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               See you there, Charlene

Jonah: The Test of An Unpleasant Task

“When GOD gives us an order, it is utterly impossible to say, “”No, LORD”" and mean both words”.  Robert McQuilkin from (Daring Disciple Series 4: Discovering The Walk of Faith–Bill Jones & Terry Powell. Crossover Communications International, 2001.)

Hi Everyone,

To place GOD as Sovereign in your life means to place Him above all else. Family, friends, and associates are important, but not as important as the relationship you have covenanted to have with Jesus Christ. Likening our journey through life as Christians to being soldiers in the Army of the LORD leads us to behave in soldier fashion. Soldiers are trained to obey their officers without question–even unto death.  Therefore it only makes sense to conclude that we are to obey GOD without questioning His wisdom. He would not lead us astray.

You may not always understand the purpose of the task before you, but if you truly want to serve the Living LORD you will perform the task with joy. Since we are taught to not fear, there should be holy boldness as we go about the Father’s business. Is it easy? Absolutely not! Is it doable? Absolutely! “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me”. Phillipians 4:13   ” The LORD will give strength unto His people; The LORD will bless His people with peace” Psalm 29: 11      

                                                               GOD’s Blessings, Charlene

As we study Jonah–let us envision ourselves in his place. What could have been done differently? Does GOD grant us grace as He granted it to Jonah?

How Did Jonah Survive?

.Jonah was a real prophet who is mentioned also in II Kings 14:25. None of the ancient Jews or early Christians ever doubted the authenticity and historicity of the book of Jonah and its story.

JESUS CHRIST

The Lord Jesus Christ accepted the account as true. He said that the people of Nineveh repented of their sins as a consequence of his preaching (Matthew 12:41). He even said: “For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the whale’s belly, so shall the Son of man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth” (Matthew 12:40). Thus Christ actually compared Jonah’s experience to His own coming death and resurrection, pointing out the miraculous nature of both. One cannot deny the factuality of Jonah’s experience, therefore, without charging the Lord Jesus Christ with either deception or ignorance, either of which is equivalent to denying His deity.

A MIRACLE

There is little question that the event was a miracle, but this fact certainly does not disprove it! The account, in fact, says as much:

“Now the Lord had prepared a great fish to swallow up Jonah. And Jonah was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights.” -Jonah 1:17 (King James Version)

Later it says:

“And the Lord spake unto the fish, and it vomited out Jonah upon the dry land.” -Jonah 2:10 (King James Version)

God was certainly able to accomplish this if He wished; to deny the possibility of miracles is atheism. The actual occurrence of this particular miracle is adequately attested by the very fact of its record in the Holy Scriptures, and is doubly confirmed by the testimony of Christ.

Whole animals as large or larger than a man have been found in the stomachs of the sperm whale, the whale shark and the white shark. The “great fish” may have been either a whale or a shark or even a fish specially prepared by the Lord for this purpose. (The Hebrew and Greek words that are used merely mean “a great aquatic animal.”) Some species of whales and some species of sharks are quite capable of swallowing a man whole. Among these are the sperm whale, the white shark, and the whale shark, all of which have been found with whole animals as large or larger than a man in their stomachs.

HOW DID JONAH SURVIVE?

As to whether a man could survive “three days and three nights” under such conditions, there are three possible answers that could be suggested in defense of the Biblical narrative.

1. NATURAL. In the first place, it has been well established that the phrase “three days and three nights” in ancient Hebrew usage was an idiomatic expression meaning simply “three days,” and was applicable even if the beginning and ending days of the period were only partial days. Thus it could refer to a period as short as about 38 hours. There is always some air in the whale’s stomach, and, as long as the animal it has swallowed is still alive, digestive activity will not begin. Thus, Jonah’s experience could possibly have happened entirely with the framework of natural law.
2. MIRACLE. It is much more likely, however, that the event involved a divine miracle, as the Scripture strongly implies. The “great fish” was prepared and sent by God, as was the intense storm that threatened the ship on which Jonah was traveling. The storm ceased as soon as Jonah was cast overboard (Jonah 1:4, 15). In like manner, it was quite probable that God preserved Jonah’s life miraculously all through the horrifying experience.
3. RESURRECTION. A third possibility is that Jonah actually suffocated and died in the great fish and then God later brought him back from the dead. There are at least eight other such “resurrections” recorded in the Bible, as well as the glorious bodily resurrection of Christ—of which Jonah’s experience in particular was said by Christ to be a prophetic sign.

