BBD 02.25.14 A Second Chance (Classic)

#1 · February 25, 2014, 12:36 pm

Quote from Forum Archives on February 25, 2014, 12:36 pm
Posted by: theburningbushdevotional <theburningbushdevotional@...>

If for some reason you do not
receive your email version of the devotional please check the Burning Bush
website at www.theburningbushnet for the “Devotional
of the Day” and read the devotional there.

The Burning Bush Devotional

14,000 Subscribers
to the Email Devotional

Classic from 2005

02.25.14

A Second Chance

Now the word of the LORD came to Jonah the second time, saying, “Arise, go
to Nineveh, that great city, and preach to it the message that I tell you.” -
Jonah 3:1 NKJV.

We know the story of Jonah because most of us have heard
it from the time we were little kids. God called Jonah to go Nineveh and preach
to them; because if they did not change their ways God was going to destroy
them. Jonah did not want any part of it. Instead of going to Nineveh, he went
the other way on a ship to Tarshish. A storm came up, and Jonah convinced the
sailors that he was the cause of the problem; and they threw him overboard. A
great fish that God had prepared swallowed Jonah. Why did Jonah do that?
Because Jonah preferred death, to going to that evil place of Nineveh and
preaching God’s message.

To understand Jonah’s reasoning we must understand the
Ninevites. The people of Nineveh were evil if ever there were any evil people.
The Ninevites did bad things to people on purpose like skinning them alive.
Jonah not only hated the people of Nineveh, but I think we can say that the
prospect of going to Nineveh made Jonah shake in his sandals.

Thinking about being a missionary always conjured up for
me images of Africa and places like Zimbabwe. Recently I actually had the joy
of meeting a man who had been a missionary to Zimbabwe for many years. He had a
different view of the place than I. He had enjoyed the years he and his family
had spent there. Yes, there had been threats of danger at times, but God had
protected them. Hmm…maybe Zimbabwe wouldn’t have been as bad as I
thought. Actually, I’ve answered God’s call in my life to be a missionary and
evangelist, but it has been in a different way than I ever dreamed. Who knew,
but God, that the Internet was on its way?

I have found out in my life, and God’s Word (which is the
only true source of authority) confirms that God’s call is without repentance,
meaning that it is unchanging. Yes, He may have different things during
different seasons of your life to do, but He does not give up on your doing all
of them. God has a plan for your life, and He is sticking to it. Although, some
do miss God's call because they never throughout their entire lives respond. I
first heard God’s call on the day I was saved. Nine years or so later I heard
His call more clearly and powerfully. It was more than ten years later that I
answered that call. God just does not give up. We may give up on God, but He
does not give up on us.

One of the very most encouraging verses in the entire
Bible is Jonah 3:1, “Now the word of the LORD came to
Jonah the second time, saying, ‘Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and
preach to it the message that I tell you.’” God gave Jonah a second chance. Jonah did go to Nineveh,
and as a result, there occurred the greatest three day revival (Jonah 3:3) in all of history. The people of a city so
large that it took three days to walk through it totally and completely turned
to God in response to the one sentence message of Jonah, “Yet forty days, and Nineveh shall be overthrown (Jonah 3:4b)!”

God is the God of the second chance but He is also the
God of opportunities into infinity for us to turn to Him and serve Him. God’s
mercy is greater than our sinful ways.

Has God been calling you? If you have said, “No,”
in the past to God it is not too late to say, “Yes,” now to God’s call.
Say, “Yes,” to His call and God will begin to bring it about.

Copyright © 2005-2014. Ed Wrather.
The Burning Bush website has been online since January 31, 1998. On June 8,
1998 the email version of the Burning Bush Devotional was first sent. Ed
Wrather began writing devotionals in the early 1990s. The distribution of these
first devotionals was primarily through the Burning Bush Newsletter sent to
prison facilities throughout the United States and Canada.

Visit the
Burning Bush websites:

www.theburningbush.net

www.theburningbush.org

The Burning Bush websites have
received visits from more than 170 countries. Celebrating 15 years online since
January 31, 1998. Since June 8, 1998 the Burning Bush Devotional has been
spreading the truth of God's Word to more than 14,000 subscribers across the
world.

You can leave comments/feedback
about the devotionals at www.theburningbush.net.

There is a translation tool on
theburningbush.net website in the top left hand corner of all of the pages.

Prayer Warriors Wanted! Please join the
Burning Bush Prayer Group. The group began in 1998. Send prayer requests and
receive prayer requests. To join send an
email to: bbpg-subscribe@yahoogroups.com

Ed Wrather has retired from
pastoring full-time and has more time to pursue other ministry opportunities.
You can make contact at edwrather@yahoo.com or theburningbushdevotional@gmail.com View LinkedIn
profile with endorsements at http://www.linkedin.com/profile/view?id=92988105

Prayer Requests: Please pray for
the people of Ukraine and Venezuela. Many prayer needs are posted at the
Burning Bush website on the Prayer Request page. You can also post your prayer
requests there (Of course, I am always in need of prayer - please pray for
me.).

If you enjoy the devotional
please recommend it to your friends. They may subscribe by sending a blank
email to burningbushdevo-join@welovegod.org

There is a complete devotional
archive at the old Burning Bush website. Here is the URL: http://www.theburningbush.org/33.html.

You can unsubscribe to the burningbushdevo
devotional group by sending a blank email to burningbushdevo-leave@welovegod.org
and then respond to the confirmation email.

You may
subscribe to the html text group (Because of time constraints the devotional is
only being sent now in html format) by sending a blank email to
burningbushhtml-join@welovegod.org and you may unsubscribe by sending a blank
email to burningbushhtml-leave@welovegod.org and then respond to the
confirmation email. If the link does not work, copy and paste the link.

