Here we get into the details about faith and life

How some pagan sailors may have been on the right track

Therefore they cried out to the LORD and said, “We pray, O LORD, please do not let us perish for this man’s life, and do not charge us with innocent blood; for You, O LORD, have done as it pleased You.” Jonah 1:14

You remember the story of Jonah. The commission, the flight to Tarshish, the fish, the revival in Nineveh. It’s one of the best-known stories in Scripture. But there are some nameless guys in the story who can actually teach us several important lessons. Which guys? The sailors on the boat to Tarshish.

With just a quick read, you get the impression that these are decent guys. They knew Jonah’s background so that seems to indicate they had talked with him. They do everything they can to keep from throwing Jonah overboard like the prophet wanted. They dump cargo. They try hard to row to shore. But they were more than just decent guys. Here are some reasons why.

They were willing to change their ideas about who God was. In Jonah 1:5, when the tempest began, every man prayed to his god. Apparently, they came from different backgrounds and all had different religious traditions. By verse 14, they had come to understand that Jonah’s God, Yahweh, was not like their gods. I suppose you could argue that it was just expedience, that Yahweh was just one of the gods they prayed to. But they used God’s covenant name, not “the God of Jonah” or “the God of the Israelites.” That seems to suggest a little deeper realization. We have ideas about God and how He operates. But when He obviously clearly reveals Himself, do we cling to our ideas?

They understood God holds us accountable for sin. The core of their prayer was– do not let us perish for Jonah and do not charge us innocent blood. This is a radical idea in our culture that shies away from any sort of accountability. It is also important that we as believers don’t lose sight of this. We are accountable. However, because of Christ’s death on the cross, He took that accountability onto Himself.

They recognized God’s sovereignty. “You have done as it pleased You,” they said. The call of Jonah, the storm, even pitching the prophet overboard were all part of a divine plan God was working out. They didn’t necessarily grasp how it all fit together or where God was headed, but they acknowledged He was at work. We all go through seasons when things around are completely out of control and make no sense. It’s important to remember those things are never out of God’s control.

Granted, pagans aren’t necessarily ones to hold up as examples of how to follow and honor God, but in this case, these guys were headed the right direction. Maybe one day we’ll find out if they ever arrived at genuine faith in Yahweh.

God Makes Covenants, Not Contracts and Why That’s Better for Us

By Paula Wiseman

So God has given both his promise and his oath. These two things are unchangeable because it is impossible for God to lie. Therefore, we who have fled to him for refuge can have great confidence as we hold to the hope that lies before us. This hope is a strong and trustworthy anchor for our souls. (Hebrews 6:18-19 NLT)

As a writer, I’ve had the opportunity to enter into a few contracts over the past five or so years. We’ve signed agreements with home sellers to buy real estate from them. We’ve accepted bids from contractors to do work for us. We even have an informal arrangement with our son to cut the grass. (He mows. We give him twenty dollars.)

We like contracts. They seem instinctive and natural and ultimately fair or else we wouldn’t be a part of them. They are everywhere. The news is full of stories of athletes negotiating the terms they’ll play under, and of unions seeking the best terms for their members. Loan agreements are contracts. Even the terms of use for your favorite website are a contract spelling out the services provided and the limits of those services.

Because contracts are such a common part of our dealings, we often fall into a trap of thinking our relationship with God is like a contract. If we pay with the proper obedience and devotion then God will, in turn, render the necessary service of providing answers to prayers or bestowing blessings or what have you. If we fail, then He responds with judgment or a curse or mild irritations depending on the offense and its severity.

You can hear it in subtle “if … then” statements. If I have more faith, then God will hear my prayers. If I stop swearing for a month then God will help me find a job. That is the language of contracts and God doesn’t make contracts. He makes covenants.

He makes covenants that rely solely on His holiness for fulfillment. He doesn’t require anything from us but acceptance of the terms. They are eternally binding and utterly unbreakable. When Jesus makes a statement like, “Most assuredly, I say to you, he who hears My word and believes in Him who sent Me has everlasting life, and shall not come into judgment, but has passed from death into life,” (John 5:24 NKJV), He’s making a covenant. We just accept the terms and it is irrevocable. When He says, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.” (Hebrews 13:5 NKJV), that’s a covenant that we cannot undo, not with actions or words or attitudes.

