Sermons 6

Veteran's Day 2016       John 15:9 - 17

Today is Veteran's Day and we truly appreciate all of you who have served in the armed forces of our great nation.

Even today there are thousands upon thousands of American men and women in uniform who are fighting our enemies on foreign soil. There are also those who are guarding the home front doing all they can to stop the enemies of our country from doing their worst.

It's a good thing to never forget that someone, somewhere, right this very moment, is paying the price for your freedom and that price is never cheap.

Today we pause to give thanks for those who have served this country in war, in peace, in times of great uncertainty, in times of great calm. I am of course talking about the Veterans of our various military branches. And truth be told, we ought to stop far more than once a year to say thank you to these dedicated men and women.

In this day and time, it is too easy to put aside what they have done for us, and what they continue to do for us, because we don't see it, up close and personal.

Whether they are actively engaged in protecting us, or actively involved in hostilities, they stand ready to do so at a moment's notice. With our smart weapons and long range missiles, it is easy to think that our military folks can somehow keep distant from harm's way.

But of course, that is absurd. When wars are carried out, military personnel are in harm's way, always. If you know a veteran, thank them for their service, for being the one who was and is prepared to defend this country if so called on. It is an awesome task, and one which we should all be grateful.

The history of Veterans Day begins with the armistice that ended World War I in 1918, Originally, called Armistice Day, the commemoration was born because hostilities in Europe ended on November 11, 1918 at 11:00 a.m.

What amazes me about all of that is that World War I was called: "The War to End All Wars." Yet, slightly more than 20 years later, Europe exploded again with the threats of Nazism and Fascism. Eventually, when it was clear that WWI would not end all wars, Armistice Day was changed to Veterans Day to include honors for all military personnel of all times and wars.

As Christians, we are called to be peacemakers. We read the scriptures about beating swords into plowshares and we pray for peace and calm. But we live in a world that does not easily accept peace. Hostilities erupt and we Christians must deal with that fact, just like anyone else.

We are taught that the peacemakers are blessed. We are taught to turn the other cheek. Yet, we seek to find our place in a world that too often does not bless the peacemakers, does not turn the other cheek, and engages in violence. It can be a confusing place to be when the teachings of our faith bump against a reality that seems to challenge those teachings.

I wish I had an answer to ending all war now. But I don't. I cling to the words of scripture that there will come a time when war will cease, and people will not take up arms against each other.

I hate that throughout the years we have lost so many good people to human conflict and war. I pray for each and every one of those who have served, as well as those who are currently serving. I pray that they might know the peace of God in their hearts, and that they feel the support and thanks of a grateful people.

I long for the day when we can truly live in peace, when the War to End All Wars is truly and finally finished. But until that day comes, I will give thanks for those who serve and pray for their safety, and I will remember the words of Dr. Billy Graham who said: Sometimes you have to fight for peace.

There is another kind of veteran that I want to honor this morning as well. These veterans often go without recognition. These are the veterans of the church, the army of the Lord that goes forth every day to fight back the powers of Hell and overcome the enemy of our soul.

Every one of you who know the Lord Jesus Christ as your Savior and you are doing your best to serve the Lord, are among that number. You are a veteran of the Cross. You are a veteran of the war against darkness, sin and evil in this world.

No, you don't carry a rifle or drive a tank, but you wield a double-edged sword and wear the armor of God into battle every day that you live. Your war is never over until Jesus calls you home. You carry the scars of the battle with you all the time. You pick up your cross daily and then take your place on the front lines of the battle.

We know that our Commander in Chief has never lost a battle and has already won the war. In addition to that, God has empowered us to fight for justice and righteousness.

With the blood stained banner of the cross flying high in the winds of adversity, and unbroken ranks of Godly men and women, marching ever forward to destroy the strongholds of the devil, we go forth every day pushing Satan back on every front.

You have a great heritage from the Lord today. You have been chosen to be a soldier in the Lord's army. You aren't drafted “ this is an all-volunteer army.

