Jonah

Everybody knows about Jonah. His claim to fame was his escapade with a great fish that swallowed him whole when he tried to sneak out of going to Nineveh to warn the people of God's destructive might aimed their direction. THEN we know he prayed for forgiveness and said he would go to Nineveh if God would let him out of that fish. He did. And Jonah went! He delivered his message and told them the city would be destroyed in 40 days. And the Bible says that the Ninevites believed God! They put on sackcloth and the king proclaimed a fast, hoping God would see their repentance and change his mind. And God did. And they all lived happily ever after!

Ok, not quite. Our friend Jonah still wanted the Ninevites to be destroyed. Jonah 4:1-3 says, "Jonah was greatly displeased and became angry. He prayed to the LORD, 'O LORD, is this not what I said when I was still at home? That is why I was so quick to flee 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. Now, O LORD, take away my life, for it is better for me to die than to live.'" Yes, folks it's ok to roll your eyes at this silly little speech. But God just said, "Have you any right to be angry?" Then Jonah went a ways off from the city and waited to see what would happen. But it's pretty hot there. I think he was probably one of those people who don't like extreme temperatures like my mom. Basically, God's assessed the situation in Nineveh, and had decided to spare the city, and had pretty much said as much to Jonah. But this stubborn prophet is waiting for God to blow people to bits just because he doesn't like them. This guy is THICK-SKULLED!!!! But God made a vine grow over him for some shade while he's waiting for something bad to happen to people!!!!!!! Jonah was happy with that, but during the night, God killed the weed. Then Jonah got so mad he wanted to die again! This guy is acts like a toddler through the whole book. He definitely doesn't come close to being a Samuel or a Moses!!!! But over and over, God showed love to Jonah. If it's a father showing love to a whiny baby, we know that the father loves that baby as something that is his own, and can still love the baby even with some screaming. When I see God in the Bible showing love to King David or one of those great people, it's almost like they deserve it. Or at least they didn't do anything that we know of to NOT deserve it. But it wows me that God shows the same love to Jonah, the whiny prophet who would do anything to get out of a little thing like so many of us, as he showed to great kings and messengers who went through thick and thin to do what He wanted. With all this love God shows us when we whine every day, don't you think HE deserves to at least get a heartfelt attempt at obedience?

"Believe in Yourself"...uh, I'd rather NOT!

Chasen – Crazy Beautiful
From the album – Shine Through The Stars

Whoa you’re oh so beautiful,
you don’t need anyone’s approval
You’ve got to believe in yourself
you know you are
You’re crazy beautiful

There's no need to change
We're different but the same
In the eyes of the King
We're beautifully made
In his image we're made
Take a look it’s all around you
See the world from different views
The way you shine from the inside
I know with out a doubt
It’s more than what you’ll be In the world’s eyes.

Have you ever had somebody tell you to believe in yourself? At least you've heard it said. This is the song, Crazy Beautiful by Chasen. I dunno who that is, some new guy they're playing on Air 1. I think.

"Whoa you’re oh so beautiful,
you don’t need anyone’s approval
You’ve got to believe in yourself
you know you are You’re crazy beautiful"

