NINEVAH OR BUST

Jonah  1:1-3  Where or what is your Ninevah?  Where or to what has God called you?  Are you deliberately saying no to God?  Is your allegiance or agenda focused on something or someone else?

Jonah was a true believer.  Until the point of being told to go to Ninevah he had followed God in his life, career, and actions.  But this was just too much.  Jonah was loyally attached to his country and was more than willing to do and say whatever God wanted as long as it related to his own thoughts.   God was saying, look, Jonah, Amos and Hosea are already doing a really good job of getting the job done in Jerusalem, I need you to go to Ninevah and get the job done there.  Of course the rest of the story is really well-known.  But…

What is our story?  What is God calling/telling us to do that we are saying, look God, am I the only one who can do this particular thing right now, find someone else?  Not to sound defeatist, but He does get what He wants.  Will we be one of those who misses the blessings of obedience because the call is more than we can handle?

Look at Proverbs 3:5-6.  When we take the time to honor God and His Word, He directs us in the way we should go.  He does not give us directions to do things He can’t handle, but He wants us to know Him and follow through on what He wants of us. 

Proverbs 35-6

Father in Heaven, Creator of all that was is and is to come, give me an all-consuming desire to know Your Word so well that in any life situation I know the path to take.  I lift this prayer in the precious name of Jesus – make it so.

All Of Me

Originally posted on October 5, 2020 under the title He Has All Of Me

The Prince and the Prodigal – Book Review

In this fictional retelling of the story of the sons of Jacob, Jill Eileen Smith gives a unique perspective of what life might have been like in approximately 1500 BCE. Using the well-known story and historical research she presents a fictional account that gives one new insight into the hearts and minds of Jacob and his children.

This delightful rendering of a part of Hebrew history gives some additional insight into how the coat of many colors came to be and what it might have been meant in the family… What life was like in the nomadic wanderings of the descendants of Abraham… How to become a slave and advance to a position second only to Pharoah… What Jacob, Judah, and Joseph might have really been thinking and feeling…

I highly recommend The Prince and the Prodigal. The age-old story of guilt, shame, and forgiveness comes alive in Jill Eileen Smith’s expert storytelling style.

Blessings to you and yours,

Marie

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from Revell/Baker Publishing Group. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR requirements, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

In The Beginning

 

 

In the beginning:

God knew every single thing that would happen on His creation.

God knew He would have to send His Son to save us.

God knew the people who would be faithful and those who wouldn’t. (The unfaithful had already broken His heart.)

God knew Adam and Eve would fall. He gave them choices.

God knew life wouldn’t be easy. He had a plan for that.

Yet, He went ahead and created it all anyway. He already loved us and wanted to give us the best of all that’s His. Which is everything.

Oh, How He Loves Us!

Blessings to you and yours!

Marie

Think On This – – Sarai

Sarai Is Taken to Pharaoh’s Palace by James Tissot.

Genesis 12

Why was Abraham so afraid of dying that he gave Sarai to the Pharoah as a concubine, saying she was his sister? (True, but a partial lie is still a lie, right?)

Sarai was almost 70 at this point. Her beauty must have been stunning!  What must she have thought of her husband? Was he a bully, in that he seemed to be an expert liar and manipulator?

Here’s an interesting article you might want to check out. Sarah’s Abduction by Dr. Ralph Wilson.

Rembrandt Harmensz. van Rijn. 1606-1669

 

Genesis 22

After the sacrifice, Abraham went to Beersheba and lived there. Was he afraid to face Sarah?

What must Sarah have thought/felt when she discovered why Abraham took Isaac? It seems that a short while after she found out she moved away ,as she died in Hebron (See 23:1). Had she had enough? Did Abraham try to stop her?

Blessings to you and yours!

Marie

Read more in When Life Doesn’t Match Your Dreams by Jill Eileen Smith