When your race is won, and your last battle has been fought, you will stand before the Commander and receive your decoration for valor, your reward for faithfulness.

One day you will stand before God as a faithful veteran and you will hear those words, Well done.

In our scripture reading this morning we read these words: Greater love has no one than this,that he lay down his life for his friends.(John 15:13)

Today we thank our veterans for being willing to risk their lives in service to our great country and we thank our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ who willingly laid down his life so that through faith in Him, we can have eternal life.

November 6, 2016

Surviving the Election       Psalm 22:27-31

As we all know the Chicago Cubs won the World Series this past week. Here is Keithsburg's own Bones Lybarger at Wrigley Field for game #5 along with 41,710 other Fans. (I showed a photo on the screen)

And then this past Friday they had a victory parade in Chicago which drew a crowd of 5 million people That's right 5 million people including Keithsburg's own Phillip Henry.(Another Photo)

Now I'm sure in a crowd of five million there was quite a mixture of humanity. There were blacks and whites and Latinos. There were Christians and atheists and Jews and Muslims, There were Republicans and Democrats and Independents and everything in between and they were all getting along.

And honestly with all we have endured with Tuesdays up-coming election it was nice to see people getting along.

If you are like me you are really, really ready for this presidential election to be over. We're ready for an end to the circus and tackiness. Voters on both sides feel frustrated, even embarrassed by it all.

I wanted to get it over with so Marla and I both went to the courthouse last week and voted early.

And what is disturbing is that there is a real fear out there about the results. What if so and so wins?

Christians shouldn't worry about the election results. Why? Because God is in control.

God is sovereign, meaning He is in control of everything, including election results. No matter who is elected by human vote, God is in control.

If you're a Christian and worrying about the election results, you're disobeying God's Word. It's as simple as that.

What's that verse Denny likes to quote? Philippians 4:6 Don't worry about anything; instead, pray about everything.

When we wake up on November 9, post-election, when the confetti is swept away and the election is finally over, what will we see?

Max Lucado has a prediction. He says: I know exactly what November 9 will bring Another day of God's perfect sovereignty. He will still be in charge. His throne will still be occupied. He will still manage the affairs of the world.

God has never taken a back seat to a king, president, or ruler. And He won't on November 9, 2016.

Proverbs 21:1 says: The LORD can control a king's mind as he controls a river; he can direct it as he pleases

In the Old Testament God turned the heart of the King of Assyria so that he helped in the construction of the Temple. On another occasion, God stirred the heart of Cyrus to release the Jews to return to Jerusalem.  Nebuchadnezzar was considered to be the mightiest king of his generation. But God humbled him and put him in detention for seven years. 

Psalms 22:28 says: The kingdom is the Lord's, and He rules over the nations.

When we realize that God influences the hearts of all rulers, we can then choose to pray for them rather than fret about them. Rather than wring our hands we bend our knees and select prayer over despair.             

Dare to believe that good things will happen. Dare to believe that God was speaking to us when he said: In everything God works for the good of those who love him (Romans 8:28).

That means we won't face anything God can't handle Because God is perfect. He could not be any better than He already is.

No one helps Him. No one gives Him strength.

He is correct in every way, in every choice. He has never failed. Never! He cannot fail because He is God!

He has No limitations, no hesitations, no questions, no second thoughts, or backward glances. He punches no clock, keeps no calendar, reports to no one. He is in charge.

In this upcoming election there will be a winner and a loser. One person will emerge victorious while the other will suffer defeat. Yet, we all can be winners if we allow the God of this universe to be Lord over our lives.

He was never elected into office. He was there from the beginning. Genesis 1:1 says, "In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth." John 1:1 says, "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God."

God has always been and will always be. He was never voted into office and can't be voted out of office. He reigns forever and ever! Psalms 146:10 says, "The Lord shall reign forever 

So, no matter who is in office, God is still in control. We may not have the president of our choice in the White House, but if God is on the throne he will continue to rule and to reign.

