Last week we left the captain of this Phoenician ship begging Jonah to wake up and pray so they wouldn’t die. The storm is still raging and the expert sailors are scared to death. The one person on the ship that had the answers had to be woken up to take action.

Jonah 1:7-10 says, “Each man said to his mate, “Come, let us cast lots so we may learn on whose account this calamity has struck us.” So they cast lots and the lot fell on Jonah. Then they said to him, “Tell us, now! On whose account has this calamity struck us? What is your occupation? And where do you come from? What is your country? From what people are you?” He said to them, “I am a Hebrew, and I fear the LORD God of heaven who made the sea and the dry land.” Then the men became extremely frightened and they said to him, “How could you do this?” For the men knew that he was fleeing from the presence of the LORD, because he had told them.”

So what’s the next step? Remember the sailors sent out some ineffective prayers in v. 5. So much like us when we don’t hear from God in the timeframe we want, the sailors decided they still needed to do something. They threw out some prayers and then talked among themselves. I wonder what their conversations sounded like. Hey Captain, you’re in charge, what are we going to do? Do you have any ideas? Anybody ever see a storm like this? We do the same things. What do you think we should do? I read on the internet that this works. My friend was in the same situation, and here’s what they did. Let’s put the question out there on Facebook and Twitter. We seek answers from anyone that offers. There is nothing wrong with getting guidance from others. Pro. 11:14 says, “Where there is no guidance, the people fall, but in abundance of counselors there is victory.” Be careful who you ask. This was a storm unlike any these experienced sailors had ever seen. Perhaps they suspected a storm of this magnitude could only come from divine influence. Maybe because the storm came up with such  suddenness that it could only be attributed to divine influence.

They decided to cast lots. At this point, Jonah is on deck, and he’s looking at the severity of the storm. Did he know that he was the reason for the storm? Did he think, “What have I done?” Casting lots was a common practice back in that time in the Middle East. It normally involved two stones or pebbles that were painted or colored on each side. When the stones were thrown, if two dark sides landed up the usual interpretation was no. If two light sides landed up, that meant yes. A light and a dark side meant throw again. This would be done for each person. This isn’t some sort of voodoo magic. Lots were cast to determine the guilt of Achan in Josh. 7. They were used to distribute land to the 12 tribes in Josh. 18. Lots selected Saul as king in 1 Sam.10.

Can you imagine the drama of the moment? Waves crashing all around them. The howling of the wind. Things being thrown all over the ship and we find the sailors casting lots. Did Jonah have a sick feeling in his stomach knowing that the truth would soon be found out? One by one, people are eliminated as being the cause for their current situation. The time comes for the lot to be cast for Jonah. The stones are rolled and they come up two light sides. V. 7 tells us, “The lot fell on Jonah.” This was not a game of chance. Pro. 16:33 says, “The lot is cast into the lap, but its every decision is from the Lord.” All eyes turned to Jonah.

Once it was determined that Jonah was the cause, the sailors peppered him with questions. Look at v. 8. Can you feel their intensity? “Tell us now!” No delay, time is running out, we’ve got to hurry . . . the storm is still raging. Put yourself in the sailor’s position. When you find out that the problems you are experiencing is because of a single person, what would you say? We can assume from the context that Jonah was a mystery to them at this point. I’m sure they knew he had booked passage in Joppa. Aside from that, they didn’t know him from Adam and now they want some answers.

