Why Jonah Is Relevant To The Western Church

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The book of Jonah has much to say to contemporary Christians. Those in the Western Church should particularly take the time to re-examine their own lives in light of the teachings found in this powerful story. Let me illustrate some of the lessons we can find in Jonah.

1) Jonah shows us our failure to share God’s concerns for the salvation of others.  Why else would the Western church spend so much time and money on itself and not on evangelizing those who have yet to hear the gospel? Why else would Christianity be shrinking in the Western world? We have failed to preach the good news of the kingdom – repentance of sin. Yes I believe that salvation is of the Lord (Jonah 2:9) and that He has elected those He will save. I also believe He has elected us, His servants, to be the means by which that salvation is offered. Otherwise He would simply take us to heaven the moment we were born again. We are called to preach the gospel to the ends of the earth. Why has it taken 2,000 years and we still have thousands of unreached, unengaged people groups on our planet? The church needs to call a worldwide fast and solemn assembly for repenting to God of our blatant disregard of a simple command. As Jonah was unconcerned for the spiritual needs of the Ninevites, we are unconcerned with the spiritual needs of much of the world.

2) Jonah shows us our failure to value souls more than gourds. A mere pittance is spent by the church on missions compared with the latest gadgets, gizmos and large sanctuaries here at home. Instead of using those blessings to penetrate the darkness we have become enamored with our toys and value them more than souls. If it took all we had, if we had to bankrupt every church to see one soul come to salvation, it would be a bargain. A soul is of unbelievable worth – in fact, a human soul is worth the price of God’s Son dying to redeem it.

3) Jonah shows us our failure to let the love of God cast out our hatred of men. Just as Jonah believed the Ninevites deserved punishment (which, in fact, they did) we believe certain people are deserving of punishment. What we fail to realize is that all of have been given grace, shown unmerited mercy and favor with God who expects us to show that same kind of love and mercy to all people. This includes those trapped in Islam, spiritualism, Buddhism and all the other religious and political belief systems that exist. We cannot pick and choose who is deserving and yet we do — just crunch the number of missionaries to Sub-Saharan Africa versus the Middle East or those to South America versus SE Asia. We cannot play it safe and only concentrate on “safe” countries. God is no respecter of persons and neither should we be. Instead of that great Caribbean 10 day trip to play religious tourist, what about Bhutan or Japan where it takes actual courage to evangelize? Like Jonah faced going to Assyria?

4) Jonah shows us that our personal responsibility is to be involved in the saving of souls. If one gets nothing else out of the book of Jonah, this should slam you between the eyes. We are called by God to proclaim the good news to everyone. A Savior has come to the world. Forgiveness of sins is possible. A new life is being offered by God to all who will respond. And we are guaranteed by Scripture to see people from every tribe, tongue and nation accept this message. This is what gives us hope to go to Assyria and beyond, in the knowledge that God’s Word will not return void when it is sent out

Does Life Get Easier When You Follow Christ?

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A good synopsis

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Post by Pastor Tim Dillmuth – Does life get easier when you follow Christ?  I like how John Piper (and Paul the Apostle) answered that question.  John Piper said,

The answer seems to be that the Christian life for Paul was not the so-called good life of prosperity and ease.   Instead it was a life of freely chosen suffering beyond anything we ordinarily experience.   Paul’s belief in God, and his confidence in resurrection, and his hope in eternal fellowship with Christ did not produce a life of comfort and ease that would have been satisfying even without resurrection.  No, what his hope produced was a life of chosen suffering.  Yes, he knew joy unspeakable.  But it was a “rejoicing in hope” (Romans 12:12).  And that hope freed him to embrace sufferings that he never would have chosen apart from the hope of his own resurrection and the resurrection of those…

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Listening to Stories

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Since working with hospice as a chaplain, my children have asked me what it is that I actually do. When I was the pastor of a church, my role was easy for them to see. As I speak at conferences and seminars, they often travel with me. Even on mission trips around the globe they have sometimes accompanied me and know what it is that I do while I am gone. As a chaplain, though, they weren’t sure what it was that I do all day.

My answer? I listen to stories. I listen to the stories of people. I listen to the stories of those who are actively, imminently dying. I listen to the stories of their spouses, children and grandchildren. I listen to the stories of those who know them best. And I pray with them. Every person has a story. Everyone’s life tells of who they are, what they dream of, what they value and whether they are ready to stand before God and have their life story read back from His books. People are fascinating. No two are alike. Everyone has a unique story, yet the end of the story is the same for everyone. It is appointed for man once to die, and then the judgement. The beginning may change, the characters may be different, the adventures unique — but the end is the same. We all must stand before God and give an account to Him of our lives and whether we have included His Son Jesus as the central character in our story.

