"Come unto Me." When you hear those words you will know that something must happen in you before you can come. The Holy Spirit will show you what you have to do, anything at all that will put the axe at the root of the thing which is preventing you from getting through. You will never get further until you are willing to do that one thing. The Holy Spirit will locate the one impregnable thing in you, but He cannot budge it unless you are willing to let Him. Oswald Chambers
I was pondering where to begin this discussion. It seems like we covered a lot of major issues last night in class. As I read My Utmost for His Highest this afternoon, I could not help but think of our friend Jonah.
Jesus said ..."Come unto Me." Sounds simple doesn't it? I mean who doesn't want to come to Jesus? Why would we want to go anywhere else? Isn't that the place of mercy, healing, blessing, peace, perfection, life, love, wisdom, fulfillment ...?
It was impossible for Jonah to come to Jesus unless he did the one thing he did not want to do. Think about that. Jonah could have offered sacrifices, went to church, prayed, fasted, wept, gave, served, taught classes, led small groups, pastored, but he could never move on with God until his will was bent in obedience to God. So many times we try to "manipulate" God by doing good things rather than the one thing He has asked us to do. God will not allow us to move forward, unless we have done what He has already asked. Lets learn from the story of Jonah and stop running from God and start running to Him. What is standing in the way of you being able to Come unto Him?
Oswald ends his devotion with this, "How often have you come to God with your requests And yet you go away with nothing, whilst all the time God has stood with outstretched hands not only to take you, but for you to take Him. Think of the invincible, unconquerable, unwearying patience of Jesus - "Come unto Me."
Also, please take this opportunity to write about what you took from the class. Also feel free to pass along any info that you found on Jonah so the rest of the group can benefit from it. I will be posting some online study materials and resources soon.
I was pondering where to begin this discussion. It seems like we covered a lot of major issues last night in class. As I read My Utmost for His Highest this afternoon, I could not help but think of our friend Jonah.
Jesus said ..."Come unto Me." Sounds simple doesn't it? I mean who doesn't want to come to Jesus? Why would we want to go anywhere else? Isn't that the place of mercy, healing, blessing, peace, perfection, life, love, wisdom, fulfillment ...?
It was impossible for Jonah to come to Jesus unless he did the one thing he did not want to do. Think about that. Jonah could have offered sacrifices, went to church, prayed, fasted, wept, gave, served, taught classes, led small groups, pastored, but he could never move on with God until his will was bent in obedience to God. So many times we try to "manipulate" God by doing good things rather than the one thing He has asked us to do. God will not allow us to move forward, unless we have done what He has already asked. Lets learn from the story of Jonah and stop running from God and start running to Him. What is standing in the way of you being able to Come unto Him?
Oswald ends his devotion with this, "How often have you come to God with your requests And yet you go away with nothing, whilst all the time God has stood with outstretched hands not only to take you, but for you to take Him. Think of the invincible, unconquerable, unwearying patience of Jesus - "Come unto Me."
Also, please take this opportunity to write about what you took from the class. Also feel free to pass along any info that you found on Jonah so the rest of the group can benefit from it. I will be posting some online study materials and resources soon.
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