If I Was God …

“As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways and My thoughts than your thoughts.” – Isaiah 55:9

In 2015, country artist Jimmy Fortune released the hit single, “If I Was God.” The lyrics include: “If I was God... I'd never let that cancer take away my Dad. I’d add at least 40 to the 60 years he had. He could know my kids … If I was God.” Two years later, Roger Waters (of Pink Floyd fame) came out with a similar song called “Déjà Vu” that ended the first verse this way: “If I had been God, with my staff and my rod … if I had been given the nod, I believe I could have done a better job.”

Both Jimmy Fortune and Roger Waters touch on a question that most of us have thought at one time or another: Why doesn’t God do things … differently?

How could a loving God allow my best friend to get killed by a drunk driver? How could a loving God let a child get cancer? If God knows the future, why does He allow rapists, human traffickers and mass murderers to be born? Truthfully, at times we echo the lyrics of Roger Waters: “If had been given the nod, I believe I could have done a better job.”

During his lifetime, I’m sure the Prophet Jonah had many shining moments when he trusted and quickly obeyed God. But we don’t read about them in the Book of Jonah. Instead, we read about a time when Jonah was at his worst—a time when He didn’t trust or obey God. When he was sent to preach to the wicked people of Ninevah, Jonah believed that God was wrong … dead wrong. Therefore, His marching orders to Jonah were wrong. And when God ultimately had mercy on the Ninevites—to Jonah, it seemed as if God had LOST HIS MIND!

We’ll never know all the answers to God’s workings this side of heaven, but I’d like to share a few insights about God that we can take from the Book of Jonah:

Insight #1: Throughout human history, when a nation doesn’t repent, God judges it. But when a nation truly repents, God has mercy on it. In Exodus 34:6-7, God told Moses, “[I Am] the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness, maintaining love to thousands, and forgiving wickedness, rebellion and sin.” God told the people of Israel plainly how He works. He judges and punishes unrepentant sinners. But He mercifully forgives sinners who repent. God never said that this rule applies only to Israel. It applies to ALL nations in ALL times and places … because “God so loved the world.”

Insight #2: God can’t be trusted to hate the people we hate or be prejudiced against the people we’re prejudiced against. We talk a lot about God being faithful and trustworthy. But you can’t trust God to be angry at the people you’re angry at. And you can’t trust God to send people to hell who you think should go to hell. We like the people around us to think like us: to be upset when we’re upset, to be angry when we’re angry, and to hate when we hate. But if that’s what you’re expecting from God, you’re going to be very disappointed. God doesn’t think the way you think. And God doesn’t act the way you act. He tells us in Isaiah 55:8-9, “For My thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways My ways. As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways and My thoughts than your thoughts.” If you’re looking for a god to think like you and hold petty grudges like you, the God of heaven and earth is not for you.

Insight #3: God will always care more about people’s souls than He cares about your comfort and happiness. God isn’t as shallow as we are. We tell people we care about, “I just want you to be happy.” God tells people HE cares about, “Right now I’m not interested in your happiness. I’m interested in your obedience. There will be plenty of time for you to be happy in heaven. But for now, I want you to help Me seek and save the lost. And ultimately, nothing will make you happier in heaven than seeing people there who you invited.”

Insight #4: Unlike Jonah, God was willing to lose face and be misunderstood for the good and salvation of others. In all likelihood, Jonah was concerned about his reputation. When his fellow Jews found out that he had a part in bringing about the deliverance of their greatest enemy, Assyria, Jonah’s life was likely to become very uncomfortable. Back home, he would lose face. And, to Jonah, losing face back home was worse than 120,000 Ninevites going to hell. But not Jesus. Jesus willingly submitted to being humiliated and completely disfigured for those who spat in his face, socked him in the head and nailed him to a cross. Jesus lost face and was completely misunderstood and slandered. But he was okay with that, because it was for the ultimate good and salvation of others.

In the first verse of Jimmy Fortune’s song, “If I Was God,” he wrestles with questions of why God would allow his best friend to be killed by a drunk driver and why God would allow his dad to die of cancer at the age of 60. He seems to think: “If I was God … I believe I could have done a better job.” But then he gets to the chorus: “But who am I to question what is best? I can’t make a heart beat in a chest. I could never let my Son die upon a cross. The whole world would be lost … if I was God. So, thank God I’m not. Thank God I’m not!”

God has generously shared ALL good things with us … including His own Son. So, let’s all follow in His footsteps and do the same, especially when it comes to sharing Jesus with the people around you.

Dane Davis is the pastor of Impact Christian Church in Victorville. His new book, “Buoyed Up: Jesus’ 8 Steps to an Unsinkable Life,” is now available on Amazon in print, e-book and audiobook. Join us at Impact for Sunday services,in person at 9 a.m., or online at 10a.m. on Facebook Live or YouTube. For more information, visit www.GreaterImpact.cc.

