Concerning Your Behavior:      "Stop Judging Others!
Matthew 7:1-5
"Don't pick on people, jump on their failures, criticize their faults — unless, of course, you want the same treatment. That critical spirit has a way of boomeranging. It's easy to see a smudge on your neighbor's face and be oblivious to the ugly sneer on your own. Do you have the nerve to say, 'Let me wash your face for you,' when your own face is distorted by contempt? It's this whole traveling road-show mentality all over again, playing a holier-than-thou part instead of just living your part. Wipe that ugly sneer off your own face, and you might be fit to offer a washcloth to your neighbor".
(from THE MESSAGE: The Bible in Contemporary Language © 2002 by Eugene H. Peterson. All rights reserved.)

            Jesus tells us  that  passing judgment on others inexplicably will put the one who judges under the judgment of others, even those who we judge. With that in mind, the premise in this passage is not to pass judgment, but to implore the one who wishes to judge anyone, (except those who have the task so pass judgment such as a judge, magistrate, or in many cases the minister) must judge only themselves and refrain from judging others. The reason Jesus placed heavy emphasis of the matter is because in this passage, he was speaking to two groups of people (Pharisees and scribes) who were notorious for judging others. They did do this to help the one judged improve their way or standard of living, rather, they did it to justify their positions and their so-called social stature among their brethren. These two groups, constantly judge others very rigidly and with gross severity, always bring down a condemnation upon those they judged. 

            Jesus pointed out that the motive behind their constant judging was “pride and conceit”. We are never to assume a judgment posture over anyone, not only because it is a sin, but, we wouldn’t want anyone to assume this kind of posture over us.  We must not sit in the judgment-seat, as to make our word a law to every body. According to James 4:11: we must not judge our brother, that is, we must not speak evil of him. We must not hate our brother or sister, nor must we judge anyone rashly, nor pass such a judgment upon anybody that has no ground, because if we do such, it is only the outcry of our own jealousy toward that person and the exposure of our immature nature. We must not judge a person in an attempt to make the worst out of that person, nor make unjustified inferences to the things they may have done or said, causing the results of what was said and the appearance of what they may have done to be blown out of proportion. We must neither judge anyone uncharitably, unmercifully, nor with a spirit of revenge, nor with a desire to do mischief. We must not judge any man's “state or status” solely by a single word or act, neither by what he is in himself nor by what he is to us, because when it pertains to our own causes, we are more apt to judge with prejudice and with partiality.
         
            We must not judge the hearts of others, nor their intentions, for it is God's prerogative and his right to try the heart of men not ours. If we presume to judge others, we should expect to be ourselves judged. The judging of those that judge others is according to the law of retaliation; in the same measure that we pass judgment upon a person, that same measure will apply when we are judged ourselves by others and especially by God. It has been said he who usurps the bench, shall be called to the bar, that is, he shall be judged of men. Another reason we must not judge others is it is common knowledge none are more judged or censured, than the very ones who judges and censures. In the same manner that Ishmael, in Genesis 16:12 has his hand and his tongue against every man. The same thing happened to him, that is, like him, had every man'shand and tongue against him. Not only that, no mercy shall be shown to the reputation of those that show no mercy to the reputation of others. Yet, that is not the worst of it. In James 3:1, they shall be judged of God and from him, (those who pass judgment) shall receive the greater judgment and that of condemnation. If we are more modest and charitable in our censures of others, and decline judging them, and judge ourselves rather, God will not judge us. God will forgive those that forgive their brethren; so he will not judge those that will not judge their brethren.

Bible Discussion: The Rapture: Pre-millenial or Post-millenial ?
Viewing End time Bible Prophecy:  Which one does the Bible really teach?
Revelation 20:1-7
"Then I saw an angel coming down from heaven, having the key to the bottomless pit and a great chain in his hand.  He laid hold of the dragon, that serpent of old, who is the Devil and Satan, and bound him for a thousand years; and he cast him into the bottomless pit, and shut him up, and set a seal on him, so that he should deceive the nations no more till the thousand years were finished. But after these things he must be released for a little while".

"The Saints Reign with Christ 1000 Years
 "And I saw thrones, and they sat on them, and judgment was committed to them. Then I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded for their witness to Jesus and for the word of God, who had not worshiped the beast or his image, and had not received his mark on their foreheads or on their hands. And they lived and reigned with Christ for a* thousand years.  But the rest of the dead did not live again until the thousand years were finished. This is the first resurrection. Blessed and holy is he who has part in the first resurrection. Over such the second death has no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with Him a thousand years." (NKJV)

"Premillenialism"
“Pre-millennialism is the belief that Jesus Christ will return at the “Revelation” (Revelation 20:1-7) to physically set up his earthly kingdom during the millennium (1000 year reign of Jesus Christ). 

            A "Pre-millennialist" believes that Jesus will return to this earth literally and in bodily form and this will mark the beginning of that age. They believe that his physical presence here establishes the fact that he will be sole ruler in this earthly kingdom at this time and will reign for a period of a thousand years. During the 1000 years in which Jesus reigns, all of the covenants He established with Israel will be literally fulfilled. After a thousand years, Jesus will then give up reign and give this kingdom to God the Father, merging this kingdom with His eternal kingdom 

        Many people believe that "pre-millennialist" base their belief solely on Revelation 20:1-7, the "Apocalypse", but "careful examination" of the scriptures will show that even the "Old Testaments Prophets" spoke of a "coming age" when there would be universal peace and righteousness, thus “pre-millennialism" predates Revelation 20.
        
         "Jewish tradition" says there is the belief that when God rested on the seventh day in Genesis 2:1-3, that this ”sabbatic” rest was an “earmark” to a future period of rest period called a millennium. It is their belief that the passage in Revelation 20: supports their belief. In Acts 1:6, the disciples asked Jesus when would the kingdom to Israel. Jesus responded and told them that it wasn’t for them to know the times or the seasons (that is, when the kingdom would be set up) Jesus did not dissuade them from believing that an earthly kingdom would be set up. He simply told them that is wasn’t for them to know the time or the season. But in Matthew chapter 24, Jesus told them and countless others the conditions and events that were to take place culminating with the “Son of Man” (Jesus himself) coming from out of the clouds bringing judgment and establishing his kingdom here on earth.

“Post-millennialism”
            "Post-millenialism"  is the belief that Jesus will return after the millennium. This view is based upon the "supposition" that the gospel will be preached to the extent that the whole world will be “christianized” and brought into submission to the teachings of the Gospel, then Jesus will return to earth, a general judgment will follow and the kingdom then will be established here. 
        The "post-millennialist" believe that the kingdom is a "spiritual kingdom" and base their premise when Jesus said: "My kingdom was not of this world, but was in the hearts of men". The Apostolic Church has been credited with introducing the doctrinal belief  in "post-millennialism". Prior to 250 A.D., one of their church fathers named "Origen" conceived the idea that the "words of scripture were simply the “door” that opened the path to the real spiritual truth". At this point, he began to "allegorize" and put a "spiritual spin" on scripture. 
        Origen ultimately founding the School of Allegorizing and Spiritualizing Interpreters of Scripture. Over a period of time the Pentecostal church bought into this new philosophy and from that point ceased looking for the return of the Lord to establish His earthly kingdom. By the time of Constantine, around the 4th Century,  there was a “marriage” of church and state and the belief that the Roman Empire and the Papal church in particular was the “anti-Christ”. 

