I Don’t Get It!

Posted on September 28, 2010 by eig

I just finished reading parts of a blog titled “I don’t get it” about large churches.  The author doesn’t get it why we need them.  I read a bit of it but didn’t finish it because I knew what he would say.  But God still uses us, his Church in spite of our short comings, especially in how we “do” church.

I have been looking at jobs in churches, and I just don’t get it either. Why do churches look for “professionals” to do God’s work?  Their qualifications go page after page. Scripture has simple qualifications for pastors (I Tim. 3:1-7, Titus 1:6-9). I just know also that none of the Apostles with the exception of Paul would have qualified under the “professional requirements”, though his record before becoming a Christian would probably have disqualified him too. Jesus would not have qualified for any job either. I don’t think I am on par with Jesus or his disciples. Nor do I think myself better than any of the pastors of  churches with large numbers.  But I don’t think I am inferior, though at times I sure feel this way.  I wonder whether I have the same faith. The words of the apostle Peter come to mind in 2nd Peter 1:1 where he says we have the “same faith” as all the apostles.  Thank God! It makes me feel better.

I admit that I have applied to some of these churches, most of them under 1000. But I know I probably won’t be considered for any of them. Why did I do it? I guess it’s to test whether there is a church out there that is open to God’s leading. I know I sound presumptuous with this last sentence. I can’t believe either that everyone “hired” by these churches are actually what God wants. I am not saying they are not either. I know God still uses us in spite of us. His work will continue in his church. I’m just trying to find out if maybe I have a part in any of them. The experiment will be over soon I’m afraid.

Material is copyright by eigaldamez. Permission is given
to re-post or reproduce without editing the content.

Disclaimer:
The contents of all personal web pages and blogs published are solely my responsibility.
Statements made and opinions expressed on personal pages are strictly those of the author and not of any organization, church, or school.

<span class="entry-utility-prep entry-utility-prep-cat-links">Posted in</span> churches, ministry, ministry jobs | Comments Off on I Don’t Get It!

Old Age

Posted on August 24, 2010 by eig


She is in the hospital. She is 82 years old.  Her son sits on a chair and observes.  An alarm from the IV machine keeps beeping. It’s an annoying sound.  Her son talks to her and asks her if she has eaten to which she answers affirmatively. They both stop talking. Soon she is sleeping again. The trembling and the shaking continues. At times, she lifts her hands makes pointing motions as if she is talking to someone. But she is not.  The son wonders what is happening inside her mind. Where is her mind going? Is she dreaming those times when she was young, times that he knows not for he is too young to have remembered her.  Is she in the meat market place talking to a customer? Is she dancing the night away? Does she dream all her nine children together with her, laughing and enjoying the time together? Her son can only wonder. The old woman who brought him to this world lays there. “Is it really her?” he thinks to himself. Old age. Wrinkled. Weak. Incoherent. Alone. Sadness feels his heart and wonders what his future will hold. “Is this what I can expect?” he asks to himself. “Is this how we end?”  he murmurs. An epiphany has occurred. Once upon a time, he was also young and thoughtless. He didn’t think about old age. Growing in reverse did not seem possible then, but now it makes sense. We enter the world as a child. We end our journey in this world as an old child. But the difference is evident. As a child we are loved and cherished by our loved ones. As an old person we are neglected by our loved ones and cared by strangers. Love them now. 
Love them now. Sooner than you think, you will take her place.

Material is copyright by eigaldamez. Permission is given
to re-post or reproduce without editing the content.

Disclaimer:
The contents of all personal web pages and blogs published are solely my responsibility.
Statements made and opinions expressed on personal pages are strictly those of the author and not of any organization, church, or school.

<span class="entry-utility-prep entry-utility-prep-cat-links">Posted in</span> age, old age | Comments Off on Old Age

The Cause of Spiritual Stupidity by George MacDonald- Selected Quotes

Posted on August 16, 2010 by eig

This week while I was flying to DC, I read some of George MacDonald‘s Unspoken Sermons. I read two of them and I thought these quotes were very deep.