If we put our trust in him, he will direct our path. If we seek his guidance, he will send an answer. He remains the same in spite of who is in office. Let's continue to put our trust in him, for he is able to see us through the darkest moments of our lives.

And as long as God is on the throne, he has the world in the palm of his hands and we should be at peace.

And when November 9^th gets here we will all be okay.

October 23, 2016

The World Series of Life     Romans 7:18b “ 25a

Well I'm guessing the Cubs fans among us are happy today since the Cubs cinched the pennant for the first time since 1945 beating the LA Dodgers last night 5-0.

Now on to the World Series where they will be playing the Cleveland Indians, who last won the World Series in 1948.

The Cubs, have not won a World Series since 1908.

Baseball is an interesting game. There is a lot of strategy that goes on behind the scenes as the managers, coaches and players decide what pitches to throw, what defensive alignment to use, and who is going to cover what base in case the ball is hit. 

But what is unique about the game of baseball is that it is a game where even the best players fail more often than they succeed. 

For instance, the best hitters in baseball have a batting average of around .300. And you might say, well, if the best hitters in baseball hit .300, then that must be pretty good.

But what that really means is that the best hitters only get a hit about 3 out of every 10 times at bat. Ty Cobb, one of the best hitters ever to play the game, had a .366 lifetime batting average.

What that means is that Ty Cobb either struck out or hit into an out about 6 or 7 times for every 10 at bats. In other words, Ty Cobb failed as a hitter more than he succeeded. And so have all the good hitters ever to play the game. They fail more than they succeed.

Have you ever felt that way as a Christian? Have you ever felt like you were failing in your Christian life more often than you were doing the right thing? I certainly feel that way a lot. And many folks I talk with feel the same. It's the thing many Christians struggle with the most.

So what do we do when we feel like we are failing in our walk with God? Don't we try to work harder to do what's right? We tell ourselves that we can do better and live better and we try on our own to clean up our lives. 

Baseball players do that too when they're in a slump and not hitting well. Sometimes they forget the fundamentals of hitting like keeping their eyes on the ball. When their batting average drops, they try harder. They take extra batting practice or examine their swing on video with a hitting coach to try to see what they are doing wrong. And sometimes it works.

They figure out their mistakes and correct them and they start hitting again and their batting average goes up.

But more often than not, they slip back into the old habits and don't keep the fundamentals of their swing right, and before you know it, they're back in a slump, not hitting very well. 

We do that too as Christians when we get in a slump in our Christian walk. We slip from doing what we know is right. We take our eyes off what is important. And when we slip up, we try to work harder. We read our Bibles more or pray more for God's forgiveness. 

That may help for a while, but then something happens and we slip back to doing what we know we shouldn't. And as that happens more and more, we get discouraged. We feel like we are the worst Christian in the world, and will never be able to be the kind of person God means for us to be. 

If you've ever felt that way, I want to remind you of something this morning. Think about this for a minute. The greatest Christian of the New Testament church, the Apostle Paul, did the same thing.

He was in the very same boat we are. Paul said as much in his letter to the church at Rome. He said he knew what he ought to do, but many times he found himself not doing it. And what he knew he shouldn't do, he kept doing.

If Paul had been a baseball player, he was striking out more times than he was getting a hit. He acknowledged that evil was present in his life. He wanted to do good, but he found that he was not practicing what he would like to do.

In fact, he said he was doing the very thing he hated. Listen to what he says about himself in 1 Timothy 1:15  Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners”of whom I am the worst.

Paul says that when it comes to sinners, he was the worst of all.
How could God use someone with such a messy life for the good of His kingdom? 

And if Paul was such a mess, then we wonder how we can ever be used in our messed up state.

But, you see, that's what God's grace is all about. That's the beauty of God's grace. Even before we were born, God, in His omniscience, knew that we wouldn't be perfect. He knew we would fail. He knew that we would all sin and fall short of God's mark of perfection.

And that's why Jesus Christ was in God's plan. Jesus came to do what we couldn't do. Because, you see, Jesus batted a 1.000. He always got a hit. He never made an out. He played the perfect game. He never failed.

