How To Study The Bible (pt1) by Travis Sinks

The Bible is such more than just a book. Even more than a compilation of 66 books.

The Bible has been described as "God lowering Himself to the status of an author," and since He has, we should read and respond to it as though it must be the most valuable piece ever written.

But where do we start?
How do we begin reading the Bible?

People attend seminaries and various schools and study the Bible for their entire life, while still claiming there's more to learn - and I believe them. If God truly wrote a book, I'd expect it's entire depth and teaching to be beyond anything I could grasp in my lifetime.

At the same time, the Bible is simple enough for any of us to gain all that we need to have a full and vibrant life and relationship God.

It's been said that the Bible is shallow enough for the youngest child to splash in its water, yet deep enough for the most studious scholar to never reach its bottom. It is this Word that we have the pleasure, benefit, and duty to ready, study, and apply.

Because of the depth of God's Word, we can't go into all aspects of studying it, but I think part of the problem most people face is that they let the depth of the Bible paralyze them from gleaning anything. If this describes you, I want to help you.

The simple inductive Bible method we'll go over is:

1. Observation
2. Interpretation
3. Application

We're going to look at this three step process next week that will help us study any passage of scripture, but before we do, there's an attitude and approach to reading God’s Word that we need to clarify:

1. The purpose of studying the Bible is to know Jesus better

Jesus told the Pharisees in John 5:39, “you study the scriptures, for in them you think you have life, but it is they that speak of Me." He told the Bible scholars of His day that they missed the entire point of the scriptures they devoted their lives to studying. They had studied the Bible in hopes that they could be saved because of their religious activity, while God's purpose in His Word is for us to find our salvation in a life-giving and life-changing relationship with Jesus. Whenever we read the Bible simply as a self-help book or tips to a better life, we miss the entire point of drawing nearer to Jesus.

2. This is a supernatural endeavor

I don't mean to say that studying the Bible is not also a scholarly endevor, it is actually both. However, I think too often we try to boil down the Bible to merely a really amazing piece of writing and not the actual Word of God which requires our spiritual eyes to be open and not merely our physical ones. In order to truly understand and apply God's Word to our lives, we need to come before God humbly knowing that only He can teach us spiritual things and give us life. I encourage everyone to begin their time in God's Word with prayer, asking Him to speak to them and work in their lives through His Word.

3. Are we the teacher, or God?

I know this seems silly to even say, but so often we can come to God's Word with our own agenda and want God to simply enforce our current beliefs. If there are never truths in God's Word that require you to change your belief or submit to it even though you naturally disagree, then you are not letting God be your teacher, but you are instead trying to read your predetermined beliefs into the Bible.

As one pastor recalled, when someone had asked him what he should do if he disagreed with something the Bible said, the pastor told the man, “Then you must be wrong, and you should change your belief." Sometimes we try to be God's teacher rather than let God teach us. If you come to the Bible with this perspective, you will not receive from the Bible what God would desire you to have.

4. None of this matters if we don't apply it

Although the third step in this inductive Bible method (Application) is simply applying what we read in scripture, it's important to come to God's Word with a desire to have change in our hearts and lives. The book of James warns us that we can become hard to the Word and that our faith is not true faith if it doesn't affect our lives (James 1:22-25). We should always be on guard of hearing God's truth and not acting on it because as we begin that cycle it becomes easier and easier to not obey and follow Jesus.

It’s only after we have prepared our heart and mind for God's Word that we are ready to study the Bible. Next week, we’ll cover different tools and methods you can use to study the Bible for yourself.

CLICK HERE FOR PART 2 OF HOW TO STUDY THE BIBLE

Let's Be In Community by Travis Sinks

It’s crazy how we tend to avoid the things that are good for us.

Healthy eating
Exercise (“eggs-are-sides for bacon,” anyone?)
And even community

When I say community, I’m not talking about the guys you play sports with once a week, or the yoga class you go to (though those things aren't bad). The community I’m speaking of is regularly being with a group of people that you will commit to share struggles with, to hold each other accountable to what is best, and to serve each other in speech and in action.

That type of community is hard. But it is vitally important to your walk with Jesus.

The Bible talks a lot about how we are to live with “one another”. Over and over again it tell us to be in unity, to love one another, to show humility towards each other, to encourage each other, and to hold each other accountable. In fact, it’s used 100 times in the New Testament (here’s a great article breaking down all the times it’s used).

