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Jonah 4:10-11 – God Even Loves “Evil” People

By Jeremy Myers
1 Comment

Jonah 4:10-11 – God Even Loves “Evil” People
http://media.blubrry.com/one_verse/feeds.soundcloud.com/stream/365497409-redeeminggod-99-jonah-410-11-god-even-loves-evil-people.mp3

This study looks at Jonah 4:10-11, the final two verses in the book of Jonah. But this is not the end of our discussion of Jonah. There will be one final episode next week, Episode #100, in which we discuss what the story of Jonah is all about.

As we will see in this study, the story of Jonah has a very strange ending, but it shows us that God loves all people, even those we consider “evil.”

Jonah 4:10-11

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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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: evil, Jonah, Jonah 4:10-11, love of God, One Verse Podcast, sin

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Living the Gospel begins with Loving Yourself

By Jeremy Myers
17 Comments

Living the Gospel begins with Loving Yourself

As you seek to live out the gospel, you think of it as a series of concentric circles with yourself at the center. I am not encouraging a self-centered gospel, but rather a gospel that first transforms the self.

As many have said, a gospel message that doesn’t work at home should not be exported elsewhere.

This is why Jesus told us to take the plank out of our own eye before we help someone else take the speck out of theirs (Matt 7:1-5). Paul said much the same thing when he instructed elders to take care of themselves and their families at home before they thought of leading others (1 Tim 3:2-5).

God loves youLiving the gospel always begins in your own heart.

What does the gospel do in your heart?

It teaches you to love yourself. It teaches you that you are lovely, that God made you to be uniquely you.

This is what Jesus meant when He said to love your neighbor as yourself (Mark 12:31). He was saying that before you can love your neighbors as the gospel calls you to do, you must first recognize the gospel truths that you yourself are loved, forgiven, and accepted. Before you seek to live out the gospel among others, make sure the gospel has brought reconciliation and redemption into your own heart and mind.

Once the gospel has touched your own self, it is then that it can begin to emanate out from you in concentric circles toward your family, your friendships, your work, and to the rest of the world.

The first person the gospel touches is yourself.

Every person walks wounded through life. We have scars from childhood, shame from our past, fears about the future, and uncertainty about our worth. We believe lies about how little we are loved. The truth of the gospel is that all is forgiven, there is nothing to fear, we are of inestimable value, and God loves us more than we can ever possibly imagine.

I get emails every week from people all over the world who feel that there is no way God can love them, forgive them, or accept them into His family. In a fit of anger they cursed God. At a rough time in their marriage they committed adultery or got divorced. Even if there is no serious sin in someone’s life, bad things happen to all people, and when these things happen, the tendency of the average human being is to think that God is punishing them for something.

But God does not punish.

The first truth of the gospel is that God loves every person in the world so much, that He would do absolutely anything for each one of us (John 3:16).

The lie of Satan is that God does not love and cannot forgive; the truth of the gospel is that God always loves and only forgives.

Until we begin to understand this, we will never see the beautiful truths of the gospel for what they are, and we will never be able to live within those truths as God desires.

Once we begin to recognize how much we are loved, it is then that God begins to do His greatest work in us. He then begins to show us that each one of us is completely unique, and that these things that make us who we are were given to us by God, not so that we could cover them up and become like everyone else, but so that we could magnify the glory of God by living as only we can live. The glory of God is best reflected in the glory of a life that embraces and celebrates what makes it unique.

you are loved

Knowing you are loved brings you the freedom to be you

As you begin to understand the gospel, and how much you are loved and forgiven, you will then begin to find the freedom to live in this world as only you can live. You will find the freedom to stop the endless cycle of trying to be someone else, and will discover that God wants you to be you. You will discover that you do not need to be like anyone else, but simply need to be the best you that you can be. God made you to be uniquely you, and He wants you to live fully in the reality of who you are.

As you discover your strengths, abilities, talents, and desires, and as you live fully within those areas, you will be reflecting the glory of God and the gospel to the rest of the world. You most fully reflect the glory of God when you reflect the glory of yourself as God made you to be.

I recently watched the movie, Kung Fu Panda 3 with my daughters. In the movie, the main character, Po, is able to defeat the villain, Kai, by harnessing the secret powers of a village of pandas. What sort of powers did they have? Well, a few were really good at napping. Others loved to roll down hills. Some of the children liked to play hacky sack. One female panda was quite good at ribbon dancing. While these may not seem like powerful or useful skills which can be used to defeat an enemy, Po was able to teach, train, and encourage this village of pandas to be the best they could be at whatever they were good at, and when they all worked together, their skills complimented each other to defeat Kai.

