Here is your first opportunity to correct your Bible grade. Make the most of it!
Recently, the Lord has really been convicting me to deal with the issue of contentment. I often find myself feeling discontent and frustrated with the circumstances of my life. All of you know that I believe circumstances are meaningless and that we should strive to do our best in all situations, but I am human (believe it or not) and I struggle with the very issues I teach about. In my quiet time God has led me to two key people in the Bible: Jonah the Old Testament Prophet and Paul the New Testament Author.
The first things I want you to do is read the following passages in the Bible.
Jonah 1:1-2:10; Jonah 4:4; Philippians 2:1-11; and Philippians 4:11-13
Take a look at Jonah's attitude about the assignment God had given him. How does it differ from the words Paul shares with us in Philippians? Your assignment is to blog about the differences in these two men from the Bible. What can we learn from them?
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23 comments:
When you read those passages, it almost seems like Paul is saying these things to directly contradict Jonah but I think that is not the case though. Jonah did run away from God in selfishness and as Paul says, do nothing out of selfishness. (That was our school verse last year.) It says that Jonah was a prophet. I wonder what he had done in his life for God before this book starts. It might put a different spin on the book. Paul goes on in verse 6 of chapter 2 to talk about the ultimate unselfish man and the one who should be our example. He says that our attitudes should be the same as Jesus which should lead to an unselfish heart. It says, “but made himself nothing [formerly being God][we are nothing; one of us] taking the very nature of a[n unselfish] servant . . . in human likeness. It was the ultimate unselfish act that he did for us. Unlike Jonah who selfishly ran away instead of leading a city to God, and then after he did that, wanted them to be destroyed. There was something that he didn’t get. And Jesus, even going to death for other people. Unbelievable. Then Paul answers the question in v. 13 of how we should be not selfish, through Christ who gives us strength. We need to be content. Sometimes, I struggle with this and don’t even realize it. I will be sitting at the computer thinking, “Why can’t this computer go faster?” When really, I should be glad to even have the computer. There is a lot that Americans and us especially as Christians need to learn about contentment. I fail the test everyday too. It is something that we need to heavily work on in our minds before it directs our actions.
The lesson of these passages to be noticed would be that humans are naturally selfish and we need to be more Holy in our thoughts and love the things we have. Merry Christmas!
First of all, on a side note, i think that it is interesting how he acted just like adam and eve...tried to hide from God?? are you kidding me??? also it is weird how God actually used Jonah anyways to witness to the other people on the ship. Like i noticed that they were praying to their own gods, and after Jonah told them about his God, they started praying to the real God. Okay, to go back to what we were talking about....Philippians 2:3 talks about considering others better than yourself, Jonah did not have this attitude, it was prideful, and that he shouldn't have to go tell others about God because they were sinful, this is not the idea paul is sharing with us. also philippians 2:11 says that God wants EVERYONE to praise him (including the sinful people talked about here) and Jonah didn't think about that. Philippians 4 kind of talks about what we were discussing in Bible about the refiners fire. God put Jonah in testing with the fish, and God didn't let him stay in there longer than he could handle (i can do anything through Christ who strengthens me), just until Jonah admits he should be praising him.
I think that in these passages, it almost seems like (Paul almost seems like) Jonah before God sent him to Nineveh (sorry if I spelled that wrong). But then, when God commanded him(Jonah) to do something that Jonah didn't want to do, what did he do? He went against his own word! If I would've been in the crowd following Jonah, I would've been deeply discouraged- Jonah's preaching probably would've made me mad! Almost as if Coach Earl stated one day(from the Bible)not to do or to do something, and he did vise-versa as what he just said to do! (sorry if that got too confusing) Or if I said that I was never going to drink pop again and you saw me go buy a Mt. Dew out of the vending machine after school and take a big swig- if I were you I'd think,"This guy can't be trusted!" But we all make mistakes and must forgive, as He has forgiven us.
Have a Merry, and safe Christmas/New Year!
-jack51
Jonah tries to flee from God and not show love to the people that need it most. Paul says that you need to not worry about the circumstances.
Merry Christmas
in this story jonah was told by God to go to ninava were he did not want to go at all. but he did not go and God punished him by having a fish eating him. When he got out he went to niniva. The lessen of this story do what God says the first time and do it.
In these passages God gives a command to Jonah which he does not follow he was selfish and wanted to go his own way thinking it was better but there are always consequences for your sin and thats exactly what happened.God sent about a great fish but I think that through that time Jonah grew closer to God. As paul says in verse thirteen that we can do all things through Christ who gives us strength I really think Jonah should have been thinking about this before he decided to be selfish. But he didnt and thats something that we all struggle with in life. I know for me I usually seek things that will better benefit me and dont think of how it could benefit or hurt others.
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All or most of the time we dont listen to God but we must realize that even though what he tells us might not seem to make sense we always have to trust him, he knows whats best, Merry Christmas and dont forget what the season is all for, honor Jesus!!
in this passage God tells Jonah to go to ninava. Jonah didn't listen to God. God punished jonah for not going by having a whale swallow jonah. when jonah got out of the whale he did what God said to do the fist time, g0 to niniva. the leason in this story is to do what God says to do right away and not say maybe later or no just do it other wise you will be punished.
