Finding himself right back where he started, Jonah begins his month-long journey to Nineveh. He proclaims a simple yet devastating message, and the people of Nineveh repent and follow God—Yahweh, the God of astounding mercy and another chance.

Where Jonah desired justice, God desired mercy. Nineveh, a city shrouded in darkness and filled with Jonah’s enemies, is to become a city of light filled with God’s redemption. The Lord is merciful to whomever He chooses, and salvation belongs to Him!

God sent a storm to overtake Jonah. Instead of turning the boat around, Jonah asks to be thrown into the sea. The pagan mariners vow to the Lord while God’s prophet sinks into the depths. In His mercy, God sends a fish to save Jonah.

Rather than a lens to see the world through, the book of Jonah acts as a mirror to see ourselves. Jonah’s story exposes our own tendency to co-opt God for the life we want rather than surrender to the life He has for us.

The gospel of Jesus is an invitation out of restlessness, anxiety, and anger and into a life of meaning and purpose. By His Spirit, there is power over sin, death, and the dominion of darkness.

After the death of Joshua, the next generation of Israel embraced false gods and forgot the Lord and all that He had done for them. We read this as a warning and a charge to tell our kids how great our God is and remind them of all He has done for us.

God is asking us to live faithfully with the life, time, money, and friend group or spouse He has given us for His glory all the days of our lives. By living for Him, we might leave a legacy for those behind us to reap the benefits of our covenantal faithfulness to King Jesus.

Whether single or married, you can only truly understand yourself as you develop your relationship with God and others. Conflict with close friends and spouses holds a mirror up, helping us to grow in maturity, and to reflect Christ’s covenantal faithfulness in our relationships.

God made sex for procreation and pleasure. It was His idea, and He called it good. God desires for His people to have healthy sex lives built inside marriages through companionship, covenant, and the mingling of souls.

Friendship is the lost art of Christian marriage. There isn’t a greater love than someone laying down their life for a friend. In John 15, Christ gives us a unique command, calls us to a new kind of relationship, and demonstrates the greatest form of love.