Jonah

I always wonder why Jonah gets so angry in chapter 4.

I mean he obeyed God, preached His message, they repented and God saved them.

But still he was angry

Why?

I studied on this , cuz the last part of the book can be very confusing to me .

I thought that Nineveh was just a big city in Israel ….just like Amsterdam in Holland.

When i got deeper into it found out that as a young man Jonah had predicted a period of military might and economic prosperity in Israel , and it had happened, Assyria , the dangerous northern superpower had been temporarily weak, but later ,God send Jonah to save Assyria's capital Nineveh.

Nineveh was a really big city, it took him 3 whole days to get into every corner.

It was a sinful city,full of idolatry  lots of different gods and they had human sacrifices , sometimes children.

they where sworn enemies of the Jews.

So now i could understand more why he didn't wanted to go,

He had to say to them that God was going to destroy the city but in the back of his mind he knew that God was a merciful God .

I am reading a book about people who gave there life for Christ, some are being so badly tortured that i could understand that they would get angry but still they prayed for the people who tortured them.

I can understand the reaction of Jonah , if im really honest. 

but the reaction of the martyrs is soo amazing to me, so truly Christ i see in that.

God wanted Jonah to warn them

But when the people of Nineveh heard the message from God they repented

 "Don't let any person or animal taste anything. That includes your herds and flocks. People and animals must not eat or drink anything. ⁸ Let people and animals alike be covered with black cloth. All of you must call out to God with all your hearts. Stop doing what is evil. Don't harm others. ⁹ Who knows? God might take pity on us. He might turn away from his burning anger. Then we won't die."

God changed His mind..

And Jonah got angry 

He wanted them to be destroyed, .

Jonah got angry at God , 

Did he had a reason to b angry , i think he forgat at that point the power and love God has for people if they repent

Jonah thought ; You saved oure enemy

This is not good for the people of Israel 

It would have bin better if they would b killed cuz that would b less of a threat to the people of Israel

But God has mercy , He gives mercy to all of us.

Then Jonah says ; Its better for me to die.

Wow 

God says : what right do u have t b angry?

Jonah go's out of the city and sits down to see what happens to the city.

God made a tree grow to give him shade , he was pleased with the the shade from the tree.

but God sent  a worm to attack the plant and it died, God sent a hot wind.

Jonah almost fainted from the sun he was no longer being protected from.

And again he says ; its better for me to die.

So again God asks him ; what right do u have to b angry about this plant.

That grew in one night , you didn't do anything for it and you didn't make it grow.

How much more should God have pity for this great city with more than 120 000 innocent children in it and many animals.

It shows here that God is not only The God of the Jews , He is The God of men and women everywhere and He wants HIs people to care for others , even there enemies.

The book of Daniel

This week we red the book of Daniel, it dos not have many chapter .

I felt like the book was divided in 2 parts , the first part is the story of Daniel and his friends , how they

where chosen to work in the palace of king Nebukanezer and what they experienced there .

And the second part tells about the vision Daniel had about the end times.

I find the first part easy to read, its exciting to read ; How they hold on to the Hebrew eating rules ( God told them to not eat certain things)

and they looked healthier than the other man who where there to.

God gave them learning and skill in all literature and wisdom and He gave Daniel understanding in all visions and dreams.

It get exciting  in the story when u read that the king had a dream and he wanted his people to explain this dream to him.

But he did not wanted to tell the dream, they had to tell him and explain it to him…. Because if they couldn't do that than the the king would know they lied to him before .

But his people could not tell him the dream….the king decided to kill them all…but than Daniel hears about it and asks for some extra time.

He prays to God and God reveil's the dream and the explanation , wow.

Also the part of the burning furnace is amazing to read.

They survived it …wow , they walked inside the burning furnace with an angel… some say that its Jesus.

And when they came out of the furnace , they where not touched by the fire.

Daniel was thrown into the lion pit…and the lions didn't touched him ..wow …God send His angel to keep the mouth of the lions closed.

Thats Protection !

But what i liked the most of this story is that they had so much faith and trust in God that He was with them no matter if they survived it or not.

So many time we want/ expect God to help us, like; "We trust You, God in this situation but You have to help us , NOW!

and also in the way we want it…" 

We dont care what He wants as long as we are saved from the bad place we are in…

The second part , the vision about the end times was difficult for me …its  similar with Revelation.