What looks like similar questions in vs. 7 and 8 are really quite different. V. 7: “Come, let us cast lots so we may learn on whose account this calamity has struck us.” V. 8: “On whose account has this calamity struck us?” The first is a general question. The second literally reads, “It is because of you that this calamity has struck us.” The first is let’s find out who is causing this. The second is an indictment on Jonah – it’s your fault. The sailors ask four very pointed questions in v. 8. “What is your occupation?” “Where do you come from?” “What is your country?” “From what people are you?”  Jonah speaks for the first time in this book and it’s in response to their questions. He doesn’t really answer the questions though. The real answers are: Prophet. Gath-hepher. Israel. Hebrew. Instead of giving those four answers, Jonah simply responds, “I am a Hebrew, and I fear the Lord God of heaven who made the sea and the dry land.” He doesn’t answer the questions the sailors asked . . . or does he? Let’s break it down. “I am a Hebrew.” These Phoenician sailors would understand what a Hebrew  Egyptians knew about the Hebrew people. So did the Moabites, the Philistines, the Edomites as well as a host of other nationalities. It’s Jonah’s next statement that would floor them. “I fear the Lord God of heaven who made the sea and the dry land” There’s more here than meets the eye. Fear in this verse is a participle and in the Hebrew language it normally indicates an occupation. Fear can also be translated worship so in essence Jonah is answering the sailor’s first question. Jonah’s job was to worship, “The Lord God of heaven who made the sea and the dry land.” In the middle of the raging sea, I’m sure the sailors were wishing Jonah would do something about the storm. Neh. 9:6 says, “You alone are the Lord. You have made the heavens, the heaven of heavens with all their host, the earth and all that is on it, the seas and all that is in them. You give life to all of them and the heavenly host bows down before You.” Jonah knows firsthand the God of the sea and acknowledges His hand in controlling what is currently going on.

These expert sailors have spent their lives on the sea and at Jonah’s admission, they “Became extremely frightened.” They were already afraid in v. 5. Now they are extremely afraid. They feared with great fear. They were scared that they were going to die, now on top of that, Jonah’s God was the One that was in control. Add holy fear on top of being scared to death. The sailors ask the same question we ask of our friends and family when they do something we consider particularly bad. “How could you do this?” We’ll normally add something loving like, “And you call yourself a Christian.” What is the “this” here? Is God against taking a cruise? A vacation? Hanging out with people that clearly do not worship God? The “this” is the last part of the verse. “For the men knew that he was fleeing from the presence of the Lord, because he had told them.” There are some details left out somewhere between vs. 9 and 10.  We don’t know when Jonah told them, but it had to be some time after the lot fell on him.  I wonder if the sailors caught the irony of Jonah’s statement. Who are you? I’m a prophet of God. And I’m fleeing from the Lord. Runaway prophet – it’s an oxymoron. It’s like a shepherd with no sheep. It’s like a teacher with no class. It’s like a king with no subjects. People called to serve God do not run away.

Now we have a dilemma. God knows Jonah is running, Jonah knows he’s running; the captain knows he’s running, and the sailors know he’s running. The first course of action should be to run back to God. When you and everyone around you know that you are in open rebellion with God, it doesn’t matter what words you use, no one will hear you. If no one will hear you, you are ineffective. I’m not talking about preaching, teaching, and telling the truth and the people says, “Yea, whatever.” Is. 55:11 says, “So will My word be which goes forth from My mouth; it will not return to Me empty, without accomplishing what I desire, and without succeeding in the matter for which I sent it.” I’m talking about trying to tell someone the truth, and they won’t even let you talk because of your testimony. The Great Commission to make disciples is not being fulfilled because there are too many professing Christians running from the mission. Is anyone grabbing you by the shoulders demanding that you tell them why you have hope? As we’ll see next week, Jonah answered the sailors honestly when they asked him the questions in v. 8, but he didn’t take full advantage of the opportunity

Does your family see a difference in you? Friends? If the message you proclaim hasn’t done anything in your life, others won’t listen to you. Nineveh’s problem was they were lost and there was no one to show them the way. Jonah’s problem was that he knew the Way and could not run far enough. Brother Andrew says, “We’re too Christian to enjoy sin, and too sinful to enjoy God. That’s why we’re so miserable. The only cure: radical preaching and radical response.”