“The Cause of Spiritual Stupidity” – “Unspoken Sermons” George MacDonald

If a man forget a thing, God will see to that: man is not lord of his memory or his intellect. But man is lord of his will, his action; and is then verily to blame when, remembering a duty, he does not do it, but puts it off, and so forgets it.

Distrust is atheism, and the barrier to all growth. Lord, we do not understand thee, because because we do not trust thy Father—whole-hearted to us, as never yet was mother to her first-born! Full of care, as if he had none, we think this and that escapes his notice, for this and that he does not think! While we who are evil would die to give our children bread to eat, we are not certain the only Good will give us anything of what we desire! The things of thy world so crowd our hearts, that there is no room in them for the things of thy heart, which would raise ours above all fear, and make us merry children in our Father’s house!

When I trouble myself over a trifle, even a trifle confessed—the loss of some little article, say—spurring my memory, and hunting the house, not from immediate need, but from dislike of loss; when a book has been borrowed of me and not returned, and I have forgotten the borrower, and fret over the missing volume, while there are thousands on my shelves from which the moments thus lost might gather treasure holding relation with neither moth, nor rust, nor thief; am I not like the disciples?

I forget that it is live things God cares about—live truths, not things set down in a book, or in a memory, or embalmed in the joy of knowledge, but things lifting up the heart, things active in an active will.

If you let thought for the morrow, or the next year, or the next month, distress you; if you let the chatter of what is called the public, peering purblind into the sanctuary of motive, annoy you; if you seek or greatly heed the judgment of men, capable or incapable, you set open your windows to the mosquitoes of care, to drown with their buzzing the voice of the Eternal!

Material is copyright by eigaldamez. Permission is given
to re-post or reproduce without editing the content.

Disclaimer:
The contents of all personal web pages and blogs published are solely my responsibility.
Statements made and opinions expressed on personal pages are strictly those of the author and not of any organization, church, or school.

<span class="entry-utility-prep entry-utility-prep-cat-links">Posted in</span> George MacDonald, spiritual life, spoken sermons | Comments Off on The Cause of Spiritual Stupidity by George MacDonald- Selected Quotes

MAN’S DIFFICULTY CONCERNING PRAYER

Posted on August 16, 2010 by eig
This week while I was flying to DC, I read some of George MacDonald‘s Unspoken Sermons. I read two of them and I thought these quotes were very deep.
MAN’S DIFFICULTY CONCERNING PRAYER.
‘—and not to faint.’—ST. LUKE xviii. 1.
“There are some who would argue for prayer, not on the ground of any possible answer to be looked for, but because of the  good to be gained in the spiritual attitude of the mind in praying…Theirs is a better way than that of those who, believing there is a God, but not believing that he will give any answer to their prayers, yet pray to him; that is more foolish and more immoral than  praying to the No-god. Whatever the God be to whom they pray, their prayer is a mockery of him, of themselves, of the truth.”
“There are moods of such satisfaction in God that a man may feel as if nothing were left to pray for, as if he had but to wait with patience for what the Lord would work; there are moods of such hungering desire, that petition is crushed into an inarticulate crying; and there is a communion with God that asks for nothing, yet asks for everything. This last is the very essence of prayer, though not petition. It is possible for a man, not indeed to believe in God, but to believe that there is a God, and yet not desire to enter into communion with him; but he that prays and does not faint will come to recognize that to talk with God is more than to have all prayers granted—that it is the end of all prayer, granted or refused. And he who seeks the Father more than anything he can give, is likely to have what he asks, for he is not likely to ask amiss”
To give us the spiritual gift we desire, God may have to begin far back in our spirit, in regions unknown to us, and do much work that we can be aware of only in the results; for our consciousness is to the extent of our being but as the flame of the volcano to the world-gulf whence it issues: in the gulf of our unknown being God works behind our consciousness. With his holy influence, with his own presence, the one thing for which most earnestly we cry, he may be approaching our consciousness from behind, coming forward through regions of our darkness into our light, long before we begin to be aware that he is answering our request—has answered it, and is visiting his child.
THE WORD OF JESUS ON PRAYER.
‘They ought always to pray.’—ST. LUKE xviii. I.
“If you knew God, you would leave that to him. He is not mocked, and he will not mock. But he knows you better than you know yourself, and would keep you from fooling yourself. He will not deal with you as the child of a day, but as the child of eternal ages. You shall be satisfied, if you will but let him have his way with the creature he has made. The question is between your will and the will of God. He is not one of those who give readiest what they prize least. He does not care to give anything but his best, or that which will prepare for it. Not many years may pass before you confess, ‘Thou art a God who hears prayer, and gives a better answer.’ You may come to see that the desire of your deepest heart would have been frustrated by having what seemed its embodiment then.”
” ‘But if God is so good as you represent him, and if he knows all that we need, and better far than we do ourselves, why should it be necessary to ask him for anything?’
“I answer, What if he knows prayer to be the thing we need first and most? What if the main object in God’s idea of prayer be the supplying of our great, our endless need—the need of himself?”
“Communion with God is the one need of the soul beyond all other need; prayer is the beginning of that communion, and some need is the motive of that prayer.”
“The true child will not fear, but lay bare his wishes to the perfect Father. The Father may will otherwise, but his grace  will be enough for the child.”
Material is copyright by eigaldamez. Permission is given
to re-post or reproduce without editing the content.

