JESUS SAIZ

Wouldn't it be great if serving GOD was like playing the game”Simon Saiz”. Jesus saiz “Go into all the world and preach the Gospel”. Everyone who is saved would jump up and go. Jesus saiz “ Feed the hungry” everyone feeds someone. Jesus saiz “ Give” and people give. But in reality, it just ain't so.

In reality it is no where near a game but a challenge to do what He, in His Word, commands us to do. (James 1:22 But don't just listen to God's word. You must do what it says. Otherwise, you are only fooling yourselves.) Here James, the half brother of Jesus, gives us a bit of advice. He grew up around Jesus all of his life. Listening to Him, watching Him and seeing Jesus do what He said He would. But Jesus said, as his mother and brothers were coming up to where He was, those who do my will are my family (Mark 3:31-15). So I would look at that and believe James had to learn to be a doer of his Big Brothers word.

In the game, Simon saiz, if you don't do what they say “you're out”! If you try to outguess Simon and do something “you think” he is going to say and he doesn't , you loose. You can't get ahead of God nor can you disobey. Praise God for His grace or we would all be out of His life. But, just like brother Jim, we need to learn to be doers of His word.

How do we become doers? First of all we must know what it says. It would be a good idea if you read it, studied it and then put it into practice. You can't practice what you don't know. A doctor can not be a doctor, a teacher can not teach and a mechanic can not fix a car without knowledge of what they are doing. Knowledge does not come by osmosis and it is not obtained by just reading. It is important to put it to work. It takes years to be a good doctor. A good teacher has to learn what works best for every child in their class. So not only do they have to have the knowledge of what to teach but how to present it. A mechanic has books, computers and testers but if that mechanic doesn't know what a half inch ratchet is, he is going to show himself as a fool in the eyes of other mechanics.

It is the same thing in the Kingdom of GOD. We can read it, memorize it, share it and even write it down but if we don't do it, our life will become a mess. Now thank GOD He cleans up our messes, but He also expects us to do it. We do not have to outguess our God. We do not have to stay behind or get ahead of Him. We can gladly walk side by side with Him.

(James 1:25 If you look carefully into the perfect law that sets you free, and if you do what it says and don't forget what you heard, then God will bless you for doing it.) God is so good, He wants nothing more than for you to succeed in His Son. He will never go too fast or too slow for you. He knows exactly how to teach and repair each one of us because He wrote the Manual on your life. He knows you better than you know you.

(James 4:10 Humble yourselves before the Lord, and He will lift you up in honor.) Humility is described by Websters dictionary as a deep sense of unworthiness in the site of GOD. It also says it is a freedom of pride and arrogance. Now, we are made worthy through the blood of our savior but a lot of us keep our pride and arrogance as we enter GOD'S kingdom. He wants us to be free of that pride, He wants us to let go of our arrogance and the only way anyone can accomplish this is by putting your trust in one thing. "God Knows what He is doing." Doing His word will humble anyone. But the end result is honor and blessing. Simon saiz might be a great game to get a child to learn how to listen. But as a child of God there is much more at stake. It is to our advantage to learn, as quickly as possible, how to listen. Little brother Jim had to humble himself and listen to his big brother Jesus. Can you? Can you Listen? Only your life can tell others how well you listen.

I WILL NOT LEAVE YOU COMFORTLESS.

In the gospel of John Jesus makes a statement. He is about to go to the cross for the sins of the world but He takes time with His closest friends to tell them He will make sure they are taken care of. John 14:18, in the King James bible says, I will not leave you comfortless: I will come to you. The American standard version, the translator, uses a different word for comfortless, desolate. And when you look at the New King James, The Message and the New Living Translation Bibles they phrase it this way, I will not leave you orphans.