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Last week we started our study into the life and mission of the prophet Jonah. We saw that Nineveh, the capital of Assyria, was a very wicked city ruled by wicked and evil leaders. We learned that God is involved in the world, that He cares enough about people to send His messengers to tell them about His love and grace. Jonah had the clear message to deliver and he refused. We left him on a ship waiting to get underway.

Jonah 1:4-6 says, “The Lord hurled a great wind on the sea and there was a great storm on the sea so that the ship was about to break up. Then the sailors became afraid and every man cried to his god, and they threw the cargo which was in the ship into the sea to lighten it for them. But Jonah had gone below into the hold of the ship, lain down and fallen sound asleep. So the captain approached him and said, “How is it that you are sleeping? Get up, call on your god. Perhaps your god will be concerned about us so that we will not perish.”

It’s not always this fast. Somewhere between v. 3 and v. 4, the ship got underway and out into the Mediterranean Sea. God demonstrates some of His awesomeness in v. 4. Wouldn’t it be cool if God worked this fast in our lives? As soon as someone does you wrong, wouldn’t it be just awesome if God handled it? If someone tells a lie about you, they’d be stricken with a nose that grows longer with each lie. Wouldn’t it be great if a thief would mysteriously lose a hand. What if someone that was covetous would go blind. What if an adulterer would lose . . . well you can use your imagination. But wait, we’d fall into these same judgments. God responds to Jonah’s disobedience in a big way. It’s not so unusual for there to be storms at sea. But this storm was one for the record books. God sends what the writer describes as, “great.” A great wind and a great storm. This was big time. This was not your average sea squall. The storm was so violent that, “the ship was about to breakup.” This was a Phoenician ship. These people were experts in sailing. They knew how to build ships to withstand whatever the Mediterranean could throw at them. It wasn’t the Med doing the throwing, it was the Lord. This storm had purpose. As a side note, this verse confirms that God controls nature and the elements, not Mother Nature and we’re going to see that played out very clearly in the rest of this book. Ps. 24:1-2 tells us, “The earth is the Lord’s, and all it contains, the world, and those who dwell in it. For He has founded it upon the  seas and established it upon the rivers.” Because Jonah did not respond as God directed him, there were consequences for those around him. What you do; your actions often affects those around you. There is something very striking here that is lost in English. Look at v. 4 again.  About” in this verse means to consider, to determine, or to plan when it applies to a person. In English we call this personification. Better translated, “The ship was determined to break apart.” The ship knew what was going on here.

What happens next is even more thought provoking given the expertise of the crew of this ship. Look at the first half of v. 5. Remember, these are experienced sailors. They had been around ships and on ships their whole lives. Yet they, “. . . became afraid.” Maybe it was the suddenness of the great wind that God threw at them. Maybe this was a storm unlike any other they had ever seen. Have you ever heard the phrase, there are no atheists in foxholes? It seems that in times of crisis, people turn to a higher power. There is a sudden recollection that communication with that higher power is possible. The problem here though is that, “Every man cried to his own god.” This is a common problem here in America. We get afraid and then we cry out. For many people, their god cannot hear them. Their god is not the God of the Bible. That’s why their prayers are not answered, that’s why there is no relief, there is no comfort, there is no hope. These sailors cried out to gods that could not hear. When their prayers did not work, they had to do something that might save their lives.“They threw the cargo which was in the ship into the sea to lighten it.” This normally is an effective method to gain a maneuverability advantage. Doing this comes with a cost too. This was a merchant ship. That means they were throwing money over the side. If you don’t deliver the goods, you don’t get paid. Considering the alternative, the sailors decided that not making as much money was better than death.

