We don’t usually think of the Ninevites as good people, in fact God-Himself called them “wicked” and Jonah went out of his way to avoid going to their city. Nineveh was known for its cruelty and brutality to its war captives as well as its blatant idolatry with several temples throughout the city (The Bible Knowledge Commentary). They were the bad guys. But Jesus says refers to the people of Nineveh as an example to his listeners in Luke 11.
The people of Nineveh repented after Jonah went yelling through the city, he didn’t do any fancy miracles, he just said “Yet forty days and Nineveh will be overthrown.” That’s it! In Luke 11, Jesus is performing miracles, casting out demons which was an “in-your-face” sign of the Messiah, yet the people still ask for more!
Sometimes I think that we ask for more, “God, if you just do this one thing, then I’ll believe.” Or we try to bargain, “OK, if you ___(insert God-wish here)___ then I will ___(insert good works here)___.” It’s the same thing as the people in Luke 11, they ask for a miracle but they really don’t and won’t believe. So quit asking and be like the Ninevites (!) and simply believe the message.
The really is the essence of faith.
Samantha
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2 comments:
Great point Samantha. If you truly believe in God and are obedient to his word you will see great things in your life. God speaks to us through his word. We have that is needed, just as the rich man had all that he needed to recognize that it was good to help Lazarus, and yet he did not listen to the Torah (Luke 16).
Samantha,
thanks for your encouraging note on this particular Believism. It is a common thing to see around Christians, because we tend to live with "what ifs" or "if thens"... hardly we see a plain belief that God can do and will do miraculous things for His glory. When we see and seek for our own benefits we tend to doubt things but when we see that it is all about God then we will be worry free in a world where we strive to fix things!
Simply=believe ! Amen
Lydia
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