"The Land of Begin Again" by Louisa Tarkington
"I wish that there were some wonderful place called the land of Begin Again, where all our mistakes and all our heartaches and all our poor selfish grief…. Could be dropped like a shabby old coat at the door and never be put on again. I wish that there were some wonderful place called The Land of Begin Again"
"Then the Lord spoke to Jonah a second time: 'Get up and go to the great city of Nineveh, and deliver the message I have given you.' This time Jonah obeyed the Lord's command and went to Nineveh, a city so large that it took three days to see it all'" (Jonah 3:1-3, NLT).
Has God been calling to you a mission that you've been putting off? Bible Study, Prayer, Ministry, sharing your faith
"We run from God in all sorts of ways -- stay away from church; lead a double life (come to church but have a secret life); run from God through alcohol, drugs, internet, even friends. Anything we immerse ourselves in so we don't see God."
Jonah preaches a double edged message! "On the first day, Jonah started into the city. He proclaimed: Forty more days and Nineveh will be overturned.' The Ninevites believed God. They declared a fast, and all of the, from the greatest to the least, put on sackcloth" (Jonah 3:4-5, NIV).
Haphak (Hebrew) – change, be converted, overthrow
Is the gospel of Jesus Christ a double edged message?
"And anyone who believes in God's Son has eternal life. Anyone who doesn't obey the Son will never experience eternal life but remains under God's angry judgment" (John 3:36, NLT).
And witnesses two unexpected responses!
Nineveh repents!
What does repentance look like?
"When the king of Nineveh heard what Jonah was saying, he stepped down from his throne and took off his royal robes. He dressed himself in sackcloth and sat on a heap of ashes. Then the king and his nobles sent this decree throughout the city: 'No one, not even the animals, may eat or drink anything at all. Everyone is required to wear sackcloth and pray earnestly to God. Everyone must turn from their evil ways and stop all their violence. Who can tell? Perhaps even yet God will have pity on us and hold back his fierce anger from destroying us'" (Jonah 3:6-10, NLT).
God relents!
"Who knows? God may yet relent and with compassion turn from his fierce anger so that we will not perish" (Jonah 3:9, NIV).
"If I announce that a certain nation or kingdom is to be uprooted, torn down, and destroyed, but then that nation renounces its evil ways, I will not destroy it as I had planned" (Jeremiah 18:7-8, NLT).
"Redeeming is what God is into. He is the finder of directionally-challenged sheep, the searcher of missing coins, the embracer of foolish prodigal children. His favorite department is 'Lost and Found.' If there is one way that human beings consistently underestimate God's love, it is perhaps in His loving longing to forgive" (John Ortberg, Pastor & Christian author).
Closing Challenge:
Is there something in your life you need God's forgiveness for? Something needs to change? Something needs to start?
Have you responded to the gospel's double edged message like the people of Nineveh? Believe God and repent! Who knows? It may be the best thing you have ever done in your life.
Pastor, First United Methodist Church, Williamstown, WV www.fumcwilliamstown.net