How about you? Are you ready for your story to be read before the Almighty?

The 180 Project Update

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The 180° Project continues to be the focus of Ta Ethne as we head into the Thanksgiving season. Even with the transition from Montana to Georgia this year, the project is continuing at a steady pace. Four chapters of the resource book have been written and are in the editing process while the remaining chapters are still being finished. The subject of biblical repentance is a fascinating study and as more and more research is done, we are going back and incorporating our knowledge into the book. The release of this resource is still planned for early 2014, though the schedule to allow us to complete it on time will be a demanding one. Another resource planned for 2014 is the second in our dynamic commentary series, this one will focus on the books of Zechariah and Zephaniah. The current plan is to have both books to be in one commentary and our tentative target date is mid-summer 2014.

Thank you so much for your continued support and prayers. We continue to gain new followers around the world and hearing from them excites us. It is a wonderful feeling to know that we are making a difference in the kingdom of God and we strive to bring glory to Him.

When Life Reflects Songs

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First, an apology for the lack of posts in recent weeks. Phase 2 of our re-location from Montana to the Eastern US is now complete. We have purchased property in Jeff Davis County, Georgia for Ta Ethne’s new home. This gives us access to Savannah and Jacksonville airports as well as 2 interstate highways. It also allows us to expand our donor base, something future growth will need. Thank you to all those who have been praying with us about this process.

Now, for today’s blog. At church this past week, we were singing a hymn, “Footsteps of Jesus.” One of the verses happened to strike me. It went like this:

Though they lead through the Temple holy, preaching the Word

Or in homes of the poor and lowly, serving the Lord

Why did these verses speak to me? Because I have been a pastor for the last 21 years, preaching the Word in churches across America and SE Asia. Now, as well as leading Ta Ethne’s ministries, I serve as a chaplain with a local hospice here in south Georgia. Oh, I occasionally preach and speak at churches – fill in, revivals, conferences and the like, but mainly I am in people’s homes, ministering to the dying. I have the opportunity and the privilege of meeting people when they are most vulnerable. I am able to serve families after death in learning how to cope with grief. Rich or poor, death comes to every person. Many I meet have no relationship with God. They would never come to hear me preach. I become their pastor by going into their homes and caring for them. They know I come not to get anything from them, but to serve them.

Being a chaplain has allowed me to use my whole repertoire of pastoral skills. It may not be as glamorous as preaching the Word in the Temple, but I hope it mimics my Savior in proclaiming hope to the hopeless, freedom to the captive and healing (ultimate healing) for the sick.

Continue to pray for Ta Ethne as we build community relationships and continue to grow in our mission to bring leadership training to churches worldwide.

Video – Bible Smuggling Into North Korea

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A great post from a great organization

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We recently released a 35 minute, exclusive documentary on the ministry of Seoul USA.  The video goes into never before released detail on the different ways in which we get the Bible across the border into North Korea.

Below is a short clip from the documentary which captures the emotional reaction of Mrs. Foley, Seoul USA’s President, when she viewed the dramatic footage of our North Korean underground partners being accused of espionage by North Korea.  These Christians are shown praying and singing to God . . . before they were eventually martyred for their faith.

Watch the full North Korea documentary at www.seoulusa.org/100-days-videos.

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100 Days Campaign Update: China Is (Unsuccessfully) Blocking Our North Korea Christian Radio Broadcast

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If you don’t follow Seoul USA, you really need to…

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SUSA-KoreanScore one more for the North Korean Underground Church:

Seoul USA‘s NK-led, 100% Christian nightly shortwave radio broadcast has become the target of Chinese cooperation in blocking attempts, adding to the (ultimately unsuccessful) ongoing blocking efforts of the North Korean government.

Analysts note Chinese efforts to specially target a broadcast into North Korea are largely unheard of. That they would specially target our humble little (zillion megawatt) home-brewed effort of North Korean Christians makes you wonder if they understand the power of the gospel more than we do.

Jamming efforts are the best indicator we have of how threatening the NK regime considers our broadcast to be. That the Chinese have been invited to the jamming party is a better-than-best indicator…and it makes me button-busting proud of the North Korean Christians who are involved in the broadcast. It’s 1 Corinthians 1:26 in action.

An analyst told me something interesting…

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