However, it’s hard to live with “one another” when we push away opportunities to engage in community. And by choosing to not live in community, we are specifically going against many of the things the Bible tells us are necessary for our Christian walk.

You can be a Christian without community,
but you cannot live your Christian life the way God intended you to without community.

No doubt about it, this type of community is difficult. It requires us to be open, and honest, to desire others' good above our own, and to allow other people to call us out when they see problems in our lives. This means that our biggest problems will have to be dealt with, and that we will have to be gracious towards others as we lovingly help them with theirs as well. But it’s worth it.

This type of community has three main purposes:

• It builds us up
• It creates a godly network for when our life seems to come crashing down
• It's God’s ordained way for us, the church, to prove that we are truly following Jesus

"By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.” John 13:35

In addition to all of the personal benefits we gain from community, we also need to remember the bigger picture: Jesus has asked us to be in community to better reach the lost.

So, whatever you preference may be, I encourage you to find Christian community at Redemption Church and to not only join a community group, but invest in it. Invest your time, your money, your gifts, your emotion, your love - into the people in your group. I guarantee you that you will draw nearer to Jesus than ever before and will know His love more completely when you do this.

Lets commit to truly live in community together. To...

• Share struggles
• Keep each other accountable to what is best for each other
• Serve each other
• Love in speech and in action

Personal Evangelism (pt2) by Travis Sinks

Last week we covered the need for personal evangelism. There are many people who are unwilling to come to Jesus themselves, and so we must bring Jesus to them in hope that they will accept His Gospel.

We ended with the question "Who do you know of that needs Jesus, but is unwilling to come to Him, but you can bring Jesus to them?"

And now, here are four practical steps you can take in order to be more effective in personal evangelism:

Study the Bible

All of scripture was written for our reproof, correction, training in righteousness, and so that we may be equipped for every good work (2 Timothy 3:17). Jesus also told us that every part of the Bible was written in order to teach us about Him and draw us to Himself so that we might have life (John 5:39). These verses tell us that if we are to be effective not only in our own walk with Jesus, but also in bringing others to Him, then we should be studying His Word and be immersing ourselves in its truth. By actively reading and studying the Bible you will be better equipped to share Jesus with others, because you will be filled with Him yourself.

Pray for yourself

One of the greatest failures we can have is praying for others, while forgetting our own need. We should be going to God with our lack of faith, lack of boldness, and lack of sight to see opportunities all around us. By asking God to help us be sensitive to His Spirit and His guiding in our everyday lives, we will find ourselves in more opportunities to share His Gospel then ever before.

Pray for the lost

By praying for those who don’t know Jesus we are accomplishing three things:

• We are reminding ourselves of their desperate situation which in turn causes us to care more for them and more actively look for opportunities to share the gospel.
• We are reminding ourselves that it is only by the grace and power of God that anyone will turn to Him and be saved. We are humbling ourselves before God which is required for anyone who desires to be used by Him.
• We are combating the spiritual forces of darkness. We must never forget that this is a spiritual battle and that those who don’t know Jesus have been spiritually blinded to Him. This battle can only be won by God’s grace through prayer - so we must begin all personal evangelism through this step of prayer for the lost.

Bring Jesus to them

We don’t get to decide who will receive Jesus’ grace, but we can choose who we will bring Jesus to. As vague as it is, this is surprisingly more freeing than you’d expect at first glance. Rather than having a set description of the words to say, or the situations in which you can evangelize to someone, you get to simply be like Jesus to those around you.

A great way to think about this is the old school “WWJD” or “What Would Jesus Do?”

Another way to look at this is to imagine that you are in Bible times and you’re walking around with Jesus. Who would He talk to? Who would He reach out to? How would He do it?