Disclaimer:
The contents of all personal web pages and blogs published are solely my responsibility.
Statements made and opinions expressed on personal pages are strictly those of the author and not of any organization, church, or school.

<span class="entry-utility-prep entry-utility-prep-cat-links">Posted in</span> George MacDonald, prayer, Unspoken Sermons | Comments Off on MAN’S DIFFICULTY CONCERNING PRAYER

Thoughts on Jonah Chapter 4

Posted on July 23, 2010 by eig


In chapter 3 we saw that God has held his judgment against Niniveh and saved them. Jonah was the unhappy means of communication.  Why was he so reluctant to go on this mission? The answer is found at the beginning of this chapter.  This was exceedingly “evil” (the same word in Hebrew-ra’ah- is used as in chapter 3:10) to Jonah. Why? He knew God’s character.  He knew God is “gracious God and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love, and relenting from disaster.” (ESV) Most people would be glad to have a God like this, but at this point in his life, Jonah does not agree. Jonah goes even further. He gets so depressed about it that he asks God to kill him. I have to say that as I read these verses they are a bit comical. Jonah is acting like a child. But I understand him.  You might say you would never do this, but I can assure you that you would do the same thing as him. God does not strike Jonah dead for behaving this way. He just asks, “Is it right for you to be angry?” Notice God doesn’t use psycho babble either. He points to right and wrong. Is it right? Of course it is not right. Jonah new it but he could not admit it.

Jonah decides to go relax somewhere away. There, God “appoints” a plant to cover him from the sun (to take away his discomfort-ra’ah-evil). God takes care of him. But He has a plan as well.  Jonah becomes quite happy. In fact, he goes from “exceedingly” unhappy to “exceedingly happy.” It is interesting that a plant makes him change his state of mind. Oh, how human we are. We care so much about our physical condition but not so much for our spiritual condition and of those around us.  We want to take care of ourselves without taking care of others. 

God not only takes away the plant but adds some heat to Jonah.  Some hot wind and sun made Jonah faint and got him to ask God again to kill him. God asks him again if he does well asking this only because of the plant. And this time he answer yes.  “Jonah, really? You do well? You ask this all because of a plant that has withered and died. A plant that gave you benefits without you doing anything.” God doesn’t tell him it was all His doing. But I get the feeling Jonah knew.
Now comes the lesson for Jonah. “You care about a plant been destroyed but don’t care about 120,000 people been destroyed? Plants and lives are not on equal plain Jonah. You know this.” Jonah’s ethics were wrong.
Silence.

