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kindle a fire in me o my Lord God for your presence and your purposes
let me stand for you ways and let me stand and overcome
let me be intentional in pursuing you and encountering you
let me encounter you so that others too who need your presence and love and grace and healing and salvation and deliverance will encounter you
kindle a fire in me to see you move in my church in my land in my life
burn in me Lord that i might burn bright for others to see
stir me towards your purposes
dare me to follow you
transform me into your likeness
let me be aware of spiritual things and contention
that i might live toe to toe with the enemy, taking ground and not being distracted by his influences and subtle oppressions
let me live with clarify and purpose and intention for your holy ways and knowing you
reveal to me who you are and let me hold onto that vision and reality, let that burn within me and keep the fire kindled
let encountering you not be a memory but be a reality
stir me
stir others
let me stir
move o Lord
move our hearts
stir us to pray
stir us to pray
stir us to pray
When we’re living our lives with intentional gratitude we’re fixing our eyes upon Jesus and agreeing YES He is good and YES He is faithful and YES He is Lord and YES He is the one who loves us! Gratitude is an expression of faith.
1982. my husband and the eleven years we’ve had married
1983. the freedom that babysitters bring
1984. trying a new resturant – and it being good!
1985. conversation
1986. pork and roasted veges
1987. sunsets and sunrises
1988. new mercies
1989. new beginnings
1990. new seven pm service
1991. new people
1992. new seasons
1993. new opportunties
1994. singing in tounges
1995. fresh enthusiasm
1996. love languages
1997. a lazy afternoon looking at old photos with the kids
1998. seeing a child “get it” (i was mother help at swimming last week)
1999. early mornings
2000. the love and generosity of anniversaries and families
2001. having a mary spirit by joanna weaver
2002. getting a good news text
2003. people arriving early to housegroup to talk
2004. sunshine
2005. freedom
2006. praying for people
2007. our mums group
2009. answered prayer
2010. wedding photos and the love they contain
2011. waffles
2012. hillsong united live in miami
2013. the love of God
2014. words of affirmation
2015. the presence of God
2016. spontaneous family cuddles
“Too often I miss Him, oblivious, blind. I don’t see all the good things that He is giving me, gracing me with, brushing my life with. True, He is everywhere, always. Before I thought of Him as further off, not so close. When I started to see all the things that I love bestowed upon me, I started to see Him as near, present, everywhere, showering me with good things. Seeing the things I love all around me gives me eyes to see that I am loved, that He loves me.” Ann Voskamp
so there we go. venturing on in life to 2000 things that i am grateful for…
You may know that God’s created you with great potential, but you can’t stop there. You have to develop your potential.
I believe that many people are unhappy because they aren’t doing anything to develop their potential. If you want to see your potential developed to its fullest, don’t wait until everything is perfect. Do something now. Start laying your hand to whatever is in front of you.
You must give your potential some form by doing something with it. You will never find what you are capable of doing if you never try anything.
Don’t be so afraid of failing that you never take a chance. Don’t stay in the safety zone. You may feel safe, but you will never succeed at developing your full potential or being fulfilled in what you are doing. Step out into what you feel God is leading you to do, and you will soon discover what you can and cannot do.
You are full of God-given potential, and He wants to do more through your life than you could ever imagine, but it requires your cooperation. Step out and serve Him wholeheartedly today.
But Jonah was greatly displeased and became angry. He prayed to the Lord, “O Lord, is this not what I said when I was still at home? That is why I was so quick to flee to Tarshish. I knew that you are a gracious and compassionate God, slow to anger and abounding in love, a God who relents from sending calamity. Now, O Lord, take away my life, for it is better for me to die than to live.” But the Lord replied, “Have you any right to be angry?” Jonah 4:1-4
did jonah not remember what had happened less than a week ago?
the running from God thing?
the storm?
the whale?
the forgiveness?
the grace?
the mercy?
the second chance?
why was jonah angry?
was it because he had preached that the city would be overthrown (with no BUT if you repent message in there) and the city was saved instead?
was it because he looked like a false prophet and his reputation was tarnished?
was it because God didnt act like he thought he would?
was it because he had unrealised expectations?
was it because it was a gentile city not a jewish city?
was it because they were israel’s enemy and jonah wanted them to be judged and not spared?
was it because his understanding of who God is, His character and His priorities was inaccurate?
whatever the reason, jonah is sporting a huge ugly ‘tude!
God asks him a few times “do you have a right to be angry?”
God is dealing with this angry preachers heart.
God is teaching Jonah.
God is transforming Jonah.
God is revealing Himself to Jonah.
God is changing Jonah’s heart.