Here’s some ideas of things you can do to proactively reach out to people with the love of Jesus:

• Pray for people. Do this right there on the spot. This will feel weird at first, but the more you do it the more you’ll be comfortable with it. So many people are thankful for prayer when they’re going through a rough time in life or they are struggling with something.
• Share your story. I don’t mean your entire life story (though you can if the situation lends itself). But if you’re living an active life with Jesus, there will be stories to tell. There will be situations that come up in your life that people will ask about. In these moments, you can share what’s going on in light of the fact that you have Jesus in your life. For example: you’re scared of an upcoming medical condition, but you can share how you have hope in Jesus. Or, you’re excited about a new opportunity that’s come up and you’re praying to Jesus for wisdom. Even stories of how Jesus has recently provided for or encouraged you are always great ones to share.
• Serve others. Whenever there’s a need in your circle of friends and family, do you offer to help? Jesus would. I don’t mean that we help in every situation, as we may not be well equipped to, but are you known as someone who would “give the shirt off their back” for another? Serving people the way Jesus does is one of the best ways to show His love and to open opportunities to share His Gospel with others.

There are so many specific ways we can reach out to others in personal evangelism, but there’s one thing that stays the same: It’s personal. We cannot do personal evangelism as we are called to without getting into the nitty gritty of everyday life with others. This can, and will, be painful at times - but it’s always worth it.

So the questions we should be asking ourselves now are:

• Am I in God’s Word on a daily basis?
• Am I praying for God’s Spirit to fill me?
• Am I praying for those I know who don’t know Jesus?
• Am I taking opportunities to do as Jesus would do?

Maybe you haven’t been doing these things. But you can today.

“It’s never the wrong time to do the right thing."

So let’s go bring Jesus to everyone we see with today.

Personal Evangelism (pt1) by Travis Sinks

I’ve written recently about “evangelism through invitation” which you can read at THIS LINK. Its purpose was to remind us that one of the best things we can do is simply invite people to church. Sometimes that’s labeled as the easy way out, or a lazy cop out, but it is actually an effective tool in day-to-day evangelism.

Just as important as inviting people to a Sunday service, however, we need to make sure that we are actively being the hands and feet of Jesus through what is often called “personal evangelism.” Although inviting someone to a Sunday service can be very effective, some people just aren’t willing or ready to come to Jesus, and so we need to bring Jesus to them.

Personal evangelism can be daunting.
Everything rests on what YOU do and say - or so it feels.
But it’s not up to you to save people.

I think believing the lie that it’s all up to us is what keeps most people from sharing the Gospel. So many of us are petrified because we feel like it’s such a weighty subject (as it is) and that we can’t possibly present it well enough to see someone accept it.

And maybe we're right.

But we don’t have to be good enough to offer Jesus to people.

There are many tactics, phrases, and methods with which to approach people about the subject of Jesus and His Gospel, but what is most important is that you simply bring Jesus to that person.

A great example of this is found in Luke 8:40-42, 49-56. Jairus came to Jesus because his daughter was dying. In a moment of panic and desperation, he asked Jesus to come and heal his daughter. Before Jesus gets there, Jarius’s daughter dies. However, with a faith that continued to ask “what if”, Jarius has Jesus still come to his house and Jesus raises his daughter from the dead.

What we can learn from this is that it doesn’t matter how eloquent we are, how tactful we can be, or how much we practice. Ultimately, we need the power of Jesus to come to a person’s heart and life and raise them from spiritual death, and into life through His Gospel.

Just like Jarius’ daughter needed physical healing, people need Jesus to raise them from spiritual death and into life with Him, but so many are unwilling or unable to come to Him. So like Jarius, we must take Him to them.

Next week’s post will cover four practical steps you can take in order to be more effective in personal evangelism. For now, consider:

Who do you know of that needs Jesus, but is unwilling to come to Him, but you can bring Jesus to them?

Ministry For The Long Haul by Travis Sinks

To minister to someone literally means to “attend to the needs of [a person]”. It’s not an office held by the few, but rather a call for Christian’s everywhere to serve and love as Jesus has loved us.

Sometimes we get a glorified version of what being a “minister of the Gospel” really is. We can imagine it as having great status or power. Or we can imagine getting a great response from people: that they’ll change tomorrow, turn over a new leaf, follow God with all their heart and never turn back.

But this is often not how it works.

Instead, it's a process. There’s a timetable of events in God’s plan and allowance, that doesn’t match up with ours. We desire to see outward change TODAY, while God desires change in people from the INSIDE out - which usually takes time. God’s time table works as those we minister to continue to grow, oftentimes slowly, and with set-backs along the way. But eventually we look back and see a great distance of change.

We are called to “ministry” not to a “change factory”. We are called to love people like Jesus did and to offer them the life giving power of His Gospel and Spirit, but it’s up to them to accept it. That acceptance is usually built up over time.