Did Jonah get the message? We don’t know, but I assume he did. But it has no response so that we can answer it when we find ourselves in similar situations.  And we will.

Here are the lessons from Jonah:
1. Obey God or else be ready to pay the price (God will pursue you!).
2. God uses imperfect, temperamental people like Jonah (and me). He can use you.
3. God is compassionate, graceful, loving and slow to anger and wishes to save everyone. So should we.
4. God cares about us even when we are not obedient to Him. He will teach us what we need to learn.

Jonah was referred to by Jesus in Matthew 12:40. Jesus was the opposite of Jonah.
Jonah was disobedient = Jesus was obedient
Jonah was a reluctant messenger = Jesus was a willing messenger
Jonah was not compassionate = Jesus was compassionate
Jonah was didn’t sacrifice anything to save anyone = Jesus sacrificed everything to save us
Jonah spent three days and three nights in a fish = Jesus spent three days and three nights in the grave 

Material is copyright by eigaldamez. Permission is given
to re-post or reproduce without editing the content.

Disclaimer:
The contents of all personal web pages and blogs published are solely my responsibility.
Statements made and opinions expressed on personal pages are strictly those of the author and not of any organization, church, or school.

<span class="entry-utility-prep entry-utility-prep-cat-links">Posted in</span> book of Jonah, Jonah, Jonah and the fish, prayer, prophet Jonah, sovereignty | Comments Off on Thoughts on Jonah Chapter 4

