But Jonah arose to flee to Tarshish from the presence of the Lord. He went down to Joppa, and found a ship going to Tarshish; so he paid the fare, and went down into it, to go with them to Tarshish from the presence of the Lord. Jonah 1:3 REFERENCE Jonah 1:1-17 God called Jonah to go to Nineveh and Jonah went the opposite direction not wanting to go anywhere near Nineveh. Perhaps Jonah was afraid for his life; the Ninevites were a heathen nation and he may have feared if he would be safe with them, if he would be accepted, or if his...

Now the word of the Lord came to Jonah the son of Amittai, saying, “Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and cry out against it; for their wickedness has come up before Me.” Jonah 1:1-2   REFERENCE Jonah 1:1-3   Jonah got a call from God that was as clear and as specific as possible. It was directed to a place (Nineveh) and a particular people, meaning that there was a mission field. There was a reason and a purpose for the call (the wickedness of the people of Nineveh had come before God) and there was a message given him. But like some people would do, Jonah...

And the Lord said to Satan, “Behold, all that he has is in your power; only do not lay a hand on his person.” So, Satan went out from the presence of the Lord. Job 1:12 REFERENCE JOB 1:1-22 Reading through job's sufferings you get to understand that the devil is the author of evil; he ravished Job's properties and the lives of his children, he ran roughshod in their lives by using natural instruments like wind and fire to wreak havoc in their lives. Also, he used human instruments to do his dirty work - the Sabeans and Chaldeans attacked Job's servants on different occasions and made off...

In all labor there is profit, but idle chatter leads only to poverty. Proverbs 14:23   REFERENCE Proverbs 14:23   Labor in the context of today’s study refers to any physical or mental work that people engage in, either to get a wage or voluntarily. Work is a creation of God; He Himself is a worker, showing us how noble work is. Although He is perfect and does not need work to improve Him, but like a Father, He is always working for the good of us His children, ordering all of nature to ensure that all is well with us. Work is not...

The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs—heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ… Romans 8:16-17 REFERENCE Romans 8:14-17 An heir is the Legal inheritor who holds the right to receive a property, position, or title of somebody else when that person dies. As believers, this passage reveals our status as joint or co-heirs with Christ Jesus; this connotes that we can partake freely of our Father’s goods. The significance of this is that firstly, we have equal position with Christ: – The new birth puts us in the same...

And He began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer many things, and be rejected by the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and after three days rise again. Mark 8:31   REFERENCE Mark 8:27-33   Jesus was as persuaded about His resurrection as He was of His rejection by His people; His persecution by the religious authority, and His execution by the governing authority. He said these things must happen, i.e. they are unavoidable, and although the bad must first take place, consequently, the good must necessarily and assuredly as definite as the occurrence...

So David inquired of the LORD, saying, ‘Shall I pursue this troop? Shall I overtake them?’ And He answered him, ‘Pursue, for you shall surely overtake them and without fail recover all.’ ~ I Samuel 30:8 REFERENCE I Samuel 30:1-8 Many fear and hate the word ‘failure,’ they misunderstand it and don’t talk about it; for that reason, they are often not prepared for it. Thus, when they fail, the result is usually devastating. Unknown to these people, most successful people are failures who bounced back. Failure is defined as a falling short in performing any expected action, or lack...

Moreover the word of the LORD came to me, saying, ‘Jeremiah, what do you see?’ And I said, ‘I see a branch of an almond tree.’  Jeremiah 1:11 REFERENCE Jeremiah 1:4-12 Seeing is an integral part of life; the only time Jesus ministered to someone twice was a case where He wanted the person to receive his sight – his ability to see (Mark 8:22-25). When your sight is dim, you make wrong choices; your progress is impeded, you become uncertain of the future and fearful in challenging times. Elisha’s servant was overcome with fear when the Syrian army surrounded...

Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ; II Corinthians 10:5  REFERENCE II Corinthians 10:3-5 Have you ever sat down and seen horrific images flash through your mind that caused you to shudder in fear as if what you saw was actually happening in real time? A lot of us can relate with this, and that is because as humans, we think in pictures. Even when people narrate things to us in words, we form pictures of what they are saying, e.g. when...

For the weapons of our warfare are not physical [weapons of flesh and blood], but they are mighty before God for the overthrow and destruction of strongholds, [Inasmuch as we] refute arguments and reasonings and every proud and lofty thing that sets itself up against the [true] knowledge of God… II Corinthians 10:4-5 (AMPC) REFERENCE II Corinthians 10:3-5 (AMPC) It is said, “Life is 10% what happens to you and 90% how you respond.” That is, you are largely responsible for your actions and attitudes. Let me take it a step further; ‘Life is 10% what happens to you, 80% how you analyze, reason or...