Jewish tradition says that after God said the words of Jonah 4:11, Jonah then fell on his face and said: “Govern your world according to the measure of mercy, as it is said, To the Lord our God belong mercy and forgiveness.” (Daniel 9:9) We can only hope that Jonah – and we – would have such a humble response. Enduring Word
to be in ministry we must esteem God’s will and His ways above our own.
how often do we lean more on the “teaching them a lesson” over loving them and extending grace.
you know, to “them”. those rebellious people. who need a slap not a hug.
there are times to extend tough love, yes. but other times i think our human nature translates what God is wanting to do incorrectly.
i pray that i would have my heart changed to be more like God’s, slow to anger, rich in love and that i would see people as He sees them.
that my ministry would be an opportunity for God to move, not an obstacle to His presence.
Then the word of the Lord came to Jonah a second time: “Go to the great city of Nineveh and proclaim to it the message I give you.” Jonah obeyed the word of the Lord and went to Nineveh. Jonah 3:1-3
God gave jonah a second chance and called him again.
to me that is beautiful.
because i think my would not be so grace-filled.
i think my response would be something like this: you blew it when you ran jonah, so sorry, relegating you to the plebs bench, you’re demoted.
but God isnt like that. and i’m so glad. because i’m worthy of demotion a lot.
its by grace i’m saved and its by grace i’m called and its by grace i live and its by grace i serve.
God uses flawed broken people to demonstrate His goodness and might and grace.
witnesses, who have experienced grace, to talk about grace.
as i read this, i pray that i am more like God, grace-filled. a person extending second chances.
God’s redemptive plan is always bigger than we expect. His grace and mercy know no bounds!
The Ninevites believed God. They declared a fast, and all of them, from the greatest to the least, put on sackcloth. When the news reached the king of Nineveh, he rose from his throne, took off his royal robes, covered himself with sackcloth and sat down in the dust. Then he issued a proclamation in Nineveh:
“By the decree of the king and his nobles: Do not let any man or beast, herd or flock, taste anything; do not let them eat or drink. But let man and beast be covered with sackcloth. Let everyone call urgently on God. Let them give up their evil ways and their violence. Who knows? God may yet relent and with compassion turn from his fierce anger so that we will not perish.” When God saw what they did and how they turned from their evil ways, he had compassion and did not bring upon them the destruction he had threatened. Jonah 3:5-10
we all deserve punishment for our sin.
we have all gone astray.
we have all rejected and rebelled against God.
we are all deserving of wrath.
the wages of sin is death and we have earned it.
but the gift of God is grace and eternal life.
the mercy of God covers our sin.
Jesus took upon Himself the punishment.
we were deserving of punishment but Jesus took that all upon Himself and purchased righteousness and grace for us.
And God was pleased for him to make peace by sacrificing his blood on the cross, so that all beings in heaven and on earth would be brought back to God. You used to be far from God. Your thoughts made you his enemies, and you did evil things. But his Son became a human and died. So God made peace with you, and now he lets you stand in his presence as people who are holy and faultless and innocent. Colossians 1:19-22
In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace Ephesians 1:7
But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far away have been brought near through the blood of Christ. Ephesians 2:13
For you know that it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed from the empty way of life handed down to you from your forefathers, but with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect. 1 Peter 1:18-19
But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin. 1 john 1:7
From inside the fish Jonah prayed to the Lord his God. Jonah 2:1
its never too late to pray.
you are never out of God’s reach.
His mercy is available to you no matter who you are or what you’ve done.
His grace is available.
If something looks dead but God has a purpose for it then it is not buried! stovall weems
“When my life was ebbing away,
I remembered you, Lord,
and my prayer rose to you,
to your holy temple.
Those who cling to worthless idols
forfeit the grace that could be theirs.” Jonah 2:7-8
the purpose of the fish was to bring Jonah to this point. Remembering God. Remembering His mercy. Remembering His grace. Remembering His Lordship.
Repentance.
Restoration.
Redemption.
those who refuse to remember God, who cling to idols, who cling to wrong beliefs, who cling to their own ways and rebellion, forfeit and miss out on the available grace that could be theirs. they refuse to accept the grace.
Jonah remembered God and His grace and did not refuse but repented and accepted mercy.
And the Lord commanded the fish, and it vomited Jonah onto dry land. Jonah 2:10
The word of the Lord came to Jonah son of Amittai: “Go to the great city of Nineveh and preach against it, because its wickedness has come up before me.” But Jonah ran away from the Lord and headed for Tarshish. He went down to Joppa, where he found a ship bound for that port. After paying the fare, he went aboard and sailed for Tarshish to flee from the Lord. Then the Lord sent a great wind on the sea, and such a violent storm arose that the ship threatened to break up. Jonah 1:1-4
But the Lord provided a great fish to swallow Jonah, and Jonah was inside the fish three days and three nights. Jonah 1:17
when God called Moses, he said he could not speak.
when God called Jeremiah, he said he was too young.
when God called Abraham and Sarah, they thought they were too told.
when God called Jonah, he took it one step further and ran. He didn’t respond to God in conversation, questioning God’s choice, magnifying his limitations and insecurities, doubting the assignment : he responded with action and ran and tried to distance himself as far as he could from “the problem.”
