DAD'S RAMBLINGS -- Depression

DAD'S RAMBLINGS – Depression
Jonah 4:3
 
" 'Therefore now, O LORD, please take my life from me, for it is better to die than to live.' "
 
Depression does that to you – it takes away the will to live. Depression is horrible. There no joy, no hope, no will to do anything. Depression can have be caused by several things. It can be caused by physical suffering and pain, and certainly Jonah must have had physical problems from his ordeal in the fish's belly. It can be caused by a poor diet, and Jonah had not eaten properly. It can be caused by emotional disturbances when we have unfulfilled expectations, and things had not gone the way Jonah wanted. It can be caused by hormonal imbalance. Often after a "high," the adrenaline stops and we hit a low, like Jonah. Or we hit the midlife chemistry changes in our bodies. It can be caused by psychological factors, when we lose our self-esteem or purpose in life, or when we don't get enough sunshine (like in Oregon). It can be caused by spiritual problems when we are out of relationship with God, and Jonah was out of sorts with God. I think to treat all depression as a spiritual problem is a mistake. We are physical, emotional, and psychological, as well as spiritual. To address the valley of depression, we need to consider all the various aspects, and sometimes psychological or medical treatment is necessary.
 
TODAY'S THOUGHT: Depression can be caused by various factors which need to be addressed.
 
Have a sunny day. Love you.
 

DAD'S RAMBLINGS -- Abundant Lovingkindness

DAD'S RAMBLINGS – Abundant Lovingkindness
Jonah 4:1-2
 
"But it displeased Jonah exceedingly, and he became angry. So he prayed to the LORD, and said, 'Ah, LORD, was not this what I said when I was still in my country? Therefore I fled previously to Tarshish; for I know that you are a gracious and merciful God, slow to anger and abundant in lovingkindness, One who relents from doing harm.' "
 
On the one hand it is difficult to understand why Jonah was not filled with joy because of the thousands who responded to his preaching. I think I would be overjoyed if my ministry had been that successful. But then I remember how I respond when horrible people – like Ted Bundy or Charles Colson or abortionists – come to Christ, and I think, "They don't deserve God's blessing. They should rot in hell for their deeds." When truly evil people repent, instead of being happy, I wonder if they are really saved. That is not God's heart. He is gracious and merciful and abundant in mercy. After all, none of us "deserve" His grace. He rejoices over every lost sheep that is found. Oh, God, give me your heart.
 
TODAY'S THOUGHT: There should be great rejoicing every time a sinner repents.
 
Have a rejoicing day. Love you.
 

DAD'S RAMBLINGS -- Whoever

DAD'S RAMBLINGS – "Whoever"
Jonah 3:10
 
"Then God saw their works, that they turned from their evil way; and God relented from the disaster that He had said He would bring upon them, and He did not do it."
 
Nineveh is a prime example of God's great grace. No one is too wicked for God to forgive. It is true – "whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved" (Acts 2:21).
 
TODAY'S THOUGHT: No person, city or nation is beyond the realm of God's grace.
 
Have graceful day. Love you.
 

DAD'S RAMBLINGS -- Hope For A Nation

DAD'S RAMBLINGS – Hope For A Nation
Jonah 3:5-6
 
"So the people of Nineveh believed God, proclaimed a fast, and put on sack cloth, from the greatest to the least of them. Then the word came to the king of Nineveh; and he arose from his throne and laid aside his robes, covered himself with sack cloth and sat in ashes."
 
This gives me encouragement. If a wicked city like Nineveh – from the king to the least of them – can be moved to faith in God, humility, and repentance, perhaps there is hope for America. O God, send a prophet to our nation that would bring a great awakening. Cause repentance and humility to come to our political leaders and our people.
 
TODAY'S THOUGHT: There is no city or nation that is beyond God's reach.
 
Have a hopeful day. Love you.
 

