Romans 12:11-12


Do not grow slack in zeal, be fervent in spirit, serve the Lord.

Rejoice in hope, endure in affliction, persevere in prayer.

-Romans 12:11-12

I think that many of us go through periods of spiritual highs and lows, where we can feel very zealous and close to God, but then through time of feeling far and disconnected from Him. Looking at the definition for zeal can help to open up this verse.

Zeal:

Noun

1.   Great energy or enthusiasm in pursuit of a cause or an objective

We are called to serve the Lord and not grow slack in our enthusiasm for serving Him. That is my prayer for today, that He would make my heart be on fire for Him and be zealous about following his word.

Seek and ye shall find..

Jesus said to his disciples:
“Ask and it will be given to you;
seek and you will find;
knock and the door will be opened to you.
For everyone who asks, receives; and the one who seeks, finds;
and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened.
Which one of you would hand his son a stone
when he asked for a loaf of bread,
or a snake when he asked for a fish?
If you then, who are wicked,
know how to give good gifts to your children,
how much more will your heavenly Father give good things
to those who ask him.

“Do to others whatever you would have them do to you.
This is the law and the prophets.”

You cannot expect  to have help given to you if you do not ask and thusly. God, who is good knows how to give good gifts – it would not make sense for him to make sense for him to give a gift intended to harm, as He loves us so greatly. Treat others and love others as much as you would like others to do to you.

Jesus said to his disciples:
“Ask and it will be given to you;
seek and you will find;
knock and the door will be opened to you.
For everyone who asks, receives; and the one who seeks, finds;
and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened.
Which one of you would hand his son a stone
when he asked for a loaf of bread,
or a snake when he asked for a fish?
If you then, who are wicked,
know how to give good gifts to your children,
how much more will your heavenly Father give good things
to those who ask him.

“Do to others whatever you would have them do to you.
This is the law and the prophets.”

You cannot expect  to have help given to you if you do not ask and thusly. God, who is good knows how to give good gifts – it would not make sense for him to make sense for him to give a gift intended to harm, as He loves us so greatly. Treat others and love others as much as you would like others to do to you.

Jesus said to his disciples:
“Ask and it will be given to you;
seek and you will find;
knock and the door will be opened to you.
For everyone who asks, receives; and the one who seeks, finds;
and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened.
Which one of you would hand his son a stone
when he asked for a loaf of bread,
or a snake when he asked for a fish?
If you then, who are wicked,
know how to give good gifts to your children,
how much more will your heavenly Father give good things
to those who ask him.

“Do to others whatever you would have them do to you.
This is the law and the prophets.”

You cannot expect  to have help given to you if you do not ask and thusly. God, who is good knows how to give good gifts – it would not make sense for him for him to give a gift intended to harm, as He loves us so greatly. Treat others and love others as much as you would like others to do to you.

The word of the LORD came to Jonah a second time:
“Set out for the great city of Nineveh,
and announce to it the message that I will tell you.”
So Jonah made ready and went to Nineveh,
according to the LORD’s bidding.
Now Nineveh was an enormously large city;
it took three days to go through it.
Jonah began his journey through the city,
and had gone but a single day’s walk announcing,
“Forty days more and Nineveh shall be destroyed,”
when the people of Nineveh believed God;
they proclaimed a fast
and all of them, great and small, put on sackcloth.

When the news reached the king of Nineveh,
he rose from his throne, laid aside his robe,
covered himself with sackcloth, and sat in the ashes.
Then he had this proclaimed throughout Nineveh,
by decree of the king and his nobles:
“Neither man nor beast, neither cattle nor sheep,
shall taste anything;
they shall not eat, nor shall they drink water.
Man and beast shall be covered with sackcloth and call loudly to God;
 every man shall turn from his evil way
and from the violence he has in hand.
Who knows, God may relent and forgive, and withhold his blazing wrath,
so that we shall not perish.”
When God saw by their actions how they turned from their evil way,
he repented of the evil that he had threatened to do to them;
he did not carry it out.

Many times throughout the bible, God uses people to confer a message, just as he did Jonah. “Forty days more and Nineveh shall be destroyed,” he announced, as the Lord bid him. The people of Nineveh believed the words he spoke and feared the Lord – thus they fasted, wearing sackcloths, even the king. All were decreed to fast – all this in hopes that God would forgive them. Indeed, He did repent of the evil he had threated to do and did not carry it out.                                                                                                             

I think the overall lesson from the story of Jonah is God’s mercy – the people made themselves small before God and plead forgiveness, he was willing to give it.  Still in ou lives, no matter what we have done to mess up, turn against him, etc.. He is still willing to offer forgiveness.