Kansas City, Missouri, United States - Reflecting God – Embrace Holy Living - “The Miracle in the Man” – Thursday, 12 June 2014 - Scripture: Jonah 1:17-2:10

Kansas City, Missouri, United States - Reflecting God – Embrace Holy Living - “The Miracle in the Man” – Thursday, 12 June 2014 - Scripture: Jonah 1:17 Yahweh prepared a great fish to swallow up Jonah, and Jonah was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights.
2:1 Then Jonah prayed to Yahweh, his God, out of the fish’s belly. 2 He said,
“I called because of my affliction to Yahweh.
    He answered me.
Out of the belly of Sheol[a] I cried.
    You heard my voice.
3 For you threw me into the depths,
    in the heart of the seas.
The flood was all around me.
    All your waves and your billows passed over me.
4 I said, ‘I have been banished from your sight;
    yet I will look again toward your holy temple.’
5 The waters surrounded me,
    even to the soul.
The deep was around me.
    The weeds were wrapped around my head.
6 I went down to the bottoms of the mountains.
    The earth barred me in forever:
    yet have you brought up my life from the pit, Yahweh my God.
7 “When my soul fainted within me, I remembered Yahweh.
    My prayer came in to you, into your holy temple.
8 Those who regard lying vanities forsake their own mercy.
9     But I will sacrifice to you with the voice of thanksgiving.
    I will pay that which I have vowed.
Salvation belongs to Yahweh.”
10 Yahweh spoke to the fish, and it vomited out Jonah on the dry land.
Footnotes:
a. Jonah 2:2 Sheol is the place of the dead.
“The Miracle in the Man” by Bill Manning
It took a hopeless situation to bring Jonah to his knees. He found himself in a foolhardy spot because he refused to obey God, he neglected his communication with God, and he tried to make it on his own. 
Jonah was a stubborn man. Only after three long days in the fish’s belly did Jonah finally resort to prayer. All the while, God had been patiently waiting for His backslidden parson to call on Him. The Almighty had never quit caring about Jonah. In fact, if God had not provided a great fish to save the stubborn preacher, Jonah would have drowned in his sins. 
While Jonah was giving the fish a bout of indigestion, God was working a miracle. It was not so much the miracle that took place in the fish, but the miracle that took place in the man! What happened in Jonah was the work of God in his surrendered heart. 
Jonah prayed, “What I have vowed I will make good” (2:9b). What about you? 
   • Have you kept the promises you made to God? 
   • Are you cultivating a daily prayer life with the Father? 

   • Has God done His miracle in your surrendered heart? 
Hymn for Today:
“Grace Greater than Our Sin” by Julia H. Johnston
1. Marvelous grace of our loving Lord,
Grace that exceeds our sin and our guilt,
Yonder, on Calvary’s mount outpoured,
There where the blood of the Lamb was spilt. 
Refrain:
Grace, grace, God’s grace,
(Alto/bass: Marvelous grace, Infinite grace)
Grace that will pardon and cleanse within,
Grace, grace, God’s grace,
(Alto/bass: Marvelous grace, Infinite grace)
Grace that is greater than all our sin. 
2. Sin and despair, like the sea waves cold,
Threaten the soul with infinite loss,
Grace that is greater, yes, grace untold,
Points to the Refuge, the Mighty Cross.
Refrain:
Grace, grace, God’s grace,
(Alto/bass: Marvelous grace, Infinite grace)
Grace that will pardon and cleanse within,
Grace, grace, God’s grace,
(Alto/bass: Marvelous grace, Infinite grace)
Grace that is greater than all our sin. 
3. Dark is the stain that we cannot hide,
What can we do to wash it away?
Look! there is flowing a crimson tide;
Whiter than snow you may be today.
Refrain:
Grace, grace, God’s grace,
(Alto/bass: Marvelous grace, Infinite grace)
Grace that will pardon and cleanse within,
Grace, grace, God’s grace,
(Alto/bass: Marvelous grace, Infinite grace)
Grace that is greater than all our sin. 
4. Marvelous, infinite, matchless grace,
Freely bestowed on all who believe;
You that are longing to see His face,
Will you this moment His grace receive?
Refrain:
Grace, grace, God’s grace,
(Alto/bass: Marvelous grace, Infinite grace)
Grace that will pardon and cleanse within,
Grace, grace, God’s grace,
(Alto/bass: Marvelous grace, Infinite grace)
Grace that is greater than all our sin. 
Thought for Today:
“God is God. Because He is God, He is worthy of my trust and obedience. I will find rest nowhere but in His Holy will” (Elizabeth Elliot)
Prayer Needs:
Many people in Cote d’Ivoire will come to know Jesus the Christ, Yeshua the Messiah, and receive the fullness of the Holy Spirit.
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