        Constantine himself was accused by many of being the “anti-Christ, “ which didn’t set to well with the Roman Empire. Subsequently, after an unsuccessful attempt to delete the Book of Revelation from the canon of scriptures, the empire confiscated the Bible and locked it up from the people and from that time the bible became a “sealed” book and it changed the face of Christendom. This" historic period" became known as the beginning of "the Dark Ages".

           The “post-millennialist” believe that the kingdom Jesus spoke of establishing was of a “spiritual nature" and not a “physical” one. This is one of the "primary" reasons why you hear many "evangelical churches of today" talk about and promote  “kingdom” building , reasoning that "it is the "church’s responsibility" to usher in the kingdom of God through the preaching the “kingdom” of God is at hand and it’s through the church".

What is your "view" of Prophecy in this issue? 
           Let me give mine.  Personally, "I believe in the “pre-millennial” view of prophecy. I don't believe that Jesus ever placed upon the church (either in the inception of her or the continuing saga of her)  the responsibility of establishing the "Kingdom of God" on earth THROUGH "SO-CALLED "KINGDOM BUILDING" , rather, I believe it is our responsibility "to evangelize the world with the Gospel of Jesus Christ", preaching salvation to anyone who will believe the message, as well as prepare ourselves for the rapture and second coming of Jesus Christ, not the coming of the ‘earthly” kingdom Jesus spoke about. The reason is your salvation is the “ticket” into the future kingdom.  I believe once the believer is “sealed” by the Holy Ghost” because that believer confessed verbally the Lord Jesus and believed that Jesus was raised from the dead for our redemption, "that believer" already possesses "spiritually" the" Kingdom of God" (in principle, and biblical precepts) in their heart.

         In Matthew 6:10 and Luke 11:2, Jesus taught us to pray for the kingdom to come as well as God’s will be done on earth and in heaven. These 2 passages clearly teach that the kingdom is a literal and physical kingdom and God will through Jesus establish it after the 7-year tribulation period.

         Second, Jesus in John chapter 14 told us that he was going away to prepare a “place” (physical not spiritual) for us and one day will come back to receive us so we will be where he is for eternity. It doesn’t make sense for Jesus to go away to prepare a place for us if “that place” wasn’t physical and literal. God is a spirit and the creator of all things literally and physically. That includes all that we see and all in the spirit world that we don’t. I believe that Jesus will physically establish his kingdom here on earth during the millennium. 

        Pre-millenialist fall into 3 “schools  of interpretation: “Preterists”, “Historical”, and “Futurists”. I believe in the “futurist” view of the Apocalypse, which takes the position that Revelation chapters 1 through 3 is both  a "panoramic and historic view" of the spiritual decline of the Church Age through the seven churches in Asia Minor. From that point, from Revelation chapter 4 to the end of the book is future and has not been fulfilled as of yet. This means the kingdom that Jesus will establish here on earth is literal, physical, and not spiritual. 

1 Thessalonians 4;13-16     Overview: "Pre- Tribulation View" of the End Times:  "What order These Events Take Place?
1 Thess 4:14-16
 We believe that Jesus died and rose again and so we believe that God will bring with Jesus those who have fallen asleep in him. According to the Lord's own word, we tell you that we who are still alive, who are left till the coming of the Lord, will certainly not precede those who have fallen asleep. For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever.  

        Whenwe refer to the "End of Times", we are referring to several cataclysmic events and judgments that the Bible said would take place that will change this world as we now know it and culminate in God being “all and IN ALL”.

I. Rapture of the Church: 
        The first event that will take place in the series of end times events will be the “rapture” of the Church. The "rapture" is God's process for removing His people that make up the “true” church body to be taken away from the earth out of harm's way of  Gdd's outpoured wrath opon the unbelieving inhabitants left behind on the earth. According to Dr.Clarence Larkin's book entitled: “Dispensational Truth” , the "first place" the Rapture  is intimated in the New Testament can be traced to an event in Jesus’ ministry concerning a conversation Jesus had with Martha, the sister of Lazarus, who brother Jesus miraculous raised from the dead in John 11:25- 26.  
            Jesus waited four days after the burial of Lazarus to return to the family in Bethany to pay his respects to the family and to resurrect Lazarus from death. Martha in deep sorrow said to Jesus “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died!” But, she then makes a bold statement of her faith about what believed about the future state of the righteous: Martha said:
“I know that he will rise again in the last days at the resurrection”. (End of time) Jesus responded to her wavering faith by saying “I am the “Resurrection and the Life” he who believes in me even though he may be dead now, yet shall he live again; (at the first resurrection) and whosoever believes in me and lives (is still alive on earth when Jesus comes back) shall never die”. Why will the "Rapture" occur before the wrath of God falls upon the remaining inhabitants left behind upon the earth? Doe s the Bible teach this? And, if it does, why are there so many people that refused to believe that the end is near? The Apostle Paul gives us a candid answer as he spoke to the Chirch at Thessalonica in 1 Thessalonians 5:2-3:
"The day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night.  While people are saying, "Peace and safety," destruction will come on them suddenly, as labor pains on a pregnant woman, and they will not escape".

II.  7-year Tribulation Period  
            This “judgment” period is to last for 7 years. The fact that the "7-year Tribulation Period" will occur is backed up by several passages in the Bible in both the Old and New Testament. In Jeremaih 30:4-7 (OT) this period is called the "time of Jacob's trouble". In Ezekiel 20:34-38, this period is spoken of as the time when "Israel will have to pass under God's "Correction Rod"". Also in Ezekiel 20:19-22, Ezekiel prophesized that God was to cast a "dsiobedient" Israel into His "Melting Pot" to be refineds as "pure gold. The Prophet Daniel spoke of this time in Daniel 12:1 as a "Time of Trouble".  

