Reading your Bible for today December 5

December 5: Jonah 1:7-12

KJV Key Verse: Jonah 1:8
8 Then said they unto him, Tell us, we pray thee, for whose cause this evil is upon us; What is thine occupation? and whence comest thou? what is thy country? and of what people art thou?

Devotion:
How many times have you had to face up to your parents and explain why you did something wrong? How many times have you had to explain to your head teacher why you did things wrong? How many time have you had to explain to your boss why you did things wrong? On any of those occasions, have you taken a step back and looked at how many people were affected by that “small indiscretion”? Have you thought about how many people were saddened, or worse still, hurt by what you have done?

When Jonah took it upon himself to try and run away from what God wanted him to do, he not only hurt himself in the end, but he hurt a few more people around him too. He hurt those sailors – they did not understand where the fierce storm had come from and how they were going to get out of it. But, he also hurt God. He was not listening to what God wanted him to do.

When we do things wrong at school, we are asked “why did you do that?” When we do things wrong at home, we are asked “why did you do that?” When we do things wrong against God, He does not ask why we have done that, because He already knows the answer. But He does allow our eyes to be opened to what could happen if we totally ignored Him!

God does not want bad things to happen to us, but sometimes they are the only way we will actually stop and take notice of what we are doing. Sometimes it is the only thing that is going to make us stop and take notice of the people we are hurting by doing things the wrong way?

Points to Ponder:
Do you like admitting to mistakes?

Do you want your slate wiped absolutely clean?