Here is a perfect illustration of how we can feel sometimes. Desolate, without any comfort at all, a child wandering in this world without a father or mother to love or take care of them. Wanting everything but receiving nothing. But Jesus promises He will not leave us like that. John 14:16 the Message tells us Jesus was going to leave with us a special, special friend. An Advocate is what He is called in other translations, someone who will lead us into all truth, someone who will be able to help us in our journey through the life God has planned for us while we live on this place called Earth. He gives us a defender, counselor, someone who will love and take care of us, never to abandon any of us, yet be with each of us. His name is The Holy Spirit.

Right now I am sitting here typing these words because I can't sleep thinking about different people I love very much. One, whom I want to see serve God with all of her heart, is going through a hard time. A time when it is very hard to see God at all working in her life because of all the trials going on in her life. A single mom taking care of a precious little boy and her mother who has been battling cancer for over two years. Financial and job stress constantly pulling her in pieces and never seeming to have any peace.

Another friend, who I have a great love and admiration for, is going through the extreme battle of and for his life fighting cancer and the radiation burns the doctors used to destroy the cancer cells, burning up the precious tissues of skin on his neck, chest and inside of his throat and esophagus. He is tough and brave but you still see the pain and suffering he is going through and the care and concern he has for his wife and little baby grandson they are raising.

A grandmother living with her daughters family and having to watch the enemy try and tear them apart knowing she is the one who has to pray everything together and fight the battle on her knees. Wiping tears from eyes bloodshot from care and concern for those she loves and fights for day and night no matter what.

Still another young man is lying in a hospital bed waiting for doctors to decide whether they are going to operate on his back so he can function with less pain and his arm would quit going numb. Not being able to work or take care of his baby girl and going through a hard time with the babies momma as she is pregnant with another child.

Each one of these individuals is a child of God. Problems, Yes! Pains, Yes! Heartache, Yes! Comfortless, No! I know the same Holy Spirit is there with everyone of them and the millions of other believers throughout the world, all going through one trial or another. People in Kurdistan, Egypt, Ethiopia, North Korea and Vietnam. Places on earth we don't even know the name of, yet Gods Spirit knows the name of everyone of them and not only that, He knows the number of hairs on their head. Christ promised He would never leave us nor forsake us. The writer of Hebrews 13:5 tells us, God will never leave us nor abandon us and verse 8 says Jesus is the same yesterday, today and forever. Also in Isaiah 41:10 God says this, “ Don't be afraid, for I am with you. Don't be discouraged, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you. I will hold you up with My victorious right hand.” Gods right hand man is the Holy Spirit and when we can't pray, He can! When we can't walk he carries us. He is the one who makes the way and lights it up for us in the wilderness times of our lives. It may be dim at first but if you keep looking it will get brighter. I thank God for His Comforter, His Spirit, our Friend who is here for us no matter what.

I may not be able to sleep for care for the people I love but I know, no matter what happens God in His infinite mercy is at their side helping them and encouraging them through their situation. David instructed us wisely in Psalm 37:4-7 , taken from the Message Bible, (4) Keep company with GOD, get in on the best. (5) Open up before GOD, keep nothing back; he'll do whatever needs to be done: (6) He'll validate your life in the clear light of day and stamp you with approval at high noon. (7) Quiet down before GOD, be prayerful before him. These words of advice ring just as true today as when David wrote them down through the inspiration of Gods right hand man, the Holy Spirit. We need to put them to work in our lives. Open up and pour it out to Him then sit quietly and wait on God. He is the one who clears everything up. He is the one who promises us to be there all of the time. Tiny Tim might have said “God bless us everyone” and it may have been written in a book about the changing of a wicked life of a man but Tiny Tim was right. What we see today may be changed in a moment, in the blinking of an eye to what God wants to accomplish in us. Painful now, yes, very painful. Yet in the end He alone is the author of the book of life and if your name is written in that book as a part of Gods infinite plan then let Him write it and as my friend with cancer says “enjoy the ride”. Just let God drive.

