Jonah 1:1-3; One day long ago, God’s Word came to Jonah, Amittai’s son: “Up on your feet and on your way to the big city of Nineveh! Preach to them. They’re in a bad way and I can’t ignore it any longer.”

But Jonah got up and went the other direction to Tarshish, running away from God. He went down to the port of Joppa and found a ship headed for Tarshish. He paid the fare and went on board, joining those going to Tarshish—as far away from God as he could get.

Obviously Jonah had other plans for his life and it didn’t include being an evangelist to Nineveh! I mean, God didn’t even ask him, He TOLD him to go. Seems like God would have at least consulted Jonah, found out if it was on his bucket list. But Jonah was a marked man. First of all, let me point out that God’s Word came to Jonah. When God speaks, you can try to ignore it, but it won’t go away. Secondly, Jonah didn’t argue with God, he simply got up and went in the opposite direction, probably thinking he could escape somehow or make God think he hadn’t really heard him.

But then God sent a storm, wild and raging, just to remind Jonah that there was no where he could run to escape Him. The men on the ship were afraid, found Jonah sleeping and woke him up (side note; reminds me of Jesus on the boat with the disciples), told him to pray. Finally he confessed it was his fault and they needed to throw him overboard and the storm would stop. As afraid as these men were, they refused to do this until the storm became so bad they had no other choice. Watch what happened next: They took Jonah and threw him overboard. Immediately the sea was quieted down. The sailors were impressed, no longer terrified by the sea, but in awe of God. They worshiped God, offered a sacrifice, and made vows.

Even though Jonah disobeyed God, turned tail and ran, good came out of it in that these rough and tough men of the sea turned to God and believed. The story doesn’t end there. We know God sent a large fish to swallow him up, take him back to the shore close to Nineveh and spit him out.

God doesn’t mess around! He said we are to make disciples, to become fishers of men, to go into the world and preach the gospel and we’re still doing our own thing, going our own way because it makes us uncomfortable. What kind of storm will God have to bring in order to get us to obey? The time is short, Jesus is coming soon. It’s time to get the Word out there that there’s a God who loves, heals, saves and forgives and He wants to be a Father to you.

Father, I honor you this morning and make an offering of my life. I ask that as I go about my day, You would lead and direct my steps so that I may be Your mouth, Your hands, Your arms to a lost and dying world. May countless men, women and children come to know You in all Your greatness because we, Your people are willing to obey. It’s in the name of Your Son, Jesus we pray, Amen

I Kings 19:7 MSG; The angel of God came back, shook him awake again, and said, “Get up and eat some more—you’ve got a long journey ahead of you.”

What is a journey? The dictionary says, a traveling from one place to another, usually taking a rather long time; a distance, course, or area traveled or suitable for traveling. Each journey is different, some long, some short, to this place or that place, but most generally a journey takes us to a place from a place, wouldn’t you agree? This journey above was one Elijah took when he ran from Queen Jezebel and King Ahab after killing all the false prophets. Think about that for a moment. God had responded to his faith, rained down fire to consume the altar, gave him strength to kill all the false prophets but when the queens word came to him, he turned tail and ran. I’ve never quite understood that, until recently that is.

It seems that when God reveals His great plans for us, we’re so excited. We could scale walls with our faith, run into a burning building to save someone, give generously to help others, but when God opens a door for us and the light’s off and there are no windows to warn us what’s inside, where does our trust run off to? We end up running from what could be the biggest blessing of our lives simply because of the unknown.

Elijah knew God. He knew that God would back him up in anything he spoke in faith, so why did he run? Fear. He listened to the wrong voice and was afraid. God had to prove Himself again to Elijah before he could move on but notice this thing that happened as a result of his fear, verses 19-21 shows that God sent him to train his replacement.

Don’t let fear keep you, from where your faith in God can take you. Keep your eyes on God regardless of what you see or don’t see. If He says go, go. If He says stay, stay. The only way you’re going to succeed on this journey of faith is to constantly commune with God, build up your confidence in His ability by reading His Word, and regardless of where the path goes, be determined to stay on His heels. If your path takes a sharp right and you can’t see around the corner, keep going. As soon as you round the bend, you’ll see Him there.

