SWHW Two Year Bible Reading Plan: March, Year 2Sample

Top Takeaway from Alonda Tanner:

“The word of the Lord came to Jonah the son of Amittai, saying, ‘Arise, go to Nineveh, the great city, and cry out against it. Because their wickedness has come up before Me.’ But Jonah got up to flee to Tarshish from the presence of the Lord. So he went down to Joppa, found a ship that was going to Tarshish, paid the fare and boarded it to go with them to Tarshish away from the presence of the Lord.” Jonah 1:1-3 

Go. That's a word God's people should be used to hearing. As disciples, the work of going and sharing the message of the gospel should be a normal part of our lives. Yet so often, we hesitate. Not necessarily because of the message, but because of the condition of the people and locations we've been asked to deliver it to. They're Ninevites; messy lives, broken communities, entangled sinners, and lovers of this world and the evils in it.

We all know someone or someplace like that. 

As I was reading these first verses of Jonah 1 and these people and places began flooding my mind, the Lord reminded me of the words He spoke after His resurrection and shortly before ascending to heaven:

“Go, therefore, and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to follow all that I commanded you; and behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age." Matthew 28:19-20

There's that word again: Go. 

In Christian circles when we think about calling, we often picture ourselves doing God's work in comfortable and familiar places. We join a church ministry team, become greeters, or host a Bible study in our homes. That's all great. There is certainly a need for that type of community and hospitality within the church body. But in order for the church to stay connected to our mission of making disciples, our influence has to extend outside the comfort of the healthy places in our communities. 

We, similar to Jonah, have been instructed to take the message of the gospel to spiritually broken and desolate places. Nineveh was a mission field. Jonah was not shy about expressing his disgust with it. It was so foul and wicked He wanted to run; he didn't want to be in their presence. 

He didn't believe that the people would actually become repentant or that God should extend His grace to them. He wrote them off as people who were too far gone and simply needed to disappear. Yet when the truth finally made it to them, the people were quick to turn to the Lord and the Lord relented and spared them from destruction (Jonah 3:4-10). 

It was the truth coming from Jonah's mouth that broke through the thickness of the darkness over Nineveh and brought them to a place of repentance. 

As disciple-makers, we have to be willing to carry the gospel into broken places. We need to walk in the kind of boldness that does not allow the condition of people or places to keep us from delivering the message of the gospel.

We have all been commissioned to “go.” Now we must decide; are we going to run from God's presence or remain in His presence doing the work He has called us to? 

God, You tell us in Your Word that Your love for us is so great that while we were still sinners, You sent Jesus to die for us (Romans 5:8). Without Your grace, we would all be living messy, sinful lives. I don't want to be a part of withholding Your love from the people who need it most, so I'm asking today for the boldness to share the truth with people You place in my path and the people You send me to. No matter how messy their life may seem in my eyes, I know in Your eyes they were worth dying for. Help me look past the mess to see the person that You treasure and love so dearly. You've told us to “go” and I want to honor You with my obedience. Thank You for giving me all I need to do the work You've called me to. Amen.