To everything there is a beginning but there is also an end. Remember God states to all of us in Revelation 22:18-19 I give fair warning to all who hear the words of the prophecy of this book: If you add to the words of this prophecy, God will add to your life the disasters written in this book; if you subtract from the words of the book of this prophecy, God will subtract your part from the Tree of Life and the Holy City that are written in this book. This goes for the individual too. We need to quit trying to add our ways and our opinions to what we think God should or shouldn't do. We can not think we can control our God but rather we need to relinquish all control to Him. This is where the peace of God begins to surpass all of our understanding. Psalm 37:34 in the Message tells us to wait passionately for GOD, don't leave the path. He'll give you your place in the sun while you watch the wicked lose it. We need that passion in our lives and to maintain it we need Gods Holy Spirit to have the freedom to work in our lives. It will always work out if it is His word and His will. Just remember through it all you'll never, ever be alone, abandoned or comfortless. Jesus loves you this I know. For the Bible tells me so.

1Sa 14:6 "Let's go across to the outpost of those pagans," Jonathan said to his armor bearer. "Perhaps the LORD will help us, for nothing can hinder the LORD. He can win a battle whether He has many warriors or only a few!"

Who knows what God can do? And the only way you are going to find out is do as Jonathan told his armor bearer, Try. The greatest failure in life is someone who never tries. Life is only a great adventure if you do something with your life. Especially if you try doing something for Christ.

Matthew 28:19 Therefore, go and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. (20) Teach these new disciples to obey all the commands I have given you. And be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of the age."

Now here is a big adventure! Whether you go across the street or around the world. The great commission is an everyday adventure. It is, as Forrest Gump says, like a huge box of chocolates. Everyday opportunities to share the gospel, help build or encourage a brother or sister, be obedient to Gods Word rise up before us. We have to take a chance and try. Opportunities are only opportunities if we take advantage of them. I think of men and women of God who, without respect to their own lives, are living the greatest adventures of their lives. Everyday a new door of opportunity will open, everyday a new adventure, everyday a decision has to be made. Go through the open door or sit and watch others go through.

1Corinthians 16:12 Now about our brother Apollos—I urged him to visit you with the other believers, but he was not willing to go right now. He will see you later when he has the opportunity.

I don't know why Paul wanted Apollos to visit Corinth. He did urge him to go , but Apollos was not willing at the time to go. He was willing to go when he had the opportunity. So many times we will wait until it is convenient for us to do something. God never said His timing was convenient, He said go. If we wait until we think we are ready to do something, we will still be waiting when Jesus returns. Opportunities never cease to open up but we can never respond if we don't want to. All of that is up to us.

Acts 16:9 That night Paul had a vision: A man from Macedonia in northern Greece was standing there, pleading with him, "Come over to Macedonia and help us!"(10) So we decided to leave for Macedonia at once, having concluded that God was calling us to preach the Good News there.

1Corinthians 16:8 In the meantime, I will be staying here at Ephesus until the Festival of Pentecost. (9) There is a wide-open door for a great work here, although many oppose me.

Do you see opportunity like Paul did? Whether Macedonia, Ephesus, Philippi, it did not matter to Paul. He chose to go Gods way and in Gods timing. It did not matter to him how much or how little opposition there was, Paul seized the opportunity. Webster describes adventure as, To risk, or hazard; to put in the power of unforeseen events; as, to adventure one's life. Paul saw his life in Christ this way. Paul never knew exactly what was waiting for him behind any door. Lions, tigers and bears or green grass and clover. Most of the time it was the lions, tigers, bears, stocks and whips, but it brought souls into the kingdom of God.

Mat 10:39 If you cling to your life, you will lose it; but if you give up your life for Me, you will find it.

This is adventure. You can not have an adventurous life if you don't live it. But Christ says the way to real life is to give your life to Him so you can find it. We have to look to find. In Matthew 7:7, Jesus said Keep on seeking, and you will find. In other words keep on trying and you will succeed. Quit seeking, quit trying and loose life. Keep seeking, keep trying, find life. No matter the circumstances, no matter the trials keep going until God says stop.

