Here’s a little reminder to be grateful today to the Lord for all the milestones in your journey of faith! Let’s be thankful for God’s faithfulness. Through every trial, He has remained steady. When we felt uncertain, He was sure. When we were weary, He carried us. His promises have never failed, and His mercy meets us each morning. He is faithful!
Blessings,
Pastor Bruce and Suzi Elman
1. Every step out of the will of God is a downward step.
No one ever disobeyed God and went up. You only go down.
“Down” to Joppa.
“Down” into the ship.
“Down” into the sea.
“Down” in the belly of the great fish.
2. We get away quickly, we recover slowly.
It’s easy to go down, easy to get off the right path, easy to fall into sin. But the road back is difficult and often very painful.
3. Satan can work through circumstances just like God can.
Satan has his ships, and he always has room on his ships. His ships always go where we want to go when we’re running from God. He can make disobedience look good by means of favorable circumstances.
As he gets ready to take a nap, Jonah may have thought, “Things are going so well for me. This must be God’s will.” But if he thought that, he was wrong. The Lord had already made his will clear. No set of favorable circumstances can override what God has clearly said. Down deep he knew God’s will. He just didn’t want to do it.
No set of favorable circumstances can override what God has clearly said.
You may wonder, “Where is the grace of God in this story?” The answer is simple. He let Jonah disobey. He didn’t kill him on the spot. He gave him the freedom to mess up his own life. That didn’t seem like grace at the time, but it was. God works even in the midst of our disobedience to bring us to himself. Sometimes God lets us go way off course so that when we finally see our sin for what it is, we are ready to return to the Lord.
Meanwhile Jonah’s disobedience looks pretty good so far. “Happy sailing, Jonah. Watch out for that big fish.”
This is how life really works. Sin looks good for awhile. Jonah experienced the “pleasures of sin for a season.” If sin always brought immediate misery, it would be a lot less attractive to us. Stolen water may be sweet, but it leads you to the gates of hell.
The bitterness comes later.
The sadness comes later.
Sin is fun for a while. Be not deceived. God is not mocked. Jonah is about to find that out the hard way.
Stay tuned for the rest of the story.
Father, we’re glad that your grace is greater than our sin. Some of us have loved ones who seem to be living the high life on the ship to Tarshish. Some people seem to have gotten away with disobedience. Lord, we wonder where you are.
Maybe some of us right now are looking to take a ride on a ship heading for Tarshish. Speak to us. Wake us up. Help us to believe more deeply in your outrageous grace.
In YESHUA’ name, amen.
Blessings,
Pastor Bruce and Suzi Elman
Yeshua was truly the misunderstood Messiah. Most of His own people misread Him completely. They had Him in a box labeled “Insignificant Rabbi from Nazareth.”
The more He proved He didn’t belong in that box, the more they hated Him, counted Him a nobody, and ultimately despised Him. No wonder they were so desirous to kill Him in the end.
He is still misunderstood today.
The greatest mistake is to ignore Him as if He doesn’t matter or to think that you can postpone a decision. You can’t wait until His return to casually ask Him, “Sir, have you been here before?” We already know the answer to that question. He came to this earth 2000 years ago as the promised Messiah who is the Son of God and the Savior of the world, in fulfillment of all of the Old Covenant Messianic prophecies.
Don’t put Yeshua in a man-made box.
Do not make the same mistake the Jewish leaders made so long ago.
Do not put Yeshua in a man-made box.
Do not demand that He meet your expectations.
MESSIAH has come!
God has revealed His mighty arm of salvation.
Will you believe the report?
MESSIAH has come!
Do not despise Him.
Do not say, “He doesn’t matter.”
MESSIAH has come!
Will you bow before Him?
Will you open your heart?
MESSIAH has come!
To those who receive Him He gives the right to become the children of God.
What will you do with Yeshua?
Blessings,
Pastor Bruce and Suzi Elman
“Hezekiah was sick and near death. Then Hezekiah turned his face toward the wall and wept and prayed to the LORD and said, ‘Remember now O LORD I pray, how I have walked before you in truth and with a loyal heart and done what is good in your sight.’ And Hezekiah wept bitterly. And the word of the LORD came to Isaiah, Thus says the LORD the God of David your father, ‘I have heard your prayer. I have seen your tears. Surely I will add to your days fifteen years.’” Is. 38:1-5.
God is gracious and compassionate. Let’s trust that what God did for Hezekiah, He will do for us.
Blessings,
Pastor Bruce and Suzi Elman
Abraham sent this servant Eliezer on a mission to find a bride for his son Isaac. Let me tell the story in the words that Eliezer told to Rebekah’s brother Laban.
“I am Abraham’s servant. The LORD has blessed my master greatly…and he has given him flocks and herds, silver and gold, male and female servants, and camels and donkeys. Now my master made me swear saying, you shall not take for my son from the daughters of the Canaanites, in whose land I dwell, but you shall go to my father’s house and to my family, and take a wife for my son.” Gen. 24:34-38.
Eliezer travelled by camel from Kirjath Arba to Ur of the Chaldeans a distance of about 1000 miles.
The story continues in Eliezer’s words to Laban: “And this day I came to the well and said, ‘O LORD God of my master Abraham, if you now will prosper the way in which I go, behold I stand by the well of water, and it shall come to pass that when the virgin comes out to draw water, and I say to her, Please give me a little water from your pitcher to drink, and she says to me, ‘Drink, and I will draw water for your camels also’ — let her be the woman whom the LORD has appointed for my masters son.”
Before Eliezer finished praying, Rebekah came to the well and said and did exactly as Eliezer had proposed. Rebekah agreed to go with Eliezer and her family consented. Eliezer returned with Rebekah and Isaac and Rebekah were married.
Note: 1) The test that Eliezer proposed related to the character the woman the LORD would choose for Isaac. 2) The name Eliezer means “God is my Helper.” 3) The story is a picture of the Father (Abraham) sending the Holy Spirit (Eliezer) to bring the bride – those destined to believe in Yeshua (Rebekah) to the bride groom (Yeshua).
Blessings,
Pastor Bruce and Suzi Elman