A Review of Mere Churchianity by Michael Spencer

Posted on July 21, 2010 by eig
I became familiar with Michael Spencer’s writing over a year ago found in his blog at Internet Monk. I read an article titled The Coming Evangelical Collapse and found similar thoughts I that I myself have been thinking for a while. Unfortunately, Michael became sick with cancer and died before he could see his book released.  I have read his book and now offer some of my thoughts about it.  This isn’t a thorough review, I offer some observations and ask some questions. I find his writing very thoughtful and unique. He does not regurgitate someone else’s thoughts. He writes what he learned as a Christian pilgrim and offers challenging views on the church.
Michael’s topic is what he calls “Mere Churchianity.”  This title of course mirrors the title of C.S. Lewis’s “Mere Christianity.” But for Michael “churchianity” is “the church-dependent religion.” (186) It is the church as an institution in its various forms and Denominations. This type of “churchianity,” according to Michael, is not what is found in Scripture.  This type of church has left Jesus.  He writes for those who have left or are about to leave the church (or churchianity) offering advice and helping them move to the “Jesus-Shaped spirituality”. These people still believe something (17). They are “God seekers” (18).
One of the big presuppositions of the book is that those leaving the church are seeking some sort of spirituality (18, 63) and Michael offers his thoughts as to why they do this. I do agree that many (Christians?) are leaving the organized church. I do think that some are genuinely seeking the path of Jesus or the Jesus-shaped spirituality. But I can’t agree that most of them are doing this for this reason.  I would have liked to see some actual testimonies as appendices in the book of those who Michael knew that had left or were about to leave the church. This would have added more credibility to this assertion.  I won’t deny that Michael knew of these people first-hand, but I am not fully convinced about it even though I understand and agree that this may be the best these people can do. I also have found myself going from church to church and what I have observed has left me wondering if this is the church that Christ had in mind. What I have observed is the church as an institution but not as an organic movement representing Jesus.  Programs, activities, Bible studies, conferences and positions run the church and not Jesus. The script is there and everyone is expected to follow it. It is very hard to find “Jesus-Shaped spirituality.”
According to Michael, the church has little to do with Jesus and more with being successful and relevant (25). It is like a pecan pie but without the pecans.  The church does not resemble the community Jesus intended for his people. What we need to have according to Michael is “a movement of culture-resisting, church suspicious rebels and Jesus followers who have taken the same view of religion that Jesus took in his denouncements of religious phoniness.” (44) I agree.
For Michael, the solution to the church’s incongruities (with what is and what ought to be) is to get back to Jesus.  We need to go back to the Jesus we find in the New Testament. We need to model our life after his. “The genuine Jesus-follower walks a narrow path with a unique and exclusive Jesus,” (78) according to Spencer. The Jesus follower is concerned about the Kingdom of God, those who are excluded, making disciples the way Jesus did, and sharing the message of Jesus as the only Mediator (ch. 8). The church also needs to get back to reading the Bible. Most churches spoon-feed their parishioners by giving them selected verses but do not encourage personal Bible reading. The Holy Spirit will guide believers as they read the Bible (ch. 10). The church also needs to be real and stop using adjectives such as “victorious” and “successful.”  We need to start realizing our own failures and struggles and stop pretending to be “good Christians” (ch. 11). We are all for hearing from those who have been redeemed by Christ but we don’t want to hear about their struggles as they live the Christian life.  We avoid this at all cost. But for Michael, “The fact is, we’re screwed up.” (141)
Michael writes: “The life of faith is warfare.  I fight. Jesus will finish the work. I will groan and do battle, climbing the mountain of holiness bearing wounds and battle scars.  But I will climb it, since Christ is in me.  The gospel assures victory, eventually.” (148)
The Jesus-shaped spirituality calls us to be honest before God and live an “unscripted” life (107). The community Jesus had in mind, is a community that allows for a “sacred spirituality,” that is done in solitude (181) and not dependent upon the church. But we also foster the relationships we have in the community of believers.  For Michael, this community does not necessarily mean “churchianity” or the organized church. This can happen outside the organized church among the body of believers.  I agree with Michael here as well. But I hardly see any sense of community in the church.  In my opinion, the institution has replaced community. There’s more time for solitude but I doubt we are spending time with God.
According to Michael, a mass exodus of people will leave church (189) due to disillusionment for being misled.  They will no longer be willing to follow the church’s script and instead be true to themselves. They will leave consumer Christianity.  They will move on to a more personal faith, a “designer approach to faith.” (190) Michael offers advice for them: a Jesus-shaped spirituality that is both personal and communal, mentored, saturated with Scripture, growing in the context of service and the gospel and found in relationships (ch. 17).
As I read the book, I found that I agreed with most of what Michael writes.  I have had many of the same observations about Christianity and the church.  I foresee a similar fate to what he observed.  But contrary to Michael, I don’t see many of those leaving the church embracing any spirituality. I am more pessimistic.  I believe God will have to intervene to bring us back to himself.  He may have to be drastic. 
Michael’s view on those leaving the church made me a bit uneasy.  I can see and understand why they do it, but I can also see the danger of leaving. I hope no one thinks he is encouraging anyone to leave the church.  It’s not as easy as it seems. Many will not seek any spirituality and will be sucked into the culture. But for those who understand what Jesus intended for the church to be, who have struggled in it, who sought to change it but have failed, it may be the best option. They will still follow Jesus in solitude and in community with those who have taken the same path but never alone and with much humility.
Material is copyright by eigaldamez. Permission is given
to re-post or reproduce without editing the content.

Disclaimer:
The contents of all personal web pages and blogs published are solely my responsibility.
Statements made and opinions expressed on personal pages are strictly those of the author and not of any organization, church, or school.

<span class="entry-utility-prep entry-utility-prep-cat-links">Posted in</span> christians, church, discipleship, mere churchianity, michael spencer | Comments Off on A Review of Mere Churchianity by Michael Spencer

