Thursday Devo
Scripture:
Jonah 3:1-3
Then the Lord spoke to Jonah a second time: 2 “Get up and go to the great city of Nineveh, and deliver the message I have given you.” 3 This time Jonah obeyed the Lord’s command and went to Nineveh, a city so large that it took three days to see it all.
Then the Lord spoke to Jonah a second time: 2 “Get up and go to the great city of Nineveh, and deliver the message I have given you.” 3 This time Jonah obeyed the Lord’s command and went to Nineveh, a city so large that it took three days to see it all.
Commentary:
3:3a Jonah went to Nineveh instead of fleeing to Tarshish. He complies with God’s will, but whether this compliance is from the heart remains to be seen.
Crossway Bibles, The ESV Study Bible (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2008), 1689.
Questions:
Jonah and Peter share an interesting similarity. Both failed God in significant ways. Both struggled with God's plan to extend grace beyond their comfort zone. And both experienced restoration that led to renewed purpose.
After Peter denied Jesus three times, Jesus met him on the shore and restored him. Instead of focusing on Peter's failure, Jesus reaffirmed his calling: “Feed my sheep.”
God does not ignore our sin, but neither does He define us by it. Through grace, He restores, forgives, and continues to use imperfect people for His purposes.
After Peter denied Jesus three times, Jesus met him on the shore and restored him. Instead of focusing on Peter's failure, Jesus reaffirmed his calling: “Feed my sheep.”
God does not ignore our sin, but neither does He define us by it. Through grace, He restores, forgives, and continues to use imperfect people for His purposes.
- As you reflect on the lives of Jonah and Peter, where do you see similarities in your own heart? Have there been times when you struggled to extend grace, resisted God's leading, or allowed failure to shape your identity? What lessons might God be teaching you through their stories?
- Jesus restored Peter after one of the most public failures in his life and then entrusted him with continued ministry. What does this teach us about God's grace, forgiveness, and ability to redeem broken people? How should this truth affect the way you view your own failures and the failures of others?
- Is there a past sin, mistake, disappointment, or source of shame that continues to influence the way you see yourself today? What would it look like to fully surrender that burden to Jesus and embrace the purpose and calling He has for your life moving forward?
Prayer Topics:
- Bring your failures honestly before God and ask Him to replace shame with His truth.
- Thank Jesus for His forgiveness and His willingness to restore broken people.
- Pray for a heart that is fully surrendered to God's will and open to whoever He calls you to reach.
This Week's City 7:
Try to commit to memory!
1. Who is Jesus?
I believe Jesus is God because Jesus said He is God and proved it by rising from the dead and appearing to His disciples, His brother James, 500 others at one time, and Paul.
(Mark 3:21; John 8:58, 10:30-33, 14:9-11; Acts 9:1-6; 1 Corinthians 15:3-8; Colossians 1:15-20; Hebrews 1:2-3; James 1:1)
I believe Jesus is God because Jesus said He is God and proved it by rising from the dead and appearing to His disciples, His brother James, 500 others at one time, and Paul.
(Mark 3:21; John 8:58, 10:30-33, 14:9-11; Acts 9:1-6; 1 Corinthians 15:3-8; Colossians 1:15-20; Hebrews 1:2-3; James 1:1)
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