Most grew up with the story of Jonah and the big fish. In summary, Jonah was a man of God who did not listen when sent to preach destruction to the great city of Nineveh. He was on a ship running from God’s command when a storm threatened the lives of those on board. Jonah was cast overboard, swallowed by a great fish and spat out three days and nights later. After his release, he went to Nineveh with God’s message that worked and wrought repentance. After picking out the best spot to view the destruction, Jonah was comforted by a plant that soon died. The loss of the shade made Jonah angry, and God asked him how he could be upset about the death of a plant and look forward with anticipation to the death of 120,000 people. Jonah is a story about a man who lived in the early centuries B.C. that speaks to life today. It demonstrates disobedience, denouncement of sin, displeasure of people and God, and delivery given by God to those who repent. Peering into the story of Jonah helps us understand how God works even today. Disobedience is the reason for the story’s existence. The Ninevites disobeyed God’s will and caused the Lord to take action. “Now the word of the Lord came to Jonah the son of Amittai saying, ‘Arise, go to Nineveh the great city and cry against it; for their wickedness has come up before Me’” (Jonah 1:1-2). Nineveh acted against God’s

The 911 system is a work of art. Dial three simple numbers and a call comes into a center full of dispatchers, unknown to the caller. The dispatcher has a readout on a computer screen with number, address and name of occupant. Often, the caller is hysterical and can only scream into the phone, or too sick to make any sound at all. That is of no consequence to the dispatcher’s ability to do his job; police, fire and rescue are sent to the location simultaneously. The ability of the caller to make his condition known is inconsequential to the 911 center, the source of rescue for the one making the plea for help. In Romans 8:26 we find, “Likewise the Spirit also helps in our weaknesses. For we do not know what we should pray for as we ought, but the Spirit Himself makes intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered.” Prayer is our 911; we can call for help. God is the dispatcher, and His Spirit understands what we need. We may not be able to say it for our spiritual despondency or our inability to understand the problem. Yet, when we make the call, God understands the situation and works to rescue us. God is the Christian’s 911 system, and our rescue lies just a call away.

Imagine you are in a heated discussion between two groups of people. You have a side picked out that you believe to be right. You argue and fight vehemently because you are certain your point of view is correct. As you truly listen to “the other side” of the discussion, you suddenly realize you are actually wrong. What do you do? Those men in Acts 2 who had just demanded that Jesus die had just such a discussion. About 3,000 of them realized just how wrong they had been and asked the apostles, “Men and brethren, what shall we do?” Their humility allowed their hearts to admit that they were wrong. Their desire to be right with God prompted them to find the truth and to correct their actions. Previously, they had a false sense of security; they were right in their own minds until they realized that they were actually wrong. Then, they heard the answer. “Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.” They knew what they needed to do to be right with God. They simply had to obey the command of the Lord handed down through the apostles. Those 3,000 were immersed on that day for the forgiveness of their sins in the name of the Lord. Their false sense of security was replaced with true forgiveness, and the Lord’s church began that day.

I love the Lord’s church. It is the greatest entity known to man. What, though, makes the church great? How does a church stay healthy? Paul answered this question when talking to the struggling church at Thessalonica. It was not struggling because it was weak but because the resistance to the truth was so strong. They had three qualities that made them strong, the same three that make individuals strong. Paul also talked about those traits in 1 Corinthians 13:13 when he said the three things that matter are faith, hope and love. Those three characteristics that make the individual strong are the same three that keep the church healthy. As the church, we must be full of works of faith. A healthy church will be identified by the good things it does for the community and for the world. A healthy church is marked by its labor of love. Just as in 1 Corinthians 13:13, the greatest is love. Love is the reason that anything we do has meaning. As the church of Christ, we must love as He loved us. Hope is the key to keep us moving forward. No one does anything unless there is something toward which to look forward at the end of the effort. Our hope is in Jesus Christ, and He is trustworthy. We remain steadfast in His Word because we know He has something in store for us if we do continue to abide in the Gospel. When we hang on to

Ephesians 2:8 is a favorite passage of mine. It tells me that I do not have to earn a salvation that is beyond my ability to earn. God’s grace saves me. Grace is not giving something for nothing; it is giving something unearned. Naaman did not earn his cure, but if he had ignored Elisha’s commands, he would have died a leper. In the same way, we must obey the teachings of Jesus to be saved since He is the “way, truth, and life” (John 14:6). Most agree that faith is essential to salvation (Hebrews 11:6), but faith does not happen without human participation (Romans 10:17). That does not mean that we have earned salvation, but rather, we are saved because of God’s plan of grace. Most agree that one must obey the Gospel of Christ or a person will not be saved (Romans 10:18-21). Jesus said that repentance is essential to avoid perishing (Luke 13:3-5). Further, Jesus Himself made it clear that souls will be rejected who do not confess His name before men (Matthew 10:32-33). All of these are necessary acts of faith that do not negate God’s grace, but they place us in line with His grace. The same Bible that tells us to hear God’s Word so that we can build our faith and to repent of our sinful lives and confess His name also says that baptism saves us (1 Peter 3:21). There are no instances of salvation in Acts about which we can read

Ephesians 2:8 is a favorite passage of mine. It tells me that I do not have to earn a salvation that is beyond my ability to deserve. God’s grace saves me. Grace is not giving something for nothing, but it is giving something unearned. Naaman did not earn his cure, but if he had ignored Elisha’s commands, then he would have died a leper. In the same way, we must obey the teachings of Jesus to be saved since He is the “way, truth, and life” (John 14:6). Most agree that faith is essential to salvation (Hebrews 11:6). Yet, faith does not happen without human effort (Romans 10:17). That does not mean that we have earned salvation, but rather, it means that we are saved because of God’s plan of grace. Most agree that one must obey the Gospel of Christ or he or she will not be saved (Romans 10:18-21). Jesus said that repentance is essential if we are to avoid perishing (Luke 13:3-5). Further, Jesus Himself made it clear that a person will be rejected if he does not confess our Lord’s name before men (Matthew 10:32-33). All of these are necessary acts of faith that do not negate God’s grace, but instead, they place us in line with His grace. The same Bible that tells us to hear God’s Word so that we can build our faith, to repent of our sinful lives and to confess the name of Christ also says that baptism saves us (1