Word for the day by Christian Education Forum

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Three Day Fast - Conversion
Jonah 2:1-10
Vs 9 “But I with the voice of thanksgiving will sacrifice to you; what I have vowed I will pay. Deliverance belongs to the Lord.” 
Three types of conversion can be visible in the book of Jonah-(a) Conversion of the loving God, (b) Conversion of the people of Nineveh and (c) Conversion of Jonah, the prophet. Today’s Bible portion shows how conversion occurred in the disobeying prophet. We may focus on some of the elements of his conversion.
  1. Jonah becomes aware about the omnipresence of God.
When Jonah was fleeing from God he tried to hide himself. So he went down into the hold of the ship and slept. He disclosed his identity to the sailors of the ship and said: “I worship the Lord, the God of heaven, who made the sea and the dry land” (NRSV1:9). HE chose death over going to Nineveh so that he said to the sailors to throw him into the sea. When he knew that he was not dead, he prayed to God thanking for his deliverance. Through the prayer he admits that God is present in the deepest part of the sea.
  1. Jonah wants to be in God’s presence and his temple.
After their disobedience to God in the Garden of Eden, man and his wife hid themselves from God, among the trees of the garden (Gen3:8, 10). When Jonah went away from God, he hid himself. Now he was swallowed by a big fish and in its belly. Prophet went through utmost suffering. He saw his death face to face. It should be a time of despair. But Jonah finds hope in God. He anticipates going into God’s temple to worship.

 3. Jonah reclaims the view that God is the true saviour.
 God of the Bible is the liberator and redeemer. Two major events of the whole bible are exodus event and Christ event. Exodus event explains the deliverance of Israel from the slavery of Egypt. Through Christ event, whole humanity gets delivered from the clutches of sin. In the midst of adversity and suffering, Jonah experiences the true God and declares:” salvation comes from the Lord” (V: 9).
PRAYER
Oh Omnipresent God, we admit that we can’t hide anything from you. In the midst of adversities, help us to feel your presence and thank you for your saving hands which appears at the right time. Amen.

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY
“Conversion is a complete surrender to Jesus. It’s a willingness to do what he wants to do.” –Billy Sunday (American athlete turned evangelist)
Rev Joe John, Chundale St Peter’s MTC, Wayanad
Christian Education Forum, Diocese of NAE of the Mar Thoma Church
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