But i like the verse in chapter 10: 12 , where it says ; " …Do not be afraid , Daniel .Since the first day that you set you're mind to gain understanding

and to humble yourself before you're God ,you're words were heard, and i have come in response to them"

But than it says that the prince of the Persian kingdom resisted him twenty-one days, but than Michael came to help him….Spiritual warfare.

This story shows me that in bad situations God will make a way , He has a plan with oure life.

Daniel and his friends stayed really strong in their faith , they kept on honoring God even when things where really hard.

Like they had to bow for the king or else they where thrown into the fire.

That makes me wonder how i would be in that situation , will i stand strong and be like Daniel?

This week i was struggling with how God sees me and so many questions are going around in my mind but one thing is clear for me 

I do love God and i might not know certain things but i do know that i love God.

And i want to push through in prayer and Bible reading and getting to know God more and more.

So maybe my faith is really small and not that big as Daniel but i love God…

When you are in a new environment is always hard to adjust , but when u are alone God is there.

So when we are on Out reach only God can calm us down, protect us and lead us on the right path.

Exodus

Exodus 

Wow , that was a really long book to read ;) but we did it! 

It was interesting to read about the history of the people of Israel.

There is so much in this book that i find interesting ; U see God's hand so clearly, the way Moses was saved from being killed.

The doughter of the pharaoh found him but his own mother raised him till a certain age, after that he lived in the palace.

I wonder if he still had meetings with his mother.

And than that meeting with God in the burning bush ( Moses was all grown up) that would be so amazing for him, to hear God's voice.

God told him that He heard the cry of His people and that He wanted Moses to lead them to the promised land.

But Moses was scared…. to me it shows that he was human , he had his insecurities .

But God wanted him to do it…later Aaron will speak to the pharaoh and Moses dos the miracles .

Than all these plagues happened and still pharaoh didn't wanted to let them go.

God was with them , after the pharaoh finally let them go , God guided them trough the sea, He spit the water.

That would have bin great to see .

After all these things the people started being grumpy, scared maybe .

They complained but still every time God helped them , he gave them food to eat every day.

Moses climbed the Sinai to recieve the ten commandments  and after he came back he saw how the people where worshipping a golden calf.

That must have hurter so much to God and Moses.

God wanted to destroy them but He didn't do that.

i climbed the Sinai to, it was really hard to do that , it took me almost 5 hours to climb up and Moses did that a lot of times.

They could have bin so much sooner in the promised land but it took them 40 years.

Moses didn't entered the promised land but Joshua guided them into Israel.

Its interesting to read about how God gave all the instructions for the temple, tabernacle priest clothing and the offerings .

So precise God told them that, even the smallest details .

The questions we had to answer where : 

What is you're "Egypt", you're desert time?

I think that was my time when i felt really depressed , Being in a place where i couldn't see God anymore and i was so into my own 

sadness .

What is the promised time you are heading to?

Being free of that feeling of depression , letting it go , truly being free in Christ.

And be the person God wants me to be.

Romans

Last week we red the Bible book Romans; it says a lot about the bond  we have with Israel.

We as Christians need to understand the relation we have with Israel, they are our oldest brother.

Most of them probably don't see it like that but as christians we know that they are the chosen people .

The Gospel was first for them and second for us , the gentiles.

To me Romans answers a lot of questions i had about the Israelian people.

Are they saved? They killed The Christ? U need to be surcumsised ?

And what about sin , everything is forgiven ? also the sins we are going to do in the future?

How do i look at the whole picture? sin….

Still people have a lot of different opinions about these topics , i want to see what Paul says about it.

He says about Abraham in Romans 4:11 that he received the sign of circumcision , a seal of the righteousness that he had by faith while he was still

uncircumcised .

So his faith was important to God , not the fact that was circumcised or not …right?

If anyone who reads this and think im not right with the things im saying ; please let me know !

i don't want to "lead" myself on the wrong track or others .

By one man, Adam , sin came into the world, by sin came death.

In this way death came to all men, because all sinned.

By one Savior Jesus, we are saved from sin.

When i really look into it and read the scripture again and again , The Holy Spirit is opening up my mind and letting me understand the scripture more and more.

it also helps for me to see it visually , Octavio showed in class how we where sinners because of Adam and how we are saved trough Jesus.

We are not under the burden of sin anymore.

I think thats a important thing to realize because i often see myself as a sinner and not as someone saved by Christ.

Now realizing that i am a child of God and Jesus made the way clear for us to go to God is helpful in the way i think , react to people and talk to God in prayer.

I like to read about  the Israelian people in Romans.