This is also implied by Jonah’s prayer, when he said: “…out of the belly of hell (i.e. “sheol,” the place of departed spirits) cried I, and thou heardest my voice” (Jonah 2:2). In any case, it was a mighty experience, evidently well known and certified in his day, probably contributing in significant degree to the fact that all people of Ninevah repented and turned to God (Jonah 3:5) when Jonah returned “from the dead,” as it were, to preach to them.

Even in Jesus’ day, it was so well known that He could use it as a “sign” of His own impending death and resurrection, which were to constitute God’s crowning proof of the deity of His Son and the great work of salvation which He would accomplish on the cross for all who would receive Him.

“God now commandeth all men everywhere to repent: Because He hath appointed a day, in the which He will judge the world in righteousness by that man whom He hath ordained; whereof He hath given assurance unto all men, in that He hath raised Him from the dead.” -Acts 17:30, 31 (King James Version)

Authors: Henry Morris and Martin Clark , from their book The Bible Has the Answer, pp. 74-76, published by Master Books, 1987

Supplied by Eden Communications with permission from Master Books.

 www.christiananswers.net

Great help to express and confirm your beliefs. Thank you to Peter Kreeft and Ronald Tacelli. Please share this with someone else.

                                                                                     Charlene

 Scriptural Data for Christ’s Claim to Divinity

1. Early Creedal Formula: “Jesus is LORD” (kyrios) Revelation 4:11 “Thou art worthy, O LORD, to receive glory and honour and power: for thou hast created all things; and for thy pleasure they are and were created”(insert mine) ; 1 Corinthians 12:3; Phillipians 2:11            

2. The title “Son of GOD” (Son of implies “of the same nature as.”) Matthew 11:27; Mark 12:6; 13:32; 14:61-62; Luke 10:22; 22:70; John 10:30; 14:9

3. The New Testament calls Him “GOD”: Titus 2:13; 1 John 5:20; Romans 9:5; John 1:1

4. Absolutely, universally supreme: Colossians 1:15-20

5. Eternally preexistent: John 1:1; Phillipians 2:6; Hebrews 13:8; Revelation 22:13

6. Omnipresent: Matthew 18:20; 28:20

7. Omnipotent: Matthew 28:18; Hebrews 1:3; Revelation 1:8

8. Immutable: Hebrews 1:11-12; 13:8

9. Creates (only GOD can create): Colossians 1:16-17; John 1:3; 1 Corinthians 8:6; Hebrew 1:10

10. Sinless: perfect: Hebrews 7:26; John 8:46; 2 Corinthians 5:21

11. Has authority to forgive sins: Mark 2:5-12; Luke 24:45-47; Acts 10:43; 1 John 1:5-9

12. Rightly worshipped: Matthew 2:11; 14:33; 28:9; John 20:28; Hebrews 1:5-9

13. Speaks the uinique, forbidden divine name: John 8:58

14. Called “King of Kings and LORD of lords” : 1 Timothy 6:15; Revelation 17:14

15. One with the Father: John 10:30; 12:45; 14: 8-10

16. Performs miracles: John 10:37-38, and throughout all Four Gospels

17. Sends the Holy Spirit: John 14: 25-26; 16: 7-15

18. The Father testifies to Him(Jesus)(insert mine)Matthew 3:17; 17:5; John 8:18; 1 John 5:9

19. Gives eternal life: John 3:16; 5: 39-40; 20: 30-31

20. Foreknows the future: Mark 8:31; Luke 9: 21-22; 12: 49-53; 22:35-37; 24:17; John 3: 11-14; 6: 63-64; 13: 1-11; 14: 27-29; 18: 1-4; 19: 26-30

21: Is LORD over the Law: Luke 6: 1-5

Work Cited: Kreeft, Peter and Ronald Tacelli: Handbook of Christian Apologetics 1994: Intervarsity Press, Madison WI.

Need hope in your life. Read and absorb this Psalm.  Love, Charlene

While studying this morning The LORD revealed a connection to me between King David and King Uzziah–2 Samuel 6:17 and 2 Chronicles 26:16-20.

King David

2 Samuel 6:17: “The ark was placed inside the tent which David had prepared for it; and he sacrificed burnt offerings and peace offerings to the LORD.” It would be wise to read the entire chapter.