Running Against God

“I knew that you are a gracious and compassionate God, slow to anger and abounding in love, a God who relents from sending calamity.” – Jonah 4:2 

“Les Miserables” by Victor Hugo is one of the best loved novels of all time. You’ve probably seen one of the many adaptations in a movie or musical. It tells the bittersweet story of Jean Valjean, a poor wood-chopper’s son who grew up as an orphan. When he was just 17, after his brother-in-law died, the responsibility fell on Valjean to provide for his sister’s seven young children. But he didn’t earn enough money to even feed them. So, one winter night, he went out, broke a baker’s window and stole a loaf of bread. The next morning he was arrested for stealing. His bleeding hand convicted him.

Valjean was sentenced to five years of hard labor in prison. But because of numerous escape attempts that added to his sentence, Valjean ended up serving 19 years in prison—for stealing a loaf of bread for his family. By the time he was released, he was bitter, mean and mad at the world. As he traveled from town to town, nobody wanted anything to do with him. Finally, Valjean went to the house of a Catholic bishop, who took him in, fed him and gave him a bed for the night. But after the bishop fell asleep, Valjean stole all of his silver knives and forks and fled. Early the next morning, five soldiers brought Valjean back to the bishop’s house, explaining that they were arresting him for stealing the silver. But the bishop turned to Valjean and said, “I gave you the candlesticks, too. Why didn’t you take them?” And then he turned to the soldiers and said, “It was a mistake to arrest him. Let him go. The silver is his. I gave it to him.”

As the soldiers left, Valjean whispered to the bishop, “Is it true that I am free? I may go?” And the bishop responded with some of the most wonderful words ever penned in a novel: “Yes. But before you go, take your candlesticks. Jean Valjean, my brother: you belong no longer to evil, but to good. It is your soul that I am buying for you. I withdraw it from black thoughts and the spirit of hate, and I give it to God!” From that moment on, Jean Valjean was a changed man. His heart belonged to God, and he spent the rest of his life loving and serving others. Years later, as Valjean lay on his deathbed, there was something familiar in the room just a few feet from his head:  those two silver candlesticks that for years had reminded him of God’s great mercy and grace.

If only the prophet Jonah had had as much compassion for the people of Nineveh as the good bishop had for Jean Valjean! But in chapter 4 of the Book of Jonah, we see that isn’t the case. After running from God’s will, then doing an about-face after being spat up by a whale, Jonah walked into the city of Ninevah and preached ONE sermon—and over 100,000 people repented from their wickedness. Jonah should have been thrilled. Instead, we read that “Jonah was greatly displeased and became angry” (v. 1). And he prayed this angry prayer: “O LORD, is this not what I said when I was still at home? That is why I was so quick to flee to Tarshish. I knew that You are a gracious and compassionate God, slow to anger and abounding in love, a God who relents from sending calamity. Now, O LORD, take away my life, for it is better for me to die than to live” (vs. 2-3).  

You see, Jonah—like most Israelites of his time—hated the Ninevites, because it was prophesied that Assyria was going to wipe out Northern Israel, and Nineveh was one of the biggest cities in Assyria. The Jews considered Assyrians their mortal enemies. So Jonah would have preferred that the Assyrians NOT repent … for them to die a horrible death rather than be spared by God … to burn in hell for all eternity rather than go to heaven. At least at that moment, Jonah despised the compassion of God.

Jonah didn’t want to see this basic truth: If Jonah was saved, his salvation was for others. As Bible commentator Michael Griffiths puts it:  “If Jonah receives the call, if he is truly saved, it is for others. We must be permeated by the conviction that if grace is being conferred on us, it is primarily for others. The Christian is not just the man who is saved by Christ, he is the man whom God uses for the salvation of others by Christ.” The same holds true for you and me. Jesus Christ has given salvation and grace TO us so that He can give salvation and grace THROUGH us. We must never hoard them.

Honestly, we’re more like Jonah than we like to admit. We’re more than happy to receive Christ’s salvation. But we want to keep it to ourselves, especially when we’re around people we can’t stand. We’ve somehow missed or ignored the reality that every blessing from God in our lives was given to us to be shared. Your salvation is supposed to be shared. Your spiritual gifts, talents and abilities are supposed to be shared. Your house, your car and your food, your time and your money, are all supposed to be shared.

Every good and perfect gift that has ever come across your path is from God, and it was given to you to share. So, let’s be more like the good bishop (selfless, generous and compassionate) and not like Jonah (selfish, stingy and judgmental). As Jesus tells us in Matthew 10:8: “Freely you have received. So, freely give.”

Dane Davis is the Pastor of Impact Christian Church. Please join us for our in-person worship service Sundays at 9 a.m. at 17746 George Blvd. in Victorville. Or, join us online at 10 a.m. on the Impact Christian Church YouTube channel or Facebook page. For more information, visit www.GreaterImpact.cc.

