Jonah was determined to avoid doing a distasteful job. He resisted preaching to a pagan city so that they might repent. He would rather hit the road than tell the Ninevites that judgment could be ave…

When God wants to get the attention of one of His servants, He has many creative options. In the case of Jonah, God took extreme measures. The belly of a great fish is hardly a vacation, and Jonah go…

Ever been at the end of your rope? Jonah was, when he found himself in the belly of a fish. God has amazing ways of getting us to say yes. He arranges conditions so that we will choose to do His will.

God wants His servants focused on God’s agenda, not their own. It took extraordinary measures to get Jonah back on the road to Nineveh, but he finally went, in body if not in heart. Let’s…

Some of God’s servants have to go through the school of hard knocks before they learn to obey God from the heart. Jonah finally went to Nineveh, but still with a hard heart. He had no real conc…

Jonah finally obeyed God, but he took no joy in the revival following his preaching in Nineveh. His self-focus kept him from seeing the big picture. Instead, he sat down and complained to God. Will w…

In the face of God’s abundant mercy to Nineveh, Jonah was angry. So, God illustrated to Jonah, through a plant and a worm, that his anger was selfish and childish. And yet, the book ends with J…

Our society is disintegrating and many Christians active in politics find themselves increasingly out of place. That is because the cross of Christ is inherently at odds with the culture. But how sho…

The cross of Christ is inherently in conflict with our culture, especially when the media flaunts immorality as normal. Politicians compete for position, while debating issues the Bible settled long …

When it comes to being citizens of both heaven and earth, believers running the race of life need to keep first things first. But how do the two kingdoms of church and state relate? Jesus commanded u…

We need to learn one lesson well. Those who mix the cross and any nation’s flag do a disservice to both. For believers, keeping them distinct is the only way to fulfill our prime mission as amb…

It is in the cross that we glory. But our eyes are often drawn to secondary things such as political advantage. Therefore, we need to have a clear view of how important the cross really is. Today, we…

The cross of Jesus was in God’s mind from eternity past. Its benefits extend to eternity yet to be. It is history’s great intersection—the place where God expressed His love to fall…

The cross is the centerpiece of history and the core of God’s redemptive agenda. Even before time, God planned the cross of Calvary in order to save people from every nation. But not everyone v…

These days, polling data is king. In the mainstream media, truth seems to lie with the majority opinion. But when it comes to the cross, the majority culture hates it and finds it offensive. So what …

As we run life’s race, let us not forget that mercy is not getting what you deserve. God was not obligated to save any of us, and yet He has. When skeptics question God’s love, we must po…

On the day that Jesus died just outside of Jerusalem, many people passed by, as many do today, without realizing the eternal consequences of what was happening on that cruel Roman cross. It may seem …

Many of today’s conflicts stem from deep-rooted racial or ethnic strife. It seems there is no human solution in our institutions, systems, and even homes, but there is a divine solution. There …

Many who seek justice call for “a level playing field” of opportunity. There is one place where the field is level, and that is at the foot of the cross of Christ. This cross is the only …

A culture that rejects Christ is a culture that creates its own standard for moral choices. This moral standard influences our vote, which then determines our nation’s destiny. So, where does t…

Americans are adrift in a sea of moral relativism. We need a moral compass. The cross of Christ is that compass, and the church must live by the cross if our culture is to survive. Let’s help t…

There is a basic dilemma in evangelism. The world thinks the cross we preach is foolishness, but to us, it is the power of God. So how do we bring the message of the cross to a rejecting world? When …