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| Volume 25 Number 2 February 2023 |
Page 13 |
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| Volume 25 Number 2 February 2023 |
Page 13 |
God Hears the Penitent
Beth Johnson
“But let man and beast be covered with sackcloth, and cry mightily to God; yes, let every one turn from his evil way and from the violence that is in his hands” (Jonah 3:8 NKJV). Jonah at Nineveh is a good example of God hearing the penitent.
The Lord, through an inspired penman, directs our attention to the Old Testament prophets. “My brethren, take the prophets, who spoke in the name of the Lord, as an example of suffering and patience. Indeed we count them blessed who endure. You have heard of the perseverance of Job and seen the end intended by the Lord – that the Lord is very compassionate and merciful” (James 5:10-11). Highlighted is patient suffering in order to obey God. James noted Job as an example of suffering affliction and patience in that suffering.
Then, James observed Elijah, another prophet who is a great example from which to learn.
Confess your trespasses to one another, and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much. Elijah was a man with a nature like ours, and he prayed earnestly that it would not rain; and it did not rain on the land for three years and six months. And he prayed again, and the heaven gave rain, and the earth produced its fruit. (James 5:16-18)
Elijah was subject to discouragement like all of us. When Jezebel sent messengers to tell Elijah she planned to kill him, he was greatly discouraged (1 Kings 19:2). He prayed to God, “…It is enough! Now, Lord, take my life, for I am no better than my fathers!” (1 Kings 19:4). Why would not being better than his fathers discourage him? The Lord did not hear (i.e., acknowledge and grant) that prayer to let him die. We know the Lord expects us to be better than men around us (Matthew 5:46-47). We read that Elijah at another time pleaded with God against the children of Israel, but God did not listen (i.e., act on) to his words (Romans 11:2-4). Elijah did not know there were still 7,000 who had not bowed the knee to Baal; he lacked information about the whole picture that God possessed, and so, the Lord would not hear (i.e., grant) his plea against Israel.
God would not hear Jonah’s desires against Nineveh (Jonah 4:9-11); Jonah lacked pity on the souls who had repented. He told Jonah there were 120,000 (probably children) who did not know their right hand from their left. Jonah knew the hearts of the people of Nineveh that they would repent if given a chance. That was why God had sent Jonah to them in the first place.
In order to have our prayers heard, the divine rules say that our requests must fit into God’s work rather than our own (1 John 5:14-15). We need to plead with God for each other (James 5:16). We need to pray earnestly and fervently that we all might be healed spiritually. Furthermore, definitely, we need to rejoice at the conversion of every soul. Knowing this should make it much easier to pray even for our enemies (Matthew 5:44).
All Things
Emily Fisher
I forgot my Bible! My husband and I had loaded the car with some things at my parents’ house, and I, in the hustle and bustle of moving things, had laid my Bible on a table and then placed something on top of it. Those things on top of my Bible were not coming with us, and thus, I forgot my Bible and left without it. This Bible is a wide-margin, note-taking Bible with lots of verse references with which I do most of my study, and as circumstances would have it, we were not at my parents’ house again for several months! Now, I was not without a Bible for those months since I have other Bibles at home, but it bothered me that I had laid something on top of God’s Word and consequently forgot it was there. Since then, I try not to lay anything on top of a Bible!
This made me think about how often we let things obscure our vision of the Word. The cares of this world are on top of our Bibles instead of the other way around. If we are forgetting to read and study the Holy Script, then we are most likely distracted by the things of this world. More times than we often realize, our culture and worldly influences (money, our appearances, and entertainment choices) preoccupy our time rather than thinking on spiritual matters. This leads us to wonder about our underlying attitude toward the Bible. Do we really believe it is God’s Word? Do we think of Scripture as the Sword of the Spirit (Ephesians 6:17) that must be studied diligently, handled properly and applied humbly?
We in the 21st century often do not fully comprehend what it was like for our 1st century brethren. Those saints did not have the complete, written Word of God as we do today. They did have the Old Testament Scriptures, but the New Testament would not be fully transcribed until A.D. 70 or at the latest A.D. 96. The 1st century Christians had copies of the inspired letters of the New Testament writers that would have been circulated to neighboring congregations (i.e., the epistle to the Colossians, 4:16). How precious and of utmost importance these letters must have been to young, growing churches! They should still be of utmost importance to us today! However, in the age of digital information, too often, we take written literature for granted. Yes, we can read the Bible on our phones, but can we really study and meditate on God’s Word through a device that is notifying us of incoming calls, messages, etc.? I am not saying do not read the Bible on your phone, but rather, we should spend time totally engrossed in the Scriptures with as little distractions as possible. This is a goal all of us must discipline ourselves to do and for which we need to strive on a regular basis.
Is Scripture precious to us? Jude 3 says, “the faith was once for all delivered to the saints” (NKJV). The Faith is the system of doctrine, the Gospel of Jesus Christ made known through the inspired apostles’ writings. It was not fully revealed previous to the 1st century, but as Paul made it clear, “the mystery… has now been revealed by the Spirit to His holy apostles and prophets: that the Gentiles should be fellow heirs, of the same body, and partakers of His promise in Christ through the gospel” (Ephesians 3:1-13). Peter put it this way:
Of this salvation the prophets have inquired and searched carefully… searching what, or what manner of time, the Spirit of Christ who was in them was indicating… To them it was revealed that, not to themselves, but to us they were ministering the things which now have been reported to you through those who have preached the gospel to you by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven – things which angels desire to look into. (1 Peter 1:10-12)
Peter also said, “His divine power has given to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him who called us by glory and virtue” (2 Peter 1:3). Do we comprehend these passages? God’s revelation to mankind is complete, finished in Jesus Christ, revealed to the apostles by inspiration of the Holy Spirit (see also 1 Corinthians 2:6-16). All humans, no matter their ethnicity, gender, social or economic status, have been given all that we need to be reconciled to God, found in the body of Christ and to live faithfully before our Creator. That calls for rejoicing and thanksgiving!
How thankful we should be to have the complete, written volume of Scripture! We are not in the dark waiting on further revelation from God in order to learn how to obtain salvation and to live. We have it! Are we using it? Obeying it? Putting it in our hearts? Where is your Bible right now?
