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Jonah: The Runaway
by Patty Wysong Bible Passage to read: Jonah 1:1-10 Have you ever run away? I have. I was about eight and I packed my little suitcase with a book and a dolly blanket and left. I went over the hill and found a comfy clump of tall grass and read for a loooooong time. Then I got hungry. Guess where I went? You got it. Back home. But you know, that's not how Jonah did it. Jonah knew what God wanted him to do: go to Ninevah and tell them about God. So what did he do? He ran the opposite direction. Was he happy? NO! Jonah's disobedience put a lot of men's lives in danger. Think about the storm that blew in. The sailors were very experienced in their job, they weren't just fair-weather sailors. But these guys were scaredreally scared! They were throwing the cargo overboardthe stuff that would be sold so they could get their paychecksin the hopes that a lighter ship would help them survive the super-storm they were in. So what has God told us to do? It's like what God told Jonah. We're to tell our friends about Jesus. Are you obeying or are you running away? If we don't tell them about Jesus, we're putting their lives in danger. Just think about it: if a person hasn't accepted Jesus' gift of forgiveness and salvation, where will they go when they die? They'll go to hell. They'll never get to be with Jesus. And not just that, when they go through hard things in their lives they won't have Jesus, who can help them through that hard time. Our friends need to know about the wonderful friend and treasure we have. They need to know about Jesus. How do we know that God wants us to tell our friends about Jesus? Because He tells us to. In Mark 16:15 it says, "Go into all the world and preach the good news to all creation." Our friends are part of 'all creation' so let's tell them that Jesus is the Good News! So, what are you going to do? Are you going to be like Jonah and runaway, or are you going to obey God? Was Jonah happy? NO! Don't be like Jonah!! Be like Jesus! Patty Wysong is a Christian wife and homeschool mom of 5 who is passionate about wrapping lessons in pretty packages that will point others to God. Blog: http://pattywysong.blogspot.com/ Article Source: http://www.faithwriters.com |