DAD'S RAMBLINGS -- Fear and Trepidation

DAD'S RAMBLINGS – Fear and Trepidation
Jonah 3:3b-4
 
"Now Nineveh was an exceedingly great city, a three-day journey in extent. And Jonah began to enter the city on the first day's walk. Then he cried out and said, 'Yet forty days, and Nineveh shall be overthrown.' "
 
I can just imagine Jonah's trepidation as he began his first day's journey through Nineveh. Assuming he walked 2 miles per hour for eight hours each day, that would make Nineveh about 48 miles in length, about the size of Phoenix, which is 50 miles north to south. These were not nice, friendly people and, if they chose, he could be dead meat in short order. But on the other hand, what did he have to lose? His other option was the fish's belly. So his fear of God was greater than his fear of people. He decided that it was to better obey God rather than man (Acts 5:29). Or he may have reasoned, "God delivered me from the fish's belly so he can certainly deliver me from these people." Whatever his motivation (which certainly was not compassion for the lost), he became obedient to the heavenly calling (Hebrews 3:1).
 
TODAY'S THOUGHT: Obedience comes when the fear of God is greater than the fear of man.
 
Have a trusting God day. Love you.
 

DAD'S RAMBLINGS -- Fear and Trepidation

DAD'S RAMBLINGS – Fear and Trepidation
Jonah 3:3b-4
 
"Now Nineveh was an exceedingly great city, a three-day journey in extent. And Jonah began to enter the city on the first day's walk. Then he cried out and said, 'Yet forty days, and Nineveh shall be overthrown.' "
 
I can just imagine Jonah's trepidation as he began his first day's journey through Nineveh. Assuming he walked 2 miles per hour for eight hours each day, that would make Nineveh about 48 miles in length, about the size of Phoenix, which is 50 miles north to south. These were not nice, friendly people and, if they chose, he could be dead meat in short order. But on the other hand, what did he have to lose? His other option was the fish's belly. So his fear of God was greater than his fear of people. He decided that it was to better obey God rather than man (Acts 5:29). Or he may have reasoned, "God delivered me from the fish's belly so he can certainly deliver me from these people." Whatever his motivation (which certainly was not compassion for the lost), he became obedient to the heavenly calling (Hebrews 3:1).
 
TODAY'S THOUGHT: Obedience comes when the fear of God is greater than the fear of man.
 
Have a trusting God day. Love you.
 

DAD'S RAMBLINGS -- Is Obedience Enough?

DAD'S RAMBLINGS – Is Obedience Enough?
Jonah 3:3a; 4:4
 
"So Jonah arose and went to Nineveh according to the word of the LORD .... Then the LORD said, 'Is it right for you to be angry?' "
 
Jonah obeyed but he was still an angry man because things didn't go the way he wanted. Is obedience enough? God used Jonah's obedience to bring a great awakening to a wicked people, but Jonah got no joy from it because His heart was not right. I can remember a time when I was an angry preacher. I was faithful to what I felt was God's calling, but things were not going the way I wanted. So I was miserable and took it out on those around me. But God is gracious and long-suffering even when I have a wrong spirit.
 
TODAY'S THOUGHT: Experiencing the joy of God's work is missing when there is a wrong spirit.
 
Have a "good spirit" day. Love you.
 

DAD'S RAMBLINGS -- The Unchanging Message

DAD'S RAMBLINGS – The Unchanging Message
Jonah 3:2
 
" 'Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and preach to it the message that I tell you.' "
 
God had already given Jonah a message to the Ninevites (1:2), and that message had not changed. We have a message that was given 2000 years ago and it has not changed. We need to be on guard against anyone who would preach a different gospel, such as positive thinking or salvation by works (Galatians 1:6). There is only one faithful unchanging message – that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners (I Timothy 1:15).
 
TODAY'S THOUGHT: The message of the Gospel of Jesus Christ has not changed in 2000 years.
 
Have an "unchanging" day. Love you.
 

Dad's Ramblings -- God Is Not A Quitter

DAD'S RAMBLINGS – God Is Not A Quitter
Jonah 3:1
 
"Now the word of the LORD came to Jonah the second time, saying...."
 
Now this preaches!!!! God is a God of second chances (and third and fourth.....). So many times I don't want to hear what He says the first time, but in His love and grace, He keeps prompting me until I am ready to listen and obey. Sometimes He takes drastic measures to get my attention. But God is not a quitter and He will keep on my case until I am willing to say, "Yes, Lord." O, what a wonderful God we serve!
 