            The Tribulation period will be a time of judgment not just  for Israel, but for the rest of the unbelieving world in general: Israel, because of their rejection of Jesus Christ their true Messiah, and the world for the same as well as for the way they will treat Israel while they pass under the “judgment rod” of God. According to Revelation chapter 4 through chapter 20, God, in judging them during this period, will open the “books” out of heaven that contain the type of punishments God will unleash on the world. These terrible judgments will come in the form of both “bowl” judgments and “vial” judgments, unleashing terrible plagues, death and destructive fires that will melt the earth with fervent heat. (on the surface) Woe unto those who are left behind and especially to those who take the identification “mark” of Antichrist in their hand or in their forehead as stated in Revelation 13:12-16. There is no redemption to those who take the mark of the Beast.  
             This event will lead into the “Marriage Supper of the Lamb” because this day will be our “crowning day", while at the same time down on earth, the “Tribulation Period” will already be going on. This “period” started the same day the rapture of the Church took place and will be ongoing for 7 years. When the 7 years of tribulation are over, Jesus will come to earth for the second time, descending upon the Mount of Olives. Satan will immediately be bound by a strong angel and banished to the “bottomless pit” for a period of 1000 years. This also will mark the beginning of the 1000-year Millenial reign of Jesus Christ. His reign on earth will be 1000 years. At the end of these 1000 years and after Jesus will have judged the nations according to their treatment of Israel during the time of tribulation according to Matthew 25 in the Bible; separating them into "three classes" (sheep, goats and brethren), 
            Satan will be released upon the earth once again for “a little season”. This “little season” will lead up to the time of the "Great White Throne Judgment". The purpose of this judgment period is to judge the “wicked” dead that didn’t accept Jesus Christ as their savior and all of those who are alive and still remained unsaved as well as those if there be any that did accept Jesus Christ after the rapture of the church. "Their eternal punishment will be to be cast in the Lake of Fire with Satan, the false prophet, the demons, and all who opposed God all throughout time and history". The Great White throne judgment  preambles the "culmination of the age" and ushers in the dispensation of the "Ages of Ages" where in this age and all ages to come afterwards if any, God will be “all and in all”.

Biblical Discussion on  James, Chapter 2: Are works necessary after you are saved to remain saved, or does James stress works are only necessary for rewards and justification before men?
James 2:14-26
"What does it profit, my brethren, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can faith save him? If a brother or sister is naked and destitute of daily food,  and one of you says to them, "Depart in peace, be warmed and filled," but you do not give them the things which are needed for the body, what does it profit?  Thus also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead.
But someone will say, "You have faith, and I have works." Show me your faith without your* works, and I will show you my faith by my* works.  You believe that there is one God. You do well. Even the demons believe — and tremble!  But do you want to know, O foolish man, that faith without works is dead?*  Was not Abraham our father justified by works when he offered Isaac his son on the altar?  Do you see that faith was working together with his works, and by works faith was made perfect?  And the Scripture was fulfilled which says, "Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness."* And he was called the friend of God.  You see then that a man is justified by works, and not by faith only. Likewise, was not Rahab the harlot also justified by works when she received the messengers and sent them out another way? For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also". (NKJV)

        When we talk about faith, the firsdt thing we must understand that there are 2 types of faith. The first is called “temporal” faith and the other is called “saving” faith. 

What is "saving faith?
"Saving faith is that kind of faith necessary for anyone to be saved. “Saving faith” says that I’m trusting in Jesus Christ alone for my salvation and not in any “works” of my own doing". 
        It says I believe in my heart what Romans 10:9 says is true and with that belief, I have confessed with my mouth that Jesus is the Son of God, he is Lord, he is the Messiah, and his death on the cross at Calvary and his resurrection from the grave (dead) was all needed to save and reconcile my broken relationship with God the Father as well as satisfy the “wages”(sin debt) sin of Adam imputed on me in order to be saved.
 
What is "Temporal Faith"?
"Temporal faith" is that faith that  gives me the ability to do all things pertaining to having a quality of life that is lived and based upon the principles, precepts, and truths found in the word of God, and to equip me with all the “tools” and training I need to evangelize the Gospel throughout the world. 

        When James speaks of faith with works, he is saying that a "true believer" that believes in Jesus Christ as their Savior and Lord will live a life that " reflects the spirit of obedience to the “mission” (evangelistic) God has placed upon a believer as well as one that produces “works of righteousness" and "a true submission" to the will and sovereignty of God. He is saying that the believer in faith will show his or her faith through having the "fruit of the Spirit". (Galatians 5:22- 23) 
        The person’s life will show evidence of the presence of the agape love of God. They will show patience and restraint, (longsuffering) have the peace of God within and strive to if possible to live peaceably with all men. They will be full of joy within, even when on the outside, trials and tribulations will be so fierce that the natural and man could not find any reason to be joyful about anything. James is saying the believer will outwardly reflect the Christian character that can only be produced by the indwelling and submissive obedience to the Holy Ghost. The person will strive to be just in all of their dealings, faithful in all they engage to do for others and exemplify the kind of character that reflects the goodness of God and their desire to do good to their fellow man in the service of the Lord. In essence, the world will see a remarkable change in the life and character of the believer that says that there is a God and he is concerned about the state and status affairs of man to the extent that he is willing to forgive man if he will be reconciled back to him by accepting his Son Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior.

        I believe James is stressing that our works reflect the evidence that we are saved because these works can only be righteous when God imputes his righteousness upon a believer in Jesus Christ. A believer’s works in their stewardship to God are for justification before other men and for his or her future rewards when all believers must appear before the judgment seat of Christ when the church is “raptured” out of this world before the 7-year tribulation period on earth begins. Works aren’t necessary to “stay” saved, however, they do give evidence that we are truly dedicated to God and to the work he has assigned to us in this dispensation. Depending upon the denomination and what doctrine a particular church practices and preaches, you will find that the people attending their perspective fellowships reflect the belief in both premises and practice concerning faith and works.
 
        As i canvassed my community and talked with various Pastors of different denominations,  I found that most Pentecostal, Church Of God in Christ, Assemblies of God, Holiness, Catholic, Christian and some “Non-denominational” churches believe that you must work to stay saved. They also believed that works reflected your salvation and your dedication to God. The difference when compared to the pure teaching and interpretation of James 2, is many of their members placed so much emphasis on works, that these works in many cases may doesn't convey a true reflection of an act of obedience but rather a “pseudo-pharisac” show of "self and denominational aggrandizement.          

        Many of the “main-stream” (Baptist, Methodist (AME, CME, AME ZION, UME)Presbyterian, and Lutheran) churches l believe that works are essential to stewardship and evangelism, and are evidence that you have faith in the God and believe that your faith is genuine and reflects the change in your life from one of self dependency to one of growing dependency in Jesus. his presence in your life. Now, while some of the individuals within the perspective congregations do vary in their personal faith and work belief slightly, for the most part, they believe and follow the principle belief that James teaches in the second chapter. Where do you stand on this issue?