In baseball, sometimes when you're not hitting very well, the coach puts in a pinch hitter. The coach knows you're struggling and so he puts someone in to bat in your place. The coach knows that it's more likely that someone else will get a hit when you're in a slump. 

And that's the very thing that God did for you. He put Jesus in to pinch hit. He knew you were struggling at the plate, striking out a lot.

God knew you were a sinner, so God allowed Christ to be your substitute. Christ pinch hit for you. And when He hit for you, Christ hit a home run.

 Christ died on the cross to save us even when we were failures. And now, if you put your trust in Christ, you get to experience the results of Christ's sacrifice. Your sins are forgiven and you have a home in heaven for eternity. 

Aren't you glad you are on God's team? I sure am, because the Bible assures us that God's team will win. You see, God has seen the end of the game. He knows what the final score will be. He knows that those who accept Christ as their Savior will be on His team forever. 

So when you strike out now and then, remember this. Remember what Christ did for you. Remember that because of Christ and because of God's grace, you will win in this World Series of life.

October 16, 2016

Let's Pray More       Luke 11: 2-9

Let me ask you a question Do you believe God answers prayer?

Do you believe that God can still part a Red Sea, and cause the most hardened hearts to change?

Do you believe that God can still turn people like Saul into someone like the Apostle Paul?

You know what I do, and I want my life to be reflective of the power of God a God who not only CAN answer prayers but who DOES answer prayers.

I want to talk to you this morning why we should pray and how we should pray and ask you to pray more.

I got to thinking about prayer while preparing for last Wednesday nights Bible study about unanswered prayer A couple of key points: First God knows what's best for us and second Jesus, who is to be our example as we will talk about What did He pray in the garden of Gethsemane?

He prayed Father if it's possible let this cup pass from me He Basically said Father I don't want to die on the cross And then he ends His prayer by saying Not My will but Yours be done.

WHY SHOULD WE PRAY? Prayer is like spiritual breathing.

If you stopped breathing you'd stop living. Prayer is basically our spiritual breath. It's how we stay connected with God. It's how we talk to Him and how He leads us and He responds to us.

The New Testament teaches that prayer isn't just something we do occasionally; it's something we do continually. 1 Thessalonians 5:17 says, pray without ceasing.

You can pray because you want to or pray because you need to, but if you don't pray your soul will never be healthy.

The 19th century British preacher, Charles Spurgeon said, you don't expect a plant to grow without air and water, how can you expect your heart to grow without prayer?

When Jesus walked the earth, He was God. If anyone had an excuse not to pray it was Jesus; he already had everything He needed and all the power and provision in the world.

Yet the Gospels note that Jesus often withdrew to lonely places to pray. (Luke 5:16)

2. Prayer is how God changes us but it is also how he changes the world.

You might remember Roma Downey from the hit CBS show Touched by an Angel

She recently wrote an article in which she said: If you believe in the power of prayer, would you please pray more?

More and more, I'm convinced that the world would be a much better place if we took prayer more seriously. Prayer is not just a spiritual practice, it's the means by which God changes our lives and changes the world.

Prayer isn't just helpful, it's important.

Prayer is a responsibility each of us has to bring more of Heaven into this often broken world.

See, I believe that God doesn't just hear our prayers, but that he answers them. I believe God is not just aware of us but that he is deeply concerned for us.

I believe that he intervenes in miraculous ways more often than we think, and that coincidence is often God's way of remaining anonymous.

God is not only real and alive, he's also at work in our lives. He is a friend that sticks closer than a brother; he is an ever present help in our time of need, and with him all things are possible.

I've never been more convinced of God's power and I've never been more convinced that he answers prayer.

Roma's words that prayer brings more of Heaven into this broken world really struck me.

It reminded me of the the Book of Nehemiah, which records the story of the Israelites going back to Jerusalem to rebuild the wall around the city even while they remained in captivity at the hands of the fierce Babylonians.

