In this lesson, the story of Jonah and his attempt to escape God’s mission are examined. Jonah feared Nineveh, the capital of the Assyrian Empire, and tried to evade God’s instructions. The commentary highlights various pretexts that people sometimes use to avoid missionary work:

1. Our Pretext: Fear – Jonah feared Nineveh due to its historical enmity with Assyria. This reminds us that fear often prevents people from fulfilling God’s calling. Nevertheless, Jonah’s story shows that God is greater than our fears and can empower us with the strength and courage needed to do His will.

2. Our Pretext: False Perspectives – This part emphasizes Jonah’s mistaken views of God and missionary work. The commentary underscores how cultural and religious influences can shape our perception of God. It encourages us to gain a deeper understanding of God’s sovereignty and recognize that our role in mission is to share God’s love and sow seeds of truth, while conversion rests in God’s hands.

3. Our Pretext: Inconvenience – This section highlights the importance of overcoming inconveniences in mission work. Jonah’s transformation in the belly of the fish and his eventual mission to Nineveh remind us that mission work often requires sacrifices, even though it is crucial. Mission work may be uncomfortable, but it serves an important purpose.

4. Our Pretext: Unpleasant Confrontations – This part delves into Jonah’s deep-seated hatred and prejudices against the people of Nineveh. It emphasizes the need to confront prejudices and hatred, as well as to meet people with an open heart and God’s love. Jonah’s story reminds us that God’s love and grace apply to all people.

5. Here I Am, Send Me – The lesson underscores the importance of responding to God’s call, being God’s mouthpiece, and bringing His love and message of hope into the world. It encourages us to pray for the lost, to intercede, and to adopt a global perspective in our missionary efforts.

In conclusion, this lesson encourages us to embrace God’s mission, overcome inconveniences, transcend prejudices, and respond to God’s call to share His love and message with the world. It emphasizes that we can collectively change the world through God’s grace.

Source: https://fulfilleddesire.net/lesson-5-excuses-to-avoid-mission-5-6-summary/

This episode looks at how missionaries to China fell in love with the country and its people but had to face local diseases for which there were no cures, so that misssionaries took terrible risks in their service. For more about the stories shared in this episode, see D. J. B. Trim, A Living Sacrifice (Pacific Press, 2019)

Source: https://fulfilleddesire.net/mission-150-episode-27-mission-to-china/

Today’s devotion centers on the important theme of resurrection and life, inspired by the words of Job and the encouraging words of Jesus.

In Job 14:14-15, Job poses a significant question: “If a man dies, shall he live again? All the days of my service I would wait, till my renewal should come.” Job’s question is of great importance as it deals with death and the question of the resurrection of the dead. His words carry an underlying hope. The Hebrew word for “wait” implies not just waiting but also an expectation of something in the future.

Job yearns for his “renewal,” a term that suggests a sense of restoration or replacement. In this context, we can assume that this renewal represents victory over death and the restoration of life. Job hopes for the time when God will long for the work of His hands.

Our great hope of resurrection and life is based on the life, death, and ministry of Jesus. In the New Testament, we learn about the resurrection of Christ, which conquered death and provides us with the certainty that God will raise all the dead at the final judgment. Christ’s triumph over death is the centerpiece of our biblical faith.

In John 11:25, Jesus proclaims, “I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live.” These words give us hope and confidence for “the end.” What we know, which Job did not, is that Jesus Himself is the resurrection and the life. Through our faith in Him, we receive the promise of eternal life, even beyond death.

We can live in the assurance that death is not the ultimate end but the beginning of eternal life with Jesus. Let us carry this hope in our hearts and strengthen our faith in the Resurrected One.

Source: https://fulfilleddesire.net/the-end-resurrection-and-life/

The important message from Jonah’s story and the call that God sends to His servants – here are some thoughts on the key points:

1. The role as God’s mouthpiece: Jonah’s story reminds us that our role in God’s mission work is to be a mouthpiece for God’s message of love, grace, and salvation. We can touch hearts and deliver the message, but ultimately, the power of conversion and salvation rests with God Himself.

2. God’s call: The passage from Isaiah 6:1–8 emphasizes the divine call in which God seeks willing volunteers. It encourages us to respond to God’s call, submit to His guidance, and listen to His voice. We are called to decide to obey His will and instructions.

3. God’s love for the lost: Jonah’s story illustrates God’s love for people who have not heard His message. Just as God had compassion on Nineveh, He also has compassion on the millions of people in urban areas who are often overwhelmed by the busyness of life and searching for hope. This encourages us to turn to these people and bring them the message of hope.

4. The challenge of intercession: The challenge to pray for ten people we know do not believe in God is a call to intercession and the development of relationships with them. The idea is to care for the needs, hurts, and pains of these people. It reminds us of the importance of reaching out to them and conveying God’s love into the world.

5. The global perspective: The challenge to pray for cities nearby and in different parts of the world highlights the significance of a global missionary perspective. It encourages us to pray for the spread of the Adventist message in various regions and to trust in God’s guidance in mission work.

In summary, responding to God’s call, understanding our role as God’s mouthpiece, and bringing our love and message of hope into the world, especially to those who do not yet know God’s love. It reminds us that we collectively participate in God’s mission and can change the world through God’s grace.

Source: https://fulfilleddesire.net/lesson-5-excuses-to-avoid-mission-5-5-here-i-am-send-me/

In today’s devotion, we focus on the significance of the end times or “eschatology” in the Bible. The Bible is not just a book of history; it also speaks of the future and the “last things.”

We are all familiar with the stories and events from the past recorded in the Bible. However, they serve not only to convey the past to us but also to provide spiritual lessons for our lives in the here and now. The Bible uses past events to teach us how to live our lives today.

But the Bible not only looks back at the past but also forward to the future. It not only tells of past events but also events that are yet to come. It gives us insights into the future, even to the end of times. Eschatology in the Bible deals with the events of the end times, including our doctrines of death, judgment, heaven, and hell. It is about the promise of hope for a new existence in a new world.

An example from the Bible that illustrates this hope can be found in Daniel 2:44 and 7:18. These verses point to the hope that God’s kingdom will be established at the end of time and will last forever. Unlike worldly kingdoms that come and go, God’s kingdom is eternal.

“The plan of redemption will end in bringing back the world to God’s original purpose. All that was lost by sin will be restored. Not only man but the earth will be redeemed, to be the eternal abode of the obedient. For six thousand years, Satan has struggled to maintain possession of the earth. Now God’s original purpose in its creation is accomplished. ‘But the saints of the Most High shall take the kingdom, and possess the kingdom forever, even forever and ever’ (Daniel 7:18)” (from “Patriarchs and Prophets,” page 317).

While the Book of Job may end with his death, the good news for us, as well as for Job, is that the end of the book is not the end of his story. Similarly, our death is not the end. Our hope lies in the promise that God’s kingdom will be established at the end of time and will be an eternal home for the redeemed.

May this hope shine in our hearts as we wait for the fulfillment of God’s promises in the future. Let us live in gratitude, knowing that our life does not end with death but continues in the glory of God.

Source: https://fulfilleddesire.net/the-end-the-final-kingdom/