Father, I remember the first time I took a roller coaster ride, the steep inclines, the hard lefts and rights, the cliff like drop offs, they all made my stomach jump and fall but when I got off, I wanted to go again. There’s something about life with you that’s full of hope and promise. There’s no place I’d rather be at any age, then stepping out with faith in You. You are my constant companion, my umbrella in a storm, my blanket of warmth, my place of refuge. You infuse me with strength as I climb the high mountains and your peace in the valley restores my soul. I will not be distracted by the unseen enemies of selfish ambition, pride of life and the safety of the ‘known’. I have set out in pursuit of you and there’s no going back now. It’s with trust in what Your Son Jesus did for me that I give a resounding AMEN.

Ephesians 5:1-2 MSG, “Watch what God does, and then you do it, like children who learn proper behavior from their parents. Mostly what God does is love you. Keep company with him and learn a life of love. Observe how Christ loved us. His love was not cautious but extravagant. He didn’t love in order to get something from us but to give everything of himself to us. Love like that.”

I think sometimes in our pursuit of God, we forget that God is love. If we pursue Love, we are pursuing God. I John 4:7-10 says, “My beloved friends, let us continue to love each other since love comes from God. Everyone who loves is born of God and experiences a relationship with God. The person who refuses to love doesn’t know the first thing about God, because God is love—so you can’t know him if you don’t love. This is how God showed his love for us: God sent his only Son into the world so we might live through him. This is the kind of love we are talking about—not that we once upon a time loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as a sacrifice to clear away our sins and the damage they’ve done to our relationship with God.”

So I present to you this fact; no love, no God. Know Love, know God. You can’t separate the two of them, they are one and the same and so should we be. When we invite Love to rule us, our motives change, our outlook changes, we are no longer seeing others with our own eyes, but through the eyes of Love. The only way to imitate someone, is to study them. As children, we watched our parents every move and imitated them. I am a product of my mother and father, whether I want to be or not. But when I watch God and study God, I automatically imitate Him. His nature becomes my nature, His heart, my heart. I don’t want what I used to want because now, I want what He wants.

The more I understand that I’m a spirit living in a body, the more my spirit imitates my Spirit Father, watching Him, listening to His heart, changing my attitude toward others, not allowing my flesh to take over, but ruling my flesh as was meant to be. It’s always going to be a battle until I allow my spirit to control my flesh. But the more I know Love, the more Love conquers all.

Father, I’m overwhelmed by You. I’m super overwhelmed by Your deep abiding love for me. I want to love like You. I want to be merciful like You. I want to allow that same life changing Love to affect others around me. As I learn of You and from You, may the things that fill me up overflow onto others and change them as well. It’s all about You. It’s all about being You on this earth. I lay down every weight that holds me back from accomplishing Your plans today. It’s in Jesus’ Name I pray, Amen

Proverbs 18:2 GW; A fool does not find joy in understanding but only in expressing his own opinion.

Well, that woke me up! Never a truer statement, thank you very much King Solomon! I have to say that there is always a sense of awe when someone asks for my opinion on something or someone. Like, really? Why would you want MY opinion? And may I add, I’m not shy in sharing what I sense about someone. Silly Sandy! Perhaps it would be better if I duct taped my lips shut, because there’s this verse that comes to mind in Matthew 7:1, “Stop judging so that you will not be judged.”

I picture myself standing before the judgement seat of Christ and having all those I’ve loosely judged with my opinion, do the same to me. Can I just fall on my face right now and ask forgiveness? Lord, I ask that you wash away my opinionated words and place them under the blood of your forgiveness, in Jesus’ name. Let’s face it, we all have opinions because we’ve lived awhile, some of us a LONG while. We’ve seen things, watched patterns and people. I can pretty much watch someones behavior and tell you how their situation will turn out. I can even gloat and say, “Told you!” But isn’t that a fair amount of judging right there? Solomon called it like he saw it; You’re a fool!

Can I just point out a better way? The only people Jesus called out on their behavior were religious folk, anyone and anything else, He called out the things that were not yet seen as though they already were. “See! Walk! Rise!” He even told a mother that her son wasn’t dead, just sleeping. Whatever the Word says has to be of more value then what we see in the natural. I wasn’t called to reinforce the things I see, I was told to call forth the things that already are in the Spirit realm into the natural realm. So instead of saying, “What an idiot!” I should be saying, “That person is made in the image and likeness of God. Thank You for giving him discernment and wisdom.”