TODAY'S THOUGHT: Even though we resist, God keeps prompting us to do His will over and over again.
 
Have a listening day. Love you.
 

Dad's Ramblings -- Thankfulness Brings Deliverance

DAD'S RAMBLINGS – Thankfulness Brings Deliverance
Jonah 2:8-10
 
" 'Those who regard worthless idols forsake their own mercy. But I will sacrifice to You with the voice of thanksgiving; I will pay what I have vowed. Salvation is of the LORD.' So the LORD spoke to the fish, and it vomited him onto dry land."
 
In the belly of the fish, Jonah came to a new awareness of the Lord and His mercy. It took three days of being in the pit to have a change of heart so he would submit to God's calling. But he determined to be thankful even before he was delivered from the darkness. It is hard to praise the Lord and be thankful while still in the prison of circumstances and entangled in the seaweed. But confessing the salvation of the Lord as an act of faith opens the way for deliverance. Only after Jonah began to praise the Lord did God cause the fish to bring him out of the pit. Submission, thankfulness, and praise are requisites to God's deliverance.
 
TODAY'S THOUGHT: Thankfulness to God brings deliverance.
 
Have a thankful day. Love you.
 
www.thisdadsramblings.blogspot.com

Dad's Ramblings -- Hope

DAD'S RAMBLINGS – Hope
Jonah 2:4, 7
 
"Then I said, 'I have been cast out of Your sight; yet I will look again toward Your holy temple .... When my soul fainted within me, I remembered the LORD; and my prayer went up to You in Your holy temple.' "
 
Even when Jonah felt that he had been cast away from God's presence and his soul fainted within him, he did not lose hope. Hope is a powerful emotion that will get a person through the dark times. I know. I've been there when I felt that God had put me on the shelf and I felt abandoned by God. It is a horrible place to be. But remembering the Lord's faithfulness brings faith and hope to get us through. "He's been faithful, faithful to me.  Looking back, His love and mercy I see.  Though at times I have questioned, even failed to believe, Yet He's been faithful, faithful to me." 
 
TODAY'S THOUGHT: Remembering God's faithfulness brings hope.
 
Have a hopeful day. Love you.
 

Dad's Ramblings -- Who Is To Blame?

DAD'S RAMBLINGS – Who Is To Blame?
Jonah 2:3
 
"For You cast me into the deep, into the heart of the seas, and the floods surrounded me; all Your billows and Your waves passed over me."
 
I am so prone to blame others for my dark and painful places. I blame Satan. I blame others for throwing me overboard. I even blame myself. Now certainly Jonah was responsible for the sin that put him in this predicament. But he recognized that ultimately it was God who put him there. It was God who cast him into the deep; it was God who caused the billows an the waves to cover him. But the fish's belly is not just judgment; it is our salvation. Jonah would certainly have died if God's fish had not been there at the proper time to rescue him. I need to remember that God's discipline is proof that I am His son and that He loves me. Chastening is painful at the time, but it is for my profit, and if I submit to it, it yields a crop of righteousness (see Hebrews 12:5-11).
 
Have a "blameless" day. Love you.
 

Dad's Ramblings -- For Crying Out Loud

DAD RAMBLINGS – For Crying Out Loud
Jonah 2:2
 
"And he said, 'I cried out to the LORD because of my affliction, and He answered me. Out of the belly of Sheol I cried, and You heard my voice."
 
There is nothing that causes us to cry out to God like affliction. These are so-called "fox-hole conversions." In past generations during times of national crisis, such as war or weather disasters, people cried out to the Lord for His help. Even after the terrorists struck on 9/11/01, people flocked to church. But in an evolving secular society, that is becoming increasingly rare. I did not hear a call to prayer during the economic meltdown of the last decade, nor after the Boston attack. It seems we can get along without His help, now. God is waiting for us to call unto Him, just like He waited for Jonah. In his despair, Jonah echoed the Psalmist cry: "I cried to the LORD in my distress" (Psalm 118:5; 120:1). The Psalmist also said, "I love the LORD because He has heard my voice and my supplication...The pains of death surrounded me, and the pangs of Sheol laid hold of me; I found trouble and sorrow. Then I cried upon the name of the LORD: 'O LORD, I implore You, deliver my soul!' " (Psalm 116:1, 3-4). God allows trouble and sorrow so we will call on Him for help.
 
