I have a question for you Blogosphere Bible scholars. I think Jonah is the first person shown in the Bible to be called by God to a foreign place to speak a word. Am I right on that? Is Jonah the first foreign worker?
Just wondering...
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I read the book of Jonah the other day, and it blew me away. I think I'll write a book one day titled like this post. Anyway, looking at Jonah's story is a huge encouragement to overseas workers everywhere. Here's a synopsis:
1. God tells Jonah to go to an evil city called Ninevah and speak out against it.
2. Jonah doesn't want to go and runs away from God and his calling.
3. God finally gets Jonah to go to Ninevah (I'll skip the whole fish thing, but verse 2:8 is really cool.)
4. Jonah travels one day's journey into the city and finally tells what God wants him to.
5. God saves every single person in that city, from the king on down. They all fast, repent, and cry out mightily to God.
The kicker for me is who God used and how. Jonah didn't want to go to that city, he didn't care about the people at all. In fact, he was hoping to watch them get destroyed.
Jonah:
1. Didn't want to follow God's call in the first place.
2. Didn't care about the people there at all.
3. Actually wanted to watch them be destroyed.
So, Jonah travels one day's journey into a city of 120,000 speaking what God told him to, and God saves every single person!!
"Jonah began to go into the city, going a day's journey. And he called out, "Yet forty days, and Nineveh shall be overthrown!" And the people of Nineveh believed God. They called for a fast and put on sackcloth, from the greatest of them to the least of them." - Jonah 3:4-5
It later says that the king himself put on sackcloth and issued an edict for the city to repent and cry out to God.
God used one man who went one day's journey into a huge city, and saved every single person. What an amazing response from such a weak messenger.
If God used Jonah to save Ninevah like that, how much more can he use those that go with a heart for the people! How much more can he use those that stay for years, and team with others who care for their people!
4:11 shows God's hearts for the nations, at least I think it does.
"And should not I pity Nineveh, that great city, in which there are more than 120,000 persons who do not know their right hand from their left, and also much cattle?' "
At the beginning of the book, God called Jonah to speak against the evil of the city and to proclaim a coming judgement. At the end, God reveals that he cares for the city, and sees the people as "not knowing their right hand from their left". God was not blindly furious at them, he cared for them, and knew that they needed someone to tell them the truth. When that truth was told, the people repented and God showed His love by relenting.
Is this not every worker's dream? It's certainly mine.
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Well, I went to the doctor the other day to find out why my knee had swelled (swollen?) up a week or so ago. I figured it was an injury contracted during my amazing play on the kickball field the week before. After a day or so of the kickball game, my knee started swelling up and hurting a lot.
At first I tried "walking it off", but that just led to a lot of pain and discomfort. So, I headed out to the doctor for the first visit. After poking my knee a lot, he drained a lot of fluid out of it and shot some steroids in there, and told me to come back in a few days. I got a brace and some crutches, and managed to hobble around for a while.
(Note: I saved this post a long time ago, and I figured I'd post it now with an update)
It's been a few weeks now, and my knee has pretty much returned to normal. It still doesn't look exactly normal, but it's close enough. I ran a couple of days ago, and played a game of ultimate frisbee yesterday, all with no trouble. I go back to the doctor on Monday. I'm not sure why, there's not much to discuss.
I've been told gout is a lifetime thing. It's not like a disease I have every day, it's just that now I have a high risk of it flaring up again. I'm supposed to watch my diet (it's about time I guess) and avoid a lot of red meat, shellfish, and beer. So, with this in mind, I'm still able to go overseas. I'll just have to watch what I eat a little more.
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Hey everybody, I thought I'd fill you in on what's been going on the past couple of weeks. I've been up at training, and it's been a blast so far. There are a ton of cool, like-minded people living and learning together. I'm living with a couple of other single guys as well as three couples in an apartment-like thing.
We're in classes for the morning, and sometimes the afternoon, and then free after that. The classes have been really great so far, a lot better than I thought they'd be. I have been seriously impressed with the leaders here. They are Godly, Godly men and women. I was afraid they would be pushing their own doctrines and beliefs, but they have stuck strict with the Bible. I have nothing but respect for the teachers and leaders here.
I managed to hurt my knee playing kickball the other day, so I'll be out of commission for a while. This is the first time I've ever used cruthces, so it's been a good learning experience I guess. It's not bad, except it takes a long time to get anywhere now.
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Hey guys, I and my luggage have officially arrived here at training. I was worried about some of it (I brought a guitar with me) but everything is ship shape. I've been here a couple of days, and things have been good. I've met a lot of cool new people from different places, and saw some people I had met a few months ago. Well, it's just about supper time, so that's the end of this post. I'll try to write more when there's more to write about and more time to do it in.
P.S. I got an email from my future boss saying he has found an apartment for me! I am now the proud owner of a roof! Well, technically I don't own it, but I will be living under it. I guess that makes me a squatter...
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