Running With God

“The Ninevites believed God. A fast was proclaimed, and all of them, from the greatest to the least, put on sackcloth.” – Jonah 3:5 

Back in 1954, Governor Christian Herter of Massachusetts was working hard on the campaign trail as he ran for a second term. One day, after a busy morning chasing votes, he arrived at a mid-afternoon church barbecue. He hadn’t eaten a thing since breakfast, so he was really hungry. As Governor Herter moved down the serving line, he held out his plate to the woman serving the chicken. She put one piece on his plate and turned to the next person in line. Using his best manners, Governor Herter asked, "Excuse me. Do you mind if I have another piece of chicken?" She responded, "Sorry. I'm supposed to give only one piece of chicken to each person." 

Normally the governor wasn’t one to throw his weight around, but he was starving. So, he looked the woman in the eye and said, “Do you know who I am? I am the governor of this state.” Without missing a beat, she responded, “Do you know who I am? I’m the lady in charge of the chicken. Move along, mister.”

Wouldn’t it have been nice if the prophet Jonah had been as good at following orders as the lady serving the chicken? The job of an Old Testament prophet was NOT complicated. Simply say WHAT God wants you to say, WHEN God wants you to say it, to WHOMEVER God tells you to say it to. For the Old Testament prophet, Job #1 was OBEDIENCE. The job wasn’t complicated, but it WAS really hard. Quite often God told His prophets to say things they didn’t want to say at times they didn’t want to say them to people they didn’t want to say them to.

That’s the way it was with Jonah. When he got God’s marching orders to preach God’s message to the people of Ninevah, he ran the other way. And you remember what happened next. Jonah boarded a ship. Fierce storm. Jonah confessed that the storm was his fault. The sailors tossed Jonah overboard. As Jonah was about to drown, he cried out to God in prayer. God saved his life by providing a great big fish to swallow him and give Jonah a free ride back to shore. And as soon as Jonah turned to the LORD and confessed his willingness to do what God called him to do, “The LORD commanded the fish, and it vomited Jonah onto dry land” (Jonah 2:10).

At last Jonah began running WITH God and doing the work he’d been called to do. He was ready and willing to obey the LORD, but it’s pretty clear that he wanted to get it over with as soon as possible. When he got to Ninevah, he started preaching on Day One: “Forty more days and Nineveh will be overturned’” (Jonah 3:4). Now, this is probably just a small sample of his message, but it seems safe to say that Jonah didn’t preach a lengthy sermon. He didn’t tell them to repent. He didn’t teach them how to repent. He didn’t seem to give them any hope that they could do anything to stop God’s judgment from coming if they DID repent.

Yet, amazingly, “The Ninevites believed God. A fast was proclaimed, and all of them, from the greatest to the least, put on sackcloth” (v. 5). It’s hard to imagine how Jonah’s short-and-not-too-sweet message got through to them. But whatever the reason may be, GOD … WAS … BEHIND IT. God was at work. Just as God provided a fish for Jonah in chapter 2, God provided all that was needed for the people of Nineveh to repent and turn to Him. It certainly wasn’t Jonah’s preaching that won them over. It was ALL God.

And “When God saw what they did and how they turned from their evil ways, He had compassion and did not bring upon them the destruction he had threatened” (v. 10). On the heels of showering Jonah with undeserved compassion, God showered the wicked people of Nineveh with undeserved compassion as well. You see, neither Jonah nor the people of Nineveh were too far gone to be reached by God’s mercy and grace. And neither are you.

I’d like to share two insights from Jonah’s latest adventures:

Insight #1: It’s not enough to just run TO God. You need to start running WITH God. Some of us are running from God, like Jonah in chapter 1, and we’re going nowhere fast. We need to come to our senses, make a spiritual U-turn and run TO God. But running TO God is only the starting point. Once we get to God, we need to start running WITH God. A surfer is not a surfer if he just paddles out TO the waves. He has to mount his board and start riding the waves. It’s the same way when you’re a Christian. Once you run TO God, you’ve got to start running WITH Him. Join Him in His work. Find out where He is moving, and move with Him. Find out where He is working, and work with Him.

Insight #2: In the Kingdom of God, the shortest distance between two points is obedience. It would have spared Jonah and the sailors on that ship a whole lot of pain and suffering if he had obeyed God’s word way back in chapter 1. If God is bound and determined to have you do something for Him, you’ll do it for Him eventually … one way or another. But it will save you and those around you a whole lot of pain and suffering if you obey quickly. The shortest distance between where you are right now and where God is calling you to go is obedience. So, don’t wait until the final chapter or two of your life to obey. Obey God’s word today. If you can’t beat Him, join Him!

Dane Davis is the Pastor of Impact Christian Church. Please join us for our in-person worship service Sundays at 9 a.m. at 17746 George Blvd. in Victorville. Or, join us online at 10 a.m. on the Impact Christian Church YouTube channel or Facebook page. For more information, visit www.GreaterImpact.cc.