Okay first of all, I bet we all know the story of Jonah. He rejected God's command, hid in a ship, then a storm came and the people on the boat threw him off the boat and he was swarlowed by a fish and so forth. But you know I didn't really think about that stroy much... When I read Phillppians after I read Jonah I realized that Jonah was not just being a cowered... he was being selfish. If you learn more about the city God wanted him to go you will understand that the city was most hated and feared. When Jonah was told to go there, he was scared and selfish about it. But in Philippians it says we should not be selfish or disobey what God says to do. It also says that we should be humble towards God's command. I guess we should learn from Jonah's mistakes and try to be a better person then he was of being obedient to God.
These passages state that humans are naturally sinful, selfish and self obsorbed. Jonah is trying to run away from God. He's God dude. Why try and run from him? He's going to catch up to you. That is kind of like what Adam and Eve did after they sinned. They ran and hid. Jesus knew where they were and I think that when he went looking for them he just kind of did it as a way to let them see what they did wrong and confess to it.
In the first chapter of Phillipians there's a passage at the end, it says that we should not only take care of our own intrests but also the intrests of others.
In Phillipians, it basicly states that we need to be content in all situations...wheather being well fed or hungry, weather living in wealth or in poverty or in a good house or in the streets. at the end of the passages it ends with a bang. I CAN DO ALL THINGS THROUGH CHRIST WHO STREIGHTHENS ME.
in this jonah tries to run from God because he doesnt want to go to an evil city like ninevah. but he gets swallowed by a whale and then he learns his lesson and goes to ninavah like God asked him to do. The lesson of this story is to always obey God and not try to hide from him.
The difference between these two are......Jonah wanted to do things is way, and didn't care what the turn out was. But in Philippians paul was going to do wutever in God's way, not caring if it hurt him. Be/ God will put us only through stuff he knows we can handle. The Message really explains it good....." I've learned by now to be quite content whatever my circumstances. I'm just as happy wiht little as with much, with much as with little........Whatever I have, wherever I am, I can make it through anytihng in the ONE who makes me who I am." To me that explains it so well. Put God first, other second, and Your self last. What I can learn from them....Well first of all u can't hide from God (i agree with ashley about Adam and Eve hehe) Say you don't get any presents this Christmas, well you should be content be/ somebody in anothr country or even in the usa hasn't had one christmas. this really made me think! :) Merry Christmas!!!!
As i read about Jonah and how he almost seemed like a cry baby and Paul who worked through everything a lot of stuff popped up
Jonah
selfish
unwilling
lazy
undetermined
proud
Paul
willing
strong
determined
unselfish
didn't care what he was going throung
As i look at these columns, i know i would rather be part of the "Paul" column, but i am most often in the "Jonah" column, that really frustrates me
What we can learn from this is when you are told to do somthing, do with a thankful heart, don;t try to run away from it or not do your best, stand up and fight against the bad that you are going against
and last, don't get discoureged, i am the absolute worst at this i will go on a shooting slump and it all falls apart, i don't have the self control and the mindset right now to just puss through,( it is getting better of late) so i try to strive and be like the "PAUL" column and not like the jonah column
Seppy3
First jonah did not listen to God and then fleed to another city and then when he found a ship God made the winds blow and the seas got very high waves. Paul says do nothing through selfish ambition and jonah was selfish because he wanted to do thigs his way insted of Gods way.
God told Jonah to go and talk to the people in Nineveh. ( who are the most wicked people). Jonah got angry and went outside and sat down and made himself a shelter. Then he sat down to wait and see what would happen to the city. Its like he pretty much gave up on them. Consider other people better than ourselves. And so then Jonah got eaten or aten? anyway by the fish whale thing and then he got spit out. After that he went back to the city to help them/preach to them. When God tells us to do somethin we need to be obedient and obey him and do it right then. And there is absolutely NO WAY we can hide from him. I hope i did that right. :-)
Jonah didnt want to do what God wanted him to do and he didnt do it and God punnished him for that.but Paul did whatever God told him to do and wanted to be God like and God praised him for doing it.
i think that the moral is that we are sinners and we are disobedient and we need to be saved by God
johnah is and exelent example of being disobidient but then coming back to God afterward
God kind of put johnah in time out by putting him in the belly of a large fish
it gave him time to think about what he had done wrong
CODYBOB
also
paul was a very righteous man that johnah could have learned something from
paul was a good folower of God and did whatever he told him to do
the difference between jonah and what paul says is: jonah didnt listen to God and wanted to do things his own way but paul was going to do whatever God told him to. what we can learn from these passages is this: if we listen to God and do what he says he will bless us but if we try to do things our own way there are consequences.
I think that when Jonah disobeyed he was looking out for his own interest, and not the interests of others cuz how the people almost died on the ship. But God wants us to be selfless and not look out for ourselves but look to God and ask for help.
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