When I was a little girl I played ‘follow the leader’. In this game you have to do
exactly what the leader does or you’re out of the game. While this was just a
childish game, Jesus’ command to follow ‘Him’ is no game – it’s serious
business - so serious, it has eternal ramifications. Listen to this edition of "Grace Notes" to find out what they are.
"My husband Dale & I have met some seniors who are busy serving the Lord –
collecting & distributing food, stuffing evangelistic mailers and even
ministering in nursing homes. But . . ."
Who is this Jesus, who said, “Foxes have holes, and the birds of the air have
nests – but the Son of man has no where to lay His head. In a world made by
Him – He had no place to call His home.
"Our hands are an ever present agent of skill. They aid us in our work and play.
They protect us. They reflect our emotions. We speak mounds of words through our gestures. Yes, hands are an important part of what we do and who we are. No wonder the word “HAND’ is . . ."
If you were wondering if a particular person loved you, what would
you look for? Barbara Sandbek has been sharing on the subject 'Intimacy with God' for the past few months. This program concludes this series as she identifies how we can truly show God we love him.
If you were in the middle of a crisis and needed someone to talk to, who would you choose...a person who has never experienced your pain or someone who has gone through what you're going through?
On this program, Barbara continues her series on 'Intimacy with God' as she explores the subject of 'Intimacy by Identification'.
What do you do when things don't go your way or adversity strikes?
Do you lose faith in God? When Job's world came crashing in on him...what did he do? Listen to Barbara Sandbek and find out.
Many people who have had hurtful relationships are still enslaved by an unforgiving spirit. In this episode, Barbara shares a personal experience that led her down the path of forgiveness.
In this series so far we've discussed the ways God makes Himself known to us, Jesus' sacrificial work to make intimacy possible with God, and the response we need to make to His Salvation offer.
We also stated that it takes TIME to build a relationship. And it takes a concentrated EFFORT, as well, on our part to build that relationship.
This program concentrates on what it takes to cultivate our relationship with God.
Faithfulness…what does it mean? Webster defines it as loyal. And ‘loyal’ is defined as faithful to a trust or confidence – true to duty or love. Is that the definition you had in mind? On this Grace Notes program, Barbara begins a new series which will take us on a journey with the prophet Elijah. We’ll see how God worked THROUGH Elijah to demonstrate His faithfulness to His people, Israel, despite their unfaithfulness.
We’ll also see how God worked IN Elijah to groom him to truly be a man for the times. So, buckle your seat belts, and get ready to roll with the prophet of old.
In describing Jonah’s personality, one commentator wrote…
He was a proud, self-centered egotist: willful, pouting, jealous, and
blood thirsty; a good patriot and lover of Israel, but without proper
respect for God or love for his enemies.
What a poor assessment of a man who is supposed to be God’s spokesman. Do you think God will use Jonah with an attitude like that? We’d say ‘no’, but that’s where God’s mercy comes in. God extended mercy to Jonah by saving his life, and in His mercy, gave him another chance to obey. The poet Robert Frost said, "After Jonah, you could never trust God NOT to be merciful again." …So true.
God is a God of second chances and we’ll see that demonstrated on our program today.
So far in our study of Jonah, we’ve learned that God wanted to REACH out to the pagan Gentiles of Ninevah with His mercy, so He REVEALED a message to His prophet, Jonah, and told him to go there and preach it, but Jonah REACTED by RUNNING away. On this program, we’re going to reenact what happened as a result of Jonah’s disobedience. The setting is Joppa, a seaport about 35 miles northwest of Jerusalem - known today as Jaffa. A ship is docked there and about ready to leave. It’s destination - Tarshish, a mining colony in Spain.
Looks like a nice day for a cruise. Hey…there’s Jonah boarding the boat now.
The definition for the word ‘repent’ is ‘to feel remorse, contrition or self-reproach for what one has done or failed to do’. Oswald Chambers writes…
Repentance always brings a person to the point of saying “I have sinned.”
The surest sign that God is at work in his life is when he says that and means
it. Anything less is simply sorrow for having made foolish mistakes.
On this program Barbara Sandbek, will look at Jonah’s prayer from inside the fish and see if he is truly repentant.
In our study of the book of Jonah we’ve seen God SPEAK a command to Jonah, Jonah SIN by running away, God SEEK out Jonah, Jonah SURRENDER to the call, God SPARE Jonah’s life, and finally God SPEAK His command to Jonah a SECOND time.
God was merciful to Jonah in saving his life and in giving him another chance. It’s now time for Jonah to extend God’s mercy to the Ninevites. Jonah still doesn’t agree with what God is going to do, as we’ll see later, but he does yield his will to do what God commands. On our program today we’ll follow Jonah to Nineveh and see why God was so insistent on having this mission completed.
