December 16
“The Messenger”
Jonah 1; 3; 4:1-3
– Meghan Goad, Girls Minister
As God’s people, we have been entrusted with sharing the message of Christmas and the good news of the long-awaited Messiah with the whole world. For the people to believe and become children of God, we must be willing to share… with the store clerk, even when we’re in a hurry to get to our next errand… with the annoying person we work with that we’d really rather avoid in order to spend time with the fun people… and with the random person God puts in our path who needs a word of love and encouragement at Christmas. We aren’t alone in our desire to decide who gets to hear the Good News and who we need to pass by. Jonah faced this temptation when God asked him to share with the despised Ninevites.
Read Jonah 1 & 3
What did God ask Jonah to do? How did Jonah respond? What was the consequence of his disobedience? What message did he finally preach to the Ninevites? How did they respond? What did God do for them?
God’s message of salvation overcame the messenger’s heart of condemnation towards these people. God had so prepared their hearts to receive the message that even Jonah’s half-hearted attempt to convince them was enough. Seeing this miracle of repentance did not soften Jonah’s heart. We see in Jonah 4:1-3 that he is not delighted about their faith.
Ask God to reveal to you people that, while you may not despise them as Jonah did the Ninevites, for whatever reason you avoid sharing Christ with them. At Christmas we celebrate the Messiah who died for even the annoying and mean people. Pray that God would give you a heart of humility to make the most of every opportunity He gives you to share.
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