"Parables":  "Why Jesus spoke in "parables".
Mark 4:10-12
When he was alone, the Twelve and the others around him asked him about the parables.He told them, "The secret of the kingdom of God has been given to you. But to those on the outside everything is said in parables so that,"'they may be ever seeing but never perceiving, and ever hearing but never understanding; otherwise they might turn and be forgiven!'" (NIV)

            Jesus spoke in parables because he wanted to reveal the mysteries of the kingdom of God to those who were willing to walk in the Spirit of God and not to those who were of a "carnal mind". To understand the Word of God, it’s important a person first "align" themselves with Jesus and the" Gospel" message. They must accept Jesus as the Son of God, the Messiah, and their personal Savior and Lord. They must understand that God’s Holy Word is spiritual and can only be understood by the Holy Ghost discerning and explaining the real message embedded in the parables. They must have the indwelling of the Holy Ghost to receive the things pertaining to God. Jesus said when He, the Spirit of truth has come, He will guide us into all truths concerning Him. (Jesus)

            The parables themselves were earthly stories, but embedded within these stories, God sought to reveal a deeper heavenly truths and godly wisdom to guide the believer in all affairs of life. To the unbeliever, the stories were amusing, some to them bordered on being ridiculous and because of their attitude concerning godly matters, they would ultimately miss the importance of the messages behind each of these parable. Jesus said they have eyes, but they cannot see, ears, but they cannot hear, knowledge, but they never come close to real truth. The bible revealed in Romans 8:7- 9 that "a carnal mind was "enmity"" (hostile) toward God and a person who has “God” issues will never understand the wisdom found in the Word of God, nor will they subjugate themselves to its teachings, precepts, or principles because to them God’s wisdom is foolishness. They will be only concerned with those things that “wet” their fleshly appetites and cater to their personal desires. 
    
        As a result, the Spirit of God does not dwell in them and there is nothing that they can do or say (other than to repent and accept God through Jesus Christ) that would put them in harmony with God. The Amplified Bible puts Romans 8:8 this way:
 "So then, those who are living the life of the flesh [catering to the appetites and impulses of their carnal nature] cannot please or satisfy God, or be acceptable to Him.
Jesus knows the hearts of men and he knows who will accept him and those who have already rejected him. God knows that his wisdom is foolishness to carnal men and his weakness in wiser than men. (1 Corinthians 1:25) 

            According to the Bible, not even the natural man cannot receive the things of the Spirit of God because they are foolishness to him, nor can the natural man know them because they are spiritually discerned. (1 Corinthians 2:14) Conversely, "the wisdom of this world is foolishness with God, and God will take the “so-called” wise in their own craftiness". God has a way to deal with so-called wise men who rather live their lives based upon “wicked” devices, rather than humble themselves under God’s mighty hand. The Adam-Clarke Commentary gives us this view: Whether it be the pretended deep and occult wisdom of the rabbis, or the wire-drawn speculations of the Grecian philosophers, is foolishness with God; for as folly consists in spending time, strength, and pains to no purpose, so these may be fitly termed fools who acquire no saving knowledge by their speculations. 
            
            This the case with the major part of all "man-made" beliefs that is called philosophy, even in the present day? Has one soul been made wise unto salvation through it? Are our most eminent philosophers either pious or useful men? Who of them is meek, gentle, and humble! Who of them directs his researches so as to meliorate the moral condition of his fellow creatures? Pride, insolence, self-conceit, and complacency, with a general forgetfulness of God, contempt for his word, and despite for the poor, are their general characteristics. The Commentary then breaks down the same verse.

            [He taketh the wise in their own craftiness.] This is a quotation from Job 5:13, and powerfully shows what the wisdom of this world is: it is a sort of craft, a subtle
trade, which they carry on to wrong others and benefit themselves; and they have
generally too much cunning to be caught by men; but God often overthrows them
with their own devises. "Paganism" raised the active persecution against the church of
Christ, in order to destroy it, but this method became the very means of quickly spreading it over the earth, and of destroying the whole pagan system. Thus the wise were taken in their own craftiness.  

Redemption: " What does it mean?
Romans 10:9-11
"That if you confess with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord," and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved". (NIV)

   "Redemption" in the biblical sense means “to deliver by paying a price”. In the Old Testament, redemption meant freedom from obligation, bondage or danger. Redemption could be obtained many ways. Redemption could come by using a bribe, by paying off a ransom or by the exchange of  large sums of money, even by the extension of a favor, or through a reconciliation. 

        In the Old Testament, redemption was applied to property, enslaved people, animals, and the nation of Israel. In the New Testament, redemption referred to salvation from the bondage of sin, death and the wrath of God because of sin. The bondage in sin was in three areas: the body, the psyche  (mind), and in the spirit. Christ’s death on the cross at Calvary redeemed us from the penalty of sin, which was death. At this present time in Dispensation, Jesus as he stands at the right hand of God as our high priest and intercessor.  Through the “Sanctification Process”, Jesus is redeeming us from the power sin had and (in some areas of our lives) still have (we are completely perfected yet) in us. Because of the redemptive work Christ did on Calvary’s Cross for our salvation, at our “physical" death, we will be both physically, psychologically and spiritually “redeemed from the presence of sin. 

        In the Old Testament, money was used as the primary way of redeeming property outside of sin, For the redemption from sin however, God required a payment of blood given from the sacrificing of a lamb and a “bloodied” scapegoat for the redemption for sin. The same is true for the New Testament. Jesus had to shed his blood on the cross to redeem us from sin. His precious blood became an “atoning” sacrifice for us. The bible calls Christ the “propitiation” for our sins because he volunteered to shed his blood on our behalf. (Romans 3:25) Only his blood was suitable for our redemption, because no other blood could do it. 

            The following is a quote from Hodges Systematic Theology as it was written in the definition and synopsis in the Easton Bible Dictionary: “Christ's blood or life, which he surrendered or them, is the "ransom" by which the  deliverance of his people from the servitude of sin and from its penal consequences is secured. It is the plain doctrine of Scripture that "Christ saves us neither by the mere exercise of power, nor by his doctrine, nor by his example, nor by the moral influence which he exerted, nor by any subjective influence on his people, whether natural or mystical, but as a satisfaction to divine justice, as an expiation for sin, and as a ransom from the curse and authority of the law, thus reconciling us to God by making it consistent with his perfection to exercise mercy toward sinners". Our redemption from sin was paid in full by the precious blood of Jesus.