It's got an extremely catchy tune, and will make about any girl dance. Those artsy "Who-oa"s are real neat. But the lyrics give the wrong idea about, well, YOU! So, we're supposed to believe in ourselves because we're the way God made us. Well, if God made us the way we are, why believe in ourselves? Why not believe in Him?
Say your mom made some brownies. Now for some reason, maybe you had a nightmare the night before about brownies being very salty. Oh, dear. It has messed up your entire day and you REALLY think they are going to be salty! Nightmares really mess you up that way. Do you say, "Well, these brownies LOOK good." (personally I think EVERY brownie is CRAZY BEAUTIFUL!) "So I'm gonna trust these brownies not to be salty." Could be correct, from a certain point of view. But if you really were worried, why not ask your mom about the amount of salt put into the chocolate goodness. About a teaspoon. Now you're thinking, "Ok, I know my mom didn't make these brownies salty. I'm gonna believe what she said."
That was an extremely last ditch attempt at an example, but you get my point. Consider Phillipians 4:13. "I can do all things through Christ, who strengthens me." Not, God made you good. You can do it! "I am the vine, you are the branches; he who abides in Me and I in him, he bears much fruit, for apart from Me you can do nothing." - John 15:5. NOTHING. You cannot do ANYTHING apart from God. You are nothing without the Vine! If you are faced with an important decision, you can't go the Hollywood way and believe that you'll make the right choice, more than likely you'll make the WRONG choice! Listen to what God has to say about your life! After all, he knows what's going to happen, so isn't it in your best interest to hear him out?
Now I'm not saying don't be confident. Being confident is different than believing in yourself. Confidence is all in where you put it. Our only REAL confidence is in God, because he is the only perfect one. Can you think of anything else you can put your confidence in that won't let you down? But don't walk around with your head down thinking you're junk. God made you to be his tool. You can't believe in the hammer to drive the nail in straight - it's all in the hand that hammers and that's God. Being God's tool is awesome! And God has personalized you different than any other hammer. Hence you are.....(sing this out loud)........CRAZY BEAUTIFUL! Just put your confidence in your loving Hammer-er and not in your own metal. I think you (as a hammer) know it's hard to drive a nail on your own! And this is just a matter of opinion I suppose, but I sure need somebody's approval... God's!!!!!!!! Nobody else's matters. As long as I'm right with the Hammer-er!

Think on These Things...

Philipians 4:8 says, "Finally brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable—if there is any moral excellence and if there is any praise—dwell on these things."
Oftentimes, in our modern day world, we fill our minds with worthless things, and hence, think worthless thoughts.
We have to consider carefully whatever we "feed" our minds. The movies we watch, the books we read, the TV shows we watch, the music we listen to. Is it true? Is it honorable? Is it just? Is it pure? Is it lovely? Is it commendable? Is there any moral excellence and praise? If the answer to any of those questions, you probably shouldn't consume it. I love to read. But, I know that if I read the wrong kinds of books, my mind will be filled with the wrong thoughts. Another thing is that is our minds are filled with bad thoughts, we can't think about things that are true, honorable, just, pure and all that. We can't dwell on the things of the Spririt if we dwell on the things of the world. Sure, you might be able to cast an occasional thought towards God during church, but you won't be getting what all he wants you to get from the service. God has so many things for us, but so many times we think only of the world, and miss much of what he wants for us. So, before you read a book, watch a movie, turn on the TV to that one show, ask yourself, "Is this everything good listed in Philipians 4:8?" If not, don't watch it, don't listen to it, don't read it. It may seem boring and stupid at times, and even somewhat useless, but it helps your walk with God, and "feeds" your mind only the good things.

God, You Couldn't Understand!!!

Have you ever said that? Laugh, if you will, but this is serious. Sometimes we think God just doesn't know about that little thing. "Well, you know. God doesn't want to hear the details of my personal life!" Oh yes he does! God wants you to tell him everything. Everything. If something bothers you, God cares about it, because God cares about you. God wants to hear what that girl said, or what that guy did. Tell him what they did. Repent. But, just pour out your heart to God. God wants to hear what you thought about this or that. Because, God just wants to hear from you. Because, he delights in you. He loves you. He already knows what you're going to say, but he just wants to hear you say it. He loves you that much. He delights in just hearing your voice. So many times we treat God like a person who doesn't really know. He couldn't have know, could he? Well, yes God does. He knows about every little thing going on. And, he knows the answers to life's questions.
However, God is not a spiritual vending machine. God is your Father, and he wants to talk to you. And, he wants you to talk to him. Tell him everything. God truly understands what you're going through. Talk to him, and then listen for what he has to say. For he knows.