I sometimes wonder ; they are His chosen people and most of them don't believe in Jesus.

Are they going to hell ?

I don't have the answer to that, in scriptures it talks about that they are blinded, they cant see the truth .

But in Roman 11:25 he says ; "Israel has experienced a hardening in part until the full number of the gentiles has come in"

26 " And so all Israel will be saved as it is written; The deliverer will come from Zion, he will turn godlessness away from Jacob.

27 " And this is my covenant with them when i take away there sins"

I know you have to look at the whole story and not just take some parts out of it , but as for me these words are important.

And i hope to learn much more about it.

And yes it where Jews who put Him on the cross, but becous of all of oure sins ( everybody in this whole world , dos not matter if you are Jew or not)  He had to die on the cross

So did the Jews put Him on the cross?

Weakness of the church might be the mixing up with The Old with The New Testament, and by New i mean Jesus teaching.

 Thinking that circumcision is still needed.

Thinking sometimes that we are better than everybody else.

We must remember that we were sinners and we are saved by Him .

Not of oure own but by the grace of God.

Some don't know the relation between Christians and Jews, i think thats important to know.

But some do know and that can also be a strength.

So the opposite to me is there strength.

To know we live by grace , we are saved by Him.

We know oure oldest brother.

And in 1:8 Paul says that there faith is being reported all over the world.

If that happens more people might be getting curious and want to know what there faith is all about.

And perhaps get to know Jesus.

A strength to know is that God is not unjust ( Roman 9:14)

Offcourse there is so much more to get out of Roman, but these things stood out for me.

Phillipians

Philipians:

" Be like Christ"

This is also a letter from Paul , this one is for the people on Filippi.
I think he writes this letter when he was in jail.
Its showing me that even when you are in jail u get still wok for The Kingdom of God, to encourage other people and to teach them.

Some people are preaching the Gospel from false motives but the important thing to Paul is that the Gospel is preached.
He wants Christ to be praised with his life…but whether he is a life or dead is not important to him …."For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain "
But for him to be alive is better for the Philipians , to strengthen them in their relationship with Jesus.

In the beginning of the letter Pauls says ; " For it has been granted to you on behalf of Christ not only to believe in Him, but also to suffer for Him".
That are really important words now….so many Christians are being persecuted for believing in Christ.
But those words are for us all.

Paul encourages us to be like Christ, he gives several examples .
He tells how Jesus humbled  himself by becoming obedient to death, even death on a cross.
But God exalted Him to the highest place and gave Him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow,
in heaven and earth and under the earth, and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God The Father.

The scriptures that means a lot to me are ;
In 3:7 " But whatever gains for me, i now consider loss for the sake of Christ"
3:15b "and if on some point you think differently, that too God will make clear to you"
3:13-14 " Brothers and sisters, i do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing i do ; forgetting what is behind and straining what is ahead,
I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus."
4:4-7" Rejoice in The Lord always, I will say it again: Rejoice!"
            Let your gentleness be evident to all.
            Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving,
            Present your request to God.
            And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Jesus Christ."

4:11b- 13 I have learned to be content no matter what happens to me. 12 I know what it's like not to have what I need. I also know what it's like to have more than I need. I have learned the secret of being content no matter what happens. I am content whether I am well fed or hungry. I am content whether I have more than enough or not enough. 13 I can do everything by the power of Christ. He gives me strength.
I love that he is happy no matter in what kind of situation he is in.

Chapter 4 i liked the most to read.

The key verse to me was 4: 8-9

8 Finally, my brothers and sisters, always think about what is true.
Think about what is noble, right and pure.
Think about what is lovely and worthy of respect.
If anything is excellent or worthy of praise, think about those kinds of things.
Do what you have learned or received or heard from me. Follow my example.
The God who gives peace will be with you.

Ephesians

This week we had to read 2 books , they where short, only 4 or 5 chapters.

But still it has a lot of important information in it.

The most Bible quotes u find on internet come from these 2 books.

Efesians :

Its a letter to the people of Efeze, full of guidance, wisdom and words of encouragement .

Paul talks about a secret, i guess thats what the Gospel is …a secret.

Understood by them who The Holy Spirit explains it to ,by mercy we are saved .

Paul tells about how Jews and Gentiles are one in Christ but also reminds them that they used to be far away from God.

Without Christ they where strangers, not having any hope.

They where in this world without God.

Through Christ they bin brought closer to God, He cleared the way.