Character Study:     "Samson"
Judges 13:2-5
 A certain man of Zorah, named Manoah, from the clan of the Danites, had a wife who was sterile and remained childless.The angel of the Lord appeared to her and said, "You are sterile and childless, but you are going to conceive and have a son.Now see to it that you drink no wine or other fermented drink and that you do not eat anything unclean,because you will conceive and give birth to a son. No razor may be used on his head, because the boy is to be a Nazirite, set apart to God from birth, and he will begin the deliverance of Israel from the hands of the Philistines." (NIV)

             We first find out about the birth of Samson in the 13th chapter of the Book of Judges. He was born the "son of Manoah". In Judges 13: 3, an angel appeared to Manoah's wife and announced the birth of Samson. In that announcement, the Angel of the Lord told his mother that his birth was to be "special" in that he would be raised as a "Nazarite". 
I. What did it mean to be a Nazarite? 
            First, this meant because the child was to be special, that his mother also had to live a "consecrated lifestyle" to avoid any "fetal contamination" during the "conception" and "subsequent birth" of this special child. The angel told her that as a pregnant mother, she was not to consume any strong drink nor drink any wine. 
            Secondly, she was not to eat any unclean thing, because the son that she was to bear was to be raised a "Nazarite" unto God. This angel also instructed her as to how she was to raise the child. He told her that no razor was to come upon his head because he would began to deliver Israel from their bondage, as well as serve as an example to having commitment to God.
             Even though God had set the character standard for Samson, it was very unfortunate that Samson was guilty of falling short of that standard mark throughout most of his life. This also holds true for all in this modern society living a life  full of sin. God has placed a standard behavior criteria that all should hold on to, and live in such a  way that pleases the Lord,  however, just like Samson fell, many times, we  fall short of what our God expects of us. 

II. Samson's Character Flaws and Traits:
       A.   Samson was "prideful"; possessing a "notorious" bad temper that proned him to display open "temper tantrums". 
            This "temper" surfaced in the 14th chapter when Samson had gone down to Timnath and met a Philistinian woman that "caught his eye". He went back home and told his father and mother that he desired to have her as his wife. His father and mother strongly objected, pointing out to Samson that he wanted to marry a "daughter" of their captors. They, being in bewilderment asked him “Isn't there any women out of our own race and heritage that you haven't found suitable to be considered as your wife?” 
            (The bible vindicates Samson for his choice of wives in Judges 14: 4. Neither of his parents were aware that God was directing him (Ps. Samson didn't know this either) to do so because this would give him an opportunity to war with the Philistines.)
             In the beginning of 14th chapter, his parent's genuine concern was based on their history and animosity with Philistine, but you also can sense Samson having temper outbursts in his response to their concerns. I can imagine him rolling his eyes and auguring with them to the point of saying that he wasn’t going to settle for anyone lees than this woman because in Samson's own words: I want her for she "pleases me well". His fits of rage surfaces again when he proposed a riddle at the wedding feast. 
            On Samson's first visit to see his future bride,  the Bible said Samson beforehand encountered a lion and killed it with his bear hands. He found the skeleton of the same lion now "occupied" by a swarm of bees. At the wedding feast while entertaining the wedding guest, he challenged that anyone who could solve his riddle; would receive thirty changes of clothes. After unsuccessfully solving the riddle, the guest imposed and veiled a threat upon Samson's fiancé to coax and Samson into revealing the answer to the riddle . The people, coaxing the answer now revealed to him the correct answer. Samson, now filled with indignation, went to Ashkelon and killed thirty Philistines, stripped them of their clothing, brought back the change of clothing and gave it to them who solved the riddle. His temper resurfaces again when visiting his wife at the father's house, her father refused to let him see her. This was after her father had given her hand in marriage to another man. Samson concluded the way his father-in-law  treated him was the general attitude the Philistines felt about him in general. 
            The Bible said that Samson tied three hundred fox’s tails together, tied burning torches to their tails and set afire the grain fields, the vineyards, and the olive groves. The Philistines retaliated by burning both Samson's wife and her father. "This provocation" really sent Samson into a fiery fit of rage, and because of what they did to them; Samson "struck them with a great slaughter". To avenge themselves, the Philistines invaded Judah. 
            The people of Judaea  heard what Samson had done, not knowing that God sent him to deliverer and  eradicate them from Philistine bondage. They sought to save themselves by handing Samson over to his captives. Samson agreed to the seizure under the condition that they themselves wouldn't kill him. The Bible said the people of Judea tied him up with two new cords and brought him to Lehi (Lehi means "a jaw:). They turned him over to the Philistines. Believing that they were finally rid of their tormentor, the Philistines began to shout for joy. It was at the point of their shouting that Samson extraordinary strength all of a sudden came to the forefront and the Bible said that with a jawbone of an ass, Samson killed a thousand Philistine men. 

       B. Samson was blessed with he ability to exhibit extraordinary strength.  A.    The first time that Samson realized his superhuman strength was when he was comfronted by a fierce lion. The Bible records that Samson "tore" the lion with his bare hands.
B.    The second time, Samson had killed a thousand Philistine men using his God given strength and using a jawbone of an ass as his only weapon.
C.    The third time his tremendous strength was put on display was  in Judges 16  in Gaza. Samson had gone there and became intimate with a woman of whoredom. The people, got wind that Samson was in their midst and locked the city gates "supposedly" trapping him with the sole intention of killing him in the morning when he left the woman's house. Samson, at midnight arose and broke the bars, broke away the bolts, hinges and carried the gates to the top of the neighboring hill that looked toward Hebron..
D.    The 4th and ultimate exhibition of his superhuman strength was after he was led to the two inner pillars of the temple of Dargon, and in his final prayer to God asked God to give him the strength to push the two pillars apart from the foundation of the temple. In Judges 16, we see him actually performing this heroic feat, unfortunately he also perished when the entire temple collapsed on the Philistines, as well as on himself.
        C.    Samson was a womanizer. 
            Samson was a "player" and he had no control when it came to maintaining self-control and having self-discipline. It started with the woman at Timnath. Here we now find him in Gaza with this woman and unfortunately, it was this kind of undisciplined behavior that proved to be the basis for his ultimate demise. The last and final woman he was intimate with was a woman of Sorek named Delilah. In chapter sixteen Delilah was bribed to find out the secret of Samson's strength. After many unsuccessful attempts to get him to reveal the source of his strength, she finally succeeds by challenging the love Samson said that he had for her. He, defending his professed love for Delilah finally told her that the secret of his strength lies. He told her that no razor was to come upon his head and if one strand of his hair was to have a razor placed upon it and cut, that he would then become like any other man. She subsequently told Samson to lay his head upon her knees, and while falling asleep, she called in the lords of the Philistines to shave off the seven locks of his hair. Now a shaven Samson is powerless, and is now forsaken by Jehovah God, thus he has now become easy prey for the enemy.
        D.    Samson was sarcastic, while at the same time being full of humor. 
            It was this trait that prompted him to devise a riddle at the wedding feast. This was his way of fighting with his wits. In Judges 14, the Bible revealed to us that he used his first marriage as an opportunity to wage war against the Philistines. This shows that he was witty. On the surface everybody, including his parents thought that he was marrying the woman at Timnath out of love, until Samson's subsequent behavior proved otherwise.
        E.   Samson was  a praying man. 
            In Judges 15, after killing a thousand Philistines with a jawbone of an ass, Samson was physically weary after much fighting. God revives his strength after he prays by bringing forth water out of a rock. The other occasion when he prays is in chapter sixteen before God revived his strength and he destroyed the Philistines that were in the temple of Dagon. The latter prayer proved to be his last prayer.

