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Jonah Conclusion – What is the Book of Jonah About?

By Jeremy Myers
1 Comment

Jonah Conclusion – What is the Book of Jonah About?
http://media.blubrry.com/one_verse/feeds.soundcloud.com/stream/369231869-redeeminggod-100-jonah-conclusion-what-is-the-book-of-jonah-about.mp3

What is the book of Jonah all about? Is it about God’s heart for all the people of the world? Is it about how God wants you to get involved in world missions?

No, it is not about either one of these things, even though this is often the way you hear it taught in sermons and during Mission’s Conferences. In this final study of the book of Jonah, you will learn what the book of Jonah is all about.

Jonah conclusion

In this discussion of Jonah we look at:

  • Common theories about what Jonah is all about
  • The true message of the book of Jonah
  • What you can learn from the story of Jonah

Resources:

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  • Subscribe and Leave a Review on iTunes

Downloadable Podcast Resources

Those who are part of my online discipleship group may download the MP3 audio file for this podcast and view the podcast transcript below.

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If you want to deepen your relationship with God and better understand Scripture, take one (or all) of these courses. They are great for personal study or for a small group Bible study.

You can see the list of available courses here, and if you join the Discipleship group, you can take all the courses at no additional cost. Go here to learn more and join now.

God is Redeeming God, Redeeming Scripture Bible & Theology Topics: enemies, evil, Jonah, love your enemies, One Verse Podcast, violence

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Jonah 1:2 – God Calls Jonah

By Jeremy Myers
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Jonah 1:2 – God Calls Jonah
http://media.blubrry.com/one_verse/feeds.soundcloud.com/stream/307991145-redeeminggod-65-jonah-12-god-calls-jonah.mp3

Jonah 1 2Do you have an enemy? Maybe it was President Obama. Maybe now it is President Trump. Or maybe it’s the Islamic terrorists in Iran. Or the religious nut jobs here in the United States.

Maybe it is someone you don’t necessarily think of as an enemy, but you just can’t stand to be around them. Maybe a family member, a coworker, or a neighbor?

Anyway, imagine what you would do if God showed up in your living room later today, and said, “Hey! You know that person you just can’t stand? Well, I can’t stand them either, and I have a message of judgment I want you to tell them.”

If that happened to you, what would you do?

Well, that is exactly what happened to Jonah.

In Jonah 1:2, God calls Jonah to go preach against Nineveh. This podcast episode looks at why God said this, and concludes with a brief look at Jonah’s Jonah’s surprising response.

Jonah 1:3

The Text of Jonah 1:1-3

Now the word of the Lord came to Jonah the son of Amittai, saying, “Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and cry against it; for their wickedness has come up before me.”

But Jonah arose to flee to Tarshish …

In this discussion of Jonah 1:2 we look at:

  • A reminder that Jonah was a popular prophet
  • A bit about how evil Nineveh was
  • Why God wanted Jonah to preach against Nineveh
  • Jonah’s surprising response to God’s instructions

Resources:

  • Redeeming God Discipleship Area
  • Subscribe and Leave a Review on iTunes

Downloadable Podcast Resources

Those who are part of my online discipleship group may download the MP3 audio file for this podcast and view the podcast transcript below.

You must join a discipleship group or login to download the MP3 and view the transcript.

Membership-become-a-member

Thanks for visiting this page ... but this page is for Discipleship Group members.

If you are already part of a Faith, Hope, or Love Discipleship Group,
Login here.

If you are part of the free "Grace" Discipleship group, you will need to
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Join Us Today.

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Do you like learning about the Bible online?

Do you like learning about Scripture and theology through my podcast? If so, then you will also love my online courses. They all have MP3 audio downloads, PDF transcripts, quizzes, and a comment section for questions and interaction with other students.

If you want to deepen your relationship with God and better understand Scripture, take one (or all) of these courses. They are great for personal study or for a small group Bible study.

You can see the list of available courses here, and if you join the Discipleship group, you can take all the courses at no additional cost. Go here to learn more and join now.

God is Redeeming God, Redeeming Scripture Bible & Theology Topics: enemies, honor, Jonah, Jonah 1:2, judgment, One Verse Podcast, shame

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It’s the White Man’s Fault! It’s the Black Man’s Fault!

By Jeremy Myers
14 Comments

It’s the White Man’s Fault! It’s the Black Man’s Fault!

People love to point fingers.

It’s been happening since the Garden of Eden when, after he ate from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil, Adam said to God, “The woman, whom you gave to me, gave me the fruit and I ate.” Adam not only blames Eve, but blames God as well.

When God turns to Eve, she said, “Don’t look at me! It was the serpent!” She also was implying that it was God’s fault. After all, didn’t God create the serpent and put it in the Garden?

Down through the eons of history, this approach has been our standard operating procedure. Every time something goes bad in our life, our family, our town, our country, or our world, everybody starts pointing the finger at everybody else.

pointing the finger

Take the events in the Middle East for the past 20 years:

It’s the West’s fault for what is happening in the Middle East! Death to the great satan!

No, it’s the Muslims fault! Let’s blow them off the face of the earth!

No, it’s not Muslims; it’s only extremist Muslims.

Yeah, but Muslims only become extreme in reaction to Western abuse of power.

Who cares? Let’s kill ’em all and let God sort it out! (Have you ever seen this bumper sticker?)