A conquering kingdom would NEVER let their captives rebuild their city, but Nehemiah 1:4 says that an Israelite “ who worked for the King of Babylon “ began to fast and pray before the God of Heaven.

When he started praying the world started changing.

Maybe this world is crazier and crazier because the church prays less and less.

Jesus said in Luke 11:2, when you pray, say: ˜Father hallowed be your name .'

Did you notice that word: when He didn't say if He said when.

If you're Christian you're a praying person, so pray with faith. Jesus told us in Matthew 21:22 If you believe, you will receive.

God answers all of our prayers. Sometimes he says yes and sometimes he says no and sometimes he says not now but rest assured he is listening and he is answering but he is expecting us to pray believing that God CAN do anything.

Every time you pray you need to believe that with God all things are possible. But if the answer to our prayer is not what we wanted we don't lose our faith we just know God has another plan and we accept it.

Jesus gave us lots of practical advice about prayer, and he also gave us the example of his own life. Mark 1:35 says, very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house and went off to a solitary place, where he prayed.

Jesus began his day with prayer.

In Matthew 6:6 Jesus told us, when you pray, go into your room and close the door.

He knew that distraction is the enemy of prayer, and 2000 years ago he advised us to lock out the world when we lock into our time with God.

Jesus' advice is as good in the 21st century as it was in the 1st century.

If you don't shut out the world when you pray, you have a hard time opening your heart to God.

Hebrews 4:16 says you can boldly walk into the throne of grace and find help in your time of need.

Jesus can take your emotions, your questions, your concerns. When you pray don't be afraid to tell God what's on your mind. God's throne room is a safe place for you.

We need to pray more, our family needs us to pray more, the world needs us to pray more.

Pray regularly, pray diligently, pray passionately, and pray prayers as big as your God.

Jesus said something amazing to us in Matthew 7 and again in Luke 11.

Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you.

But what I want to make sure you understand is that the opposite is also true. If you don't ask you won't receive. If you don't seek, you won't find. If you don't knock the door won't be open to you.

We never know what our lives might have been had we prayed more.

I know some of you are going through a particularly difficult time. Perhaps you're struggling with prayer because you're struggling with faith.

Maybe a tragedy has happened in your life. Maybe you're going through a time of relational, financial, or spiritual crisis.

Maybe you barely made it here today because it's difficult to find the strength to get out of bed.

Maybe you're asking God, why?

While this morning's sermon isn't about answering that question, that's for another sermon on another day

I would just say that this is not the time to run away from prayer, but to run towards it. It's not the time to run away from God but to run towards him.

Now is the time to trust Him.

October 9, 2016

Come On In    Luke 18:9-14

Growing up we had an Australian Shepard named Suzy. She was black and white with grey spots on her otherwise white front paws.

Now my parents were firm believers that dogs do not belong in the house, and so Suzy was relegated to our large fenced in backyard. Even when we went camping Suzy wasn't allowed in the tent.

Suzy had a pretty good life with three kids at home she got a lot of attention and when we would go in the house she would catch the screen door with her nose and stand outside with her head inside watching over her kids.

She didn't dare come in because my mother would yell and mom was a champion yeller!

As time progressed Suzy continued to catch the screen door with her nose  and poke her head in the house but then she began to put her front grey spotted paws on the concrete step and so not only was her head in the house but also her shoulders

But since her feet were still outside she was okay. On occasion Suzy would put a paw just inside the door on to the turquoise carpet, which matched the turquoise drapes that matched the turquoise couch Mom liked turquoise.

And then after she had got away with one paw on the sacred turquoise carpet she would go for two. Finally we just became accustomed to Suzy half in and half out standing there watching over her humans

And over time mom stopped yelling at her as long as she was half in and half out Then the back half followed the front half and before long the outside dog had her own little spot inside the house by the back door.

Awww That was a cute story wasn't it?

But here's the question Where are you in your relationship with Jesus Christ? Are you in or out?

If you are on the outside looking in poke your head in and take a look around nothing spooky in here, just some common folks who love God and try to love each other.