God knows our frailties. He knows that if our salvation, our blessings or any of His good gifts depended on our ability to keep up our end of a contract we would be left destitute. His boundless love and His infinite grace won’t allow that. He takes all the responsibility on Himself. We just have to accept it.

And They Went Back Home

By Paula Wiseman

Then the disciples went back to their homes. John 20:10

This is a stunning statement. Not on its face, but because of where it appears in the narrative. The disciples are Peter and John. They have just been to the tomb and found it empty.

And they went back home.

They saw with their own eyes physical evidence that what Jesus told them was true. He did, in fact, rise from the dead on the third day. They investigated the scene and everything made sense. They confirmed it and were confident in their conclusions.

And they went back home.

Even the shepherds who saw the newborn Jesus marveled at what they had seen and told everybody. Peter and John went home. That conveys that the experience was less thrilling than a basketball game, closer maybe to a fast food dinner.

Maybe it’s just not recorded that Peter and John were so overwhelmed by the experience they had to go lie down or something. Or maybe John didn’t want to focus too much attention on himself.

Or maybe John recorded exactly what happened, and immediately after verifying the tomb was empty … they just went back home.

Here’s the thing. We are even less impressed than Peter and John. We have the very words of God Himself, but it’s often a chore to read and study. We have access to the Maker of Heaven and Earth, but carving out time for prayer is tough. We are called to meet Him but worship is boring.

Every single day we are confronted with evidence of a risen savior at work in our lives. We benefit from His grace and presence and blessings and promises, but our days are mundane and lifeless. Maybe we’re so familiar with the story it doesn’t even register anymore. Maybe we don’t grasp what we’ve been saved from. Maybe we don’t realize why we needed salvation in the first place. Maybe we’re introverts.

Or maybe we’ve read on to Acts 4 where Peter and John are imprisoned and beaten for proclaiming that Jesus Christ raised from the dead to prove our sins could be forgiven and eternal life was possible, and we decided to keep quiet.

And just go back home.

Testimony Tips from Moses

By Paula Wiseman

If you have a memorable vacation, how hard is it to tell your coworkers about it? If you get a great deal on a car, how difficult is it to explain that to your family members? If you find a terrific contractor to build your deck, how reluctant are you to give the details the next time you have friends over? Not too difficult, is it?

But for some reason, telling people about Jesus causes us to lock up. Maybe we are under the impression we have to know a lot of theology first. Not necessarily. Do you have to be a mechanic to explain how you bought your car? Of course not. Or perhaps we think someone has to understand all the intricate details of our faith before they can embrace it. That’s not true either.

One of the key elements in communicating the gospel to others is telling our own story, our testimony. In Deuteronomy, of all places, Moses gives an outline to the Israelites of what to include in their story.

“Then you shall say to your son: ‘We were slaves of Pharaoh in Egypt, and the LORD brought us out of Egypt with a mighty hand; and the LORD showed signs and wonders before our eyes, great and severe, against Egypt, Pharaoh, and all his household. Then He brought us out from there, that He might bring us in, to give us the land of which He swore to our fathers. And the LORD commanded us to observe all these statutes, to fear the LORD our God, for our good always, that He might preserve us alive, as it is this day.” Deuteronomy 6:21-24

Here are the major points.
1. We were slaves. – Begin with what life was like before Jesus. What was missing? What was worse?
2. The LORD brought us out. – Jesus changed all that.
3. The LORD showed signs and wonders. – Jesus has done these amazing things in my life.
4. God is giving us the land. – God has given me eternal life and the promise of His presence.
5. The LORD commanded us to observe. – So now I live my life following Him and honoring Him.

After telling your story, then it’s a matter of inviting your listener to start a story of their own.

Think about the contractor example. “I wanted a deck and I knew I couldn’t build it myself. So we did some searching and we found Dave. He was just what we were looking for. He does great work and his rates weren’t outrageous. We use the deck all the time. In fact, I bet he could do that addition you’ve been talking about.”

We sail through that easily and naturally. I had a need. Here’s how that need was met. You might get your needs met too.