III.    Life Application to you the Reader:
        In doing the research on the character of Samson, I began to see that all of us in some ways emulate Samson’s behavior patterns at different times while we are on this Christian journey. Ecclesiastes 3:15, particularly virtually sums up Samson’s life as well as ours. Like Samson, we can exhibit a humorous streak of sarcasm in our character. Sometimes we play practical jokes, and sometimes we talk in riddles. Sometimes we are witty, and sometimes we use these behaviors to hide our real intentions. Sometimes we are like wolves trying to present ourselves as sheep. Truthfully, at times we have hidden agendas and reveal our real intentions. Unfortunately, in these times, sometimes innocent people get hurt because of our showing ourselves one way to them to get their attention, but ultimately in time the real us finally comes to the forefront. Jesus taught: "that those things that are hidden would one day be revealed in the open".
             Secondly, there are times on our journey like Samson, we will make unusual request that boggles the minds of our love ones, not knowing that sometimes, these unusual decisions are all in the ultimate plan of God for our lives, and our actions and decisions are also sometimes being used within the total ministry of God toward the redemption of all of his people. Romans 8: 28 reminds us that “All things work together for the good to them that love God, to them that are the called according to his purpose.” Like Samson, we also can lay claim that we express our dissatisfaction over parental, supervisory, or even governmental or pastoral questioning over our verbal desires by throwing temper outbursts, or even over the results of decisions that didn’t work in our favor. Like Samson, we seek revenge to rectify the wrong that was done to us. We in turn violate the scriptures in Romans 12: 19 where the Apostle Paul admonished us not to “avenge ourselves, but rather to “give place unto wrath”, because he also reminds us that  “ vengeance is mine saith the Lord.” as well as what the psalmist said in Psalms 94:1 that it is the “Lord God to whom vengeance belongs to.” 
            From a male perspective, many of us men definitely can identify with this following character trait of Samson. The reason I say this is because at one time, many of us were classified as womanizers. There are unfortunately within the ministry some of us that are still guilty of this sinful practice. Just because Samson’s, mission in life carried him down the path toward marrying many “strange” women, women who are spiritually “unequally yoked” does not justify those of us who are continuing this practice to do so, especially if we are now married with living spouses.
             The "man of wisdom" who speaks in Proverbs tells us in too many places about the “strange woman” and how she sets up and ultimately destroys her men. Like Samson, many of us men have no qualms about picking up women for just one-night encounters of sexual gratification. Many news articles have been written in our society’s news media sources that uncovered, exposed, and presented for public ridicule many great, gifted men of God that  had fallen from grace because they encountered and cohabited with women whom they knew down deep within their hearts that they should have avoided getting emotionally, sexually, and romantically involved with, but, inspite of the risk factors involved, they did anyway and their relationships with these women proved to the path that led each one of them to destruction. The Bible reminds us in Proverbs 14:12 that “ There is a way that seemeth right unto a man but the way therein are the ways of death.” There are times also in our lives that like Samson, that we have been granted extraordinary strength in times of crisis where if the Lord had not granted it, then we may have been destroyed ourselves, or we may not have been able to rescue someone else from grave danger. Just like Samson in the temple of Dagon, we called and relied on God to give that extraordinary strength while dealing with our crisis. Lastly, like Samson, we rely on prayer to see us through our many changing situations in this life. There are many scriptures written within the Bible that admonishes all of us to pray without ceasing and to be instant in prayer. We are reminded that prayer is the key to unlocking the deep treasures of the Word of God, as well as the way of keeping a hot line of communication between God and ourselves. So in conclusion, we can say that there are many people in the Bible that everyone can identify with. Samson is one of them.

IV.   C ONCLUSION:
            The only conclusion we can learn from the life of Samson is that there danger in living your life by your own set of rules. Anyone who doesn’t bring his or her own body under subjection can only in the end expect to have plowed a destructive path toward a tragic end. The fact that a person has been given enormous talents and spiritual gifts from God does not guarantee that their lives will be lived the way of a Christian, nor does it guarantee that they will allow God to guide their every steps in life. Truly, there is real danger in doing what is right in your own eyes.

God's Perspective: "Six Ways God sees His Church"
Ephesians 2:19-22
 Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and aliens, but fellow citizens with God's people and members of God's household,  built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone. In him the whole building is joined together and rises to become a holy temple in the Lord. And in him you too are being built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by his Spirit. (NIV)

The Bible in the Book of Ephesians gives us "six" perspective views" of how God sees her (The Church)  in His overall providential scheme. The "organism" Church (you and me) has been illustrated by 6 different examples or pictures. Those “pictures” are:
A.    A New Nation
            According to verse 19, all believers who have accepted Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord make up the formation of a “new nation”. The believers are no longer strangers or foreigners in their relation to God, but God has considered all believers as fellow citizens having the “spirit of God”. In Romans 10: 12, the Apostle Paul tells us that this is the reason that God said that there is no difference between the Jew nor the Greek, but the same Lord unto all is rich unto all that call on him. This means that God treats us all the same as far as our personal relationship with him is concerned. As a “new nation”, we make up a “royal priesthood”, a “peculiar people” and “holy” as a new nation. Our new relationship with God replaces the relationship status we had as estranged heathens and considered foreigners. We are now fellow citizens with the rest of the saints.

B.     Members of God’s Family
            The Church is pictured as the family of God, and we have been adopted into his family because of our salvation in Jesus Christ. We are classified as “sons and daughters” of God. Jesus told us in John 14 that he was preparing a place for us and one day he will come back to “receive” us to spend eternity with him. It means that we have a home in the “New Jerusalem”. Being members of God’s family, we now have access to all of the  “fruits and gifts” of the Holy Spirit, (Galatians 5:22) along with the “personal” care of God himself.

C.      God’s building
            Within the church, according to verse 20 each believer is viewed as an individual building stone. When each member is cooperating with each other and does their part in building the structure of God’s program for this world, the church as a whole can do “greater works” for the Lord. The “key” to the success of the church building up the saints and the execution of God’s assignments is Jesus Christ must be the “chief cornerstone” of every assignment. Rightly fitted together with Jesus, there’s nothing that we can’t do for God. Rightly fitted together, we know that according to Philippians 4: 13, we can do all things through Christ who strengthens us. Also, we know that according to Philippians 4: 19, God will supply all of our needs according to all of his riches in glory that come through Jesus Christ. Jesus, being the chief cornerstone is the first stone that is laid. He is sought first because he is the first stone in God’s movement. Afterwards, we as individual building stones are to “follow suit” in obedience. We are to look to Jesus for guidance, support and direction. As Jesus is the chief cornerstone, Jesus is undergirding us. We are to completely “rest” upon him Jesus said to us in Mathew 11: 28 “Come unto me all ye that labor and are heavy laden and I will give you rest”.