The fact is there isn't a perfect person in the whole place we are all just doing the best we can.

You know they say Ignorance of the law is no excuse and ignorance about things of God is no excuse. You were created by God for God.

We were not put on this planet to see who can collect the most money, or who can be the most important person. We were created by God to serve Him Not ourselves.

Friday Marla and I celebrated her last day of therapy by eating dinner at a new restaurant in Moline called The Steel Plow.

I ordered a burger that had Swiss cheese, pastrami, thousand island dressing and a scoop of coleslaw very tasty.., very messy!

Now suppose you were to go to work in the kitchen of that restaurant and I order the burger I just described and so you put the meat on the bun and then you add pastrami, and Swiss cheese, and Thousand Island dressing But because you don't like coleslaw you leave it off

Do you think the boss would be happy if you did it your way instead of his No. So when you live your life the way you want to Do you think it makes our Heavenly boss very happy?

The truth is when you are living your life according to your own rules to try to make yourself happy It's not working is it?...

You see you were created by God for a purpose The Bible says we were created for His own glory. We are to bring glory to God not ourselves.

We are to wake up in the morning and say What can I do to serve God today?  Not Let's see what can I do to make me happy today?

And if you do that try to please God you know what will happen you will find the peace that you were looking for. The Bible says to seek God and His kingdom FIRST then the other things will be added to you.

Okay So maybe you have been in church for a while now and you are like my dog Suzy half in and half out you are here on Sunday but the rest of the week belongs to you.

Maybe it's time to come on in take the plunge give yourself 100% to Jesus Christ.

Maybe all this church stuff is kind of new to you maybe you are just poking your nose in to see what it's all about and that my friend is a great place to start. Hey it worked for my dog!

If you have been here for any length of time you have heard me say over and over again  The church is NOT a spiritual museum where you come to see all the perfect people the church is a spiritual hospital where we hobble in each week and get a shot in the arm to make it through another week or get patched back up to face another day.

So put your little spotted paws on our turquois carpet and hang out at the back door until you are brave enough to come all the way in And just know this Mom ain't gonna be yellin' at ya We are all going to be cheering for you!

Speaking of cheering Marla and I like to go to the HS football games when we can we like to cheer for our guys And as I mentioned Sully is the starting center But you know he had to work his way up. The last couple of years he saw more sidelines than action but he didn't give up.

It's okay to be on the sidelines for a while On the sidelines you can encourage the other players But you weren't meant to stay on the sidelines for ever there comes a time when you need to get into the game.

Someday this thing called life will come to an end and when that happens you will be standing face to face with God the same God who created you. The same God who is going to ask you what you did with the life He gave you.

I've probably name dropped this story before but when I was working at a car dealership in San Diego one of our customers was Milborne Stone who all of us older folk know from TV as Doc from Gunsmoke.

I had to fix his seatbelt one time and I was nervous because he was someone famous Imagine being in the presence of God and we ain't gonna be talking about seatbelts

October 2, 2016

You Can Run, But            Jonah 1:1-17

For years, all I knew about Jonah was that he was the guy who was called by God, disobeyed, got eaten by a fish, got spit up on the beach by the same fish and then went on to do what God had called him to do.  End of story, right?

Well Maybe but I think there is a little of Jonah in all of us. From the second verse we know that Jonah is not going to Nineveh.  He's one of those guys who says It's my life and I'll do what I want!

Jonah may have been a prophet, but he disobeyed God.  We quickly learn that not only is Jonah going to go his own way but he's going to try and flee from the presence of the Lord .  It's an ominous beginning.

What's interesting is that at this point we don't know why Jonah doesn't want to go to Nineveh.  The writer of Jonah does not tell us why Jonah chooses to disobey God until a few chapters later. 

For now, we have to leave the questions of Jonah's motivations unanswered.  What we do learn about in this first chapter is the incredible effort that Jonah is willing to put out in his attempt to flee from God's presence.  Jonah wants to escape from God's calling, and he'll go to great lengths to do just that.