We can get discouraged when we haven’t seen someone for 6 months and wonder where they are. We can sometimes get even more discouraged when we see them again, because we wonder if they’ll actually stay this time. We can get discouraged as we wonder if God will ever truly change their heart and bring them into a steady relationship with Himself. But this isn’t our position of authority or responsibility. We are called to love, not to save. Only Jesus is Savior, and it’s best for us to remember this.

People will come and go in our lives, for good and bad reasons, but know that your job, as a Christian, is simple: “attend to the needs of… whoever.”

Whoever is around.

Whoever God brings.

Whoever crosses your path.

We have a holy calling as Christians to love everyone we can with the love God has given us: regardless of how they respond, and regardless of where they end up.

So let us not forget, lest we give up: We are in this for the long haul.

Sin Is Great, But Jesus' Grace Is Stronger

In Numbers 32:23, Moses reminds the children of Israel (as they begin preparing to enter the promise land across the Jordan) that sin is not taken lightly. He sternly reminds them that “your sin WILL find you out.”

And it’s true.

So often we think we can hide our sin.
Or that it wasn’t a big deal.
It was so small...
We shouldn’t need to repent over that.
Should we?

Moses reminds them that God’s standard is perfection. Jesus echoes these truths when He tells us that:

"Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy. Nothing is covered up that will not be revealed, or hidden that will not be known. Therefore whatever you have said in the dark shall be heard in the light, and what you have whispered in private rooms shall be proclaimed on the housetops.” -Luke 12:1-3

Sin is a big deal.

But the story doesn’t end there.
Our failure is all too obvious.
Our need is extremely great.
But so is God’s grace.

In the end of the next chapter Moses then reminds them of the punishment for sin:

“But if you do not drive out the inhabitants of the land from before you, then those of them whom you let remain shall be as barbs in your eyes and thorns in your sides, and they shall trouble you in the land where you dwell.” -Numbers 33:55

Sin does find us out, and there is a punishment for it. Romans 3:23 tells us that the wages (payment) of our sin is death.

Moses has clearly laid out our natural reality:

We sin.
Our sin will find us out.
We will be punished justly for our sin.

But as Billy Graham has put it:

“You’re born. You suffer. You die. Fortunately, there’s a loophole."

This “loophole” is God’s payment for our sin.

Our sin is great. And our punishment HAS to be paid, or else God is unjust. But rather than us paying it ourselves, God Himself (Jesus) offers to pay our debt instead.

So rather than us receiving the “barbs in our eyes” and the “thorns in our sides” as our rightful punishment, Jesus instead has chosen to take the crown of thorns upon His head, and to have His side pierced for our transgressions.

"But he (Jesus) was pierced for our transgressions;
he was crushed for our iniquities;
upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace,
and with his wounds we are healed.”
Isaiah 53:5

Every sin requires penalty.
Requires justice.

But now, you and I can celebrate that Jesus’ death has not only brought us a clean slate, but renewed life! Our sin separated us from God and now we can come before Him, not only justified, but to ask for abundant life! The penalty of our sin has been paid for, so now we can come to God for His Spirit and for the strength to break the power of sin over our lives. We can come to Him for hope that every “sin and weight that entangles us” can be overcome by His grace.

So may you not only have a paid bill, a clean slate, and a “free ticket” to heaven, but may you take ahold of this new relationship with God that brings you freedom! May you no longer be a “slave to sin” but a “slave to righteousness”, and may you enjoy the abounding love, grace, and relationship with God that comes with it.

Evangelism Through Invitation by Travis Sinks

Sometimes we think that inviting people to a church service isn’t “true” evangelism. As the pendulum has swung from one end to the other, we’re in a place where many people think they have to personally share the Gospel and see someone saved to do any good in someone’s life, and that’s simply not true.

We don’t want to neglect our call to personally tell others about Jesus and His love for them, but it’s also just as important to be inviting others to Sunday services and community groups. Here’s 3 reasons.

1. Our witness together is greater than ours separately.

One of the things Jesus said about our community together as believers was that non-christians will know that we are followers and disciples of Him by our “love for one another” (John 13:35). This teaches us that not only are we supposed to be together frequently to display that love (which is one of the many reasons being a part of a local church is so important), but it also tells us that we should be inviting people to be a part of our gatherings - how else will they see this love between us?

