No Fear

From my distress I called upon the Lord;

The Lord answered me and set me in a large place.

The Lord is for me; I will not fear;

What can man do to me?

Psalm 118:5-6

 

Who Are They Going To Call?

But Jonah rose up to flee to Tarshish from the presence of the Lord.  So he went down to Joppa, found a ship which was going to Tarshish, paid the fare and went down into it to go with them to Tarshish from the presence of the Lord.

The Lord hurled a great wind on the sea and there was a great storm on the sea so that the ship was about to break up.

Then the sailors became afraid and every man cried to his god, and they threw the cargo which was in the ship into the sea to lighten it for them.  But Jonah had gone down below into the hold of the ship, lain down and fallen sound asleep. 

So the captain approached him and said, “How is it that you are sleeping?  Get up, call on your god.  Perhaps your god will be concerned about us so that we will not perish.”

Jonah 1:3-6

Under appreciated.  Made fun of.  Punchline of a joke.  Left out.  

As Christians we sometimes get no respect by those outside of the faith, but when things get tough, who are they going to call?  Who do they ask for help?  Who offers hope that perhaps things are not as bad as they seem?  

We are not called to judge others, but to help others.  When those outside the faith are in need of encouragement, we are to offer it.  

When things get tough, even those farthest from God, warm to the idea of a God who cares for them.

Don't underestimate the power of your testimony and the calling of God to do something.  Be ready.

Prayer changes things.

 

Use Your Gifts, Appreciate Others' Gifts

For through the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not  to think more highly of himself than he ought to think; but to think so as to have sound judgement, as God has allotted to each a measure of faith.  For just as we have many members in one body and all the members do not have the same function, so we who are many are one body I Christ, and individually members of one another.

Since we have different gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, each of us is to exercise them accordingly; if prophecy, according to the proportion of his faith, if service, in his serving; or he who teaches, in his teaching or he who exhorts, in his exhortation, he who gives with liberality; he who leads, with diligence; he who shows mercy with cheerfulness.  Let love be without hypocrisy.  Abhor what is evil, cling to what is good.

Be devoted to one another in brotherly love; give preference to one another in honor; not lagging behind in diligence, fervent in spirit, serving the Lord; rejoicing in hope, persevering in tribulation, devoted to prayer, contributing to the needs of the saints, practicing hospitality.

Romans 12:3-13

 

It Is God Who Has Mercy

For He says to Moses, “I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion.”

So then it does not depend on the man who wills or the man who runs, but on God who has mercy.

Romans 9:15-16

 

God Is Working For You

How blessed is he whose help is the God of Jacob,

Whose hope is in the Lord his God,

Who made heaven and earth,

The seas and all that is in them;

Who keeps faith forever;

Who executes justice for the oppressed;

Who gives food to the hungry.

The Lord sets the prisoners free.

Psalm 146:5-7

 

The Truth Is The Truth

But above all, my brethren, do not swear, either my heaven or by earth or with any other oath; but your yes is to be yes, and your no, no, so that you may not fall under judgment. 

James 5:12

A good reason to always speak the truth is that you never have to remember what you said.  We don’t have to say any more and we don’t have to defend the truth, because it is what it is and nothing can change it.