Parallels between The Church and Government

Posted on July 18, 2010 by eig

I grew up in a Conservative Baptist church.  I went to a Baptist college and Seminary. I studied Baptist History. I know that as Baptists we are to have a separation between The Church and Government.  They don’t mix.  They follow different paths.  Separation between Church and State has also had a long history. Yet, the more I have learned about Government (I use the capital G to refer to our Federal Government) the more parallels I see between it and The Church (I use this term to refer to all those who are Christians or the “call out” by God to be his children as the New Testament describes them).  I could focus on only negative aspects and I could write a lot. I could focus on only the positive aspects and still write a lot. I am going to attempt to be fair-minded.  But why do this? Is it necessary? I do this to put those nagging thoughts away that constantly pop up.  It is not necessary but perhaps is helpful for me.  Maybe it is just catharsis for me. Maybe they will help others. Maybe it is a way to see Government and The Church from a different perspective. Ok. Here it goes.
1. Both Government and The Church have their beginning in God. 
Most of us won’t deny that The Church is God’s idea and not a human invention.  The Church as defined in the New Testament are those who have been redeemed, saved from their sins and called out of the world to live for God.  This community was established by Jesus himself (“I will build my church”).  Government, according to the Bible is “ordained” by God.  Here there are some disagreements I’m sure.  Some would hold that not all governments are established by God. All are established to keep order.  I can live with that.  But I will limit this to our government here in the United States.  Our Government is clearly established in the presupposition that we are endowed by our Creator with certain inalienable rights (The Declaration of Independence).  So there! The connection is made whether we believe that our Government is “established” by God in the proper sense of the word or not.
The application here is that both the Government and The Church must understand that they don’t have any authority except that which is given by God. They are not intrinsically self-existent or have any power unless it is given to them. Yet we see the abuse of power in Government and The Church.  Yes, I know I said the Church.  If I could sit down with you I can give you my personal narrative of how The Church does abuse its power, I would.  It would take hours.
2. Both Government and The Church have a purpose for its existence.
The Government’s purpose is to protect and establish rule of law so that its citizens can live peacefully.  The Church exists to glorify God by proclaiming the Gospel to all nations and make disciples of them.  The application here is that the Government and the Church are not an end in itself.  They exist for a purpose and when they cease to carry the purpose for which they have been called, they lose the authority for which they have been called. I do believe that both the Government and The Church are losing (if not already) their way as to their purpose of their existence. Is the Government focusing on protecting its members’ freedom and well-being? Read the news.  Is The Church making disciples of all nations? Visit one close to you and see for yourself where their emphasis is.
3. Both Government and The Church have officials that are called to serve the community.
  This cannot be denied. Ministers, pastors, deacons, etc… and Government officials are elected (many churches have “elections” by voting and also have appointments made by boards) and some are appointed to serve (the discussion as to ministers being called by God is not necessary since validation is still required by the Church or by a Board of leaders). Who do both serve? They serve its constituents.  The Government provides protection and resources for the people.  The Church (i.e. the officials) serves its members by caring for them and reaching out to the rest of the community.  Today, we see how Government has forgotten its call to serve. To listen to the people. To help the people.  They are doing their own thing. The Church has forgotten that they are called not only to serve each other’s needs but its community needs as well. How many churches are blind to their surroundings and don’t acknowledge those that live around them.  Many of them exist in neighbourhoods that have completely changed ethnically but are not been reached by the Church.
4. Both Government and The Church have Sacred Documents that serve as their road map.
Our Government has the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution as its “sacred” documents.  These documents are the road map for the Nation. The Constitution is the document that serves as the foundation of Government. It outlines its powers and responsibilities.  It is to be carefully read and interpreted. Some believe that it needs to be interpreted in its original intent and it is not meant to be a document that can be changed. Christians have the Bible. It is our road map.  The Bible needs to be interpreted properly as well. Some of us believe it is to be interpreted according to its original meaning and intent and applied carefully.  We believe it is inerrant (a whole topic all by itself). We see how both Government and The Church have changed the meaning of their documents.  Proof? Study up the history of the Separation of Church and State in our government and see how far we have gone from the original intent of the Constitution.  The Church? The meaning of what the Bible says about certain issues have totally being altered. But even Conservative churches are making the Bible say things that it doesn’t say (especially those that are very legalistic.  They have rules derived from the Bible to avoid its members from becoming “worldly”). I know I haven’t given many specific examples, but do I need to?
There’s much more I could say. But the point is made and I feel better. Well, not really. But I’ve shared it.
P.S. I am currently finishing up a book called “Mere Churchianity” and have found that Michael Spencer who recently passed away had some of the same thoughts I have had for quite some time now. I don’t agree with everything of course, but I will write a review later.         
Material is copyright by eigaldamez. Permission is given
to re-post or reproduce without editing the content.