The prophet Jonah’s existence was interrupted by a call of God that would require a complete change of life. And it scared him enough to make him run in the opposite direction. Yet, what seemed to him to be an unnecessary and useless interruption was really an opportunity for Jonah to be involved in something the likes of which the Old Testament world had never seen before. This interruption was really a divine intervention and it held more adventure and possibility than he could have ever imagined. Priscilla Shirer
To me this sounds AWESOME. an adventure with God. people turning to God and repenting and getting saved! eternities changed!
yet Jonah runs! he turns and goes in the most opposite direction he can find!
some commentaries i read compared nineveh to a modern day iraq or afganistan. hostile to the gospel. violent. pagans. scary. that perhaps jonah ran because he would have been putting his life on the line. others say that jonah held an attitude of discrimination against these gentiles, these very pagan, violent, hostile gentiles, that they were not worthy of salvation and repentance or mercy. the bible doesnt dig into the whys of his actions (though as we read on in jonah we see his attitude surface) – just that in response to God’s call jonah ran.
But God is the God of second chances. and God is the God who has a plan and a purpose for us.
Jonah was chosen by God to go and preach repentance to the city of Nineveh.
and the distance that Jonah tried to put between himself and Nineveh was no obstacle to God.
God stirred up Jonah’s life – He caused the storm to come and threatened his security and safety and peace of mind.
God stirred up the circumstances of Jonah’s life to make him uncomfortable.
Being thrown off a ship by terrified sailors (who seem to totally understand the magnitude of Jonah’s running in relation to the God factor of the storm!) into the raging sea is pretty uncomfortable sounding. Being swallowed by a enormous fish doesn’t sound pleasant either.
Yet the fish was provided and purposed by God.
Just as the storm was provided and purposed by God.
Sometimes i think the storms are wake up calls by God to bring us to repentance and understanding and into His will.
Not always, but sometimes.
Life is life and life is hard but sometimes the storms and difficulties are a consequence of our disobedience.
Jonah’s storm was a consequence of Him running away from the purpose of God for his life.
Jonah’s running was a series of decisions. he headed towards tarshish. he went to joppa. he made inquiries about a ship. paid for the fare. boarded. at each of those decision moments, at each of those moments, jonah could have turned back and headed to nineveh. even on the ship he was not out of God’s reach. i always wonder what was going on in jonah’s heart as he ran. did he think about God? was he feeling guilty? was he trying not to think about God at all? was he angry at having his life disrupted? was he thinking he could really get away and start fresh? was he experiencing regret? did he turn round and then turn back and then turn round and then turn back towards tarshish again? was his heart troubled? was the storm already brewing inside of him?
i also believe that unless we are walking in obedience with God we will never be satisfied. Satisfaction is found in obeying God. Satisfaction and peace is found by walking in step with God, in pleasing Him. Disobedience should prick at our heart and conscience. it should provoke us back to obedience. disobedience is no way to live our lives. running away is no way to live.
Who knows what we might be missing by running from what could very well be God’s means of steering us towards the most magnificent outcome of our lives. Priscilla Shirer
can we run too far? i hope not. i know there have been times in my life when i have made terrible mistakes and i know the grace of God was so there for me in those moments and that He so drew my heart, through the storm, and even some belly time, back to Him. it wasn’t a pretty time. i don’t wish to be back there again.
But the grace of God is that when we feel like we’re drowning and that we’ve gone too far… there is a fish awaiting to carry us to safety.
i just love the behind the scenes of this story. God prepared a fish. grew it to size. Led it to the right location. Had it swallow Jonah but not digest him. Led it to shore and caused the fish to vomit Jonah ashore. The big fish was more obedient than jonah. Fascinating! Wonderful. Oh to be a fly on the wall!
it reminds me that God is God. able to protect and preserve me. able to lead and guide me. directing my steps. able to use strange and extraordinary circumstances to position me. that nothing escapes His notice and detail organisational ability. that i can trust Him.
God used the belly of the whale time for Jonah to get his heart right again with God. for Jonah to get a right perspective again.
Scattered through the Bible are cases with people who cover up their sin hoping no one saw what they did. However, God still gives them another chance.
Moses killed someone and covered up the body, but God caused his sin to find him. God still gave Moses another chance so that he could lead the Israelites.
Saul was very religious and killed Christians. God met him on the road to Damascus, knocked him off his horse, blinded him, and changed his name to Paul. God used Paul to evangelize, establish churches and wrote most of the New Testament (two-thirds).
Jonah was told by God to preach to the Ninevites. However, Jonah did not want to see them saved and took a ship to go to Tarshish. When he went in, the ship went down because he went opposite of where God told him to go. Jonah’s rebellion caused them to fall, and they threw him off.
When you go opposite of God’s direction, you affect everyone else around you.
God used a whale to spare his life. Like Jonah, God has to put us in the belly of a whale in our own life. youversion note
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