 Now we are no longer strangers in His kingdom.

I like how Paul says that we are one in body and one in spirit.

We have one Master, one faith, one baptism,one God and Father of all,who rules over all,works trough all and is present in all.

Some are called to be teachers ,some prophets, some evangelist but we are all one.

We work together for building up The Kingdom Of God.

The part where he talks about man en women in marriage and compares it to the church and Christ is also important.

How to love one another, how to treat each other and to obey .

I think in most wedding services they quote from this chapter.

In the last part of the letter he talks about how to respond to the devil.

To put on your army clothes.

We all know that when u live close to God the devil will try to get u away from Him.

You are  fighting a spiritual battle, sometimes youre not even aware of the lies of the devil .

At least i wasn't this week, i experienced it myself.

But God helped me, reminded me that only 3 simple words ; "God help me" would help me.

Paul talks about that battle, which can be much bigger than lies from the devil.

He knows that we fight against demons, but he also tells us how to fight them!

Put on the full armor of God:

The belt of Truth

The breastplate of righteousness 

You're feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the Gospel of Peace.

The shield of faith.

The helmet of salvation

And the sword of the spirit which is the word of God.

The verse i really like in this book is  from chapter 3:9

"…and to make plain to everyone the administration of this mystery , which for ages past was kept hidden in God, Who created all things."

I know that the Gospel is a mystery to some people, and only God can open there eyes and make them really see who Jesus was and still is.

Bible book Acts

Bible Reading Acts

The book of Acts is very different than Matthew , Matthew talked a lot about Jesus and Acts talks a lot about Peter and the others who went to share the Gospel.

I liked that Peter was sort of the first missionary .

It tells about the many travels Peter did, what miracles happened when people started to believe and received The Holy Spirit.

To me that made clear how much we need The Holy Spirit.

U cant have faith without Him.

U need The Holy Spirit to open up heart , to make u understand The Bible and to hear God's voice.

Some situations u clearly see The Holy Spirit at work is in :

Acts 2:  They were all together and they received The Holy Spirit, they started to talk in different languages as The Spirit guided them in .

Acts 4:  Petrus talked to the Sanhedrin , he was filled with The Holy Spirit, later after he was released . and in verse 31 they where filled with The Holy Spirit.

Acts 7: Stefanus was about to be stoned to death , he was filled with The Holy Spirit.

Acts 10 :19 The Holy Ghost tells Peter what to do.

Acts 16 : 6-10 The Holy Spirit dos not let them go to Asia and Bithynie to spread The Gospel, in Troas Paul gets at night a vision about a Macedonishe man who asked him to come and help them, They knew by this vision that God wanted them to go to Macedonie.

I think in this book u can see that God wants to let the disciples know that The Gospel is also for the gentiles, for us.

U can see it in the story about Philip and the Ethiopian .

That man was a eunuch ,he traveled from Jerusalem , he believed in God but when he was in Jerusalem he couldn't enter The Temple to praise and worship God because 

he was a eunuch .

How great it was for him that God send Philip to explain The Word to him , and he got baptized.

I like how God showed to Peter the vision about the food . 

All the different food was on that sheet that came down from heaven.

Than a voice said; Get up Peter , kill and eat.

He didn't wanted to eat it cuz he never eaten something unclean or impure.

But the voice came to him another time saying ; " Do not call anything impure that God has made clean"

By this he knew that it was oke to go to Cornelius house to also share The Gospel.

In those days it was a against the law for a Jew to associate with or visit a gentile.

I think its really beautiful how God showed him this.

Even in the way Paul was called by Jesus u can see that The Gospel is for the gentiles to.

Saul chased Christians , he wanted them death, its just amazing how God calls a person like him to share His Word .

The most bad persons , God can call them , break them and change them .

God guided them where He wanted them to go, so when Paul was trown into jail , God had a plan with it.

When Paul went to Rome , i think this was also part of His plan to let The Gospel to be told there.

In so many things where we would see a disaster ( like to be put into jail) Paul stayed strong into faith and shared The Gospel .

He was not afraid!

God was with him. 

We can learn from this , when we are in situations where we don't see a way out , 

we know we can trust God to be with us in that situation.

When reading this book u get to know so much about the many travels The apostles did , how The Holy Spirit guided them .

And spoke to them .

We now want to hear God's voice and be guided by The Holy Spirit and me myself find it sometimes difficult.

But reading the book of Acts i see that its not difficult.

They talk so easily to God and do miracles through The Holy Spirit.