Disclaimer:
The contents of all personal web pages and blogs published are solely my responsibility.
Statements made and opinions expressed on personal pages are strictly those of the author and not of any organization, church, or school.

<span class="entry-utility-prep entry-utility-prep-cat-links">Posted in</span> Baptists, Constitution, Declaration of Independence, Government, The Church | Comments Off on Parallels between The Church and Government

Reflections on the book of Jonah – chapter 3

Posted on June 24, 2010 by eig
In this chapter Jonah gets a second chance.  It starts very matter factly.  It is as if nothing has happened.  God speaks to Jonah and tells him to go to Niniveh and he will tell him what to do next.  Jonah does it without hesitation.  God has just given him a second chance.  Why? God does not tell us.  He wants to. Period. Does God need to give us explanation for everything He does? No.  He didn’t give the answers to Job. He doesn’t here either.  Does God always give second chances? when I was reading Surprised by Grace the author says God doesn’t always give second chances. He gives examples such as Ananias and Saphira in the book of Acts.  It is true if we see second chances as part of events, big events in our lives.  But I believe we get second chances every day.  Lamentations 3 says that it is because of God’s mercy that we are not consumed. They are new every morning.  Every day we get to start anew and have a choice to live for God or live for ourselves.  God’s mercy makes this possible. It is not because of us that we get second chances, it is because God has compassion on us and remembers that we are just dust. He is a compassionate Father (Psalm 103).  He cares for all of us even when we do wrong.



This is the case here.  Jonah gets a second chance as a rebellious child that he is but also Nineveh gets a second chance.  Jonah begins to speak the message. He had to walk three days worth saying, “In forty days God will bring you down.” Nothing is said as to what they needed to do. I wonder if he was just selecting what to say or if he said more than that.  I imagine that he was just walking and saying it without much passion.  Some see him passionately speaking out but I doubt it.  He knew that God was giving them a second chance and he did not want them to have it. After all, he knew that the king was a vicious man who had killed so many in battle, even children.  He had killed people and skinned them. He had no reason to like them.  Do we not feel the same way about some people we know?

What happened next probably blew Jonah’s top off (as we shall see later).  People believed the message, believed in God and repented (the putting on of ashes, torn clothing symbolizes this) of their evil ways. Even the king heard the message and believed and repented of his evil ways. He even proclaimed a day of fasting and calling out to God that perhaps would move Him to not destroy them.  God hears them. God chances his mind (repents). He saves them. Not often do we have a whole city turning to God but it happened here.

It strikes me how God uses imperfect people.  He used Jonah even with his disobedience and bad attitude (bad personality).  He can use me. He can use you. He gives us his mercy every day to start anew. Today!

Material is copyright by eigaldamez. Permission is given
to re-post or reproduce without editing the content.

Disclaimer:
The contents of all personal web pages and blogs published are solely my responsibility.
Statements made and opinions expressed on personal pages are strictly those of the author and not of any organization, church, or school.

<span class="entry-utility-prep entry-utility-prep-cat-links">Posted in</span> book of Jonah, Jonah, Jonah and the fish, prayer, prophet Jonah, sovereignty | Comments Off on Reflections on the book of Jonah – chapter 3

Disagreeing with Jesus

Posted on June 18, 2010 by eig


I don’t often disagree with Jesus. This was the case the other day when I was reading Matthew 6:25-34.  I have read this passage many times. I have heard sermons about it many times. I have read commentaries about it.  But recently God has been pointing out some things I have never seen before.  I couldn’t believe that I was disagreeing with Jesus when I came to this passage. 