This is how it works in our own lives as well. God made me to be me and you to be you. There are things you are really good at which I can never do, and vice versa. If I try to be you, or you try to be me, neither of us will ever live up to our God-given potential, and we will never be able to help each other in our battle against sin and Satan.

The only way the gospel can advance in this world is if each of us recognizes that we are perfect as God made us to be, and we rejoice and celebrate in the things that make us unique, and then we all work together to advance the cause of the gospel. When we do this, the gates of hell will not prevail against us.

So who has God made you to be?

The gospel calls you to live fully in that reality. If you do not know who God made you to be, the best way to discover this is to return to the knowledge that you are fully loved. And if God loves you, you can love you too.

It is within the safety and security of this knowledge that God begins to blossom and flourish the dreams He has for you and your life.

So begin with the knowledge that you are loved, and then see where God takes you from there.

The Gospel According to ScriptureWant to learn more about the gospel? Take my new course, "The Gospel According to Scripture."

The entire course is free for those who join my online Discipleship group here on RedeemingGod.com. I can't wait to see you inside the course!

God is Redeeming Church, Redeeming Life Bible & Theology Topics: biblical living, Christian living, following Jesus, good news, gospel, love of God

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Jonah 2:3 – Why Jonah Feared Drowning

By Jeremy Myers
1 Comment

Jonah 2:3 – Why Jonah Feared Drowning
http://media.blubrry.com/one_verse/feeds.soundcloud.com/stream/320842856-redeeminggod-76-jonah-23-why-jonah-feared-drowning.mp3

I’ve encountered several people recently who fear death. I don’t know if you fear death or not. Personally, I don’t.

But as we study the book of Jonah, we see that Jonah sort of wanted to die, but he didn’t want to die by drowning. We see why in this study of Jonah 2:3. We see that Jonah prefers to die by digestion that to die by drowning. Isn’t that strange?

Jonah 2:3 Jonah prays

The Text of 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.

In this discussion of Jonah 2:3 we look at:

  • Why Jonah says God threw him into the sea when it was the sailors
  • The description of the sea and what it means for Jonah
  • Why Jonah prefers to die by digestion than to die by drowning

Resources:

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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.

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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: death, forgiveness, Jonah 2:3, love of God, One Verse Podcast, suicide

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How much does a person need to know to receive eternal life?

By Jeremy Myers
4 Comments

How much does a person need to know to receive eternal life?

How much does a person need to know to receive eternal life? The answer is that it depends on the person! Yes, there is a minimum, but no one will ever believe in Jesus for eternal life if all they know is the minimum. So how much should you share? How much must a person believe? When you present the gospel, what do you need to say?

One of the greatest problems in presenting the gospel today is that people confuse “Preparation” gospel truths with “Purification” gospel truths. Then they confuse all these various truths with the one, simple “Presentation” truth of the gospel. With all this confusion, the gospel gets pretty muddied.

Let me provide you with some suggestions for clarifying your gospel presentation… I go into great detail on all of this in my course on the Gospel, but let me briefly explain for you here.

gospel truths for sanctification

The 1 Gospel Presentation Truth

The one, central gospel truth this:

Jesus gives eternal life to anyone who believes in Him for it.

That’s it.

I wrote more about this truth in this post: The Gospel Invitation

The problem with this one presentation truth, however, is that if this is all a person hears about the Gospel, they are unlikely to believe in Jesus. If they know nothing about God, Jesus, their own separation from God, or anything else, why would they believe in Jesus for eternal life?

This is where the gospel preparation truths come in.

7 Gospel Preparation Truths

There are likely hundreds (maybe thousands) of truths in the gospel which help prepare a person to believe in Jesus for eternal life. A person needs not know all of these in order to believe in Jesus for eternal life, but most people will need to know at least a few of them before they are ready to believe in Jesus.

I covered 7 of the more popular and persuasive gospel preparation truths in a previous post: 7 Gospel Preparation Truths.

But what happens after a person believes? Well, most Christians don’t realize this, but the gospel has more to say to a person after they believe than before. This is where the Gospel Purification Truths come into play.

7 Gospel Purification Truths

Again, much like the preparation truths, there are hundreds (maybe thousands) of truths in the gospel which help Christians grow into maturity and become more like Jesus Christ.

And yes, all these truths are part of the biblical gospel.

