivialise the hardships that I know so many people are experiencing right now, but if that's you and you are reading this, stop right now and pray to God. Ask him to help you, comfort you or rescue you and see what he does. Don't let it be the end. Instead, like Jonah, let it be the turning point when you turn everything back to Jesus and let him take the wheel.
PRAYER: Jesus, when I forget that you are Lord and take the reigns for myself, I know things inevitably end up messed up. Please help me to remember you and to follow and seek you in every area of my life. Amen
Today's devotion written by Mathew von Stanke, LifeWay Newcastle
From inside the fish Jonah prayed to the Lord his God. He said: “In my distress I called to the Lord, and he answered me."
TO PONDER
I often find Jonah one of the most frustratingly complex and confusing characters of the Bible. Although his story is so short, he begins by directly rejecting God's plan and purpose for his life. Then, as he is drowning in the stormy ocean, he cries out to God and sitting one the belly of a giant fish, he's not in despair, but instead seems to be able to see God's mercy toward him by delivering him from drowning. The he does what he's told, gets all indignant about it, thanks God for his help with the heat and then gets all upset with God again. It has to be one of the most dysfunctional personal relationships with God in the whole Bible.
However, it does some times challenge me though. There is something worth noticing that even while Jonah is sitting in the belly of a big fish, he sees that God is at work delivering him and answering his prayer for help. I'm not sure about you, but stuck in the belly of a giant fish at the bottom of the ocean, I'm not inclined to feel like God has helped me. I'd still be waiting for the way out before I start singing praise to God.
I think one of the things that helps Jonah here is that he recognises there is no way for him to escape the situation in his own strength. He has no choice but to wait on the Lord for deliverance. What is silly is that almost as soon as Jonah gets vomited back up on the beach, he goes about doing things in his own strength again.
The problem is how easily I see this same pattern in my own life. I'll happily attempt to take care of business all on my own and often only call out to God 'in my distress'. Now, don't get me wrong, calling out to God in our distress is absolutely one of the best things we can do. The problem is forgetting to talk to God and call out to him the ret of the time also. I think that's the real reason I find Jonah so frustrating, because I see in his character more of myself that I would like to admit.
I think sometimes we should consider the task of 'taking up the cross' as recognising and accepting our own limitations and trusting that even though we might not feel able to do what is being asked of us, trusting that God is with us answering our prayer for help in the midst of our distress.
PRAYER: Lord God, Thank you that even when my relationship with you is as messed up as Jonah's seems to be, you are still with me and answering my cries of distress. Please lead and guide me through all you have planned for me today and help me to see the places where you are at work in my life and in the lives of those around me. Amen
Today's devotion written by Mathew von Stanke, LifeWay Newcastle
Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross,scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.
TO PONDER
This verse, and a few others like it, the ones that talk about 'running the race', always make my mind wander to the classic movie "Forrest Gump".
For those who haven't seen it (it is officially an 'old' movie now), we meet Forrest as a young boy with some learning difficulties and such terrible posture that the doctors put him in leg braces to 'straighten him up'. Needless to say, some of the local boys are not too kind to Forrest because of his disabilities and they tease and torment him fairly regularly. Anyway, one day, after all the local children have grown a bit and have learned to drive, instead of chasing Forrest on their bikes, they are now chasing him down the road in their pick-up truck. It's a beautiful scene when in his desperation to get away, Forrest runs so fast that his leg braces simply fall apart and he takes off into a corn field. As he recounts this story as an adult he says, "from that point on, if I was going anywhere, I was running."
The reality for us is that we, like Forrest, are always running. The only question we need to answer is "what are we running towards?" As we have begun looking at the story of Jonah this week, we see a man called by God who decides to run from God and that call. It's a mistake we often make also. We might not be quite as obvious about it as Jonah was, we might not even necessarily realise that we are doing it at all. As Paul says, there are many things that hinder and entangle us.
The only way to ensure we are running the right race or in the right direction is to fix our eyes on Jesus and run towards him. If we fix our eyes on him, then every step we take will lead us closer to him. No mater what terrain we are travelling through, with our eyes fixed on Jesus we can be confident that each step we take will be planted firmly on solid ground, but only if we are fixed on Jesus.
PRAYER: Lord Jesus, I know that you are the author and perfecter of faith. I know that if I am to make my way successfully thorough this life and into your eternal kingdom, then I have to keep my eyes on you. Please help me to resist the things that clamour for my attention and seek to distract me from the one thing that is truely important, to know you and your love for me. May I also proclaim and demonstrate that love to others so that they too can throw off the things that have entangled them and follow you more closely. Amen
Today's devotion written by Mathew von Stanke, LifeWay Newcastle
But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
TO PONDER
We all make sacrifices for the things we love.
We sacrifice time for our favourite activities or television programs. We sacrifice our income to fund our leisure activities or hobbies, and don't get me started on what parents sacrifice for their kids. (we talked a bit about kids and parents yesterday).
