One Verse at a Time

This episode looks at Jonah 1:8, “Then they said to him, “Tell us on whose account this evil has come upon us. What is your occupation? And where do you come from? What is your country? And of what people are you?” The mariners desperately want to know who the god is that is mad at them. Jonah, a prophet of the one true God, should have already told them these things, but instead they need to drag it out of him. May God give us grace to boldly share our identity and the good news of the gospel with others.

This episode looks at Jonah 1:7, “And they said to one another, “Come, let us cast lots, that we may know on whose account this evil has come upon us.” So they cast lots, and the lot fell on Jonah.” We should go directly to God in the name of Christ when we need wisdom or help. We also shouldn’t need pagans to show great faith and shame us for our own lack of faith. We need God’s help to live with this kind of faith.

This episode looks at Jonah 1:6, “So the captain came and said to him, “What do you mean, you sleeper? Arise, call out to your god! Perhaps the god will give a thought to us, that we may not perish.” The captain of the ship gives Jonah the same command he received from God in the beginning, “Arise, call out!” This wakes Jonah up from his slumber. We need to be reminded to call out to God again when we are stuck in sin. Thankfully, we have the confidence that when we do, he will give thought to us, and we will not perish.

This episode looks at Jonah 1:5, “Then the mariners were afraid, and each cried out to his god. And they hurled the cargo that was in the ship into the sea to lighten it for them. But Jonah had gone down into the inner part of the ship and had lain down and was fast asleep.” When we sin, many times God will discipline us like a loving Father to correct our path. We need help not to sleep through his correction and sleepwalk into more and more sin.

This episode looks at Jonah 1:4, “But the LORD hurled a great wind upon the sea, and there was a might tempest on the sea, so that the ship threatened to break up.” God called Jonah to the “great” city of Nineveh, but when Jonah fled, God reminded him that he alone is truly “great” and over all things, including the wind and sea. This is a great comfort when we love God, but it should be a mighty caution when we are running from him.

This episode looks at Jonah 1:3, “But Jonah rose to flee to Tarshish from the presence of the LORD. He went down to Joppa and found a ship going to Tarshish. So he paid the fare and went down into it, to go with them to Tarshish, away from the presence of the LORD.” Jonah rises up and then immediately does the opposite of what God commands. He tries to hide from God, but we know that God is the God of the whole earth. May we not run from God, but instead run to him.

This episode looks at Jonah 1:2, “Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and call out against it, for their evil has come up before me.” Our mission in this world is not only to tell people about God’s love. We also must talk about the bad news of sin and righteous judgment. Praise God that the bad news makes the good news even better!

This episode looks at Jonah 1:1, “Now the word of the LORD came to Jonah the son of Amittai, saying,”. We need humble hearts to receive God’s word, even when it hits us in unexpected ways like it did to Jonah.

This episode looks at Proverbs 10:32, “The lips of the righteous know what is acceptable, but the mouth of the wicked, what is perverse.” We want to be able to discern righteous versus unrighteous speech. Then we want our lips to only speak the righteous ones. We need God’s help to form our character and heart in such a way that we do this.

This episode looks at Proverbs 10:31, “The mouth of the righteous brings forth wisdom, but the perverse tongue will be cut off.” What we plant in our heart will either bring forth the fruit of wisdom or a weed that needs to be removed. May God give us grace to plant truth in our hearts.