This first chapter of Jonah is a story about a man who knows where God wants him to be and what God wants him to do, but who tries to be somewhere else.  Jonah is a story about a man looking for the exit signs, trying to escape. 

Which makes me wonder about the escape plans in our own lives   I'm guessing there have been moments in each of our lives when we longed to be somewhere else. 

Perhaps some of us are better escape artists than others but I'm guessing that most of us have managed to walk away from places we ought to have been at some point in our lives.

Jonah's first plan “ plan A, you could say “ is physical escape.  God wants him to be headed to Nineveh, so he's going to head somewhere else.  He goes to Joppa, and boards a boat headed for Tarshish.  He wants to be somewhere else.

We may not board ships that often, but we have other ways of being in the wrong place, don't we?

Perhaps some of us are at work when we ought to be at home.  Perhaps we're at home when we ought to be at work.  Perhaps we hide in the back of the house when we ought to be with our families. 

Perhaps we seek out the company of others when we ought to be alone, in prayer and reflection.  Or maybe we're are alone when we should be with others.

I don't know how it is that you try to physically escape from where you ought to be but you can fill in those blanks for yourselves.  We all do it, at one time or another.

Trouble is God followed Jonah.  God sends a great wind on the sea, endangering Jonah and the ship's crew.  It was clear to Jonah that his plan of escape wasn't working; God wasn't going to leave him alone  

When Jonah knows that his first plan isn't working, he goes for plan B.  I would call plan B ˜mental escape' “ Jonah goes to sleep.  What a great way to avoid a situation, eh?

How do we make a mental get-away?  Reading the paper?  Watching TV? Spending hours on the computer? Sleeping, like Jonah?  Or Simply choosing not to think about something? 

There are so many ways to not be present to what's going on in our lives or in the lives of those we love.  Sometime this week, try to spend some time thinking about how you make your mental escapes when the going gets tough.  I think if we are hones we've all been there.

At this point in the story, things get pretty rough.  The ship's crew figures out that Jonah's at fault; he tells them as much.  In fact, Jonah makes an offer to the ship's crew: throw him overboard, and God will make the storm stop.  It seems like a rather unselfish thing for him to do, isn't it? 

Or is it that he'd rather die than admit he's wrong, and repent.  When fleeing the scene and going to sleep don't work Does Jonah opt for the ultimate escape? 

I don't know how your life connects with Jonah's But I do know that most of us will face situations at some point in our lives when we use everything we have to escape Those moments of deep despair, when we just want everything to stop.

In all of this, Jonah reveals quite a bit about us, about our capacity to try and escape.  But this first chapter of Jonah isn't only about fleeing God's presence This first chapter also reveals something about God.  After all, God plays a fairly active role in this story. 

After all, God first calls Jonah.  When Jonah flees, God tries to get his attention with a storm.  And in Jonah's darkest moment, God appoints a whale to swallow Jonah, thus saving him from himself. 

The real truth in this story is that God is present with Jonah, even in his darkest moments.  God is steadfast and Jonah is unable to flee from God's presence.  This is the good news that we find in the first chapter of Jonah.

Just as God is always present with Jonah God is always present with us.  There is nowhere that we can go where we can hide from God.  As the psalmist says,

Whither shall I go from your spirit?

Or whither shall I flee from your presence?

If I ascend to heaven, you are there!

If I make my bed in Sheol, you are there!

If I take the wings of the morning

and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea,

even there your hand shall lead me,

and your right hand shall hold me.

The story of Jonah starts with a word from the Lord, which comes to Jonah.  Maybe we don't all get a word as direct as Jonah's But we're all called to open our hearts to God's grace. 

We're all called to share that grace as best we can.  We're all called to love God, and to love our neighbor. 

God calls us to live in the fullness of His grace.  And always, we have to make a choice about how to respond.

So when God says to us: "Go to the great city of Nineveh..." or whatever it is that God says to us, let's not try to escape.  And if we do try to escape, and find ourselves in a frightening place remember that we are not alone.  God is always with us.