Matthew 25:21 His lord said unto him, Well done, thou good and faithful servant: thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy lord.
In the mid 1850's a troubled teenager from Northfield, Massachusetts moved to Boston to try to find work. He hadn't gone to school beyond the fifth grade; he couldn't spell, his grammar was awful and his manners were brash and crude. Thankfully, an uncle took him on as a shoe salesman--on condition that he be obedient and that he attend church.
The boy had been raised in a Unitarian church which denied the full divinity of Messiah and did not emphasize human need for salvation from sins. At his uncle's church, he began learning about these things, but decided that he wanted to enjoy the pleasures of the world and wait until just before he died to give His life to the Lord. However, through the kindness and persistence of his Sunday School teacher, Edward Kimball, the rebellious teen was encouraged to continue coming to church and study the Bible regularly. Kimball said he had never seen anyone whose mind was as spiritually dark.
On April 21, 1855, Kimball decided to pay a special visit to the boy at his uncle's shoe store in order to ask if he would commit his life to the Lord. The boy listened closely and gave his heart to God that day. Immediately he began sharing his faith with others. Later, the young man moved to Chicago. He wandered the streets to find other young boys to bring to his Church. He had a passion for saving souls and determined never to let a day pass without telling someone about the gospel. The boy's name was D.L. Moody....and he became a great man of faith.
Among his many achievements on either side of the Atlantic was the founding of Moody Bible Institute. In fact, to this day, Moody Bible Institute and the Moody Broadcasting Network continue to reach thousands of souls on a daily basis! It was estimated that before D.L. Moody passed away that as many as a million souls were brought to the Lord.
What a testimony Moody's is! But we overlook the fact that it was a faithful Sunday school teacher's obedience and persistence that changed the course of history! We may think we are doing very little for the the Lord... that we're merely teaching a few kids at Sunday school. But the Lord can use anyone in His service -- those whose hearts are given to Him.
Be an Edward Kimball -- reach out and touch someone today for Him -- through one touch, you may be touching future millions.
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[worthy_plugins_devotion_single_body]Jonah now acknowledges that God put him where he is, and he accepts His discipline. “Sheol” is the “grave”, the “pit” or the “abode of the dead”. Did Jonah die, or was he only nearly dead from three days of fish stomach acid, and little or no air? The text doesn’t say; only that if he didn’t actually leave his body, he came as close as a man can get to it; three days worth. In this nebulous and miserable place Jonah cried out, probably from the deepest depths of his agonized soul…he cried out to the Lord.
While most read the story of Jonah focusing on Jonah’s journey, I want to pause and examine the lives of the pagan sailors. What a journey they were on! We see the hand of God touching them providentially through Jonah’s disobedience. Talk about God bringing good from evil.
So the captain came to Jonah, 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.
It must have been a bad storm. These men were experienced, hardened sailors who had seen it all at sea. If they were scared, this could have been the first “perfect storm” since Noah’s flood. So they started the first interfaith prayer meeting in the Bible, each man crying out to his own god. As the ship groaned and creaked in howling wind and massive waves, and the men threw cargo overboard in a desperate attempt to save it, where was Jonah? On deck helping them? Confidently praying to His own God? Shaking with fear and paralyzed with deep conviction? No, he’s taking a nap down below…
For the next week or so we’ll be looking closely at the life of Jonah the prophet. Jonah was told to “preach against the city of Nineveh”, that was in the ancient kingdom of Assyria. Nineveh was a major city on the banks of the Tigris River about 500 miles north and east of where Jonah was; located on a contemporary map in modern Iraq, about 300 miles north of Baghdad. Archaeologists have found the ruins of ancient Nineveh right outside the Iraqi city of Mosul. Yes, the same Mosul that was taken last week by jihadists!
So Jonah goes and begins to preach in this pagan city. His message is very simple. “Forty more days and Nineveh will be overthrown”(v. 4). That’s it. That was his whole message. It’s eight words in English; only 4 words in Hebrew.
Abraham was sitting in front of his tent on the plains of Mamre, when the LORD (Yehovah — Yud Hay Vav Hay) came to him and declared the fulfillment of a promise He had made to him many years before, saying that through Abraham’s seed the world would be blessed! (Genesis 12:7; 13:15-16, 15:18, 17:7-9)