NO BIBLE NO BREAKFAST DAILY BIBLE REFLECTIONS AND MORE

REFLECTION
“The God who won’t” is the theme for our reflection. The God who won’t means God will refrain from what He has purposed or planned to do. We shall examine the circumstance or condition under which God won’t carry out that which He has planned to do.

Beloved in the Lord, in the context of Jonah 3:1-10, the only circumstance or condition under which God won’t carry out His plan or what He has promised to do is when He is determined to punish sin but for the repentance of the sinner. Nineveh was a large pagan city that symbolized enmity with God. We find in Jonah 3:1-10, that Jonah was a narrow-minded, Jewish nationalistic prophet, who wanted nothing to do with such foreigners in Nineveh. Nevertheless, he obeyed the second call and preached among them. “Jonah obeyed the word of the LORD and went to Nineveh. Now Nineveh was a very large city; it took three days to go through it. ⁴ Jonah began by going a day’s journey into the city, proclaiming, “Forty more days and Nineveh will be overthrown.” ⁵ The Ninevites believed in God. A fast was proclaimed, and all of them, from the greatest to the least, put on sackcloth…When God saw what they did and how they turned from their evil ways, he relented and did not bring on them the destruction he had threatened.” (Jonah 3:3-5,10)

Dear friend in Christ, it is a Biblical fact and also consistent with God’s nature to refrain or show mercy to the repentant sinner. The parable of the prodigal son in Luke 15:11-32 attests to this fact. Genuine repentance is the only condition where God won’t do as He has hitherto promised. Repentance is the only condition that moves the heart of God with compassion to show mercy and forgiveness and refrain from destroying or punishing us. It is, for this reason, we are assured in 2 Chronicles 7:14 that “if my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land.” (2 Chronicles 7:14). Again God assures us through the Prophet Ezekiel that “I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but that the wicked turn from his way and live; turn back, turn back from your evil ways, for why will you die, O house of Israel? (Ezekiel 33:11).

Beloved in the Lord, the summary of the New Testament is, if we repent, believe in Jesus Christ and serve God, He won’t destroy us. He will refrain from punishing a repentant sinner because of His unconditional love shown through His Son Jesus Christ. His love for repentant sinners is found in John 3:16-17 when Jesus assured us that “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. ¹⁷ For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. (John 3:16-17) I am here to announce to you and to remind you that God is still refraining from destroying us. Just like the people of Nineveh, our decision to be condemned or be saved is ultimately dependent on our repentance and regeneration. Jesus is still calling the world to repentance and salvation through us who believe in Him and are His disciples. We are the Jonahs of our time and for this reason, Jesus in Mattew 20:18-20 commissioned us with these words “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. ¹⁹ Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, ²⁰ teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” (Matthew 28:18-20) Beloved in the Lord, instead of God waiting to destroy the world because of our sins, God has rather chosen to save us and He is using us to reconcile the world to Himself. We are in the ministry of reconciliation and for this purpose, God won’t take delight in destroying those who are determined through repentance and regeneration to be reconciled to Him. Paul assures us that Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come. ¹⁸ All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation; ¹⁹ that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation. ²⁰ Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. ²¹ For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.” (2 Corinthians 5:17-21).

Beloved in the Lord, what sin have you committed yet you remain unrepentant? What sin are you addicted to even as you ponder over this reflection, is it sexual immorality, slander, gossip, character assassination, embezzlement, misappropriation of state funds, theft, unfaithfulness to your spouse and the like? John again assures us that we have a merciful God who won’t count our sins against us if we genuinely repent and accept Jesus as our Lord and Saviour. “If we say we have fellowship with him while we walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth. ⁷ But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin. ⁸ If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. ⁹ If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” 1 John 1:6-9

In summary, we have deliberated on the theme “The God who won’t”. We have underscored the fact that the only circumstance or condition where God won’t do what He has purposed is when we repent from our sins and return to Him in faith through our Lord Jesus Christ. In other words, it is in God’s nature to refrain from punishing a repentant sinner as seen in the example of Nineveh.

PRAYER
1. Thank God for His unconditional love and mercy for wretched sinners like us.
2. Let us thank God for making salvation available to us through our Lord Jesus Christ.
3. If there are unconfessed sins in our lives, let us confess them, and pray for forgiveness and regeneration through the power of the Holy Spirit to be reconciled to God.
4. Let us pray for the Holy Spirit to empower us to preach the Gospel so that those who are still beyond the walls of salvation will be saved.

Merciful God, we are grateful for Your unconditional love and manifold grace bestowed upon our lives, let the Holy Spirit strengthen and sustain us in our new nature in Christ and may we always dedicate our lives as living sacrifices which are acceptable and pleasing to You.