Pray like everything depends upon prayer, and work like everything depends upon work. They prayed and they worked. Even though these sailors did not know the God that answers prayers, they prayed. As Christians, we know the God that answers prayers, yet we are often like these sailors – we wait until there’s a crisis. Too often, prayer is a last resort. Are you thinking, well I would pray more if God would answer my prayers more. What you’re really saying is that, you’d pray more if God would answer your prayers like you want Him to. That brings up a question, is there ever a time when God doesn’t answer your prayers?Is. 59:2 tells us, “But your iniquities have made a separation between you and your God, and your sins have hidden His face from you so that He does not hear.” We like to blame God for not listening, but it’s quite possible, that the reason He’s not hearing us is because of us. Ja. 4:3 says, “You ask and do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, so that you may spend it on your pleasures.” There are definitely things that can cause God to not hear us, but it’s not because He can’t or doesn’t want to help us. It has to do with our heart, not His. We ask God with evil or selfish motives and get upset when He doesn’t respond the way we want Him to. Jesus said, “Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.” (Matt. 11:29-30) Peter told us to cast, “All your anxiety on Him, because He cares for you.”  (1 Pet. 5:7) God definitely wants to hear from us, but don’t think you can run to Him, get what you want to make the crisis pass and then throw Him away.

There is a striking contrast here. The sailors are freaking out do all they can to stay alive. Everyone is involved. All hands on deck. Batten down the hatches. Do this, do that – you can hear the captain barking out orders to save his ship. People going this way and that all in an effort to save themselves from what looks like certain death in this, the worst storm they had ever been in. Not everyone is helping though. “But Jonah had gone below into the hold of the ship, lain down and fallen sound asleep.” The word sleep here is the same word used in Gen. 2:21 to describe the kind of sleep Adam was in when God took one of his ribs. Jonah was dead to the world. The wind is howling, the waves are crashing, the ship is rocking and pitching and Jonah is so sound asleep that none of this affects him. Maybe Jonah was exhausted from walking from Gath-Hepher to Joppa. It’s about 60 miles, maybe a three day walk. Jonah was probably walking as fast as he could to get away, so it probably took less time. Jonah is down below asleep. Some experts suggest that a storm of this magnitude, a storm that terrifies a sailor can actually cause a landlubber to lose consciousness. Others suggest that the rebellion Jonah is engaged in can cause emotional exhaustion and depression. These are not the kind of waves that provide a gentle rocking allowing someone to peacefully drift off to sleep. Notice the captain gets directly involved. He leaves the deck and goes below. The captain finds Jonah and says, “How is it that you are sleeping?” He says, “Get up, call on your god. Perhaps your god will be concerned about us that so that we should not perish.” At this point there is no indication that the captain knew that Jonah was a prophet. I can see Jonah slinking on the ship and getting away from everyone else as quickly as he could. Out of sight out of mind. I’m sure the captain says something like, “Everyone else is on deck and I know you’re not a sailor, but at least you can pray!” The captain was desperate. I’m certain the captain had no idea that Jonah’s God was actually able to hear and answer his prayers. Jonah has a direct line to Yahweh, but doesn’t want to make the connection. I wonder if Jonah was thinking it was God that got him into this situation anyway. Maybe Jonah was thinking he was better off dead.

“Get up” the captain screams. This is not the first time in recent days that Jonah has heard this command. Get up is the same verb as “arise” in v. 2. God told Jonah to arise, now the captain is telling him the same thing. By all accounts, this captain most assuredly is what we would call lost. In an incredible case of irony, isn’t it interesting that a lost person has to wake up a prophet and tell him to pray? Who are the lost people in your life telling you to wake up and pray? This unbelieving captain understands the gravity of the situation, but the prophet was apparently oblivious until shaken into consciousness.

What wake-up call are you waiting for? The sailors prayed to a dead god. The captain begged Jonah to pray to the living God, to intercede on their behalf so they would not die. Can you hear the lost crying out for prayer? They’re screaming, “Wake up!” Maybe you’re thinking, I’ve never been asked about Jesus, but if anyone ever does, I’ll tell them. Maybe you’re not asked because you’re no different than anyone else. No one sees anything they want or need in you. Edmund Burke once said, “All that is necessary for evil to prosper is for good men to do nothing.” Eph. 5:8 says, “For you were formerly darkness, but now you are Light in the Lord; walk as children of Light.” That’s what your family and friends need to see.