--

To unsubscribe, send ANY message to: burningbushdevo-leave@welovegod.org

Posted by: theburningbushdevotional <theburningbushdevotional@...>

If for some reason you do not
receive your email version of the devotional please check the Burning Bush
website at http://www.theburningbushnet for the “Devotional
of the Day” and read the devotional there.

The Burning Bush Devotional

14,000 Subscribers
to the Email Devotional

Classic from 2005

02.25.14

A Second Chance

Now the word of the LORD came to Jonah the second time, saying, “Arise, go
to Nineveh, that great city, and preach to it the message that I tell you.” -
Jonah 3:1 NKJV.

We know the story of Jonah because most of us have heard
it from the time we were little kids. God called Jonah to go Nineveh and preach
to them; because if they did not change their ways God was going to destroy
them. Jonah did not want any part of it. Instead of going to Nineveh, he went
the other way on a ship to Tarshish. A storm came up, and Jonah convinced the
sailors that he was the cause of the problem; and they threw him overboard. A
great fish that God had prepared swallowed Jonah. Why did Jonah do that?
Because Jonah preferred death, to going to that evil place of Nineveh and
preaching God’s message.

To understand Jonah’s reasoning we must understand the
Ninevites. The people of Nineveh were evil if ever there were any evil people.
The Ninevites did bad things to people on purpose like skinning them alive.
Jonah not only hated the people of Nineveh, but I think we can say that the
prospect of going to Nineveh made Jonah shake in his sandals.

Thinking about being a missionary always conjured up for
me images of Africa and places like Zimbabwe. Recently I actually had the joy
of meeting a man who had been a missionary to Zimbabwe for many years. He had a
different view of the place than I. He had enjoyed the years he and his family
had spent there. Yes, there had been threats of danger at times, but God had
protected them. Hmm…maybe Zimbabwe wouldn’t have been as bad as I
thought. Actually, I’ve answered God’s call in my life to be a missionary and
evangelist, but it has been in a different way than I ever dreamed. Who knew,
but God, that the Internet was on its way?

I have found out in my life, and God’s Word (which is the
only true source of authority) confirms that God’s call is without repentance,
meaning that it is unchanging. Yes, He may have different things during
different seasons of your life to do, but He does not give up on your doing all
of them. God has a plan for your life, and He is sticking to it. Although, some
do miss God's call because they never throughout their entire lives respond. I
first heard God’s call on the day I was saved. Nine years or so later I heard
His call more clearly and powerfully. It was more than ten years later that I
answered that call. God just does not give up. We may give up on God, but He
does not give up on us.

One of the very most encouraging verses in the entire
Bible is Jonah 3:1, “Now the word of the LORD came to
Jonah the second time, saying, ‘Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and
preach to it the message that I tell you.’” God gave Jonah a second chance. Jonah did go to Nineveh,
and as a result, there occurred the greatest three day revival (Jonah 3:3) in all of history. The people of a city so
large that it took three days to walk through it totally and completely turned
to God in response to the one sentence message of Jonah, “Yet forty days, and Nineveh shall be overthrown (Jonah 3:4b)!”

God is the God of the second chance but He is also the
God of opportunities into infinity for us to turn to Him and serve Him. God’s
mercy is greater than our sinful ways.

Has God been calling you? If you have said, “No,”
in the past to God it is not too late to say, “Yes,” now to God’s call.
Say, “Yes,” to His call and God will begin to bring it about.

Copyright © 2005-2014. Ed Wrather.
The Burning Bush website has been online since January 31, 1998. On June 8,
1998 the email version of the Burning Bush Devotional was first sent. Ed
Wrather began writing devotionals in the early 1990s. The distribution of these
first devotionals was primarily through the Burning Bush Newsletter sent to
prison facilities throughout the United States and Canada.

Visit the
Burning Bush websites:

http://www.theburningbush.net

http://www.theburningbush.org

The Burning Bush websites have
received visits from more than 170 countries. Celebrating 15 years online since
January 31, 1998. Since June 8, 1998 the Burning Bush Devotional has been
spreading the truth of God's Word to more than 14,000 subscribers across the
world.

You can leave comments/feedback
about the devotionals at http://www.theburningbush.net.

There is a translation tool on
theburningbush.net website in the top left hand corner of all of the pages.

Prayer Warriors Wanted! Please join the
Burning Bush Prayer Group. The group began in 1998. Send prayer requests and
receive prayer requests. To join send an
email to: bbpg-subscribe@yahoogroups.com

Ed Wrather has retired from
pastoring full-time and has more time to pursue other ministry opportunities.
You can make contact at edwrather@yahoo.com or theburningbushdevotional@gmail.com View LinkedIn
profile with endorsements at http://www.linkedin.com/profile/view?id=92988105

Prayer Requests: Please pray for
the people of Ukraine and Venezuela. Many prayer needs are posted at the
Burning Bush website on the Prayer Request page. You can also post your prayer
requests there (Of course, I am always in need of prayer - please pray for
me.).

If you enjoy the devotional
please recommend it to your friends. They may subscribe by sending a blank
email to burningbushdevo-join@welovegod.org

There is a complete devotional
archive at the old Burning Bush website. Here is the URL: http://www.theburningbush.org/33.html.

You can unsubscribe to the burningbushdevo
devotional group by sending a blank email to burningbushdevo-leave@welovegod.org
and then respond to the confirmation email.

You may
subscribe to the html text group (Because of time constraints the devotional is
only being sent now in html format) by sending a blank email to
burningbushhtml-join@welovegod.org and you may unsubscribe by sending a blank
email to burningbushhtml-leave@welovegod.org and then respond to the
confirmation email. If the link does not work, copy and paste the link.

To unsubscribe, send ANY message to: burningbushdevo-leave@welovegod.org