When someone asks for your opinion, better to answer, “I have no opinion that matters. What matters is Gods opinion.” Then tell them what the Word says about them. You are the righteousness of God in Christ. Feelings will change, but they only change when you know who you are! You are a blood bought child of the Most High God. He loves you and as you learn who you are and accept His love for you, whatever is wrong, God will make right. Focus on Him and His love for you. Let Him wash you and make you new.” Now wouldn’t that be better?

Father, I’ve been a fool so many times. Sometimes I wonder why you’re so patient with me, so loving, so affirming because I certainly didn’t do anything to deserve it. But You’ve always loved me, from the beginning, You’ve always taken care of me and watched over me. When I act the fool, You gently and lovingly correct me and remind me of Your patience with me. Forgive my foolish speaking. May I stop and remember to show the same love to others as You have graciously poured out on me. It’s in Jesus’ Name. Amen

Mark 2:22 GW, “People don’t pour new wine into old wineskins. If they do, the wine will make the skins burst, and both the wine and the skins will be ruined. Rather, new wine is to be poured into fresh skins.”

I’m sure you’re all familiar with the process or fermenting. The dictionary calls it ‘organized ferment” any of a group of living organisms, as yeasts, molds, and certain bacteria, that cause fermentation. So why can’t you put new wine in old wineskins? Because old wineskins have already been stretched and have become hardened. If you try to put new wine in them, they would crack and you’d lose what’s inside of them. I hope you see where Jesus was going with this.

Sometimes Christians have a hard time with the Holy Spirit leading them into all truth because they’ve already received ‘sound doctrine’ and are not willing to change their ways of thinking. But when the Holy Spirit was poured out in Acts 2:4, it was different then anything experienced before that time. If you want something new, you must get rid of old mindsets. The Jewish leaders were so threatened by Jesus ‘breaking the law’ that they didn’t understand He was the fulfillment of the law. In fact, they began to look for ways to get rid of Him simply because they opposed this new line of thinking, doing and being.

Matthew 13:33,  He used another illustration. “The kingdom of heaven is like yeast that a woman mixed into a large amount of flour until the yeast worked its way through all the dough.” You see, whatever you use to ferment, it affects the whole. That’s why it’s important that we are careful what we think about and meditate on, because it will affect our heart, and our heart pumps blood through our entire body (He who has an ear to hear, let him hear what the Spirit is saying). If you want to experience the new, you must cast away old mindsets and open yourself up to what the Holy Spirit wants to do. It’s about HIM not YOU!

Father, make me pliable so that what You’re doing in me will not break me, but allow me to grow and learn and flow with what Your Spirit is doing in the earth today. You said that in the last days, there would be a mighty outpouring of Your Spirit like none we’ve ever seen before. I will see and experience this great outpouring, as will my children and grandchildren. I know that You are not finished with me because there is much to do. Create in me a clean heart and renew a right spirit in me. Cast me not away from Your Presence, oh Lord, don’t take Your Holy Spirit from me. It’s with great expectation I humbly ask this in Jesus’ Name. Amen

John 35:5-8 Voice; Jesus:  I tell you the truth, if someone does not experience water and Spirit birth, there’s no chance he will make it into God’s kingdom.  Like from like. Whatever is born from flesh is flesh; whatever is born from Spirit is spirit.  Don’t be shocked by My words, but I tell you the truth. Even you, an educated and respected man among your people, must be reborn by the Spirit to enter the kingdom of God. The wind blows all around us as if it has a will of its own; we feel and hear it, but we do not understand where it has come from or where it will end up. Life in the Spirit is as if it were the wind of God.

I’ve lived Haiti and I can tell you that in Haiti, the majority of Haitians don’t speak English. Their food is different, their customs are different, their mannerisms are different because they are not Americans. When our family went to Haiti to start an orphanage back in the 70’s, our biggest problem was communicating with them. We knew 3 words but found an old man who spoke some English and we took him with us wherever we went to interpret for us. He helped us understand the Haitian people and their cultures. What was normal to them, was very strange to us. My point here is, we had to study and learn their ways, customs and language, we did not expect them to learn our language to communicate with us. WE were the foreigners, it was their country.