Running To God

“In my distress I called to the LORD and He answered me.”  
– Jonah 2:2

Back in the late 1800s, a story started circulating in coastal taverns around Great Britain. English whalers began sharing the biggest “fish story” anyone had ever heard. According to these whalers, in 1891, one of their shipmates—a 21-year-old apprentice named James Bartley—fell off the boat and disappeared underneath the water. They searched for him for hours, but there was no sign of him anywhere.

But the next day, the sperm whale they were hunting was floating dead on the surface of the ocean. And someone noticed the whale’s abdomen was moving in a strange way—as if something alive was inside it. So, the whalers cut open the large whale, and to everyone’s surprise… out came James Bartley, who had been inside the whale’s stomach for 18 long hours. His skin was bleached white, he was nearly blind, and he was temporarily insane. Newspapers called him a “modern-day Jonah.”

However … in the early 1900s, a historian did some investigating into that whopper of a fish story. He discovered many conflicting reports, and even received a letter from James Bartley’s wife who claimed the whole story was made up. So, was James Bartley actually swallowed by a whale or large fish? Probably not. But the Bible makes it clear that Jonah … WAS.

Now, Bible skeptics read the Book of Jonah and say, “Impossible! It couldn’t happen! It didn’t happen!” But followers of Christ look at Jonah 1:17 and say, “No problem! My Bible tells me in Luke 1:37: “Nothing is impossible with God.” Our God is a great and powerful God. He specializes in the impossible.

In chapter 1 of the Book of Jonah, God gave Jonah clear-cut marching orders to preach a message of repentance to the people of Ninevah. Instead, Jonah boarded a ship headed the other way. But after the boat set sail, God sent a “great wind” and a “violent storm” that engulfed the ship (v. 4). Finally, Jonah admitted to the panicking sailors that he was responsible for the storm because he had angered his Lord. He told the crew the storm would stop if they threw him off the ship. With a little persuading—and a lot more big waves—the crew tossed Jonah overboard.

After spending chapter 1 running FROM God, Jonah finally came to his senses and ran TO God at the beginning of chapter 2: “From inside the fish Jonah prayed to the LORD his God” (v. 1). It’s clear that Jonah didn’t wait until he was being digested to start praying. He started crying out to God before the fish ever swallowed him. As we read Jonah’s prayer in vs. 2-9, we see that it’s more of a testimony. Jonah prayed to God from inside the stomach of the great fish, recounting what had taken place over the past day or two. “In my distress I called to the LORD and He answered me. From the depths of the grave I called for help, and You listened to my cry” (v. 2). According to verse 3, the currents swirled around him and the waves and breakers engulfed him.  According to verse 5, the deep waters surrounded him, and seaweed wrapped around his head as he sank down.

And what did God do? Did God say, “Forget you, Jonah! You’re getting what’s coming to you! Good riddance, you worthless piece of fish food!” No, thankfully, that’s not at all what God said.

According to verse 6, “[God] brought [Jonah’s] life up from the pit.” Did you catch that little word “up”? For a whole chapter Jonah had been going down, down, down in his rebellion. But as he humbly cried out to God in desperation, God “brought [his] life up from the pit.”

Isn’t that just like our great and awesome God? Even when we rebel against Him, ignore His commands and do the exact opposite of what He’s commanded us to do … when we in humble repentance cry out to Him for deliverance, His compassion, mercy and love break through.

For a whole chapter, Jonah rebelled against God’s marching orders. He was going nowhere but down until—in desperation—he looked up and cried out to God. So God provided a great fish and instructed the fish to swallow Jonah. And unlike Jonah, the fish OBEYED God’s instructions.

The Book of Jonah reminds us that running from God is pointless. It only brings hardship and disappointment. The 19th century preacher Charles Spurgeon said it this way: “God never allows His children to sin successfully.” If you want to run from God, ignore God’s commands and pursue other priorities, God gives you that choice. But it’ll cost you. Life is hard enough when you’re running TO God. It’s a whole lot harder when you’re running FROM God. Jonah quickly discovered when he was running from God, His life just kept getting worse and worse. But when he repented and reached out to God in faith and obedience, God immediately began to bring him back up. God will do the same for you.

Dane Davis is the Pastor of Impact Christian Church. Please join us for our in-person worship service Sundays at 9 a.m. at 17746 George Blvd. in Victorville. Or, join us online at 10 a.m. on the Impact Christian Church YouTube channel or Facebook page. For more information, visit www.GreaterImpact.cc. 