            We depend on Jesus alone for salvation and should depend on him for everything else. In truth, Jesus is the only firm foundation that we can build on that alone should be compelling enough for us to surrender all to him. He is the kind of firm foundation that we all can build our lives on. Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth and the life. Nobody can approach God unless they do it through me”. If we as servants of God chose to follow anyone else but Jesus, God will replace us with someone else who will follow him and do his will.  In essence, we as the servants of this present age, we must follow the foundation laid out by Jesus and all of the apostle and prophets before us in history.

D.        A Growing Organism
            The "church" is more than a mere Christian organization. It can’t be compared in the same light as say the Y.M.C.A., no, the church is a living and growing organism. The church is founded on the principle of “one get one”. This means that as an organism, we as servants and Christians are to witness to others who don’t know Jesus in the free pardon of their sins. God is constantly adding to the church on a daily basis those who wish to be saved and accepts Jesus as their personal savior. God will continue to do so until the end of this dispensation (Time of the Gentiles). Each new convert represents not only a “living stone”, but also as a “growing organism” that must be attached to the “Living Stone”, Jesus Christ. By attaching himself to the “Living Stone”, the convert’s spiritual sacrifice is accepted and honored by God. The Apostle Peter said in 1 Peter 2: 4- 5 that we are "living stones” and are also built up to be a “spiritual house” and a “holy priesthood”. We are to offer up “sacrifices” that are truly accepted by God through Jesus Christ. The church as a “living organism” has two awesome responsibilities. First of all, the church must grow spiritually and she must carry out the mission of evangelism by preaching the Gospel of Jesus Christ to the world, offering salvation by faith in Jesus to everyone who will believe it and accept it. Secondly, every member must have an evangelistic mindset and be willing to go out and make disciples for Jesus. In short, the church members individually and collectively must preach (witness), teach, reach out to the unsaved and as a living testimony live the Gospel out in their lives. This is the way that God adds members to the institutional church (the building). We are all expected to be public witnesses for Christ.


E.      A World Wide Temple
            From a larger scope or perspective, all believers make up the Holy Temple of God. Each and every believer make up what is called the “Universal Church”. Since the church comprises people from all generations, all of them make up the worldwide temple in the “New Heaven” and the “New Earth”. The “Worldwide Temple of God” is still accepting members worldwide and is increasing on a daily basis. Every time a person accepts Jesus Christ as their savior and Lord, the church increases by one more convert. The “doors” of this church will remain open to the unsaved public until the rapture of the church and the end of the Gentile reign in world leadership.

F.        A Local Temple
            This temple is represented by the local assembly and the place or building that houses that assembly of believers. Every member of their local church is essential stones that have been placed and fitted into that building. The stability of the assembly of believers in that local church hinges upon their “professed faith” being rooted and grounded in the Lord Jesus Christ for everything and need. The Local Church exists to provide a habitat for the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit dwells in the believer to help the believer deal with their individual troubles. From a corporate perspective, the church as an institution needs the indwelling of the Holy Spirit to carry out the principles of Gods mission here on earth and to project the “true image” of what God want the church to portray concerning what God is really about.

Pastoral Perspective: " God's Peacemaking Process- Revealed!
Ephesians 2:11-18
 "Therefore, remember that formerly you who are Gentiles by birth and called "uncircumcised" by those who call themselves "the circumcision" (that done in the body by the hands of men);remember that at that time you were separate from Christ, excluded from citizenship in Israel and foreigners to the covenants of the promise, without hope and without God in the world.But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far away have been brought near through the blood of Christ. For he himself is our peace, who has made the two one and has destroyed the barrier, the dividing wall of hostility,by abolishing in his flesh the law with its commandments and regulations. His purpose was to create in himself one new man out of the two, thus making peace,and in this one body to reconcile both of them to God through the cross, by which he put to death their hostility. He came and preached peace to you who were far away and peace to those who were near.For through him we both have access to the Father by one Spirit." (NIV)
The Bible shows us in the Ephesians 2:11-18 "4 ways" that God brought peace to us.

A.     The First Way God brings us peace is by bringing warring men together under the "banner" of Christ.
        Through Jesus Christ, all barriers between the Jews and Gentile people have been broken through his blood. All of us as people whether Jewish or Gentile are outside the arc of safety and stands as sinners before a Holy God. Because of our sin nature we inherited from Adam, we all need to be saved. We all must accept Jesus as our Savior and Lord in order to be saved. Paul reminds us in Romans 10:12 that there is no difference between the Jew and the Greek (or Gentile) because the same Lord over all is rich unto all that call on him. We all come to Jesus to be saved. The need for man as a whole to be saved through Jesus puts us all on “equal footing” in the same manner that being all “born in sin” does since all mankind is born in sin and shaped in iniquity.

B.    The Second Way God brought Peace was by  breaking down all   "access"  barriers.    
            Through the death on the cross of Jesus Christ, the shedding of his blood brought remission of all of our sins, whether Jew or Non-Jew. As stated in the first reason, we all are on common ground pertaining to our personal relationship with God through Jesus. Jesus said that none of us could have access to the “Father” (God) except by (through our acceptance) of me (himself). From a historic perspective, a vivid example is given through the schematic of the Temple. The temple consisted of 4 courts. Each court separated men from the presence of God. The Gentiles nations were not allowed to advance past the outer court. There were tablets hanging around the Gentile court that warn them that they would face death if they strayed or walked into another courtyard of the temple. When Jesus died, the bible says that the veil in the temple that separated the Holy Place from the “Holy of Holies” supernaturally tore from top to bottom. The tearing of the veil symbolized that there was now “direct access” to God for anyone who dare to seek it and no more  separation of the Jews from any the of the Gentile nations who embraced Christ.

C.     The Third Way God brought Peace was by wiping out the Law of Enmity.
            Before the sacrificial death of Jesus Christ, all of mankind had to approach God through the Mosaic Law. Unfortunately for us, the Law actually revealed that we were condemned in the eyes of God and there was no way that we could be acceptable by God. Not only this, but the more we measured our lives up against the Law, the more the Law revealed that we were far away from God. Adam’s sin broke the law of obedience and passed the penalty of his disobedience (death) down the corridor of all of man’s geneology. Jesus’ sacrificial death on the cross at Calvary’s Hill paid the debt (penalty) Adam passed to us by breaking the Law. Jesus wiped out the “enmity” of the Law as well as fulfilled all of the requirements of the Law. Jesus came to fulfill and not abolish the Law. Thus, Jesus is the only way for all of mankind to have a personal relationship with Almighty God. Because of Jesus Christ, the “only” way that there will still be enmity between God and man is if mankind never accepts Jesus Christ as savior and Lord before he dies.