1Peter 1:5 And through your faith, God is protecting you by His power until you receive this salvation, which is ready to be revealed on the last day for all to see. (6) So be truly glad. There is wonderful joy ahead, even though you have to endure many trials for a little while. (7) These trials will show that your faith is genuine. It is being tested as fire tests and purifies gold—though your faith is far more precious than mere gold. So when your faith remains strong through many trials, it will bring you much praise and glory and honor on the day when Jesus Christ is revealed to the whole world. (8) You love Him even though you have never seen Him. Though you do not see Him now, you trust Him; and you rejoice with a glorious, inexpressible joy. (9) The reward for trusting Him will be the salvation of your souls.

Isaiah 64:4 For since the world began, no ear has heard, and no eye has seen a God like You, who works for those who wait for Him!

We take for granted the fact that Jesus loves us. We don't take advantage of it, maybe, but He is the best friend you have ever had or will have in your life. As we look at our lives we can probably count on one hand the number of true friends we have had. Friends that would have your back, friends that would be there when you needed help moving. Friends that would put up with you no matter what kind of mood you were in or how much you were feeling sorry for yourself. But Jesus is there all of the time. He is there when you get up in the morning and He's there when you go to bed at night. He always wants to be close to you.

Proverbs 18:24 There are "friends" who destroy each other, but a real friend sticks closer than a brother.

There really are friends that destroy. (Psalm 41:9) Even my best friend, the one I trusted completely, the one who shared my food, has turned against me. Most of us have had friends like this and it almost destroyed our lives but thank God for what a true friend He is. (Psalm 65:4) What joy for those You choose to bring near, those who live in Your holy courts. What festivities await us inside Your holy Temple. What Joy! What a joy it is to know God chose you and me as a close friend. Someone not just to hang with, a friend not just to be there when you need one. But a friend, a real friend, that sticks closer than a brother. I never had a brother. I had one sister that I always fought with, never got along with or any other kind of close relationship, I thought anyway. But when she got married and moved out, I realized just how much she meant to my life. I missed her, I wanted to be around her and be in her life. She got me out of trouble more times than I could ever know. She was my hero. And since we have gotten older and miles apart, that relationship has dwindled to an occasional phone call or a hello on Facebook. Is this what happens to our relationship with Jesus?

James 4:8 Come close to God, and God will come close to you.

Here is what God desires. Closeness! Closeness to the maker and creator of all things. Closeness to the one who gave His life on Calvary. Get an idea of that. The one who hung the sun, the moon and the stars, the one set the planets in order, the one who formed man out of dust and breathed life into him, wants to be close to you. (Genesis 5:22) After the birth of Methuselah, Enoch lived in close fellowship with God for another 300 years, and he had other sons and daughters. (23) Enoch lived 365 years, (24) walking in close fellowship with God. Then one day he disappeared, because God took him. God took him where? To be closer to Him. This is the kind of relationship God wants with all of us. This is how close He desires to be with you and with me. I know, someday, we will all be in heaven and get to be close with Him. Why wait? He wants you close now. Just as close as Enoch was. Just as close as Elijah was, or David. Why don't we want that closeness? (Matthew 23:37) "O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets and stones God's messengers! How often I have wanted to gather your children together as a hen protects her chicks beneath her wings, but you wouldn't let Me. He is constantly wanting to get close to you. He tries and tries and tries, but we say no. Why? Are we so vain not to get close or are we afraid to get close because of past human relationships and being hurt. We all should know and understand He will not hurt you. Listening to an old, great song right now. “He touched me”. Oh how He wants to touch us and tell us how much He truly loves us. And Oh how much He wants to hear it from you.