The gospel has more to say to believers than it does to non-believers.

christian purificationSo here are 7 of the more helpful categories of gospel truths that a new believer might need to know in order to be sanctified and grow into the image and likeness of Jesus Christ:

  1. Unconditional Love and Grace of God
  2. The Life and Ministry of Jesus Christ
  3. Repentance from Dead Works and Religion
  4. The Indwelling Work of the Holy Spirit
  5. The Future Resurrection and Judgments
  6. The Bible and Other Believers
  7. Christian Apologetics

I know that a simple list like that might not be super helpful, but again, this is partly why I created my online course on the gospel. By taking this course, you can learn more about the entire line of thought I have presented in this post, as well as more details about the 7 Categories of Purification Truths presented in the list above.

These 7 types of gospels truths will give Christians a firm foundation on which to purify their lives and become more like Jesus every day. This process is not automatic and is not guaranteed, but growing in the knowledge of these gospel truths will help a person build their lives on Jesus Christ.

But notice what happens…

When we Confuse the Gospel Truths

gospel confusionIf you confuse purification gospel truths with the presentation truth, then you might think it is necessary for a person to repent of their sin or believe in the future judgments in order to receive eternal life. (But the Bible never teaches this.)

The same goes for a commitment to other believers, or various works of the Holy Spirit, or even having all their questions answered about the Trinity, the authority of Scripture, or the origin of the universe. But again, all these sorts of things can be discussed and studied after a person believers. They are still gospel truths, but they are purification truths, not presentation truths.

When you keep your preparation gospel truths and purification gospel truths separate from the one presentation truth, you will then be able to share the gospel clearly with others.

The Gospel According to ScriptureWant to learn more about the gospel? Take my new course, "The Gospel According to Scripture."

The entire course is free for those who join my online Discipleship group here on RedeemingGod.com. I can't wait to see you inside the course!

God is Redeeming Theology Bible & Theology Topics: apologetics, believe in Jesus, gospel according to Scripture, Holy Spirit, judgment, love of God, purify, repentance, sanctification

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God in Search of Man

By Jeremy Myers
4 Comments

God in Search of Man

I am really excited about the podcast I am publishing this Thursday. We will be looking at Genesis 3:8-10 which is where Adam and Eve hide from God after eating fruit from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil.

If you haven’t been listening to my podcast, make sure you don’t miss this one. It reveals something crucial about God. Something you don’t want to miss. Go subscribe now, and you will get it automatically on Thursday…

subscribe on itunes

Among other things, I talk about how God calls out in Genesis 3:10, “Adam, where are you?”

This is the question of God throughout all of human history.

Lots of people say that the Bible is an account of man in search of God. I see it differently. I see it as an account of God in search of man.

God did not leave us. We left Him. The division that exists between God and man is completely one-sided (our side). We abandoned Him; He did not abandon us.

god in search of manThe death of Jesus on the cross was not to reconcile an angry God to sinful and rebellious humanity. No, the death of Jesus on the cross was completely one-sided; it was to reconcile a fearful humanity to a loving God. God was in Jesus reconciling the world to Himself (2 Cor 5:19); not the other way around.

Scripture is about what God is doing to rebuild that relationship and reconnect with us.

One of the other places we see this is in Luke 15, with the story of the shepherd who goes in search for a lost sheep, a woman who upends her house searching for a lost coin, and loving father who pines away looking down the road for his lost son (and when he sees his son returning from a long way off, he runs to meet him).

I also believe, by the way, that the Prodigal Son is Adam (and all of us in Adam). When the younger son goes and asks his father for his inheritance, this is Adam eating the fruit from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. I believe that the wisdom that came from that tree is something God wanted to slowly impart to humanity over time in the midst of their relationship. But Adam took a short cut. He wanted the wisdom “Now” just like the Prodigal Son wanted his inheritance “Now.”

Anyway, if you haven’t subscribed to the Podcast yet, this would be a great time! Or if you have subscribed, but have missed several episodes, this would be a great time to pick it back up.

Someone who has been listening their way through the episodes recently emailed me and said that the podcast was “Genesis in a way I have NEVER heard it before!” That’s a good way of describing it. I enjoy teaching it, and I know you will enjoy learning along with me.

That might be an overstatement. Not all people enjoy my podcast. But even if you don’t enjoy it, at least you will be challenged …

Anyway, what do you think of this idea about God in search of man. It is not that He “lost” us. He knows right where we are, just as He knew right where Adam was. But God plays Hide and Seek in the Garden with Adam just as He plays Hide and Seek with us in our lives.

Why?

You’ll have to listen to the podcast to find out…

subscribe on itunes

God is Redeeming Theology Bible & Theology Topics: 2 Corinthians 5:19, anger, death of Jesus, Genesis 3:8-10, love of God, Luke 15, One Verse Podcast, prodigal son, sin, wrath

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