By: Undre Griggs, Jr. This is the question that God asked Jonah after he was not happy with the mercy God showed the people of Nineveh (Jonah 4:4). Jonah was a preacher who believed his personal feelings about sinners were more important than God’s longsuffering that all should be saved. Jonah seemed to believe if the people of Nineveh were informed of God’s displeasure with them, they would surely repent… and he was right. Jonah 3:7-10 (NKJV): And he caused it to be proclaimed and published throughout Nineveh by the decree of the king and his nobles, saying, Let neither man nor beast, herd nor flock, taste anything; do not let them eat, or drink water. But let man and beast be covered with sackcloth, and cry mightily to God; yes, let everyone turn from his evil way and from the violence that is in his hands. Who can tell if God will turn and relent, and turn away from His fierce anger, so that we may not perish? Then God saw their works, that they turned from their evil way; and God relented from the disaster that He had said He would bring upon them, and He did not do it. The story of Jonah is a lesson of obedience, humility, and understanding what we are trying to accomplish. If our goal is to save the lost, then we shouldn’t be upset when an “enemy” becomes an “ally”. As Christians, we may occasionally find ourselves judging an action (even against the faith) as unforgivable. When that happens, we may stop thinking about how to save him or her, and start thinking about what fiery judgment awaits them. Vengeance belongs to the Lord, but we should not be hoping or find pleasure waiting for anyone’s destruction. We shouldn’t feel so comfortable that we say, if this Bible study doesn’t work, there is nothing else I can do to help them. Imagine if God had that same attitude. Imagine if God said, if I take them out of the land of Egypt and they still worship idols, I don’t know what to do? We must remain humble and understand how fortunate we are that God sent His son to die in our place. We must celebrate every time a soul is saved and mourn every time a soul is lost. We must find joy, not frustration, in the fact that our God is gracious and merciful towards all His creation. Jonah 4:1-2 (NKJV): But it displeased Jonah exceedingly, and he became angry. So he prayed to the Lord, and said, “Ah, Lord, was not this what I said when I was still in my country? Therefore I fled previously to Tarshish; for I know that You are a gracious and merciful God, slow to anger and abundant in loving kindness, One who relents from doing harm.
By: Undre Griggs, Jr. Understanding truth is essential to being a Christian, but how do we go about investigating what truth is? To understand truth, we need to understand God, and to do that, we need to be baptized. I Corinthians 2:13-14 (NIV): This is what we speak, not in words taught us by human wisdom but in words taught by the Spirit, expressing spiritual truths in spiritual words. The man without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him, and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually discerned." To grow properly, We must learn the pure word of God. 1 Peter 2:2 (ESV): Like newborn infants, long for the pure spiritual milk, that by it you may grow up into salvation John 17:17 (ESV): Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth. We must devote our time and effort to maturing in the faith by constantly studying and applying the lessons from the Bible. Hebrews 5:14 (ESV): But solid food is for the mature, for those who have their powers of discernment trained by constant practice to distinguish good from evil. We are required to remain humble in all interactions and give the glory to God. Psalms 25:9 (NIV): "He guides the humble in what is right and teaches them His way." It is fundamental that we pray to God asking for the wisdom to recognize His truth. James 1:5 (NIV): If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you. Rightly discerning the truth is an expectation of God for us to show ourselves approved ( 2 Timothy 2:15). It will not always be easy, but it is necessary and it does lead to a better life. There is nothing worse than not knowing enough to make a wise decision. We will find ourselves blowing to and fro in the wind because we do not have a foundation. We will believe whatever sounds appealing at time and that will surely put us on the wide road to destruction. Let us never stop growing in truth.
By: Undre Griggs, Jr. Imitation is the highest form of flattery and God wants us to imitate Him. Similar to the relationship of parent/child, we teach our children how to mature physically while God is teaching us how to mature spiritually. Also in like fashion, it our responsibility as children of God to correctly mimic the example provided. The best way for any child to show love to their parent is through obedience. Ephesians 5:1-2 (ESV): Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children. And walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God. Mimicking God is the only way to stay on the path of righteousness. 3 John 1:11 (ESV): Beloved, do not imitate evil but imitate good. Whoever does good is from God; whoever does evil has not seen God. For a Christian to endure suffering, they will need to mimic God’s mindset. 1 Peter 4:1 (ESV): Since therefore Christ suffered in the flesh, arm yourselves with the same way of thinking, for whoever has suffered in the flesh has ceased from sin, To understand and live holy, one needs to understand and mimic God. Leviticus 11:45 (NIV): I am the Lord, who brought you up out of Egypt to be your God; therefore be holy, because I am holy. Before you are baptized for the remission of sin, you are of the world and surrounded in darkness. God provides the light that leads to joy and happiness. Follow that light to salvation by mimicking the examples found in the Bible. Ephesians 5:8-11 (NKJV): For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light (for the fruit of the Spirit is in all goodness, righteousness, and truth), finding out what is acceptable to the Lord. And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather expose them.
By: Undre Griggs, Jr Colossians 3:12-13 (ESV): Put on then, as God's chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience, bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive. According to Strong’s Concordance, the Greek word for compassion in the above verse can also be translated as pity, grace, or mercy. To show genuine compassion and deep concern for others through their misfortune, we have to: Care about others more than ourselves: Philippians 2:3 (ESV): Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. Be there for each other through the good times and the bad: Romans 12:15 (NIV): Rejoice with those who rejoice, and mourn with those who mourn. Be willing to forgive them if even they brought the misfortune on themselves: Ephesians 4:32 (ESV): Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you Be willing to invest the time to help others out of their situation: Mark 6:34: When he went ashore he saw a great crowd, and he had compassion on them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd. And he began to teach them many things. Matthew 14:14: When he went ashore he saw a great crowd, and he had compassion on them and healed their sick. To conclude, we are required to have a humble mind and a tender heart. Christ commands this of us because he understands how difficult it would be to feel sympathy for others if we think so little of them. Christ foresees the challenge we may have giving someone a second chance if we are unable to see ourselves as the chief of sin. We have to always remember that we are commanded to be of one mind in compassion. Compassion can come in the form of sympathy, love, forgiveness, or humility. 1 Peter 3:8 (ESV): Finally, all of you, have unity of mind, sympathy, brotherly love, a tender heart, and a humble mind.
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Dean Road
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