I do not know where you are in your walk with God, nor do I want to. You need to know where you are in your walk with Him. You need Jesus. Jesus wants to give you rest. The only true rest is in Christ. The only true peace is in Christ. The only true life is in Christ. (John 17:21) I pray that they will all be one, just as You and I are one, as You are in Me, Father, and I am in You. And may they be in Us so that the world will believe You sent Me. (22) "I have given them the glory You gave Me, so they may be one as We are one. (23) I am in them and You are in Me. May they experience such perfect unity that the world will know that You sent Me and that You love them as much as You love Me. (24) Father, I want these whom You have given Me to be with Me where I am. Then they can see all the glory You gave Me because You loved Me even before the world began! This is what Jesus prayed for You! ONE! He wants us One. He wants us to love him as much as He loves us and us to love each other the same way. And He will do anything in His power to accomplish this. The question is, will you put forth the effort to have this oneness, this unity, with Him?

John 6:16-17 That evening Jesus' disciples went down to the shore to wait for Him. (17) But as darkness fell and Jesus still hadn't come back, they got into the boat and headed across the lake toward Capernaum.

Here is something that bothers me about the word of God. It exposes the truth about all of us. We look at these two scriptures and think, are the disciples nuts! But God always has these little situations in here for us to ponder because he wants us to take a look at ourselves deeper than we, as a human being, can. We look at the disciples and think how could they walk away from the Lord just because it gets dark and they want to get home. They ditched Jesus! Just like you would have ditched the geek you didn't want to be around. They were being unreasonably rude to our Lord! Right? They were being just like you and me. How many times have you or I gotten tired of waiting for Jesus and just got in our own little spiritual boat and left Jesus behind? When you look at the next verse it says a storm comes up and they are working so very hard rowing and rowing trying to get where they were going. Isn't this what happens to us? We work ourselves to death trying to do our own thing and getting no where fast. Psalm 62:1 tells us to wait quietly before God, for my victory comes from Him. Psalm 37:7 tells us to be still in the presence of the LORD, and wait patiently for Him to act. Isaiah 40:31 says this, But they that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint. So why do we get in a hurry?

Psalm 139:14 I will praise thee; for I am fearfully and wonderfully made: marvellous are thy works; and that my soul knoweth right well.

Jeremiah 1:5 Before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee

Now if you will look at these two scriptures very carefully you will see a lot. God formed us in our mothers womb and we are fearfully and wonderfully made. Correct? Then we come out of that womb, and no matter how great our parents raised us, we are sinners and sinners hate to wait. Now when we get born again we still have that old sin nature that hates to wait. Not everyone, but almost everyone I know, hates to wait. We know what Psalms says and we know what Isaiah says and we know what Jesus says, but that does not matter when we have to wait longer than, we think, we should have to wait. I mean don't we know better than God? Job 42:1 Then Job replied to the LORD: (2) "I know that You can do anything, and no one can stop You. (30 You asked, 'Who is this that questions My wisdom with such ignorance?' It is I and I was talking about things I knew nothing about, things far too wonderful for me. (4) You said, 'Listen and I will speak! I have some questions for you, and you must answer them.'(5) I had only heard about You before, but now I have seen You with my own eyes. (6) I take back everything I said, and I sit in dust and ashes to show my repentance." Job learned to wait. Job also learned, very well, no matter what, God is right and His timing is always right no matter what we think.

When you look at the rest of the story about the impatience of the Jesus crew you witness the loving grace of our Lord. Jesus came strolling out to the boat and when the guys saw Him they were scared. Now I don't think they were afraid of a ghost, my own opinion anyway, I think they were afraid they were in big trouble for leaving Jesus behind and setting out on their own little journey. But what did Jesus say, John 6:20 but He called out to them, "Don't be afraid. I am here! " Look at that! Isn't our Lord great. He says to the boys, it's OK, The I Am is here. I forgive you for leaving me behind and if you want me to I'll get in the boat now. John 6:21 Then they were eager to let Him in the boat, and immediately they arrived at their destination! Do you see that? They were eager! They weren't in trouble! They were forgiven and when they allowed Jesus in the boat what happened? They didn't even have to row the boat anymore and immediately they were where they wanted to go. Isn't Jesus just the best? Forgiven, not forsaken! Arrived safe and sound in Gods time and Gods way. So do you think they learned their lesson? Of course not! John 21:3 Simon Peter said, "I'm going fishing." "We'll come, too," they all said. So they went out in the boat, but they caught nothing all night. Even after the resurrection, Jesus patiently came to them. He didn't walk out to them, he built a fire and cooked them breakfast. Gods grace is always patient, loving and kind. But it would still be a lot easier on Him if we would learn to wait.

