There’s a familiar saying dealing with a “no quit” attitude — “It’s not over until it’s over.”

As followers of Christ, we know that God is in 100% control. We know that it’s not over until He says it’s over.

I’m sure when Jonah jumped into the raging sea, he thought his life was over. He had disobeyed God and there was no remedy for him. He didn’t understand the mercy of God.

Psalms 103:10-12
(God) does not treat us as our sins deserve or repay us according to our iniquities.
For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his love for those who fear him; as far as the east is from the west,
so far has he removed our transgressions from us.

I’m comforted by the Jonah story, knowing God has good plans for us even when we disobey Him. He may send adversity for our good. His mercy and grace directs us to come to our senses and obey His perfect will.

Let’s trust and obey our God at all times. He loves us. He’s got it all planned for our good!

In Sunday's sermon we explored Lot’s cave, his daughters’ deception, and a messy legacy. After God’s mercy spared them from Sodom, fear, not faith, drove their next steps. Lot fled to Zoar, then to a cave, afraid to trust God’s plan.

Gen 19:30
Lot and his two daughters left Zoar and settled in the mountains, for he was afraid to stay in Zoar. He and his two daughters lived in a cave.

His daughters feared childlessness, and instead of waiting on God, they schemed a plan with wine.

Their fear contrasted with Abraham’s faith. He was not perfect, but obeyed. Abraham left Haran—no questions and waited years for Isaac.

Do you ever take a ‘shortcut’ like Lot, only to hit a dead end? Or “panic-plan” like the daughters?

God’s mercy saves, but trust keeps us on His path. Let’s recall—fear births messes; faith builds futures!

Lam 3:24
I say to myself, “The LORD is my portion; therefore I will wait for him.”

Where is God calling you to trust, not scheme? Let’s wait on the Lord!

With setbacks or failure we must give thanks because God is always working for our good.

1 Thes 5:18
…give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.

Failure is not final. We give thanks in advance for a second chance and the lesson learned.

Consider Jonah. He was sent to Nineveh to preach repentance. He didn’t and instead sailed for Tarsus. Then a great storm came and he jumped overboard and spent three days in the belly of a big fish. Talk about failure!

God gave him a second chance.

Jonah 3:1-2
Then the word of the LORD came to Jonah a second time: “Go to the great city of Nineveh and proclaim to it the message I give you.”

Jonah learned from His mistake and did as God instructed and there was great success.

Jonah 3:5
The Ninevites believed God. They declared a fast, and all of them, from the greatest to the least, put on sackcloth.

Let’s praise God in failure. It’s part of our maturation and the process to success!

There is a tension between our choices and God’s grace.

God has a will for our lives and He empowers us to accomplish His good and perfect will. The key is knowing what His will is for us. Then nothing can stop what God has planned.

To ascertain His will is to be faithful in what He has already revealed. If we know what to do—at this point even establishing a daily quiet time—then more will be revealed as we go.

Lk 8:16-18
No one lights a lamp and hides it in a jar or puts it under a bed. Instead, he puts it on a stand, so that those who come in can see the light. For there is nothing hidden that will not be disclosed, and nothing concealed that will not be known or brought out into the open. Therefore consider carefully how you listen. Whoever has will be given more; whoever does not have, even what he thinks he has will be taken from him.

Let’s be faithful with little so we can be trusted with much. God wants to bless us! He has good plans for us!

We all want to love our neighbor because it’s obeying the Great Commandment.

Matthew 22:39
And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’

What does it mean to love our neighbors as ourselves? It means we are loving the way we would want to be loved. God has loved us by laying down His life for us, listening to us, providing for us, being kind to us, compassionate toward us, guiding and protecting us, and forgiving us.

As we love our neighbors like we want Jesus to love us, we ask, “Who is our neighbor?”

Lk 10:29
But he wanted to justify himself, so he asked Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?”

As Jesus explained in Luke 10:25-37, our neighbor is anyone we encounter who is in need of love, care, and assistance.

Everywhere we go today, let’s be sensitive to the Spirit’s guidance and be “on the ready” to love others the way we would want to be loved by Jesus. Let’s be Jesus in work clothes.

Lk 10:37b
Jesus told him, “Go and do likewise.”

God’s peace is more than the absence of hostilities, it’s the reconciliation between God and man. We enter into this realm of peace through believing Jesus paid our sin debt - a debt we couldn’t possibly pay - when He died and rose again.

