Read the Word:
Jonah 3:1-10
Meditate on the Word:
I always am amazed by the fact that an unwilling preacher could go to a place such as the notoriously evil Nineveh, preach a simple message of destruction without providing any hope, and still yield amazing results. This does not seem possible, and indeed with man it is not. However, with God, it is possible. Jonah went and preached his simple message of destruction, people believed, and they demonstrated their sorrow. Importantly, they also turned from their wicked ways.
I have heard preachers criticized for preaching too much about hell, destruction, judgment. People think that its our job to preach God’s love and acceptance. Personally, I think that both can be true. We must warn people of the coming judgment and offer them the chance to repent. We must also explain that it is God’s great love and mercy that cause Him to send people to warn us. As we always note, the gospel is good news, but before it can be good news it is bad news first. It just seems that this is the point in the gospel where these people believed.
Pray the Word:
Pray for those that you know who are headed for destruction. Pray that they will be brought to repentance.
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