Running From God

“Go to the great city of Nineveh and preach against it, because its wickedness has come up before me.” -Jonah 1:2

This September 11th marked the 20th anniversary of the terrorist attacks in 2001. It’s hard to believe it’s been 20 years since four planes were hijacked by terrorists and flown into the World Trade Center towers and the Pentagon. Those attacks claimed 2,977 lives—and 412 of them were emergency workers in New York City who ran into the Twin Towers to help save others. Included in that number were 60 police officers and 343 firefighters. When those brave men and women received the call that the twin towers were on fire and people were trapped on the upper floors, they rushed into the building and sacrificed their own lives to save others.

They were heroes. When they received the call of duty, without hesitation, they went. It wasn’t fun. It wasn’t easy. And it certainly wasn’t safe. But they went anyway, because it was their duty and their calling.

Jonah was one of God’s prophets in the Old Testament. He, too had a calling on his life: to speak God’s word whenever and wherever God told Him to. But unlike the heroes on 9/11, he turned his back on his call of duty. Jonah was the Reluctant Prophet.

It all started when God came to Jonah one day and said, “Go to the great city of Nineveh and preach against it, because its wickedness has come up before me” (Jonah 1:2). Now, Nineveh was part of Assyria, which was notorious for its violence and cruelty to its enemies. The Assyrians weren’t satisfied with simply killing their enemies. They took great pleasure in torturing and dismembering them. So, this command made Jonah sick to his stomach. And he hated God’s marching orders for another reason: Jonah had NO interest in aiding and abetting an enemy of Israel. Yet God was commanding Jonah to travel 500 miles into enemy territory to preach a message of repentance. Jonah said, “Count me out!” Instead traveling 500 miles northeast in obedience to God’s command, he jumped on a ship to head 2,500 miles in the opposite direction—to Tarshish in modern-day Spain.

Why was Jonah doing everything in his power to NOT go to Nineveh and preach to the Assyrians? It wasn’t because Jonah didn’t know God. It’s because he DID know God. Jonah knew that if he preached to the people of Nineveh and they repented, God would forgive them and spare them. And that’s the last thing Jonah wanted. In his heart, he wanted the Assyrians to die in their sins and go to hell. Jonah was a real sweetheart, wasn’t he?

Now, I’d like to think that Christians today are much different than Jonah. But let’s be honest: We’re not! Truth be told, there are some people who we don’t want with us in heaven. Not too long ago I was scrolling through Facebook and saw a political post about Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi. A Christian I know had posted this comment below it: “Go to Hell, Nancy!” Friends, God has a big problem with us telling people we like “God bless you!” on Sunday morning and turning around and telling people we don’t like “Go to Hell” on Monday morning. Followers of Christ, THAT … IS … SIN! Wishing hell on anyone is a sin. Jesus came to earth to seek and save the lost, and if you are a follower of Jesus, He calls you to do the same.

Jonah was consumed by hatred, resentment and vengeance. But you and I must NOT be. We are on mission from God to share the good news of Jesus Christ with EVERYONE, not just with those we like … not just with those who like us … not just with those who are in our comfort zone. In the Book of Jonah, God shows Himself to be consumed with compassion and love for hopeless sinners. So too must we be consumed with compassion and love for hopeless sinners.

Come what may, God wants you to obey His marching orders: to go and share God’s word with lost and dying people. We need to have a heart like Christ’s: a heart filled with mercy and love for lost and dying people. Like Jesus, God wants you and me to seek and save the lost.

Dane Davis is the Pastor of Impact Christian Church. Please join us Sundays for our in-person service at 9 a.m. at 17746 George Blvd. in Victorville. Or, join us online at 10 a.m. on the Impact Christian Church YouTube channel or Facebook page. For more information, visit www.GreaterImpact.cc.

Looking For a Sign?

“This is a wicked generation. It asks for a miraculous sign, but none will be given it except the sign of Jonah.” – Luke 11:29

About 10 years ago I was driving to the church office one morning, and something happened that I’ll never forget. I was going through a dry spell in my spiritual life. I didn’t sense a closeness to the Lord. I was feeling discouraged and rather hopeless about my work as a pastor. As I was driving up the street I cried out to God in prayer and asked Him, “God, would you show me a sign that I’m where I’m supposed to be? Give me some hope.” As I finished that prayer, my car came to a stop at an intersection. And as I looked across the street, I saw a road sign from my own church that read, “There Is Hope!”

Isn’t God amazing? Months earlier I had asked one of our church members to put the sign at that intersection because I wanted people to know there was hope at First Christian Church, because Jesus is in this church, and there’s ALWAYS hope in Jesus. When I asked that Christian brother to place the sign at that intersection, I had no idea that one day it would be God’s sign of hope for me when I needed it the most.

Sometimes God gives us a sign to make our faith in Him even stronger. And in Luke 11, Jesus Christ shines a light on the greatest sign you’ll ever see. In fact, it’s the greatest sign that God has ever shown the world. In verses 29-36, Jesus was addressing a large crowd and spoke about those who demanded a sign from heaven: “This is a wicked generation. It asks for a miraculous sign, but none will be given it except the sign of Jonah” (v. 29). Now, Luke doesn’t tell us what the sign of Jonah is, but Matthew does: “For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of a huge fish, so the Son of Man will be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth” (Matthew 12:40).