Jesus was telling Nicodemus, a teacher in the temple, that to understand the things of the Spirit of God he had to be born of the Spirit. You can’t see it. You don’t know where it comes from or where it goes, but you know it exists simply because you feel and hear it. The Spirit of God speaks to our spirit, leading us into all truth. That’s why we have our own language, to commune with the Spirit of God. It may seem odd to some, because they’re trying to come into the ‘Spirit Country’ and communicate in their own language, but to truly speak with God, we must come to Him in Spirit and Truth. Speaking in Hymns and Psalms in His language as well as our own. We must be born of the Spirit.

“Even you, an educated and respected man among your people, must be reborn by the Spirit to enter the kingdom of God. The wind blows all around us as if it has a will of its own; we feel and hear it, but we do not understand where it has come from or where it will end up. Life in the Spirit is as if it were the wind of God.” Do you see that? You will never understand it until you accept it and allow it to move you. We were made for this because this is our true country and we are His ambassadors.

Father, You have given me Your Holy Spirit to lead me and guide me into all truth. I will never understand You in my own language until I know You in Yours. Like Paul, I pray in the Spirit as often as I can because it helps me to understand you. It fortifies the weak areas of my life and causes me to be strong in my spirit. I’m so thankful for Your Kingdom that is in me. Regardless of what happens in this earth, You lead me into all truth by Your Spirit and I’m excited for each day and the treasure it holds. It’s in Jesus’ name I pray. Amen

Isaiah 49:15-16 Amp; [And the Lord answered] Can a woman forget her nursing child, that she should not have compassion on the son of her womb? Yes, they may forget, yet I will not forget you.  Behold, I have indelibly imprinted (tattooed a picture of) you on the palm of each of My hands; [O Zion] your walls are continually before Me.

I love my girls, but I don’t have their faces tattooed on my hands! I have pictures of them everywhere and I can close my eyes and see their faces, their smiles and feel their huge hugs and fierce kisses. But even if I were to forget, God never forgets me. He knows my name, my face, my voice, He’s right there when I am heartbroken to catch and bottle all my tears. He rejoices over me when I finally discover a hidden truth. When I lift my voice in song, He leans in to listen and when I’m finished, He claps and smiles. Why, He’s even watching me as I type this post, leaving an encouraging word for someone who needs to know that they’re never, ever alone.

That’s right, YOU! It’s as if I hear you crying beside your bed wondering if anyone sees or cares. You’re wondering if you’ll ever have anyone to share life with, to laugh with, to dance with, to sing to. You already do. Trust the One who knows your name, the One who has you tattooed on His hands. He has plans for you that are bigger than you can even imagine, just take your place next to Him and allow Him to bring it to pass. But whatever you do, don’t replace your relationship with God for a human relationship. That’s an add-on bonus, not a replacement.

You know my name, Father! Of all the billions of children You have, I still have Your ear. I can never be separated from You. I can never be kidnapped or wounded that You are not with me, healing, strengthening, loving me. I’m so thankful for our relationship, Lord. It’s an exchange of love, joy and peace. I trust in You and because I do, I will never be ashamed, nor will my enemies triumph over me. You’re forever faithful even when I am not. My heart belongs to You but You never demand I give it. I ask that You will show my lonely friend just how much You love them. Wrap Your arms of love around them and blanket them with Your presence today. Cause them to be satisfied with You, then add to them the man or woman they are waiting for. It’s in Jesus’ Name I pray. Amen

Matthew 7:13-14 Voice; There are two paths before you; you may take only one path. One doorway is narrow. And one door is wide. Go through the narrow door. For the wide door leads to a wide path, and the wide path is broad; the wide, broad path is easy, and the wide, broad, easy path has many, many people on it; but the wide, broad, easy, crowded path leads to death.  Now then that narrow door leads to a narrow road that in turn leads to life. It is hard to find that road. Not many people manage it.