Well it's no different with God. God loves us and so, in order to keep us safe and for himself, he made a sacrifice. Not a financial one - he didn't hand over a big bag of gold coins or anything like that. He didn't sacrifice time choosing to spend time with us instead of on something else (I'm not even sure if an eternal God can sacrifice time). He gave us himself.
And here's where it hurts me as a dad sometimes... He did it while I was being a brat.
Maybe it's just me, but I think almost every parent has at least threatened to take away a privilege or withhold a certain 'blessing' or treat if their misbehaving child's behaviour doesn't improve, even if they haven't ever had to follow through on those threats. If you've never made those threats yourself, I am sure you received them from your own parents at some point.
It can make this statement of God's love from Paul's letter to the Roman Christians difficult for us to grasp. God's sacrifice demonstrates his love so profoundly precisely because he made that choice to offer himself before any of us started to behave ourselves they way that He expected and had required of us. He did not withhold his blessings until we cleaned up out act, he came to us while humanity was still throwing a temper tantrum and said "it's okay, I still love you, watch this..." and while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
PRAYER: Heavenly Father, as a child there are times when I question everything, including your love for me. At those times please help me to run towards the cross of Jesus, not away from it. In the cross, help me to see clearly the demonstration of your love for me, that even when I am running from you at full speed, you offer yourself for me so that when I come to my senses, I can come back to you and your arms of divine grace and eternal love. Amen
Today's devotion written by Mathew von Stanke, LifeWay Newcastle
I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will counsel you with my loving eye on you.
TO PONDER
One of my biggest struggles as a parent, especially of teenagers, is finding the right balance between discipline and mercy/forgiveness.
I think most of us get the tension, even those of us who have only ever been on the receiving end of our parents disciplinary efforts recognise that when administered rightly, the discipline we receive from our parents is ultimately an expression of love. When used correctly (and I concede that it is often misused) parental discipline should be instructive, not simply punitive. It's purpose is to instruct and discourage future 'bad' or 'dangerous' behaviour. Most parents don't like to discipline their children, but we also know that to let certain behaviours go unchecked is not the loving or responsible thing to do in the long run.
I think we can often forget that when we are in the midst of the 'consequences' of our behaviour. Jonah ended up in the belly of a big fish because he decided to do things his way instead of God's way. It's easy to think that the storm, being thrown overboard and swallowed by a fish was God's 'punishment' for Jonah's rebelious behaviour but I don't think that's it. I think what Jonah experienced was God's intervening discipline, God's way of calling Jonah back from the even bigger and more significant consequences of a life lived turned away and running from God.
Now, I'm not saying that every challenging or difficult circumstance is a corrective measure sent by God. However, it might do us well some times to reflect on what caused the troubles we are in and see how God might be at work drawing us closer too himself as we process and go through those things. Because whatever you might be facing, one thing is for sure, God loves you too much to just let you quietly walk away from Himself. He will keep loving you, even if you stop loving him.
PRAYER: Heavenly Father, I know at times I can be just like a child who gets upset when their parents enforce 'consequences' as discipline. I know there are times when sometimes the challenges I face are the result of my own actions. I thank you that even when I turn my back on you, you do not give up on me. Please help me to see more clearly when you are calling me back to your self through my circumstances. Amen
Today's devotion written by Mathew von Stanke, LifeWay Newcastle
Then he said to them all: “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me.
TO PONDER
One of the things I think puts many people off about Christian faith and following Jesus, is misunderstanding verses like this one. After all, in the fast paced, super charged, succeeed at any cost, world in which we live today, who wants to be given another burden or another cross to carry?
The problem is simply this, we don't realise that Jesus is not giving us another burden, he's offering to replace the ones that we have burdened ourselves with and replace it with something lighter. That's why in Matthew 11:28 Jesus says, "come to me all you who are weary and burdened and I will give you rest...for my yoke is easy and my burden is light."
Notice that Jesus doesn't offer a burden free life - he simply offers a lighter burden. Most of us have been carrying around the weight of burdens we were never meant to carry for most of our lives and often don't even realise it. What is silly about that is we often find ourselves running from the cross of Jesus because we are too attached to the other crosses and burdens we have created for ourselves. The burden of supplying the financial and physical needs of our family, the burden of anxiety caused by the constant pressure to perform and move forward in your career, the burden of global conflict, rising cost of living, global warning, poverty, loneliness - many people carry all that on their shoulders, and more, every day but never show it.
Jesus is saying, "Give that to me. Stop running from me and hiding the things that burden you and lay them hear at my feet and simply hold onto me and my cross, because here you will find rest for your burdened soul.
So, I don't know what your day holds in store for you but whatever it is and whatever burdens in brings with it, remember that taking up the cross of Jesus and following him is always the lighter way.