This morning we move to the Old Testament for our next study. I want you to forget everything you think you know about Jonah. I want to approach his story with an open mind, with a fresh perspective free from our preconceived ideas about this prophet. Jonah was a runner. Most people know he ran from God, but do we know why? We would never run from anything God told us to do would we? This is much more than a fish story.

I hope you’ll take your Bible and read Jonah 1:1-3.

Does God really speak to us like He did to Jonah? This short book starts off in an exciting way. “The word of the Lord came to Jonah.” We don’t know a great deal about Jonah. We know he was a man because he was the, “Son of Amittai.” 2 Ki. 14:25 tells us that Jonah was from Gath-hepher which means he was of the tribe of Zebulun. All we know about Jonah’s father is found in this verse and in Jonah 1:1. Very limited information. This we do know: Jonah was a prophet because the word of the Lord came to him and that was the system back then. The Lord spoke in dreams, in visions, in the Urim and Thummin, and audibly to His prophets and they were able to speak with the authority of God. Today though, we have the written Word of God. There were people back in the prophet’s day that refused to listen to the Word of the Lord just as there are today that refuse to listen to what the Lord says. That doesn’t change the truth of what God says. The Word of God is as accurate as if the Lord were speaking audibly to us right now.

So, “The Word of the Lord came to Jonah the son of Amittai saying, Arise, go to Nineveh the great city and cry against it, for their wickedness has come up before Me.” This was a clear command. There was no misinterpreting what God told Jonah to do. It was crystal clear. We spend a lot of time searching for God’s will. We wonder is this thing really from God. We spend days searching our souls, searching Scripture, getting counsel from our friends, we post our questions on Facebook, we solicit input from our Twitter followers. We do all this to find out if God really is speaking to us. The Lord told Jonah what to do. We don’t know exactly how the word came to Jonah. The word of the Lord had previously come to Jonah. He prophesied to Jeroboam II that God would restore the borders of Israel. So that puts Jonah in the time frame of 784-772 B.C. For Jonah, this prophet gig was pretty sweet. All we have prior to this book of Jonah was good news. Life was good for Jonah, but not so much for other prophets. Speaking the Word of God can bring persecution, suffering, pain, sorrow, and sometimes death. In Lu. 11:47 Jesus told the people that their fathers had killed prophets. The only recorded prophesy we have for Jonah was good news and now the Lord speaks again. I wonder if Jonah was eager to hear from God.

I wonder if he had been sitting around waiting for the Lord to speak or was he just going about life as if God didn’t exist? But he was a prophet. When God spoke, he listened. That was his job and there wasn’t anybody else. In the northern kingdom of Israel it had been at least 12 years since Elisha; Amos doesn’t come on the scene until five years after Jonah. In the southern kingdom of Judah, there is a silence of about 71 years between the prophets Joel and Isaiah. So the word of the Lord coming to Jonah is a pretty big deal. God was able to speak to Jonah because Jonah had a relationship with God. If we have a relationship with God through Jesus, He speaks to us too. Can you hear Him? When there is noise all around us, how can we hear God? What are the potential consequences of missing what God has told us?