Acts 18:9 One night the Lord spoke to Paul in a vision and told him, "Don't be afraid! Speak out! Don't be silent! (10) For I am with you, and no one will attack and harm you, for many people in this city belong to Me."

Everyone needs encouragement. Even Gods most awesome servants. 1Th 2:2 You know how badly we had been treated at Philippi just before we came to you and how much we suffered there. Yet our God gave us the courage to declare His Good News to you boldly, in spite of great opposition. How about, especially, Gods most awesome servants. When you make the decision to go all the way and pour out your life for Gods service, it isn't all goo goo's and ga ga's of blessings, honor and glorious revival. Usually, and I say that so you will listen, all hell breaks loose in your life and the enemy has a field day attempting to destroy your faith. Usually! (2Corinthians 4:8) We are pressed on every side by troubles, but we are not crushed. We are perplexed, but not driven to despair. (9) We are hunted down, but never abandoned by God. We get knocked down, but we are not destroyed. Doesn't this just make you want to jump right into ministry? (2Corinthians 7:5) When we arrived in Macedonia, there was no rest for us. We faced conflict from every direction, with battles on the outside and fear on the inside. Aren't these great word's for people who aspire for greatness in the Kingdom of God. Actually, yes they are!

Job 31:21 "If I raised my hand against an orphan, knowing the judges would take my side, (22) then let my shoulder be wrenched out of place! Let my arm be torn from its socket! (23) That would be better than facing God's judgment. For if the majesty of God opposes me, what hope is there?

I would rather face the Devil in opposition any day than to be opposed by God. At least when you face Satan's host you know you have the victory, even over death. But I do not have the courage, after knowing the truth of Gods Word, to face The Great I Am in any manner of opposition. A prophet of God by the name of Balaam tried and first God used a donkey to stop him. But Balaam, being the jackass that he was, still went ahead and attempted to anyway. But he kept meeting God. Four time King Balak tried to get him to curse the nation of Israel and four times Balaam, who could only speak what God told him, tried but failed.

In Numbers 24 Balaam finally realizes the LORD was determined to bless Israel and if God blesses something no one, principality,power or dominion, can curse it. (Galatians 3:13) But Christ has rescued us from the curse pronounced by the law. When He was hung on the cross, He took upon Himself the curse for our wrongdoing. For it is written in the Scriptures, "Cursed is everyone who is hung on a tree." (14) Through Christ Jesus, God has blessed the Gentiles with the same blessing He promised to Abraham, so that we who are believers might receive the promised Holy Spirit through faith. These words truly bring hope to every man, woman and child of God. No matter what the enemy of your soul does, he can not curse you. He can only make you think you are. (Ephesians 1:2) Grace be to you, and peace, from God our Father, and from the Lord Jesus Christ. (3) Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ. Do you see that? Grace and peace are yours. He has blessed us with “all” spiritual blessings and sets our lives in heavenly places. No matter what, we are the most blessed people on the face of the earth. Living and or dying for Christ brings on Gods blessing. Paul said to die is gain but to live is Christ. What have we got to loose.