Sometimes we think that our witness is merely regarding our individual life, but our witness together as a body of believers sacrificially loving each other is a greater than any of us could achieve on our own.

2. It allows a non-believer to experience Jesus’ people

Although you are a part of the church, you are not the whole church. If you were a basketball player but your friends never came to one of your games, they wouldn’t have the full experience of the basketball team, or even what a basketball game is like if they’ve never been to one before.

When you invite someone to church or a community group, you are inviting them to experience Jesus working through all of the members of His local church in a much fuller way. Although you have good words to share and know them well, Jesus may choose to use someone else in the church to reach out to that person in a way they will respond. By bringing them to church and community group, you are asking others to participate in reaching out to your friend or family member rather than trying to do it all yourself.

3. Coming to a service gives them uninterrupted time with Jesus

One of the reasons we try to plan our services with as little interruptions and distractions as possible is to give people uninterrupted time with Jesus.

The reality is that people are busy.
They are tired.
They are bombarded with information.
Ideas.
Thoughts.
Marketing.
Noise.

We try to have our services be a place away from all of those things. By bringing a friend, family member, or even a stranger to church, you are providing uninterrupted time for them to reflect on the most important questions we have to answer: Who is God? Why am I here? What is truth? Who is Jesus?

You will have, and should continue to, utilize opportunities to share the Gospel one-on-one, and we know that Jesus can save a person in the blink of an eye, but by bringing the person you’re praying for to church you are offering them an opportunity to step out in faith to seek God and have Jesus reveal Himself to them. They may not accept Him the first time, second, third, fourth, or even ever. But we are called to persevere, pray, reach out, and seek the lost for Jesus regardless of their response. We should be taking every opportunity God gives us to love people, share Jesus with others, and invite them to come see what He is all about.

We have seen Jesus change so many lives through being invited by a friend to church. We’ve seen people saved on Sundays, in community groups, and even throughout the week because of new relationships they’ve made. This is an opportunity we don’t want anyone to miss.

So, who will you invite to church this Sunday?

Our Power Source For Godliness by Travis Sinks

“Most of us are knowledgeable beyond our level of obedience."

Have you heard that before? It’s true isn’t it? We know what is right. We know what God’s Word says about our marriage, relationships, finances, lifestyles, thoughts, words, actions, and more… But we don’t seem to live it out.

We’re called to be “living sacrifices” offering our lives to God in surrender and thankfulness. In obeying Him, we are simply doing what is glorifying to Him and is also best for us. But the problem with “living sacrifices” is that they tend to run away when they're not being watched. When we take our eyes off of Jesus and onto ourselves and what we see around us, we can get caught up doing the very things we know aren’t best. We can run away.

So, how do we break the cycle? It surely isn’t by acquiring on more knowledge. The whole problem is that we already know what’s right and we don’t do it. Paul shares this very issue with us in Romans 7, expressing frustrating that he does the very things he knows he shouldn't, but he brings a solution for us in the very next chapter.

“If Christ is in you [as He is in anyone who believes and trusts in Him], although the body is dead because of sin, the Spirit is life because of righteousness. If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit who dwells in you."

The way we can break this cycle of disobedience is exactly the same way we came to salvation in the first place: by the grace of Jesus. It’s not by reminding ourselves of what is right and wrong if we already know it, and it’s not by putting ourselves down or punishing ourselves in some way, as Paul even reminds us earlier in chapter 8, there is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. Instead, we can find the power for godly change in our actions and words through the Holy Spirit.

I don’t say this to mean that there’s no decision to be made. There is constantly a decision to choose Jesus over our sin, but rather than trying to be better and stronger by constantly trying to lift a weight too heavy for ourselves, we need to choose to give that weight to Him instead.

In prayer.
In humility.
In surrender.

And as the saying goes:

"It’s never the wrong time to do the right thing.”

So start today. As we begun, “most of us are knowledgeable beyond our level of obedience.” What is that for you? In what way have you chosen not to obey God, and where do you need to surrender your life to Him? Let us keep looking up instead of in. And when we fail we need to remember God’s promises, like this one found in Jude 24-25, and draw near to Jesus.

"Now to him who is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you blameless before the presence of his glory with great joy, to the only God, our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, dominion, and authority, before all time and now and forever. Amen."

