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God, thank You for putting people in my life who love You. Who have pointed me back to You. Who have showed me what it looks like to live surrendered to Your will, and to joyfully serve You. Please use me to make a difference in other's lives! Give me Your love, Your grace, and Your wisdom to represent You well. In Jesus' name, Amen.

DAILY BIBLE READING: ISAIAH 53-55 1 THESSALONIANS 1 For he grew up before him like a young plant, no beauty that we should desire him. a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief; he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; But he was pierced for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his wounds we are healed. He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth; he had done no violence, and there was no deceit in his mouth. Yet it was the will of the Lord to crush him; the will of the Lord shall prosper in his hand. THE ETERNAL COVENANT OF PEACE “Enlarge the place of your tent, do not hold back; lengthen your cords and strengthen your stakes. your offspring will possess the nations “Fear not, for you will not be ashamed; the reproach of your widowhood you will remember no more. For your Maker is your husband, the Lord of hosts is his name; and the Holy One of Israel is your Redeemer, the God of the whole earth he is called. 6 For the Lord has called you like a wife deserted and grieved in spirit, like a wife of youth when she is cast off, with great compassion I will gather you. with everlasting love I will have compassion on you,” I will set your stones in antimony, and lay your foundations with sapphires. All your children shall be taught by the Lord, and great shall be the peace of your children. 14In righteousness you shall be established; no weapon that is fashioned against you shall succeed, and you shall refute every tongue that rises against you in judgment. This is the heritage of the servants of the Lord and their vindication from me, declares the Lord.” THE COMPASSION OF THE LORD come, buy and eat! Listen diligently to me, and eat what is good, and delight yourselves in rich food. hear, that your soul may live; and I will make with you an everlasting covenant, my steadfast, sure love for David. you shall call a nation that you do not know, and a nation that did not know you shall run to you, “Seek the Lord while he may be found; call upon him while he is near; For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the Lord. 9 For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts. so shall my word be that goes out from my mouth; it shall not return to me empty, but it shall accomplish that which I purpose, and shall succeed in the thing for which I sent it. “For you shall go out in joy and be led forth in peace; it shall make a name for the Lord, an everlasting sign that shall not be cut off.” GREETING Grace to you and peace. THE THESSALONIANS' FAITH AND EXAMPLE We give thanks to God always for all of you, constantly mentioning you in our prayers, work of faith and labor of love and steadfastness of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ. our gospel came to you in power and in the Holy Spirit and with full conviction. you became imitators of us, joy of the Holy Spirit, 7so that you became an example to all the believers, your faith in God has gone forth everywhere, so that we need not say anything, how you turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God, Jesus!

2 CHRONICLES 20:5-12 JEHOSHAPHAT'S PRAYER Jehoshaphat was afraid and set his face to seek the Lord, and proclaimed a fast throughout all Judah. ‘If disaster comes upon us, the sword, judgment, or pestilence, or famine, we will stand before this house and before you—for your name is in this house—and cry out to you in our affliction, and you will hear and save.’ O our God, will you not execute judgment on them? For we are powerless against this great horde that is coming against us. We do not know what to do, but our eyes are on you.” INSIGHT Jehoshaphat is one of Judah’s more intriguing kings. The kingdoms of Judah and Israel had parted ways barely six decades earlier, yet Jehoshaphat foolishly agreed to go into battle allied with Israel’s idol-worshiping King Ahab (2 Chronicles 18:3). Their combined forces were routed, and Ahab was killed (vv. 33-34). Despite that episode, Jehoshaphat followed God throughout most of his reign. As a large foe amassed against the people of Judah (20:1-3), Jehoshaphat instinctively sought God. Praying before all the people, he recalled God’s promise to their father Abraham (vv. 5-9). Desperate though he was, Jehoshaphat knew God could be trusted. In our trials, we too can find comfort when we seek God in prayer.

By: Tim Gustafson

A PRAYERFUL POSTURE A lengthy battle with a chronic illness had taken its toll on Jimmy. Though he desired to spend time with God each morning, praying to Him and meditating on the Scriptures, he couldn’t find a way to position his body in his chair that wasn’t painful. He shifted from side to side, but there was no relief. Finally, in desperation, he fell to his knees. As he did, that prayerful posture proved to lessen the agonizing ache. In the mornings that followed, Jimmy spent time with God on his knees—experiencing comfort even as he called out to Him in prayer.

Jehoshaphat, king of Judah, also faced a battle—not with pain but with threatening enemies (2 Chronicles 20:1-2). The king was “terrified by this news and begged the Lord for guidance” (v. 3 nlt). All the people of Judah sought “help from the Lord” as well (v. 4). God heard their prayers, and His Spirit came upon a Levite named Jahaziel, who delivered this comforting message to the king: “Do not be afraid or discouraged . . . . The Lord will be with you” (vv. 15, 17). Jehoshaphat “bowed down with his face to the ground,” and everyone “fell down in worship before the Lord” (v. 18).