King Uzziah

2 Chronicles 26: 16-20: “But at that point he became proud–and corrupt. He sinned against the LORD his GOD by entering the forbidden sanctuary of the Temple and personally burning incense upon the altar. Azariah the High Priest went in after him with eighty other priests, all brave men, and demanded that he get out. “‘It is not for you, Uzziah, to burn incense, they declared. That is the work of the priests alone, the sons of Aaron who are consecrated to this work, Get out, for you have trespassed, and the LORD is not going to honor you for this!”" Uzziah was furious, and refused to set down  the incense burner he was holding. But look! Suddenly–leprosy appeared in his forehead! When Azariah and the others saw it, they rushed him out; in fact, he himself was as anxious to get out as they were to get him out, because the LORD had struck him. “

We are studying in our Learning to Trust text about how King Uzziah went into the temple and burned incense upon the altar. Was this a bad thing? Yes, in this particular instance, and only because the task of burning incense upon the altar was reserved for the priests of Aaron’s descent.

In doing this abomination, King Uzziah had raised himself above the priesthood and had disregarded their appointed role in the temple. Sometimes it is not so much what we desire to do for The LORD but the question is were we appointed to this task? All of us have work to do for the Kingdom. This is a given, and without the desire to work, there would arise no fruit. Holy Spirit unction is what directs us to our own particular role or roles in the work of the Kingdom.

King Uzziah had reigned for many years, and he was blessed mightily by GOD in numerous ways. Where the dilemma came was in his inability to listen to the voice of humility, to the Holy Spirit. Was the Holy Spirit at work in this time? Yes, He was. King Uzziah became puffed up in his own importance because of his prosperity. It is hard to hear GOD when you have no needs. There is less desire to seek GOD when nothing is amiss. It is a human trait, this inability to remain humble and contrite in our successful times.

When is it necessary to hunker down and look to GOD for deliverance? During our times of prosperity. Our eyes can be blinded and our ears stopped up, not to mention our hearts can be hardened by prosperity. King Uzziah lost his vision due to arrogance. He was struck down with leprosy. Let us try to do better.

You may be asking how this relates to King David. King David also went into the temple to burn offerings unto the LORD after he had brought the ark triumphantly into the City of David. He had the wisdom to ask for the assistance of the priests, knowing that this was their GOD-appointed task, otherwise a similar fate as King Uzziah’s would have been his. In so doing he showed humbleness before the LORD and his reward was more prosperity. Even though he had danced before the LORD and acted clamorously foolish, and had won the disrespect of Michal, his wife because of this–his humble heart had led him to do so and GOD blessed him.

Always keep your spiritual guard up during the prosperous times. Remember that GOD gives and that He can take away.

                                                                                          Charlene

While reading the book Real Torn…Beneath The Veil by Pamela L. Ellis, The LORD placed it on my heart to share this book with you and to also share the author. Rev. Pamela L. Ellis lives in Onalaska, Wisconsin and is concerned about the eternal souls and spirits of men and women. GOD has called her to share her story with others as a means of forwarding the Kingdom. 

I have personally known Rev. Pam since 1994 and have watched her grow in her quest to do GOD’s will. May GOD Bless her work and her ministry.

You may access her book of encouragement and overcoming at Amazon.com by clicking on Rev. Pamela L. Ellis on the Blogroll sidebar.

                                                      Rev. Charlene Kirst

Sorry everyone. I have tried to correct the calendar many times. The function has defeated me and I have concluded that I will just have to live with this blog posting that it is two days ahead. So subtract two days everytime you view a posting, o.k.?

                                                                     GOD Bless You, Charlene

Good Morning everyone. I’m not so sure on the spelling of Baby Lily ’s name, but I do know that we need to be interceding on her behalf and on behalf of the Thompson family. The surgery to remove Lily’s tumor is scheduled for today, 12 noon, September 11th, 2009.  I pray that the surgeons, staff, and all involved would be alert and relying on GOD to do the impossible. All things are possible in Christ Jesus our LORD. Please continue to pray for the Thompson family as a whole, and especially for Lily’s immediate family.

Today is the memorial day for 9-11-2001. Please continue to pray for the families of victims on this day and beyond.

                                                                      GOD Bless You, Charlene

O.K. Back on track. The blogger is back. I have found some new materials that I will be posting soon. I pray that all is well with everyone. See you soon.

                                                                                                      Charlene

This blog is going to be silent for a while as we plan and execute the fundraiser on September 6th. Please look at archived material until after this date. Thank you to everyone who is supporting and participating in our fundraiser.

                                                                                  Charlene