So, what is the sign of Jonah? It’s the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Or to say it more simply: The sign of Jonah is Jesus himself. Luke 11:30 makes this clear when Jesus says, “For as Jonah was a sign to the Ninevites, so also will the Son of Man be to this generation.” Almost 800 years earlier, Jonah was sent by God to the wicked city of Nineveh to preach to them. And in Jonah 3, the Ninevites believed Jonah’s message and repented from their sin.

Now, what sign did God give the Ninevites that Jonah’s message was true and should be taken seriously? The sign God gave them was Jonah himself.

Think about it. When the fierce storm was tearing apart the ship that Jonah was riding on, the sailors threw Jonah overboard. And with their own eyes they saw Jonah disappear under the waves. He did not resurface 30 seconds later, five minutes later or even one day later. Medically, what would we call a man who remained underwater for several days? We’d call him “dead.” And when this “dead” man came walking into town a week or two later, surely many of the Ninevites saw it as an act of God. In the same way, after three days in the grave, Jesus conquered death and, like Jonah, he was a dead man walking. And even though he had a resurrected, heavenly body, his glorified body still bore the scars in his hands and feet and side. So, the sign of Jonah that Jesus refers to is his own resurrected body.

Even before Jesus died and rose again, he walked among us as God’s sign from heaven. William Barclay hits the nail on the head as he writes, “[The crowd] could not see that the greatest sign that God could ever send was Jesus himself.” That’s why Jesus rebuked their generation and called it “wicked.” The greatest sign from heaven of God’s love, His perfect plan and wisdom, was right in front of them, and they were blind to it. And as our generation in 2019 ignores Jesus Christ and turns its back on him, Jesus turns to us and says the same thing: “This is a wicked generation!”

The crowds surrounding Jesus needed to wake up and see that the greatest sign from heaven was standing right in front of them. And our generation needs to do the same. The sign that we’ve been looking for all this time that proves God is real, that proves God is good, that proves God loves me and has a plan for my life has been right in front of us all along.

So, if you’re asking God to give you a sign, listen to His still, small reply: “I already have.”

Dane Davis is the Lead Pastor of First Christian Church in Victorville and the author of "Holy Huldah: Lessons You Should Never Forget from Bible Characters You've Never Heard Of." For more information, visit www.YourVictorvilleChurch.com, and join us for our Worship Celebration Sundays at 10 a.m.

Jonah and the God of the Second Chance

“When God saw … how they turned from their evil ways, He had compassion and did not bring upon them the destruction He had threatened.”  – Jonah 3:10

The early 20^th century British pastor George H. Morrison used to say, “The victorious Christian life is a series of new beginnings.” Isn’t that true? When we fall down, Satan tries to convince us that we can’t get back up. He tries to convince us that once we’ve failed God, God won’t take us back, God won’t forgive us, and God certainly won’t ever—under any circumstances—allow us to serve Him again in any useful way.

The first time God gave Jonah an opportunity to serve Him, Jonah disobeyed and ran away. But God is the God of the second chance. After rescuing Jonah from the storm and helping him survive his stay in the belly of a big fish, God gave Jonah another chance as He lovingly said, “Go to the great city of Ninevah and proclaim to it the message I give you” (Jonah 3:2).

God had already chosen not to put Jonah to death for his sins--that’s mercy. But here, God chooses to wipe the slate clean and give him a second chance to do what He had asked Jonah to do a week earlier—that’s grace. That’s undeserved favor. Isn’t God awesome? Not only does He offer to spare us the punishment that we deserve; He also offers us a clean slate, a fresh start, a new beginning to live for Him and do His great work. And this time, after being showered by God’s mercy and grace, Jonah “obeyed the word of the LORD and went to Nineveh” (Jonah 3:3).

Then, in verse 4, the Bible gives us the gist of Jonah’s message when he gets to town: “Forty more days and Nineveh will be overturned.” Surprisingly, that’s it. In the original Hebrew language Jonah’s message is only five words. That’s a pretty short sermon, don’t you think? Now, it’s likely that this is just a small sample of his message. Certainly, he pointed out their wickedness and violence. In all likelihood, he proclaimed God as holy and righteous. But I think it’s safe to say that Jonah’s message was short and sweet.

Yet, amazingly, verses 5-10 make it clear that the people of Nineveh did repent. They fasted. They put on sackcloth. Their king took off his robes, donned some sackcloth of his own, and sat in ashes.

Now, if the people of Nineveh had simply fasted and sat in ashes, would God have forgiven them? The most likely answer is—no. Because in Isaiah 58, God tells us He’s not impressed with fasting that does not include a sincere change in behavior. The Bible says that fasting is a wonderful spiritual discipline—when it is accompanied by sincere prayer and a sincere change in our behavior. And from what we read in Jonah 3, it’s clear that the Ninevites’ prayers and repentance were sincere. Notice what the king commands the people to do in verse 8b: “Let everyone call urgently on God. Let them give up their evil ways and their violence.”