In this chapter Jesus is teaching his disciples how to pray.  He also points out the danger of storing treasures on earth by hoarding material things and the evil of loving money.  Then he tells them,
“Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes?” (NIV)
So I said to Jesus, “I don’t worry about what I have eat. I have plenty of food. I don’t worry about what I have to drink. I have plenty of water. I have that.  I don’t worry about what I will wear. I have plenty of clothes.”
I felt good. I can trust Jesus on this. But I went on, “I need…this Lord and this! And you didn’t promise that here so I can worry about it, right?”

As I read on I realized he meant more than just the basic necessities. We shouldn’t worry about anything from which our subsistence depends. He says,
“For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them.” (NIV)

“Yes, Jesus I know you know them but you are taking too long to answer them.”

And he says, “But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.” (NIV)

“Ok, Lord so I should just look for those things that honor you, seek the spiritual things? And then you will give me those things as well. That’s easy for you to say because you are not in my shoes. We live in different times. You didn’t need much then. It’s a complex world.”

“So what you are saying is that I should just not worry period and trust you?”

I knew the answer!

Material is copyright by eigaldamez. Permission is given
to re-post or reproduce without editing the content.

Disclaimer:
The contents of all personal web pages and blogs published are solely my responsibility.
Statements made and opinions expressed on personal pages are strictly those of the author and not of any organization, church, or school.

<span class="entry-utility-prep entry-utility-prep-cat-links">Posted in</span> disagreeing with Jesus, following Jesus, matthew 6, prayer, worry | Comments Off on Disagreeing with Jesus

Thoughts on the book of Jonah – Chapter 2

Posted on June 18, 2010 by eig
Continuing the thoughts on the life of Jonah.  At the end of chapter 1, God “appoints” a fish to swallow Jonah as he is thrown in the ocean.  The purpose was not to kill Jonah but to protect him.  As Tchivdjian in the book  Surprised by Grace states “The fish’s belly was not Jonah’s prison or death chamber, but only a temporary hospital for his soul and protection for his body from the ocean depths. It’s good for Jonah to be here. God ensures that his unworthy servant is made fully aware of this undeserved deliverance.”

Jonah spends three days and three nights in the belly of the fish. In Jewish custom three days and three days do not necessarily mean three full days.  This event is quoted by Jesus and it foreshadows his death and resurrection (Matthew 12:40).  God in his Sovereignty not only appoints a fish to protect Jonah but also to teach us something that was yet to come.  He wants to teach us about Jesus. Jesus would come. He would die and be buried for three days and three nights but on the third day, he would rise.  Jonah was a shadow of what was to come.

What is Jonah’s  response? Jonah prayed! I try to picture what it was like to be inside the fish.  Dark. Smelly. The movement of the internal parts of the fish must have been scary. The slime all over his body. What else to do? Pray. What is our reaction when something bad is happening in our lives? When we fear death? When we go through difficult circumstances? Jonah prayed! We can pray!
What is he thinking? He is thinking he is going to die.  He is in the place of the dead (Sheol).  But God has heard him (he mentions this twice). He believes that God will save him (or perhaps has already saved him from the ocean).  He understands that what is happening is God’s doing (“you cast me into the deep”). The words “your” repeat over and over in this prayer.  He is grateful to God. He believes that salvation is of God. When we pray do we believe God will answer us? Are we grateful to God? Do we believe that only God can save us?

God speaks to the fish and it vomits Jonah out. This amazes me. God speaks to a fish. God is an incredible God. The act of vomiting also shows God’s displeasure towards Jonah. But he has shown grace by saving him.
Material is copyright by eigaldamez. Permission is given
to re-post or reproduce without editing the content.

Disclaimer:
The contents of all personal web pages and blogs published are solely my responsibility.
Statements made and opinions expressed on personal pages are strictly those of the author and not of any organization, church, or school.

<span class="entry-utility-prep entry-utility-prep-cat-links">Posted in</span> book of Jonah, Jonah, Jonah and the fish, prayer, prophet Jonah, sovereignty | Comments Off on Thoughts on the book of Jonah – Chapter 2