White Flag
Jonah
All People
August 26, 2012 • Chris Edmondson • Jonah 4, Jonah 3
Many of us believe we stopped running from God years ago. Some of us would claim we never ran from God at all. For all of us “holy” people who aren’t running from God, we need to ask ourselves a question—are we as concerned about all people—even those who aren’t like us or vote like us?
Distress Call
August 19, 2012 • Chris Edmondson • Jonah 2, Deuteronomy 8:5
Jonah could run from God, but he couldn't outrun God. Even in the most unlikely place—the slimy belly of a fish somewhere in the middle of the ocean—Jonah couldn't escape God's grace and mercy. Though his actions and attitudes had led him to a desperate place, God was still pursuing him. He was being disciplined. Being disciplined is never fun. But sometimes it’s only after a season of brokenness that we begin to see life more clearly. Is that why God disciplines us? Not to pay us back, but because he actually loves us?
One Race You Cannot Win
August 12, 2012 • Chris Edmondson • Jonah 1:3–17, Proverbs 3:11–12
You know God wants you to do one thing—make a particular decision—move in a certain direction. But you resist and do the opposite—you run the other way. Jonah resisted and found himself in the belly of a fish. Where has your resistance taken you?
Rear-View Mirror God
August 5, 2012 • Chris Edmondson • Jonah 1, Jonah 2:1
Jonah was a runner. But he wasn't running toward anything, like a marathoner pushes forward toward the finish line. He was running from something. It doesn't take much self-examination to realize that we've all run from something at some point in our lives. Though the length of the run is different for each of us, we all share the tendency to follow our own paths. Even when we explicitly know what it is that God wants us to do, like Jonah did, we still run in the opposite direction of where God is leading us.