Keeping A Team Mentality by Travis Sinks

"None of us are as smart as all of us.” -Pastor Daniel Williams

The reality is that we, as individuals can accomplish a lot on our own… But we’ll never be able to accomplish alone what can only be done with all of us together.

"Behold, they are one people, and they have all one language, and this is only the beginning of what they will do. And nothing that they propose to do will now be impossible for them.” Genesis 11:6

"Behold, how good and pleasant it is when brothers dwell in unity!” Psalm 133:1

Even in scripture, we learn how importance teamwork, but it can be so difficult to obtain. At Redemption Church, we strive to keep teamwork a priority and making sure that we’re emphasizing the body of Christ in all of its diversity of gifts, and personalities. Here are three things we keep as a priority in order to bring about a team mentality:

Share a vision, not a task list

Yes, tasks will be shared, but what is most important is for all of us to be centered around a common vision and goal. This is why we emphasize our mission statement so much: To Pursue and Proclaim Jesus. We want everything we do to emphasize these two points.

Play everyone's strengths

What makes teams so difficult is that everyone is different, but this can also be our greatest strength. It’s amazing that we are not only good at different things, but how some people can absolutely love doing what others would never do. Learning these things is crucial to our success as a group. Jesus has gifted each of us differently, and made us to enjoy different parts of the work that goes towards the same vision. We want everyone to be able to not only work well together, but to thrive in the place God has made them to be in His Church.

Delegate everything you can

This one has been, and always will be the thing most struggle with. Handing over important tasks, projects, and especially management is extremely difficult. The reality is that the biggest bottle neck most teams will face is their leader. The best advice I’ve ever heard is that if someone can do something 60% as well as you then you should have them do it instead. This may seem easy, but you realize very quickly that 60% is a very far way from 100%. Nonetheless, teaching others and delegating areas of responsibility (and truly letting them take it over without you micromanaging them) is the only way to utilize a team well and will encourage everyone to take part and work as a team rather than a one man show with many helpers.

In order for us to function well as a church, we need to all be aware of what keeps a team running smoothly. Let’s continue to pursue a great vision together, to encourage each other in our unique gifting, and to continue to include others in the work so that Jesus may continue to be even more glorified in not only in the work accomplished, but in the love and service we have towards one another.

Have The Faith Of Jonah by Travis Sinks

It’s not often that Jonah is used as a good example for us to follow. Many of us have learned how hardheaded, unloving, and rebellious Jonah was. But have any of us taken the time to consider what an example of faith Jonah is to us?

Jonah was a man of great patriotism. He was so pro-Israel, that he didn’t want to bring the good news of a gracious God to Nineveh, a city that had brought great trouble and pain among many nations, including Israel. This patriotism ending up being Jonah's downfall. It caused Jonah to try to run away from both his calling and from God Himself. Thankfully, God didn’t let Jonah get away.

That’s how the story goes, but have you considered Jonah’s faith in God’s gracious love?

"And he prayed to the Lord and said, “O Lord, is not this what I said when I was yet in my country? That is why I made haste to flee to Tarshish; for I knew that you are a gracious God and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love, and relenting from disaster.” Jonah 4:2

Jonah Believed That God’s Grace, Mercy, Patience, And Love Was So Great That It Could Bring Even So Evil A City As Nineveh To Repentance.

Sadly, this led to the wrong response, since he didn’t want the Ninevites to be saved. But the point is that he believed so strongly in God's forgiveness and love that he was willing to walk away from his entire lifestyle, friends, family, and even God Himself.

What about you?

Do you believe so strongly in the grace and love of God?

I know I personally struggle with this often. I worry that the people we’ve seen come to Jesus will fade away, and that the people we’ve known for years will never come to Him. That the constant church and personal outreach to the lost will be all for nothing. But I remember the faith others, like Jonah, have had in God’s power to save, and it helps me keep a right perspective.

Unlike Jonah, this faith in God’s love should cause a different response. But our response should be just as passionate.

Jonah, a man who was willing to leave everything and even risk a dangerous ocean voyage over his strong faith should remind and encourage us that we also should be doing everything we can, even to death, so that we may share the good news of Jesus Christ, because God is working.

May you have great joy and faith in Jesus our Savior, knowing that His grace, mercy, patience, and love is greater than anything else, and that He plans to do great things in you, through you, and in your area of ministry and outreach.