Wednesday, February 17, 2010

Lenten Devotion - Thursday February 18

Jonah 3:4-9, “Jonah began to go into the city, going a day’s walk. And he cried out, “Forty days more, and Nineveh shall be overthrown!” And the people of Nineveh believed God; they proclaimed a fast, and everyone, great and small, put on sackcloth. When the news reached the king of Nineveh, he rose from his throne, removed his robe, covered himself with sackcloth, and sat in ashes. Then he had a proclamation made in Nineveh: “By the decree of the king and his nobles: No human being or animal, no herd or flock, shall taste anything. They shall not feed, nor shall they drink water. Human beings and animals shall be covered with sackcloth, and they shall cry mightily to God. All shall turn from their evil ways and from the violence that is in their hands. Who knows? God may relent and change his mind; he may turn from his fierce anger, so that we do not perish.”

What an amazing and wonderful thing to witness that the prophetic message that sent Jonah to Nineveh to deliver was heard and being heeded not just by its inhabitants but by its leaders as well. Wouldn’t it be a miraculous act of God that the leaders of our Nation and the world suddenly turned her or his heart to God through Jesus, confessed their sins, asked God to forgive them and repented – sinning no more? Would you believe it if it happened one day? God has that kind of power and that kind of influence. We must be carriers of God’s truth as Jonah was and be willing to go into ‘Nineveh’ where danger certainly awaited him to deliver the message of God’s real hope of eternal life. We must never stop seeking out ways to share the great good news of repentance and eternal life.

Prayer: Father forgive our weakness and lack of faith. You have been amazing in Your anticipation of our faith. Strengthen us in faith, help us confess our failures, lead us in Your Holy Way. In Jesus’ Name we pray. AMEN.

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