The Missionary Call
Jonah 1:1-2
"Now the word of the LORD came to Jonah, the son of Amittai, saying, 'Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and cry out against it; for their wickedness has come up before me.' "
God called Jonah to be a missionary to a foreign land. Jonah was a prophet in Israel during the reign of Jeroboam II. This was a king who did evil in the sight of the LORD, and the affliction of Israel was very bitter (II Kings 14:23-26). If a nation ever needed a prophet to be God's voice, it was Israel. But God sent Jonah to a foreign city that was also very evil. Israel had a godly heritage and knew God's way, but rejected it. The people of Nineveh had no such godly heritage, but God loved them anyway enough to want to bring them to repentance. There is a parallel to what we see today. America, like ancient Israel, has had a godly heritage but has rejected it. Many nations in the world do not have that Godly heritage, and God calls missionaries to spread the good news of the Gospel – that God loves them and wants them to repent. Some people say, "Why send missionaries to China when our own nation needs a prophetic voice so badly?" The answer is that God loves the peoples of the world and wants to save them. Nations without the truth of the Gospel deserve a chance to know God. So God calls missionaries – like Jonah – to go to them. Missionary evangelism is God's heart. "Go into all the world and preach the Gospel" (Mark 16:15).
TODAY'S THOUGHT: God loves the people of the world – not just America – and wants to save them, so He calls and sends missionaries.
Have a "missionary" day. Love you.
Jonah 1:1-2
"Now the word of the LORD came to Jonah, the son of Amittai, saying, 'Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and cry out against it; for their wickedness has come up before me.' "
God called Jonah to be a missionary to a foreign land. Jonah was a prophet in Israel during the reign of Jeroboam II. This was a king who did evil in the sight of the LORD, and the affliction of Israel was very bitter (II Kings 14:23-26). If a nation ever needed a prophet to be God's voice, it was Israel. But God sent Jonah to a foreign city that was also very evil. Israel had a godly heritage and knew God's way, but rejected it. The people of Nineveh had no such godly heritage, but God loved them anyway enough to want to bring them to repentance. There is a parallel to what we see today. America, like ancient Israel, has had a godly heritage but has rejected it. Many nations in the world do not have that Godly heritage, and God calls missionaries to spread the good news of the Gospel – that God loves them and wants them to repent. Some people say, "Why send missionaries to China when our own nation needs a prophetic voice so badly?" The answer is that God loves the peoples of the world and wants to save them. Nations without the truth of the Gospel deserve a chance to know God. So God calls missionaries – like Jonah – to go to them. Missionary evangelism is God's heart. "Go into all the world and preach the Gospel" (Mark 16:15).
TODAY'S THOUGHT: God loves the people of the world – not just America – and wants to save them, so He calls and sends missionaries.
Have a "missionary" day. Love you.
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