The word came to Jonah and it was a three part command. Arise, go, cry. Get up and get moving. Jonah was to go to Nineveh. It was a great city, but great here doesn’t refer to anything more than its size. Nineveh was located on the eastern shore of the Tigris River in what is now modern Iraq near the city of Mosul. According to Gen. 10:11, it was built by the great hunter Nimrod. During the reign of Sennacherib, the city was fortified and became the capital of Assyria. God tells Jonah, when you get to Nineveh, cry against it. The phrase means to give an appeal for, or an announcement of the Lord’s judgment against someone or something. Jonah was to proclaim the message of God, the judgment of God. We don’t know the specifics of the message Jonah was to give. But we do know that prophets declare the truth of God. Why Nineveh? Why not some other city like Kish, or Ur, or Sidon, or Tarsus? God is very clear as to why Jonah is to go. God tells Jonah it’s because Nineveh’s, “Wickedness has come up before Me.” Other times God has passed judgment on cities – Sodom and Gomorrah for example. What about Nineveh is so bad? They were well known in the ancient world for their cruelty and inhumanity. The grandson of Sennacherib was known to rip the lips and hands off of his victims. The king of Assyria was known to strip the skin off of people while they were still alive. He’d make giant piles of their skulls. Nineveh was ruled by the most evil people in the world and was likely the worst place on earth and God knew it. So He sends Jonah to tell the people of the Messiah so they could repent and turn from the wicked ways. There are people that think God created the world, set it in motion, then stepped away. This account clearly tells us that God is involved in the daily activities of the world, that He cares, that He hates sin, and that He still wants to do something about it.

The parallel for us is quite clear. Is there a group of people who we despise, that we would run from God’s call to tell them about Jesus who is the Christ? The people God told Jonah to go and preach to are now found in cities like: Bagdad, Mosul, Fallujah, Kandahar, Kabul. These people are Muslims worshiping a false god. Before you get all judgmental on Jonah, think about receiving a command from God to preach the message of salvation to a people you despise.

So how does Jonah responds? Even with the crystal clear command from God, Jonah does something we would never do, right? The opening phrase of v. 3 literally reads, “So Jonah rose.” And that’s good. When God told Abraham to go to a place He would tell him, he went. When God told Elijah to go to Sidon, he went. When God told David’s seer to go, he went. We’re accustomed to prophets doing what God tells them to do. Verse 3 says, “But Jonah rose up to flee to Tarshish from the presence of the LORD. So he went down to Joppa, found a ship which was going to Tarshish, paid the fare and went down into it to go with them to Tarshish from the presence of the LORD.” This seems incomprehensible. Jonah was told exactly what to do by God Himself and Jonah chooses to be openly disobedient. At this point we have absolutely no clue as to why Jonah did what he did. Did he think about the consequences for his actions? Did he wonder, “If I don’t do what God told me to do, Nineveh is doomed.” Jonah fled, “from the presence of the Lord.” We see that phrase repeated twice in this verse. Does this reveal Jonah’s ignorance of God’s omnipresence? Jer. 23:25 tells us that God fills the heavens and the earth. Pro. 15:3 says the eyes of the Lord are everywhere. There’s a great passage in Ps. 139:7-10 that says, “Where can I go from Your Spirit? Or where can I flee from Your presence? If I ascend to heaven, You are there; If I make my bed in Sheol, behold, You are there. If I take the wings of the dawn, If I dwell in the remotest part of the sea, even there Your hand will lead me, And Your right hand will lay hold of me.” So you can’t hide from God so what is Jonah trying to do? From the presence of the Lord is the same phrase used in Gen. 4:16 to describe Cain’s broken relationship with God. It’s safe to say that Jonah and God weren’t seeing eye to eye.

Jonah goes to Joppa and buys a ticket to the farthest place from Nineveh he can. Joppa is now called Jaffa, part of modern Tel-Aviv. Tarshish is the farthest west he can go – about 2000 miles. Nineveh is about 500 miles away from where Jonah is. It’s not about the destination, it’s about the direction. Tarshish is in the opposite direction of Nineveh. Jonah buys a ticket on a boat. The level of Jonah’s disobedience is starting to get pretty clear. He pays money for a ticket – on a boat. Some experts suggest he hired the entire ship. Either way, because of the distance, this was not a cheap ticket. What’s really interesting is that Hebrew people were known as a people of the land, so willingly getting on a boat would be considered crazy back in that day. This was a merchant ship, and Jonah chose to place his life in the hands of the sailors.

