Jonah 1:6 So the captain came to him, and said to him, “What do you mean, sleeper? Arise, call on your God; perhaps your God will consider us, so that we may not perish.”
At this point, the captain (who probably worshiped Baal and Yamm, god of the sea) has more faith than Jonah.
Frantic in the midst of impending catastrophe, he jolts Jonah back to life and intercession. They say there are no “foxhole atheists”; when great danger comes God somehow bursts into existence. But these sailors were polytheists, and desperation led them to implore the local god of every man in the boat for mercy and salvation. Even these idol worshipers knew that prayer is the only recourse in the hour of desperation.
It’s something to remember and apply in our day to day encounters with people. So many these days are dealing with serious and even desperate situations, while they’re waiting there at the checkout counter…and while they don’t much care to hear a sermon, they might really appreciate our prayers.
We’ve been in situations, with hardly a clue whom we were speaking with, and simply said, “Do you mind if I pray for you?” Suddenly eyes light up, “Yes, please do!” Prayer brings people back into direct relationship with God and reminds them of their dependence on Him, and whether we’re on a ship in a storm, or facing some other potential catastrophe, we all desperately need His grace and favor. And connecting with people this way is actually easier than you might think.
The times are coming, and are already here, when more and more people facing desperation may turn and cry to us, “Call on Your God to save us!” They may even wake us up from our spiritual slumber to do it. Rather than rubbing our eyes and groaning, “Duh, what?” we ought to be already awake, looking for them now.
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[worthy_plugins_devotion_single_body]Last week, I did a series of devotionals on the Dead Sea scrolls. As I’ve been pointing out the archaeological discoveries as well as their prophetic significance, I’ve saved the best for last! Recently discovered fragments of the Bible in the Dead Sea region containing two passages of Scripture are incredibly relevant. I spoke of the passage in Zechariah last week.
When we study a translation of a Scripture passage we often miss out on the nuances hidden in the original Hebrew (Old Testament) or Greek (New Testament). Often, it’s not that a word is mistranslated, but that rendering the meaning in one English word is difficult if not impossible.
When Moses sent out the 12 spies to report on the condition of the land of “milk and honey”, ten of the spies brought back a bad report. They focused on the giants, and the great obstacles in their way. They walked with eyes set on the physical realm and said within themselves, “We are but grasshoppers in the sight of these giants!
Living in Israel all these years, I often encounter amazing stories of God’s deliverance and grow increasingly fond of listening to the fascinating ways He shows His power. During our tour in England recently, we met a man whose family experienced a great miracle during WW1. He tells this incredible story…
In this world we will face all kinds of obstacles, trials and tribulations and we should be wary of any doctrines or teachings that say we shouldn’t have to face these things. Why? Because the Lord said we will have tribulations. So the encouragement He is giving is simply this: You’re going to face trials, but GOD is greater than any problem you will face in this world!
When the prophet Jonah entered Nineveh, he gave a message of hopelessness — in 40 days your city will be destroyed! He did not say, Nineveh will be destroyed “unless”, but emphatically prophesied destruction to the people of the city — seeming to say their situation was hopeless. Yet hearing this message …
If you were to visit Paris, you could see the statues of two men, both named Louis.
The first is of Louis XIV, France’s absolute monarch. He represents one of the supreme achievements of greatness through power. His philosophy of life was that the whole nation and the world, should serve him.