SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 8/30/2025 10:01 AM
My Worship
Time Focus: PT-3 “Themes”
In
today’s SD, I continue to look into the intro to Jonah what John MacArthur calls
“Themes” and there are seven different titles that we will be looking at, and
today we will begin with the theme of “Judgment of Sinners.”
JUDGMENT OF SINNERS
“This narrative also reveals that the Lord is the supreme
Judge. At the beginning of the story,
God declared judgment against Nineveh because their evil had reached Him (Jonah
1:2). He then illustrated that His
judgment is destructive, ravaging the sea (1:4) and nearly destroying the
sailors (1:6-16). God showed that the
wages of sin is death, as He nearly killed His prophet who disobeyed Him (1:17;
2:1-5). The Lord also displayed the
fearsomeness of His wrath, as evidenced in the terror-stricken reaction of the
Ninevites at God’s threat of their destruction (3:4). Accompanied with God’s grace, the warning of
judgment ultimately moved the Ninevites to repentance (3:5-9); cf. Matt.
10:28), and God relented from His burning anger (Jonah 3:9). Thus, the book of Jonah demonstrates not only
the severity of God’s wrath against sin but also the reality that His wrath should
cause all sinners to repent (Acts 2:37-38; 17:29-31).
REPENTANCE OF SINNERS
“Powerful illustrations of repentance appear throughout
this book. Jonah’s prayer in chapter 2
exhibits numerous components of righteous repentance, including the fundamental
element of calling on the Lord in desperate dependence (Jonah 2:1). Jonah repented of His perversion of God’s
nature, acknowledging that though he had fled from God’s presence (1:3), he
could not evade the Lord’s omnipresence (2:1-4). Sincere repentance recognizes the wonder of
God’s salvation, as Jonah did when he exclaimed that he should have died in the
storm but was spared because God rescued him (2:5-6). Repentance also acknowledges the mercy and
grace of God which He shows because of His compassion (2:7). As Jonah’s prayer demonstrates, those who
repent turn away from sin and idolatry, and turn, instead, toward the Lord and
His salvation (1:16; 2:9).
“The Ninevites manifested such repentance. They understood the urgency of their
situation and grounded their repentant faith in the one and only God
(3:5a). They bore fruit in keeping with
repentance by forfeiting food and drink to focus on their relationship with the
Lord (Jonah 3:5b; cf. Matt. 3:8). Thus,
they demonstrated the humility that accompanies genuine repentance, recognizing
that it is not merely the word but also in deed (Jonah 3:7-8). Ultimately, however, the fact that the entire
city of Nineveh repented-which was clearly a divine miracle-affirms that God
alone is the source of repentance (cf. 2 Tim. 2:25).
“Nevertheless, Jonah’s life illustrated that while
repentance must be earnest and vigorous, it can also be dangerously partial.
Even though the prophet repented in the fish, his repentance proved to be
incomplete, for he still detested the Ninevites (Jonah 4:1). God, therefore, continued refining His
servant (4:6-11), chastening him and driving him to further repentance. Thus, the Lord affirmed that repentance is
not merely a single act but a lifestyle the bears fruit (cf. Matt. 3:8; 1 John
1:8).”
Spiritual meaning for my
Life Today: Repentance is one of the keys to living the
Christian life, and to me here is a key to doing this “23
Search me, O God, and know my heart; Try me and know my anxious thoughts; 24
And see if there be any hurtful way in me, And lead me in the everlasting way”
(Ps. 139:23-24).
My Steps of Faith for
Today: Trusting the Lord to allow me to do the
things today that the Lord desires for me to do.
8/30/2025 10:28 AM
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