the Discipleship of jonah Together, getting to know our Father in heaven
Thoughts for Meditation from Pastor Tom
Please follow your heart and enjoy the Lord as you consider these meditations.
Pastor Tom
The Storm - The Discipleship of Jonah
Now the word of the LORD came unto Jonah the son of Amittai, saying,Jonah 1:1 KJV
Let's talk about Jonah, a man who knows the voice of the Lord yet clearly is self directed, much has been said about his obedience and disobedience. Yet the Lord gave him a command fully knowing the path to fulfillment would not be direct.
Your eyes saw my unformed body; all the days ordained for mewere written in your book before one of them came to be.Psalm 139:16 NIV
If God knew, what were the results ? Consider the sailors:
Then the LORD sent a great wind on the sea, and such a violent storm arose that the ship threatened to break up. All the sailors were afraid and each cried out to his own god. Jonah 1:4 NIV
The Lord sent a storm sufficient to frighten them to cry out to their gods, and Jonah is sleeping.
The captain went to him and said, “How can you sleep? Get up and call on your god!Maybe he will take notice of us so that we will not perish.”Jonah 1:6 NIV
The disciple’s “sleeping” and the captains “maybe” reveal the individual relationship with God. The storm reveals the reality of how we know our God. Then the sailors said to each other, “Come, let us cast lots to find out who is responsible for this calamity.” They cast lots and the lot fell on Jonah.Jonah 1:7 NIV
Why? Who’s responsibile? What’s the purpose? Are reasonable questions that should be asked of the Lord during a storm.
No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to mankind. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can endure it.1 Corinthians 10:13 NIV
Every storm has meaning, purpose, and a path, our’s is to ask, seek, knock?
So they asked him, “Tell us, who is responsible for making all this trouble for us?What kind of work do you do? Where do you come from?What is your country? From what people are you?” He answered, “I am a Hebrew and I worship the Lord, the God of heaven, who made the sea and the dry land.”This terrified them and they asked, “What have you done?”(They knew he was running away from the LORD, because he had already told them so.)Jonah 1:8-10 NIV
The sailors are terrified when Jonah identifies the Lord The sea was getting rougher and rougher. So they asked him,“What should we do to you to make the sea calm down for us?”Jonah 1:11 NIV
Jonah’s reply to their question, self directed or from the Lord? “Pick me up and throw me into the sea,” he replied, “and it will become calm.I know that it is my fault that this great storm has come upon you.”Jonah 1:12 NIV
Sailors response was self directed initially but “the sea grew even wilder” so they cried out and yielded to the Lord’s command
Instead, the men did their best to row back to land.But they could not, for the sea grew even wilder than before. Then they cried out to the LORD, “Please, LORD, do not let us die for taking this man’s life.Do not hold us accountable for killing an innocent man, for you, LORD, have done as you pleased.” Then they took Jonah and threw him overboard, and the raging sea grew calm.At this the men greatly feared the LORD,and they offered a sacrifice to the LORD and made vows to him.Jonah 1:13-16 NIV
The storm, was it for Jonah, the sailors or perhaps for you?
For Jonah, he had to recognize his disobedience or selfishness, consider how others were affected by his choices and yield his life to the Lord. Clearly “discipleship”
The sailors received an encounter with the living God, of a miraculous nature. Fearing the Lord, offering sacrifice and making vows, consider their conversations, prayers and stories, of the “Hebrew’s” God. Each would now deal with God personally going forth. I wonder if any of them met Jonah later in life? Also clearly “discipleship” yet at a different point.
The purpose of life, storms, temptations, suffering and celebrations does not change. Therefore let this truth be foundational in your meditations.
That they should seek the Lord, if haply they might feel after him, and find him,Acts 17:27 KJV
SEEK THE LORD
Now the word of the LORD came unto Jonah the son of Amittai, saying,Jonah 1:1 KJV
Let's talk about Jonah, a man who knows the voice of the Lord yet clearly is self directed, much has been said about his obedience and disobedience. Yet the Lord gave him a command fully knowing the path to fulfillment would not be direct.
Your eyes saw my unformed body; all the days ordained for mewere written in your book before one of them came to be.Psalm 139:16 NIV
If God knew, what were the results ? Consider the sailors:
Then the LORD sent a great wind on the sea, and such a violent storm arose that the ship threatened to break up. All the sailors were afraid and each cried out to his own god. Jonah 1:4 NIV
The Lord sent a storm sufficient to frighten them to cry out to their gods, and Jonah is sleeping.
The captain went to him and said, “How can you sleep? Get up and call on your god!Maybe he will take notice of us so that we will not perish.”Jonah 1:6 NIV
The disciple’s “sleeping” and the captains “maybe” reveal the individual relationship with God. The storm reveals the reality of how we know our God. Then the sailors said to each other, “Come, let us cast lots to find out who is responsible for this calamity.” They cast lots and the lot fell on Jonah.Jonah 1:7 NIV
Why? Who’s responsibile? What’s the purpose? Are reasonable questions that should be asked of the Lord during a storm.
No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to mankind. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can endure it.1 Corinthians 10:13 NIV
Every storm has meaning, purpose, and a path, our’s is to ask, seek, knock?
So they asked him, “Tell us, who is responsible for making all this trouble for us?What kind of work do you do? Where do you come from?What is your country? From what people are you?” He answered, “I am a Hebrew and I worship the Lord, the God of heaven, who made the sea and the dry land.”This terrified them and they asked, “What have you done?”(They knew he was running away from the LORD, because he had already told them so.)Jonah 1:8-10 NIV
The sailors are terrified when Jonah identifies the Lord The sea was getting rougher and rougher. So they asked him,“What should we do to you to make the sea calm down for us?”Jonah 1:11 NIV
Jonah’s reply to their question, self directed or from the Lord? “Pick me up and throw me into the sea,” he replied, “and it will become calm.I know that it is my fault that this great storm has come upon you.”Jonah 1:12 NIV
Sailors response was self directed initially but “the sea grew even wilder” so they cried out and yielded to the Lord’s command
Instead, the men did their best to row back to land.But they could not, for the sea grew even wilder than before. Then they cried out to the LORD, “Please, LORD, do not let us die for taking this man’s life.Do not hold us accountable for killing an innocent man, for you, LORD, have done as you pleased.” Then they took Jonah and threw him overboard, and the raging sea grew calm.At this the men greatly feared the LORD,and they offered a sacrifice to the LORD and made vows to him.Jonah 1:13-16 NIV
The storm, was it for Jonah, the sailors or perhaps for you?
For Jonah, he had to recognize his disobedience or selfishness, consider how others were affected by his choices and yield his life to the Lord. Clearly “discipleship”
The sailors received an encounter with the living God, of a miraculous nature. Fearing the Lord, offering sacrifice and making vows, consider their conversations, prayers and stories, of the “Hebrew’s” God. Each would now deal with God personally going forth. I wonder if any of them met Jonah later in life? Also clearly “discipleship” yet at a different point.
The purpose of life, storms, temptations, suffering and celebrations does not change. Therefore let this truth be foundational in your meditations.
That they should seek the Lord, if haply they might feel after him, and find him,Acts 17:27 KJV
SEEK THE LORD