PRAYER: Lord Jesus, I thank you that you know my burdens and have offered me a simpler way, a way based on trusting you to take care of the things beyond my control and to simply accept the burden of your heart towards those who do not yet know you. Please give me the courage to stop running from that call, to stop chasing after my own needs and agendas and to follow you more closely each day. Amen
Today's devotion written by Mathew von Stanke, LifeWay Newcastle
Where can I go from your Spirit? Where can I flee from your presence?
TO PONDER
Have you ever seen a small child try to do a 'magic' trick for an adult. It usually involves trying to quickly (but not subtly) hiding something behind their back to make said object "disappear". Two of my own three children thought they were very clever when they first discovered this trick, and as an encouraging parent, I played along and acted surprised when their magical items mysteriously vanished in that magical place that exists somewhere behind each of us.
Of course I knew the items were still there, and while my kids perhaps thought they had deceived me, the reality was that I knew what was going on.
This example may seem childish, but it's to a lot different from what Jonah did or what many of us do on a daily basis. Problem is, when we try to fool God, the only ones we end up fooling are ourselves. We can decide not to do what God wants, and try to 'make up for it' in whatever way we might imagine, and fool ourselves that our disobedience doesn't really matter because we did all this other stuff - we hide our disobedience behind our 'good works'. But that doesn't fool God.
We convince ourselves, and try to convince God that we are really following him. After all, it doesn't really matter if one step is out of place if we get the other 9 steps right does it???
The reality is that even all our 'good works' don't hide the sin and disobedience from God. We'd be better off facing the reality that we have stopped following Him and asking him to help set us straight than to continue with the charade.
Of course, the other part of this Psalm is also a wonderful blessing - no matter where we find ourselves or how much 'hiding' or 'disappearing' we might have tried, God's presence never leaves us. In fact, he promises that he will never leave or forsake his people. So the only decision then is simply this, keep trying to uphold the illusion or get busy accepting the truth and allowing God to do His work in and through you?
PRAYER: Heavenly Father, I thank you that there is nowhere I can go to hide from you; no place I can run to escape your presence. I know that doesn't stop me from trying at times. Please help me to remember today, that you are with me and you know my heart. Please give me the courage to drop the facade and to accept the reality that I cannot do this life without you. Help me to embrace the reality of your lordship in my life and life today for your glory. Amen
Today's devotion written by Mathew von Stanke, LifeWay Newcastle
But Jonah ran away from the Lord and headed for Tarshish. He went down to Joppa, where he found a ship bound for that port. After paying the fare, he went aboard and sailed for Tarshish to flee from the Lord.
TO PONDER
Do you ever find yourself in the same dilemma as Jonah. That situation where you know exactly what God wants you to do but you just don't want to do it?
Whether it's showing generosity to someone in need, forgiving someone who has hurt us, or even just reading your Bible and spending devotional time with God himself, so often we 'know' what we should do but just want to do something else.
I wonder why that is. When I reflect on my own life, it is easy to see that the times I have followed through on what I felt or believed God was asking me to do thinks have turned out well. It's consistently when I choose to do things my own way that life gets a bit more challenging.
It's not always easy to see in the midst of those difficult circumstances, but often those challenges we encounter while doing things our way serve two purposes. Firstly, they serve to remind us that we are not as capable and independent as we think we are, and secondly - if we are open to it - they also serve to lead us back to a deeper trust in God and His way. That's what happened for Jonah, the more he ran from God, the more resistance he encountered until he realised the only option was to turn back to God.
God loves us enough to allow us to choose whether we follow Him or not, but he never stops reminding us that we are better off with him than without him.
Maybe you are already walking closely with God in His way, perhaps you have been wondering why Life is so difficult at the moment and been trying to fix it on your own. Why not let the story of Jonah be a reminder that God is still there for you and inviting you to try doing things His way and see what he can do?
PRAYER: Heavenly Father, You are the one who sees and knows all. I know I often believe that I know better and stubbornly insist on doing things my way. Please help me to always remember that you are with me and loving me, even when I do things and I think I am doing them on my own. May I walk with you today in all that do. Amen
Today's devotion written by Mathew von Stanke, LifeWay Newcastle
“Those who cleanse themselves from the latter will be instruments for special purposes, made holy, useful to the Master and prepared to do any good work.”
To Ponder:
I was about 13 yers old when I first felt very strongly that God wanted me to be a pastor. However, I was 35 when I went to ALC. One of reasons was because I felt that I was not ready, there were still things about me that needed addressing. However, as our reading I have come to see that God doesn’t call finished people; he calls people willing to be cleansed and set apart. Being “useful to the Master” begins with turning away from what harms your relationship with God and choosing to live his holiness.
What if God really could use you? This verse says he can, especially when we are willing to let him cleanse us and make us ready. Uour usefulness isn’t about perfection; it’s about being willingess, being available, holy, and set apart for his purposes.
Prayer:
Lord, cleanse me from anything that keeps me from being fully yours. Make me holy and useful to you, prepared for the good work you have planned. Help me to turn away from what harms my heart, so that I may be ready to serve you in any way you choose. Amen.
Today's Devotion is written by Pr Nich, LifeWay Epping