I’ve followed Jesus since I was a kid, but even then I knew I couldn’t be good enough and that something was missing. If it weren’t for His presence and help I’m not sure I would have made it through some of the hard times. Doing things His way, trying to live by His word and His example, I have peace and I know I’m not at the mercy of the random universe. If you’re looking for that same kind of peace and purpose, you should consider what Jesus said. I’d be glad to tell you more.

That’s really all there is to it. Granted, a greater percentage of people will not want to hear any more, but that okay. We are never held responsible for what results from telling our story, only our faithfulness in telling it.

Use Moses’s tips and tell your story, the one about then and now, about Jesus and you. The world needs to hear it.

It’s Counterintuitive

By Paula Wiseman

But God has chosen the foolish things of the world to put to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to put to shame the things which are mighty; 1 Corinthians 1:27

Not too long ago I was getting ready for the day and I reached for my foundation from the fancy makeup store. You know the kind–flawless coverage expertly matched to my exact skin tone… Anyway, I was leaned up to the bathroom mirror blending it across my cheek and something dawned on me. The foundation boasts that it’s made with Amazonian clay. Clay is dirt. I was putting dirt on my face. On purpose. With the intent that I would look better with the dirt than without it.

Rather than focusing on the looming existential crisis threatening the makeup industry, I saw an object lesson. (You suspected as much, didn’t you?) Our life in Christ means adopting a lifestyle and a way of thinking that is often counterintuitive. Jesus tipped us off to it in the Beatitudes.
Blessed are the poor in spirit, those who mourn, the meek. All those declarations went against the wisdom of the day.

He told a wealthy young man to get rid of his riches in order to store up treasures in heaven. He explained to His disciples that to be great they had to become servants. And He said the way to life started with death.

God doesn’t do things this way just to confuse us. OR to throw us off balance. It underscores that God is not like us and does not operate according to our systems or our expectations. Paul explains why in 1 Corinthians– “that no flesh should glory in His presence.” (1 Corinthians 1:29). We can’t come to God on the basis of our wisdom, or status, or wealth or anything else.

We come on the basis of what we have in Christ alone.

Of course, this time of year, we celebrate that Jesus Christ did the most counterintuitive thing ever. The Word became flesh and dwelt among us, not just to teach us, not just to be a good example, but to give His life in exchange for ours. The King for the criminal. The holy for the profane. The beloved for the enemy.

Hallelujah! What a Savior!

How to tell what your priorities really are

By Paula Wiseman

But my life is worth nothing to me unless I use it for finishing the work assigned me by the Lord Jesus—the work of telling others the Good News about the wonderful grace of God. Acts 20:24 NLT

It is no small task keeping our priorities in balance. We employ planners, and calendars, and schedulers, and reminders to help us do everything that needs to be done in the ever-narrowing windows we have to do them in. Recently, I saw this very thing played out in the 1991 film, Hook, with Robin Williams. He plays Peter Banning, a workaholic mergers and acquisitions lawyer who has no memory that he was once Peter Pan. Early in the movie, sitting at his daughter’s play, his phone predictably rings, and he is talked into yet another meeting. His son protests, reminding him of the baseball he promised to attend. Banning reiterates his promise, “I’ll be there. My word is my bond.” As you might have guessed, he misses the game.

No matter what Banning believed, or wanted to believe, and no matter what he earnestly claimed was his priority, his actions proved what was truly first in his life.

That holds true for everyone. Including the Apostle Paul. The singular focus in his life was telling people about the wonderful grace of God. It was his priority. Nothing else mattered. Not even his health and safety. His actions prove it. “I declare today that I have been faithful. If anyone suffers eternal death, it’s not my fault, for I didn’t shrink from declaring all that God wants you to know.” (Acts 20:26-27) Read that again. If anyone here dies without Jesus, it’s not my fault because I told them.

Well, he’s Paul.
Well, that’s hyperbole. He didn’t literally mean he told everybody.
Well, things are different now.

But you know, there was a day when I said Jesus was my Lord, and I exchanged my priorities for His. When you say someone is your Lord, that’s what that means. Or maybe I just say that telling people about Jesus is my priority or even one of my priorities. (Is it even possible to have multiple priorities?) It doesn’t matter that I want it to be. My actions prove what’s first in my life.