TODAY'S THOUGHT: The purpose of affliction is to cause us to cry out to God.
 
Have a "crying out loud" day. Love you.
 

Dad's Ramblings -- "Then"

DAD'S RAMBLINGS – "Then"
Jonah 2:1
 
"Then Jonah prayed to the LORD his God from the fish's belly."
 
"Then!" Why is that we wait so long to cry out to God? In the middle of the storm, the seamen had cried out to their "gods" (l:5) and even prayed to Yahweh (1:14). But there is no hint that Jonah prayed until he was in the fish's belly, suffering the result of his rebellion. Is it because he was reluctant to call on God because he knew that he was living in sin? Is it because he thought he could handle it himself? It took the full consequences of his rebellion as he sat alone behind the "bars" of his cell (vs. 6) with seaweeds wrapped around his head (vs. 5) to bring him to the place of sorrowful contrition. It's like the criminal that tearfully repents only after he is found guilty and is sent to jail. I don't want to wait until I suffer the consequences of my sin to cry out to God.
 
TODAY'S THOUGHT: Prayer to God can come early or it can come late, but it will come. Better early than late.
 
Have a prayerful day. Love you.
 

DAD'S RAMBLINGS -- A Matter Of Perspective

DAD'S RAMBLINGS – A Matter of Perspective
Jonah 1:15, 17
 
"So they picked up Jonah and threw him into the sea, and the sea ceased its raging .... Now the LORD had prepared a great fish to swallow Jonah. And Jonah was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights."
 
The fish could be viewed from two angles. It could be seen as Jonah's punishment for sin. After all, it was his disobedience that got him into this mess. Sin has consequences. This was no picnic – it was a dark, stinking, slimy place God had prepared for Jonah. On the other hand, the great fish was Jonah's salvation. He would have certainly drowned. But God had mercy. The consequences of my sin caused Jesus to endure the cross and the dark grave for three days and three nights (Matthew 12:40). But His suffering became my salvation that God had prepared beforehand, since the foundation of the world (Revelation 13:8). It is a matter of perspective.
 
TODAY'S THOUGHT: Jesus' death and burial was at once consequences for sin and salvation.
 
Have a thankful day. Love you.
 

DAD'S RAMBLINGS -- God Does What He Pleases

DAD'S RAMBLINGS – God Does What He Pleases
Jonah 1:13-14, 16
 
"Nevertheless the men rowed hard to return to land, but they could not, for the sea continued to grow more tempestuous. 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' .... Then the men feared the LORD exceedingly, and offered a sacrifice to the LORD, and took vows."
 
This is an amazing thing. The storm caused by Jonah's rebellion prompted the ungodly mariners, who believed in other gods, to become believers in the true God, Yahweh. When they saw the miracle of the calming of the tempest after Jonah was thrown into the ocean (vs. 15), they became worshipers of the LORD. God can use even my disobedience to demonstrate His mercy and grace so that others will cry out to Him and become believers.   He does at He pleases.
 
TODAY' THOUGHT:  Even my mistakes can work God's pleasure and cause people to cry out to Him.
 
Have a believing day. Love you.
 

Dad's Ramblings -- "It's My Fault"

DAD'S RAMBLINGS – "It's My Fault"
Jonah 1:11-12
 
"Then they said to him, 'What shall we do to you that the sea may be calm for us?' – for the sea was growing more tempestuous. And he said to them, 'Pick me up and throw me into the sea; then the sea will become calm for you. For I know this great tempest is because of me.' "
 
Jonah finally took responsibility for the storm he was causing, and said "I'm the problem." It is so easy to blame others – my wife, my boss, my coworkers, my children – for problems that swirl around me. But when I take ownership of the fact that maybe my attitudes and actions have caused the tempest, then I am taking the first step toward the solution. To admit that I am wrong is hard and may cause me some pain, but it will calm the storm for others around me.
 
TODAY'S THOUGHT: Taking responsibility for my part in the tempest can bring calm to the storm.
 
Have a thoughtful day. Love you.