Rom 5:1-2
Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God.

We are in the realm of grace, doing all God wants us to do.

Phil 4:13
I can do everything through him who gives me strength.

By grace let’s make our day a peace day. When things aren’t going well, let’s thank Him for the trial.

James 1:2
Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds…

Then let’s bless and pray for opportunities several times a day to bring peace to someone.

I believe we’ll see the Spirit’s fruit, experiencing love, joy, and peace!

The term “stupid” can be harsh. It’s often used derogatorily to insult or belittle someone, insinuating that they lack common sense or good judgment.

In the movie “Forrest Gump,”Forrest says, “Stupid is as stupid does.” It suggests a person should be judged on what they do, rather than how they are perceived.

This agrees with Scripture.

Pr 12:1
Whoever loves discipline loves knowledge, but he who hates correction is stupid.

The Bible is encouraging us to love discipline if we want to make good decisions based on facts, solve problems, and act wisely.

That’s why we should seek out and long for wise and biblically sound instructors. That’s why we must discipline ourselves to read, study, and memorize Scripture.

Pr 9:10
The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom, and knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.

With God’s help, let’s crave discipline and correction. We are so deeply loved and God wants the very best for us. Let’s be wise!

Let’s shine like stars today!

Phil 2:14-15
Do everything without complaining or arguing, so that you may become blameless and pure, children of God without fault in a crooked and depraved generation, in which you shine like stars in the universe.

Working out salvation is doing what Jesus did—seeking and saving the lost.

As we seek, we must love people, but NOT love the culture we must enter to find the lost.

Jn 17:18
As you sent me into the world, I have sent them into the world.

As we are sent onto the world, we must guard against loving the world.

1 Jn 2:15
Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him.

Let’s cultivate serving the lost with accountability, immersing ourselves with Scripture, praying, worshipping, and giving. We run the race to hear Jesus say, “Well done!”

1 Cor 9:24
Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run…to get the prize.

I know we’ve been taught the paramount importance of Scripture. But since repetition is the key to learning, let’s focus on Scripture memory.

2 Tim 3:16-17
All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.

By God’s grace I’ve memorized a lot of Scripture. Not forgetting what’s been memorized has necessitated a scripture memory system I’d like to share. Also I wouldn’t trust solely on a memorization app. I used one that suddenly went down and erased all my work. If I didn’t have a paper back up, I would have lost years and years of work.

So this is what I do.
1. Write the scripture with reference down. Rewrite it several times. Then begin to erase parts of it until all is erased and you can quote it from memory. Then write it down again on 3 x 5 card.

2. Review these verse(s) every day for 3 weeks.

3. After 3 weeks put these verse(s) in a group to review once a week.

4. Then after 3 months put these verses in a group to review once a month.

4. Keep repeating the process every week. Eventually you’ll have verses stacked into daily, weekly, and then monthly groups.

After doing this you can easily transfer your work to a Bible app.

Personally no spiritual discipline has benefited my walk with Jesus more than Bible memory.

Ps 119:11
I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you.

Let’s do it! #AsOne

What does it mean to trust in God?

John 14:1
Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God; trust also in me.

Trust is translated from the Koine Greek word, “pistis.” It can also be translated as faith or belief. It refers to a strong belief or confidence in someone or something.

Jesus is exhorting us to put strong confidence in Him and His Father; They will do what they say they will do. They cannot fail.

We can have 100% confidence that He will lead us into all truth, help us live abundantly, and He will save us from our sins. We will live forever and ever with Him in an awesome place He’s prepared for us.

When He says to lose our lives we must trust Him that we will find our true purpose. When He says deny ourselves and take up our cross we must know He has our best interest in mind. When He says to love our enemies, then He knows you will benefit. We will hear “well done” as we reach out to the lost and hurting in His name.

Let’s believe!

Do we realize how counterintuitive it is to exhort believers to love their enemies? It’s hard to love our detractors.

Mt 5:43-44
You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I tell you: Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you.

Let’s review the definition of love in 1 Cor 13.

1 Cor 13:4-8a
Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails.

Our enemy is a person or group who is hostile, opposed, or harmful towards us because of our message of love and righteousness.

It’s by God’s grace we forgive when wronged. We turn the other cheek. We return good to those who harm us. We pray for our enemies.

Lk 23:34a
Jesus said, “Father, forgive them…”