Many times I’ve heard people say, “Bigger is better!”, but I don’t think that’s necessarily true. It’s the big things that draw the crowds, get the attention, but according to Jesus, we’re to look for the little door and the narrow path. Perhaps you’re confused as to the meaning of this. Maybe it doesn’t make sense to you. It means that we as Christians should not be going along with the crowd, doing what the world does, walking the path of least resistance. It means we should look different from the world and be like Jesus in every way.

This is what the small door looks like. Jesus didn’t attend church 3 times a week, He was the church 24/7. He was the church wherever he walked and talked. He didn’t wait for someone to order pizza to feed the people, He took what was available, blessed it and it fed the people. He understood that the Spirit of God was in him and pulled on that provision daily. He didn’t wait till Sunday to talk with God, He communed with Him all day, everyday. That’s the narrow path. He wasn’t afraid of what men thought, He understood His mission and if He had to do it alone, He would.

Here’s how you can tell you’re on the narrow road; Your friends will leave you because you’re ‘too radical’. They’ll talk about you because you take faith a step too far and your faith is foolishness to them. They think you should be more ‘normal’, go to party’s once in a while, stop being so serious. It’s okay, they can’t fit through the narrow door with all the stuff they’re carrying with them, but when something hits their life and sends them reeling, they will come looking for their radical friend.

Jesus, I call on you for help because this narrow path hasn’t got room for anyone else but You and I need all of You I can get. I need Your wisdom, strength and power to stand and do what I know I must do. Help me to stay focused on Your voice. Even when the voice of reason is so much louder, may I be quiet and feel Your still small voice on the back of my neck whispering direction. I’m thankful that You showed the way, may I be a faithful follower and doer of Your Word. Amen

Ephesians 3:20-21 Voice; Now to the God who can do so many awe-inspiring things, immeasurable things, things greater than we ever could ask or imagine through the power at work in us, to Him be all glory in the church and in Jesus the Anointed from this generation to the next, forever and ever. Amen.

Saturday morning, I was honored to teach a Bible Study for our beautiful Singles ministry. I shared a vision the Lord had showed me of a very large barrel full of liquid. The barrel had been filled and sealed with no where to access what was inside. It was a picture of many Christians today, they are hearers of the Word but it’s sealed inside of them and they make no attempt to use what is in them to encourage others, speak into peoples lives, lay hands on the sick. Big fat lazy Christians. Suddenly I saw someone had tapped the barrel and open it up and the liquid began to pour out so that what was in them could be enjoyed.

Last night as I was getting ready for bed, the Lord showed me something so beautiful that it brought tears to my eyes. What’s on the outside matters little, it’s what’s on the inside that matters most. Oh, I’ve heard it before, but this time was different because this time, I saw myself through the eyes of God. Old or young, rich or poor, ugly or beautiful, fat or thin, those are external qualities we see with our natural eyes. It’s called ‘first impressions’, but what is unseen, that my friend is a game changer. So many of us have so much inside of us and it’s aged to perfection. We’re so afraid we may do something wrong that we do nothing at all. Let the Holy Spirit tap into you so that you can allow others to drink of what He’s placed inside of you.

“I’ll do it when I lose weight!” “I’ll do it when I’m in better shape!” “I’ll do it after I graduate from College!” “I don’t have the right clothes!” “I have no talent!” There are a million and one excuses we can make that will postpone someone else from receiving the word or deed they need for breakthrough. Stop being a hoarder! If we don’t give out, we have not room for new. Hoarders are savers. They’re afraid they may need it so they refuse to get rid of it. I have news for you. Jesus said to give, then it will be given to you, pressed down, shaken together and running over. If we don’t empty some of what we have in us out, we will not have room for more.

Father, I am beautiful on the inside because of Your Spirit that is at work in me. You have changed me. Everything bad in me, you’ve made good. Transformed. When you look at me, you see me through the blood of Your Son, Jesus. He made me right with You. If I mess up, You’ve redeemed it. If I step wrong, You hold my foot and make a firm path for me to walk on. You’ve even caused my body to heal and emotional wounds to go away. Every ugly thing I was, You have made perfect. My lips will sing of Your goodness and never cease to praise Your Holy Name. Today, I put on my royal robes of righteousness and I step out into the dark places where You walk before me, knowing that Your Light sets the captives free. I will be not be a hoarder today, but I will give freely of the goodness You have placed in me. In Jesus’ Name. Amen