All of the people who allow God to do and fulfill His will in their lives may not have it easy here on earth. But Oh the blessings, Oh the blessings of knowing you are living in His will and doing what you can to live your life fully for Him can not be described. Painful? Yes, sometimes very painful. Agonizing? Yes! Blessed? Double yes! I am listening to Ron Kenoly sing “ I bow my knee before your throne, I know my life is not my own”. What a great song that's so full of truth. To bow ones knee to the King of Glory and say, not my will but yours be done, to bring glory honor and praise to the God of heaven and earth. To seek the giver and not he gift, to live to bring pleasure to Jesus the Crowned King of Glory! This is why Peter, James, John, Paul and all of the other Apostles lived and died for Jesus. Men like John Mark, Timothy and Titus took up their mantel when it was time. Now it is our turn, Can you pick up where the last one left off? Can you carry the cross of victory until it is time for your journey home? This is the question to us all, including me.....

1Kings 19:4 Then he went on alone into the wilderness, traveling all day. He sat down under a solitary broom tree and prayed that he might die. "I have had enough, LORD," he said. "Take my life, for I am no better than my ancestors who have already died."

Have you ever lost hope? Everything in life, seemingly, closes in and culminates into one huge pressure of pain, despair and loathing. When your whole body feels as though you are under 200 feet of water, without air, and that pressure comes from within and from without. This was how Elijah felt at this moment of his life. He found the one and only bit of shade in the desert of his life, sat down under it and asked God to just let him die.

(Jeremiah 20:14) Yet I curse the day I was born! May no one celebrate the day of my birth.

(Jonah 4:8) And as the sun grew hot, God arranged for a scorching east wind to blow on Jonah. The sun beat down on his head until he grew faint and wished to die. "Death is certainly better than living like this!" he exclaimed.

Here are two more dark examples of life in the fast lane of serving God. Two men, just like Elijah, who grew bitter in their hearts because they didn't get God. Jeremiah just wanted to see Judah saved. He preached exactly what God told him too and all it got him was the prison cesspool. Jonah didn't want to see Nineveh saved but they repented and turned to God. Elijah's great victory at Mount Carmel was overcast with threats of death from one woman, Jezebel. All seemingly hopeless, helpless and lost. But God! But God! But God has a plan that is always greater in scope than we could ever imagine. Look at what God told Jonah. (Jonah 4:9) Then God said to Jonah, "Is it right for you to be angry because the plant died?" "Yes," Jonah retorted, "even angry enough to die!" (10) Then the LORD said, "You feel sorry about the plant, though you did nothing to put it there. It came quickly and died quickly. (11) But Nineveh has more than 120,000 people living in spiritual darkness, not to mention all the animals. Shouldn't I feel sorry for such a great city?" Do you think Jonah should have listened to God, gotten up and gone back into Nineveh and preached or was Jonah right in staying there swimming in his pool of self pity because God didn't do what Jonah wanted him to do? The book stops there and says nothing more about Jonah. Elijah left the cave and did what he was told. Later on he is replace by Elisha and taken up into heaven in a chariot of fire. Jeremiah is taken out of the prison cesspool, taken out of Jerusalem later on and never looses his properties or took any monetary losses when Jerusalem fell because they wouldn”t listen.

Mat 12:39 But Jesus replied, "Only an evil, adulterous generation would demand a miraculous sign; but the only sign I will give them is the sign of the prophet Jonah. (40) For as Jonah was in the belly of the great fish for three days and three nights, so will the Son of Man be in the heart of the earth for three days and three nights.

Can you imagine where you would be today if Jesus would have told everyone to look for the sign of Jonah lying under that gourd plant and not getting up instead of the sign of Jonah coming out of that big fish. What if Jesus said I don't care what happens to the world I just want to die I'm so depressed and down about no one caring about me. They can just all go to Hell, I just want to stay in my tomb and feel sorry for myself. Do you think Jesus had something to be depressed about? But no! (Hebrews 12:2) Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God. Jesus came up out of that grave with joy because of what was accomplished through His suffering and shame. Life can take a lot of swings at you and when it hits it can be painful. You can either lay there and mope or get up. You can make a lot of things your withered gourd plant and let it keep you down. But just as God talked about the bigger picture to Jonah let Him talk to you. Don't finish your book under the shade of a dead bush.