D.     Finally,  God brought Peace by "creating" a “new” man.
        Whenever man accepts Jesus Christ as their savior and Lord, God changes the spiritual nature of that person. The Apostle Paul tells us in 1 Corinthians 5:17:  "if any man is in Christ (accepts Jesus Christ as savior), that man is a “new creation”. The “old nature”  (nature that caused man to sin) of that man is considered “passed away”. That is; God no longer holds the sins of that man at the point of his acceptance of Jesus against him toward paying off  the “wages” of those sin (Romans 6:23), which would have been death. That person is said to be “born again” in his relationship to God and has been given another chance at life to live the rest of his life the way God directs him to. With this “new nature”, man has to develop a relationship with God through Jesus Christ on a daily basis, since this new life in Jesus Christ is a “new beginning in the life of that man. Not only this, but all of those who accepts Jesus Christ have been “reconciled” into “one” new body (Body of Christ) and a position in the household of God.

"The Book of Jonah"     "A Summation of the Life of Jonah"

     According to the Nelson Bible Dictionary, one of the great truths the Book of Jonah emphasized is:  "God can use people who do not want to be used by Him or resist doing the will he assigns to them". It could be said that Jonah questioned or at least had issues as to why God who was the God of the Hebrews (Israel) would dare to show mercy to or even want Jonah to go to Nineveh, the capital of the Assyrian Empire to sound a warning. They were enemies with Israel and had during this time in ancient history Jonah’s people were being afflicted by the Ninevites.  There are those scholars who contend that Jonah was practically driven to Nineveh against his will, but the message God gave him to deliver though given to them grudging message still struck a responsive revival chord in the Assyrians.
What did this reveal about the nature of God? It showed that both "revival" and "repentance" came from God. It reveals that both Jonah and our task is simply to proclaim His message to whomever He directs it to.
There are several vital lesions we can grasp from this book:
 First, God desires to show mercy and grace to all the peoples of the world.         
        God said that it was His desire that no one should perish, but everyone would repent. That is to say no one nation or group can claim exclusive rights to His love. Second, the task of the nation of Israel was to preach this message about God's universal love to every nation, but they forgot that and refuse to carry out this missionary purpose. 
        Opting rather to worship other Gods, they emulated the nations to whom they were to carry the oracles of God to and in selfishness claimed God and His blessings as theirs alone.So, in the 1st chapter, Jonah has been sent by God to preach in Nineveh, to cry out against the wickedness of the city. Jonah took exception to the mission and immediately in the 3rd verse goes in the opposite direction and flees toward Joppa to Tarshish from the presence of the Lord, finds a ship in Joppa, pays the fare out of his own pocket and went down in the ship and goes to sleep. God responded to Jonah’s disobedience and sent out a great wind causing a might tempest placing the ship in grave danger. The mariners responded in fear and prayed for help even though they worshipped other gods, they started throwing cargo overboard to lighten the weight of the boat. Finding Jonah asleep, they questioned why he wasn’t praying to his God declaring that maybe God would think upon them and spare their lives. After casting lots, they discovered that Jonah was responsible for causing their calamity.
            The storm ceases on after Jonah confesses that he was a Hebrew running away from God and the mission God had given him. Now, let's give Jonah credit. He did give an honest testimony to those sailors who were all heathen worshippers. After the crew asked him what they needed to do to him that the storm would cease, Jonah suggested that they throw him overboard. Jonah was saying in essence: “I am not worthy to live; throw me overboard. God will not quiet the storm till I am cast out of the ship”. Complying, after they cried out to God in prayer and pleading for their lives and asked that they would not die because of Jonah’s disobedience, they threw him overboard and immediately, a great fish that God had prepared swallows up Jonah and takes him down into the sea and immediately, the sea became calm. 
            Now, it’s been said that too much attention has been focused on the "great fish" that swallowed Jonah and then eventually spat him out on the shore. Whether a fish could swallow a man or whether a person could remain alive for three days in the stomach of such a creature is something that God only knows. The point of this part of the story is that God worked a miracle to preserve the life of His prophet so he would get to Nineveh to carry out God's original orders. The text states that God "prepared" this fish specifically for that purpose. 
            In chapter 2, Jonah, in despair, underwater and in the belly of the great fish for three days and nights, finally becomes repentant and cried out unto the Lord, praying for salvation, restitution and another chance at life. God shows Jonah mercy and causes the great fish to surface and vomit Jonah on shore. 
            Chapter 3 reveals God reassigning Jonah to go to Nineveh with the same message as before. This time Jonah offers no resistance, yet there’s still an underlining issue within his heart because to his dismay, Nineveh repents as Jonah warns them of the judgment levied against them by God in 40 days. The message God sent through Jonah was so powerful, that the King of Nineveh immediately laid his regal robe aside, covered himself with sackcloth and covered himself in ashes. The king then made it a citywide decree for all man and beast to repent and fast and pray to God. God saw their repentant works and spared Nineveh.
            In the final chapter (4), Jonah suffers from both deep depression and anger in response of God sparing Nineveh. Jonah expected (even hoped) the Ninevites would reject God’s message for repentance to the point that he sat outside the city so he could get a “bird’s eye view of their destruction after the 40 day warning. To his dismay, it didn’t happen. And when they repented and God spared them Jonah got mad! Jonah was so vexed, (depressed) that he wanted God to take his life because he didn’t get his real wish of Nineveh. Listen to his prayer:"Take, I beg you. Go on and take my life." Do not let me survive this disgrace. You spared this city. I figured you would because you are merciful and gracious. This is the reason I didn’t want to go there in the first place! I just knew that you might change your purpose even though thou didn’t command me to make an absolute denunciation of judgment. In response, God addressed Jonah’s anger and depression asking him: Have you any right to be angry? Jonah now sitting outside east of the city makes him a shelter in the shade still waiting for to see what would happen to the city.    
        Then the Lord God provided a vine and made it grow up over Jonah to give shade for his head to ease his discomfort, and Jonah was very happy about the vine.  But at dawn the next day God provided a worm, which chewed the vine so that it withered.  When the sun rose, God provided a scorching east wind, and the sun blazed on Jonah's head so that he grew faint. He wanted to die, and said, "It would be better for me to die than to live." But God asked Jonah, "Do you have a right to be angry about the vine?""I do," he said. "I am angry enough to die."  But the Lord said, "You have been concerned about this vine, though you did not tend it or make it grow. It sprang up overnight and died overnight.

In the last verse of the book, God makes it plain to Jonah that His mercy and compassion is as wide as the world itself: "And should I not pity Nineveh, that great city, in which are more than one hundred and twenty thousand persons who cannot discern between their right hand and their left, and also much livestock?" God has left this example on record to show that it’s inconsiderate to think that God’s mercy is only reserved to those who walk in his righteousness. God desires that none should perish but all would become repentant and turn from their wicked ways. God extends mercy to whomever he chooses and as ministers, teachers and witnesses, this example in the Book of Jonah serves as an endless warning to the church to employ nobody in the ministry work that is not “scripturally” acquainted with God's justice and mercy. What the Lord says to Jonah, he says to all, no one has the right to be angry in response to how God shows mercy or who he chooses shows it to, even if you are at odds with that person or nation.