I hate fishing

Jonah 3: 1&2

God has given Jonah a second chance. He has taken him full circle in these crazy 2 chapters and is now saying "NOW will you go to Nineveh?!"

God uses second-rate idiots (He aint got nothing else to use!)

Time after time we see examples in the bible of how God used unskilled and occasionally obnoxious. Quite often we see how these 'lesser leaders' shrink back from their callings.

Stuttering Moses (Exod. 4:10-16), and Jeremiah feeling like a child doing a man's work (Jer. 1:6)

"The church is not a gallery for the exhibition of eminent christians, but a school for the education of imperfect ones."

(Henry Ward Beecher)

Hate is such a strong word but COME ON it's fishing!

To CHOOSE to sit in the freezing cold for days on end, going without basic sanitation and warmth so that you can hook a little fish, admire it (maybe take a photo of yourself with it) and then chuck it back in the water seems less than appealing!

But after speaking to a few people at work (who enjoy it), I have realised the main truth - you have to go and get them. No fisherman stands on the bank with a net hoping that the fish will obediantly hop in.

This is the same with our christian life (especially in evangelism).

When praying that people will show up at church on sundays we sometimes adopt the 'come and hear' approach, rather than the biblical 'go and tell'.

Of course living this missionary life-style can be costly. This way of living can cause you to be interrupted and driven out of your comfort zones.

There is no reason to believe that Jonah was any happier about the second call than he was the first.

Some people cry out to God "Send them in Lord!"

Perhaps God's reply is "Go to where they are, people!"

Love you x