The king knew there weren’t any guarantees that God would spare Nineveh the destruction He had threatened. He told his subjects in verse 9, “Who knows? God may yet relent and with compassion turn from His fierce anger so that we will not perish.” And that’s exactly what the God of the second chance did: “When God saw what they did and how they turned from their evil ways, He had compassion and did not bring upon them the destruction He had threatened” (verse 10).

Twice at the end of the chapter we find this wonderful word, “compassion.” As Jonah says to God in the next chapter, “You are a gracious and compassionate God, slow to anger and abounding in love, a God who relents from sending calamity” (Jonah 4:2). On the heels of showering Jonah with undeserved mercy and grace, God showered the wicked people of Nineveh with grace as well.

You see, neither Jonah nor the people of Nineveh were too far gone to be reached by God’s mercy and grace. And neither are you. We need to pay attention to Jonah’s example. When God gives you a second chance, take it. So, you blew it the first time. There’s nothing you can do about that now. But don’t blow it this time. Despite how much you disobeyed Him yesterday, receive His mercy and grace and obey Him today. Like Jonah, you can do it by God’s grace.

Dane Davis is the Lead Pastor of First Christian Church in Victorville. For more information, visit www.fccvv.com  and join us for worship tomorrow at 10 a.m.

Running TO God

“In my distress I called to the LORD, and He answered me. From the depths of the grave I called for help, and You listened to my cry.” – Jonah 2:2

Have you ever been in a place in your life where you feel helpless? It’s like you’ve been swept away in a strong, swirling current, with no control over what happens to you. You don’t know which way to turn. Then, when you feel like you’re going down for the last time, you realize there’s nowhere for you to look but … up. And that’s when you find God has been there waiting for you the whole time.

That’s pretty much the situation the prophet Jonah found himself in. He’d been rebelling against God’s marching orders for the whole first chapter of the Book of Jonah. Finally, in chapter 2—after he was thrown off the ship he’d hitched a ride on to escape God’s will—Jonah came to his senses and cried out to God in prayer. And it’s clear that Jonah didn’t wait until he was being digested by some big fish to start praying. He started crying out to God before the fish ever swallowed him. When he was thrown overboard, the waters engulfed him and seaweed wrapped around his head as he sank. He was going down, down, down until, in desperation, he looked up and cried out to God for deliverance.

And what did God do? Did He say, “Forget you, Jonah! You’re getting what’s coming to you! Good riddance, you worthless piece of fish food!” Thankfully, no. As Jonah sank down into his watery tomb, God broke through. God prepared a great fish and instructed the fish to swallow Jonah. And we all know what happened next. Unlike Jonah, the fish obeyed God’s instructions.

Now, we could talk about what kind of fish or whale might have swallowed Jonah—a whale shark? A sperm whale? A blue whale?—or how Jonah got by for three days in that creature’s digestive tract. But we’ve got bigger fish to fry. (Sorry, I couldn’t resist.) Because as Jonah turned back to God in prayer, there are two very powerful words in verses 8 and 9 that I don’t want us to miss: grace and salvation.

Let’s start with grace. As Jonah prays to God from inside the belly of the great fish, he says in verse 8: “Those who cling to worthless idols forfeit the grace that could be theirs.” This is such a great verse. As a prophet of God, Jonah had a pretty solid understanding of God’s judgment and God’s grace. He didn’t always agree with how God chose to apportion that judgment and grace, but Jonah understood it pretty well. He knew that if anyone stubbornly refused to give up all the stuff in his life that he considered to be more important than God, that person—to His own peril—was forfeiting the grace of God that could have been his.

Chances are, a lot of people reading this are running from God in some way or another. If you are, believe what Jonah is saying here: You are forfeiting the grace, mercy and faithful love of God that could be yours. Or if you’re putting Him on the back burner—you’ve got all sorts of people and things in your life that are higher priorities to you than God—once again, you are forfeiting the grace, mercy and faithful love that could be yours.

It’s time to stop running from God. It’s time to stop putting other things and people ahead of God. It’s time to take hold of the grace, mercy and faithful love that He offers to you when you humbly call out to Him and start obeying His commands.

As Jonah ran to God, he ran to God’s grace. But it’s clear that he also ran to God’s salvation. As Jonah is praying to God from inside the belly of the great fish, he says in verse 9, “But I, with a song of thanksgiving, will sacrifice to you. What I have vowed I will make good. Salvation comes from the LORD.”

This is so cool. Guess what the Hebrew word is that is translated “salvation” in this verse. It’s … wait for it …“yeshua”—Jesus’ name in Hebrew. Jesus (yeshua) means “salvation, deliverance, aid, victory.” Salvation comes form the LORD, Yahweh. Or if we do a quick substitution, Jesus comes from the Yahweh. Isn’t that the truth!