The same sort of conversation happened during the “Occupy Wall Street” protests:

All those rich people are to blame for our county’s problems. They are stealing our money!

No we’re not! You are poor because you just want to sit out here, hold signs, and commit crimes!

But that’s only because we can’t get jobs because you are so greedy!

We can’t hire anybody because Obama — whom you voted into office — ruined our economy.  It’s your own damn fault!

Then there are the recent events in Ferguson, MO:

You white people are always killing black people for no reason!

What? It was self-defense! And he was a criminal!

Self-defense?! You shot him six times!  You’re all racist!

No, we’re trying to uphold the law. Look at you! You’re rioting and looting stores. You’re all criminals!

ferguson racial tension

We could go on and on and on. This sort of exchange takes place every day in our lives, communities, job sites, and even families.

And you want to know what the solution is? Jesus showed it to us, if we have courage to look.

The solution is crucifixion … not of our enemies, but of ourselves.

Death truly is the answer … but not the death of our foes, but of me. I. Myself.

The church claims it follows Jesus, but we only want to follow Him if it leads to personal glory, pay raises, a higher standard of living, and the death and destruction of our enemies.

Nobody wants to follow Jesus into death; especially into death for our enemies … and maybe even at the hands of our enemies.

This is hard teaching, and frankly, I am not fully sure about how to live it out.

As I write this, my inner self is screaming, “But what does that mean, Jeremy?!” And frankly, I don’t know. Actually, I don’t think I want to know.

I am not ready to follow Jesus into death.

The idea terrifies me.

But I believe that following Jesus into death is the only way that violence and finger-pointing will ever end. As long as I refuse to own up to the violence and hatred in my own heart, I will forever be pointing the finger at someone else, saying, “They made me do it!”

dying for our enemies

It’s not the white man’s fault or the black man’s fault. It’s me.

It’s not the rich people or the poor people. It’s me.

It’s not the Muslims or the Christians. It’s me.

It’s not the Democrats or the Republicans. It’s me.

This is the first step in dying to ourselves. Recognizing that I am the one at fault, I am the one to blame, is the first step toward laying down our lives for others.

Racial tensions are at an all-time high. White people blame the black man, and black people blame the white man. But neither is at fault. I am the one at fault.

It is not “they” who must die, but me. If Jesus is our guide, we bring peace, not by killing others, but by laying down our lives for others, and especially for our enemies. 

This post is part of the September 2014 Synchroblog. Below is a list of other bloggers who contributed to the Synchroblog this month. Go read them all and see what others have to say about race and violence.

  • Wendy McCaig – Race, Violence, and a Silent White America 
  • Glenn Hager – Can We Even Talk About Racial Issues?
  • Carol Kuniholm – Who is Allowed to Vote? 
  • Sarah Quezada – Race, Violence, and the Airport Immigration Agent
  • Wesley Rotoll – Race, Violence, and Why We Need to Talk About It 
  • Kathy Escobar – We Have a Dream

God is z Bible & Theology Topics: blame, crucifixion, cruciform, Discipleship, enemies, love, racist, scapegoat, synchroblog

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Is God Lying about His Involvement in Violence?

By Jeremy Myers
24 Comments

Is God Lying about His Involvement in Violence?

God does not lieOne common objection to the proposal I am making in my series on how to understand the violence of God in the Old Testament (see the link list below) is that this view seems to make God out to be a liar.

The objection is this: If God inspired the biblical authors to record that He is doing and commanding things that He is actually not doing or commanding, doesn’t this mean that God is lying? But Scripture says that God does not lie (Num 23:19). So how can God inspire biblical authors to write that He commanded Israel to do things that He did not actually command them to do? As with the previous objection, there are a few things that can be said in response.

If God Did Commit Violence, Then Jesus is a Liar

First, we can turn the question around. It seems that if God truly is violent, then the real lie is in Jesus claiming to fully reveal God to us, but not showing or revealing any of the murderous and bloody violence that so characterized God in the Old Testament. Take for example, John 14:9-11. Philip says to Jesus, “Show us the Father,” and in response Jesus says, “If you have seen me, you have seen the Father.”

But if God truly does have a violent and bloody side then Jesus was being deceptive, for nowhere in His life or ministry did He reveal God as someone who goes to war against His enemies or commands the genocide of people who do not love or obey Him.

If there is a dark side to God, it was certainly hidden in Jesus during His ministry, which means that when Jesus tells Philip, “If you have seen me, you have seen the Father,” what He really meant was “You haven’t fully seen the Father; only the loving side.” If God really is violent, but Jesus revealed none of this violence, then the real lie is Jesus hiding this side of God from us so that He appeared more loving and gracious than He truly is.

If someone believes that God truly is violent, the burden of proof lies on them to explain how Jesus fully reveals God to us but fails to reveal the violent and bloody side of God’s nature. If Jesus is the exact representation of God and is the image of the invisible God (John 1:14, 18; 14:9-11; 2 Cor 4:4; Php 2:6; Col 1:15; Heb 1:2-3), but during His life and ministry never revealed the aspect of God as a warrior, then there are only two options: either God is not a warrior and Jesus did truly reveal the Father to us, or Jesus was being deceptive.

[Read more…]

God is Uncategorized Bible & Theology Topics: cross, enemies, genocide, God, guilty, Jesus, John 14:9-11, lie, Luke 9:54, Numbers 23:19, Old Testament, scripture, Theology of God, violence, When God Pled Guilty

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