In painful and challenging times, we can often experience God’s nearness in a powerful way. As He helps us submit to His will and live out a prayerful posture in our hearts, we can find comfort and peace in Him.

By: Tom Felten

REFLECT AND PRAY How has God comforted you as you prayed to Him? What painful thing will you bring to Him today?

Loving God, thank You for meeting and comforting me as I pray to You, In Jesus name, Amen.

JONAH: GOD'S SCANDALOUS MERCY JONAH 1: JONAH IS NOT ABOUT A FISH WHAT'S HAPPENING The book of Jonah is not about a big fish. It’s about the mercy God has for his enemies.

The book begins with God’s word coming to Jonah the son of Amittai (Jonah 1:1). This isn’t the first time Jonah appears in the Bible. Jonah was a prophet for the evil king Jeroboam II (2 Kings 14:24-25). While other prophets, like Amos, were busy denouncing Jeroboam, Jonah prophesied the expansion of Israel's territory and implicitly gave God’s seal of approval to the wicked king (Amos 7:9-11).

Nevertheless, God tells Jonah to preach against Nineveh and its wickedness (Jonah 1:2). Nineveh was the capital city of Assyria; a pagan nation that would eventually exile Israel and burn down Jerusalem. So instead of delivering God’s message to Israel’s enemy, Jonah gets on a boat with other pagans and heads to the farthest point on the map he can find (Jonah 1:3). We’re told later that Jonah refuses to preach to Nineveh because he knows God will be merciful (Jonah 4:2). Jonah couldn’t stomach a message of mercy going to Israel’s enemies. But as soon as the boat hits the water, God throws a tempest at the stowed-away Jonah (Jonah 1:4).

The storm highlights the differences between the penitent pagan sailors and the rogue prophet. The sailors are terrified but earnest. They call out to their gods for help and throw everything off the boat to stay afloat. But Jonah is unaware and sleeping (Jonah 1:5). The captain shakes Jonah awake and uses the same words God used in verse one. The captain asks Jonah to “get up” and “call” out to his God too (Jonah 1:6). But Jonah never does.

The crew throws a kind of dice, hoping God will direct them to the culprit of the storm (Jonah 1:7). It’s only when the die indicates Jonah is to blame, that Jonah admits anything (Jonah 1:9-10). Then Jonah gives up. He tells the sailors to throw him into the sea (Jonah 1:12). But the sailors do everything they can to save his life (Jonah 1:13). Even when they realize their only hope is to throw Jonah overboard, they ask God for forgiveness first (Jonah 1:14).

Finally, they throw Jonah overboard and the storm stops. Immediately, the sailors show honor to Jonah’s God and offer a sacrifice with whatever is left on board (Jonah 1:15-16). And while the sailors enjoy the sun and calm sea, Jonah is swallowed by a big fish and taken deep under the water (Jonah 1:17).

Where is the Gospel? Much of Jesus’ ministry was spent with people like Jonah’s pagan sailors. Prostitutes and tax collectors experienced Jesus' mercy and compassion. Even a couple of Jesus’ disciples were fishermen and sailors (Luke 5:30). Many that Jesus healed were also ethnic descendants of nations like Assyria and cities like Nineveh (Matthew 8:5). They were called Gentiles. And like Jonah, the religious leaders of Jesus’ day couldn’t stomach a message of mercy going out to Israel’s religious and historic enemies. The Pharisees also demanded increasingly explicit signs to “prove'' the message they didn’t want to hear (Matthew 16:1). Jesus calls them an “evil and adulterous generation” and says he’ll only give them the sign of Jonah (Matthew 16:4).

Jesus’ opponents need to rediscover the story of Jonah because they are Jonah. They’re hard-hearted prophets more interested in preserving Israel’s national identity than extending mercy to Israel’s cultural and spiritual enemies. And they’re surrounded by penitent pagans who see clearly what God is up to and repent (Matthew 12:41-42). They’re so devoted to denying God’s call and running from God’s mercy, like Jonah, they’re headed for the jaws of the deep.

But the sign of Jonah is also about Jesus’ death. Just as Jonah spent three nights underwater, Jesus will spend three days in the belly of the earth (Matthew 12:40). This is the final sign to an evil and unmerciful generation that God will save his enemies while submerging those who refuse his message. Jonah’s “death” in the sea meant the pagan sailors were saved from the storm, and they believed and called out to God (Jonah 3:5). Similarly, Jesus’ death means there are calm waters and forgiveness ahead, even for God’s enemies (Romans 5:10).

Jonah challenges us to name the people we believe don’t deserve God’s mercy. And while we all have someone we would refuse to preach mercy to, Jesus never does. Like Jonah, he will descend to the depths so God’s enemies can receive his mercy.