Some of us have made promises to God that we aren’t fulfilling. Like Jonah, we’ve made promises to God that we haven’t kept, and we’ve run from God’s marching orders. I believe God is telling you today to make good on your promises. Some of us still desperately need God’s salvation from our hopeless circumstances. I believe God is telling you today to turn to the only one who can throw you a life preserver--Jesus Christ. Jesus is salvation.

Dane Davis is the Lead Pastor of First Christian Church in Victorville. For more information, visit www.fccvv.com  and join us for worship Sundays at 10 a.m.

Running from God

“I knew that you are a gracious and compassionate God, slow to anger and abounding in love, a God who relents from sending calamity.” – Jonah 4:2b

You’ve heard the story—probably since you were a kid. After all, it’s one of the Old Testament’s greatest hits, right up there with Noah and the Ark and David and Goliath. Yes, the story of Jonah is one of the best-known stories in the Bible, but a closer look reveals that it’s much more than a kids’ story. It’s an eye-opening book that urges those of us who follow Christ to take a long look in the mirror.

How do we get that from a story about a guy who was swallowed by a big fish? You see, familiar as the story is, it’s easy to miss the heart of the book. As the book opens, Jonah had been prophesying in Northern Israel. He had heard, loud and clear, God’s prophetic word that judgment was coming on Israel—and that judgment would come through the swords of the Assyrians, a cruel and bloody nation that took pride in their ability not just to kill their enemies, but to creatively torture and dismember them. So God ordered Jonah into the heart of Assyria, the capital city of Ninevah, “because its wickedness has come up before me” (Jonah 1:2).

Jonah’s reaction? He high-tailed it in the other direction. Instead of heading 500 miles northeast of Israel to Ninevah, he took a boat headed 2,000 miles west, toward the city of Tarshish in Spain. We’re plainly told in verses 3 and 4 that he was fleeing from the Lord. Why? Well, there’s no kind way to put it: Jonah was afraid that if he preached to the people of Ninevah, they would repent, and God would spare them His judgment. And Jonah didn’t want that. He wanted Assyria to continue sinning so that God would judge them. He wanted them to be slaughtered. Given the choice, he much preferred a dead and condemned Assyrian to a live and forgiven Assyrian. Jonah was consumed by hatred, resentment and revenge. By contrast, throughout the story, God shows Himself to be consumed by compassion and love.

When Jonah runs from God in verses 2 and 3, we get the impression in verse 4 that he didn’t make it very far. After his boat set sail, God sent a “great wind” and a “violent storm” that engulfed the ship. The captain and crew were convinced that if there wasn’t some miraculous improvement in their situation, they would all die. But as all the sailors were crying out to their pagan gods, Jonah was snoozing below decks, oblivious. So, the captain slapped Jonah upside the head and said, “Get up and call on your God! Maybe He will take notice of us, and we will not perish.”

Isn’t it sad that the pagan captain was more concerned about the life of one of God’s followers than God’s follower was about the lives of all the lost and dying sailors aboard that ship? It’s a sad indictment on Christ’s followers when nonChristians show more compassion, patience and love than we do.

The sailors were convinced that the storm was somebody’s fault—that someone on the ship had ticked off one of the gods. And in this case, they were right. So when they cast lots to find out who was responsible for the calamity, it’s not surprising that Jonah drew the oddball lot. But even when he admitted that he was the one who’d angered his Lord, and told his shipmates that if they threw him overboard, the sea would calm, they didn’t want to do it. They tried instead to row back to land. Only when that failed did they do what Jonah suggested and throw threw him overboard. Instantly the waters grew calm, and the sailors were blown away. In verse 16, we’re told that “The men greatly feared the Lord and made vows to Him. “

If only Jonah had feared and respected God as much! Even though he believed in God, his correct theology didn’t keep him in the center of God’s will. And unlike the pagan sailors who hesitated to throw him overboard, he didn’t want to show compassion and mercy to the wicked Ninevites who waited for him. Simply put, even though he believed right, he didn’t obey right.

How different are we from Jonah? Think of your least favorite politician. How often do you pray for him or her? Think about a family member you’ve written off, or an ex-friend who’s stabbed you in the back. How often do you think about them with compassion and love? Not very often, right?

You see, the book of Jonah matters today because YOU are Jonah. I am Jonah. All of us have, at one time or another, run from God’s marching orders. And our friends and family who don’t know Christ are citizens of Ninevah, who need to be warned about God’s coming judgment. And God desires for us—unlike Jonah—to have a heart like His, a heart of compassion and mercy. Like our Lord, we need to be “gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and abounding in love.”

Dane Davis is the Lead Pastor of First Christian Church in Victorville. For more information, visit www.fccvv.com  and join us for worship Sundays at 10 a.m.