THE CHURCH- TWO ROADS OR PATHS
Reading: Jonah 2 v 1 - 10
The Christian life is not about you and your needs, but it
is a call to deny yourself and share your call and the forgiveness of Jesus
with everyone around you. If you are a fugitive from the call of God, please turn
yourself in today just like Jonah. In the Christian life the believer has only
two roads or paths that he or she can follow such are;
1. THE ROAD TO TARSHISH - which is rejection of the WILL OF
GOD, a self-chosen path?
2. THE ROAD TO NINEVEH - which is responding to the WILL OF
GOD, a sovereign chosen path?
God had told Jonah to go to Nineveh and preach His word to
the very sinful and godless people of that very wicked city. Jonah was not
comfortable with the will of God nor was he willing to be compliant with the
will of rejecting the will of God. He therefore chose to flee to Tarshish
rejecting the will of God for self-interests. The most important matter in a
believer's life is his or her obedience to the will of God for their lives. A
sovereign will or the self will. Only the one-self by the appropriation of the
cross and follow the will and word of God.
God's grace will enable the believer to be obedient to the
WILL of God. It is really through the enabling and empowering grace any
believer will choose to surrender to the WILL and WORD of God. Are you today
obedient to God' will for every area of your life? If not, allow God's grace to
enable and empower you to come to the point of surrender unto God's grace.
It is of utmost importance that God's children be obedient
to His WILL. In the Methodist Hymn Book (M. H. B.), there is a hymn which talks
about trusting and obeying as the only way to be happy in Jesus. Yes, obedience
is more than sacrifice. The phrase, "Found a ship to Tarshish," also
teaches that the devil Satan will always provide a convenient way for the
believer to go out of or miss the will of God. Self or Satan will always
provide a means and easy method to avoid doing the will of God. Which road or
path do you walk in today?
Prayerful thought: Guide me, oh the great Jehovah, pilgrims
through this barren land. I am weak but thou art mighty, land safe on my Nineveh
shore.
Day 24
THE CHURCH - WHICH WAY ARE YOU SAILING?
Readings: Jonah 1 v 1 - 12, 3 v 2
Jonah hired a boat to take him to Tarshish, which was about
as far as you could go from Nineveh in those days. The Bible scholars say that
it was Spain, possibly a mining outpost near Gibraltar. But he never reached
the Mediterranean hide away. God found him asleep in the hold of the ship and
sent a storm to rouse him. Within a few hours he was thrown overboard and ended
up as giant fish food.
Can you find yourself in Jonah's story? Are you running away
from God's call on your life? Have you tried to drown out the cries of a lost
people? Have you hired a luxury ship to take you to a comfort zone where you
don't have to think about the needs of your Nineveh? Many Zimbabwean Christians
today are in Jonah’s boat. We don't like to hear sermons about Evangelism. We
are not interested in the crucified life. We have shunned sacrifice. Instead of
making the Great Commission our priority, we have fallen asleep with our
earphones playing perky messages about success and prosperity.
Oh yes, I hear the sound of wind and waves. God has sent a
storm to rouse a distracted, disobedient church of its slumber. Therefore we
must take the same steps like Jonah and these are;
1) WAKE UP - Jonah's disobedience put the sailors on his
ship in peril. Did you realize that when we ignore our responsibilities to
share the gospel of Christ others perish? The mainline church today has shirked
by ignoring the call to Evangelism, In most churches we are interested in
realizing our tithes and offerings, building, construction projects proposals
and seeing gold dust than we are in winning souls. The charismatic church today
has ignored the call for Evangelism and interested in getting personal
prophecies, having heavenly visitations, deliverances at the expense of soul
winning. We have lost our first love. We have become ingrown and self-absorbed.
But an alarm has sounded which cannot be ignored.
2) LOOK UP - Sometimes God allows difficult circumstances to
bring His church to repentance. Could this be one reason our economy is
squeezing us to a breaking point? Has God sent a storm to blow away the
materialism that has made us fat and proud? Look here, Jonah was stripped to
the bare essentials by the time he lands in the fish's belly. He went through a scary digestive process yet
a loving God watched over him. Many of us may face some darkness and discomfort
before we emerge empowered for a coming season of revival. We like it or not
the season of revival is with us now.
3) EMBRACE YOUR CALL - When Jonah repented he declared,
"SALVATION IS FROM THE LORD." (2 v 9) must embrace again the message
of salvation. We must stop running. God wants to use all of us to reach people
for Christ. The Lord has given all of us the message of reconciliation and we
must reclaim it anew.
Prayerful thought: - Lord God thank you for making me
realize that Christian life is not about me and my needs, but a call to deny
myself and share forgiveness of Jesus with everyone around me.