So we have begun our journey and we’re going to leave Jonah on the boat until next time. Most of the time we focus on Jonah in these beginning verses – his disobedience. But what do these three verses say about God? First, God calls people into service. Jonah is called to preach to Nineveh. Second, God cares enough about people, no matter how good or bad they seem to be, to send people He calls to tell them about the hope, love, grace, and forgiveness available to them through Jesus Christ. Finally, although less obvious (it will become very clear later) no one can run from God.

Romans 10:13-15, says, “For WHOEVER WILL CALL ON THE NAME OF THE LORD WILL BE SAVED.” How then will they call on Him in whom they have not believed? How will they believe in Him whom they have not heard? And how will they hear without a preacher? How will they preach unless they are sent? Just as it is written, “HOW BEAUTIFUL ARE THE FEET OF THOSE WHO BRING GOOD NEWS OF GOOD THINGS!”

Notice the words in v.15, “Good news of good things.” I looked at what the Associated Press said were their top stories of 2011.  There were some items that people will consider good news while most people will consider it all bad. Here are the top news stories of 2011 according to AP.

1. OSAMA BIN LADEN’S DEATH: He’d been the world’s most-wanted terrorist for nearly a decade, ever since a team of his al-Qaida followers carried out the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001.  In May, the long and often-frustrating manhunt ended with a nighttime assault by a helicopter-borne special operations squad on his compound in Abbottabad, Pakistan. Bin Laden was shot dead by one of the raiders, and within hours his body was buried at sea.
2. JAPAN’S TRIPLE DISASTER: A 9.0 magnitude earthquake off Japan’s northeast coast in March unleashed a tsunami that devastated scores of communities, leaving nearly 20,000 people dead or missing and wreaking an estimated $218 billion in damage. The tsunami triggered the worst nuclear crisis since Chernobyl after waves knocked out the cooling system at a nuclear power plant, causing it to spew radiation that turned up in local produce. About 100,000 people evacuated from the area have not returned to their homes.
3. ARAB SPRING: It began with demonstrations in Tunisia that rapidly toppled the longtime strongman. Spreading like a wildfire, the Arab Spring protests sparked a revolution in Egypt that ousted Hosni Mubarak, fueled a civil war in Libya that climaxed with Moammar Gadhafi’s death, and fomented a bloody uprising in Syria against the Assad regime. Bahrain and Yemen also experienced major protests and unrest.
4. EU FISCAL CRISIS: The European Union was wracked by relentless fiscal turmoil. In Greece, austerity measures triggered strikes, protests and riots, while Italy’s economic woes toppled Premier Silvio Berlusconi. France and Germany led urgent efforts to ease the debt crisis; Britain balked at proposed changes.
5. U.S. ECONOMY: By some measures, the U.S. economy gained strength as the year progressed. Hiring picked up a bit, consumers were spending more, and the unemployment rate finally dipped below 9 percent. But millions of Americans remained buffeted by foreclosures, joblessness and benefit cutbacks, and investors were on edge monitoring the chain of fiscal crises in Europe.
6. PENN STATE SEX ABUSE SCANDAL: One of America’s most storied college football programs was tarnished in a scandal that prompted the firing of Hall of Fame football coach Joe Paterno. One of his former assistants, Jerry Sandusky, was accused of sexually molesting 10 boys; two senior Penn State officials were charged with perjury; and the longtime president was ousted. Paterno wasn’t charged, but expressed regret he didn’t do more after being told there was a problem.
7. GADHAFI TOPPLED IN LIBYA: After nearly 42 years of mercurial and often brutal rule, Moammar Gadhafi was toppled by his own people. Anti-government protests escalated into an eight-month rebellion, backed by NATO bombing, that shattered his regime, and Gadhafi finally was tracked down and killed in the fishing village where he was born.
8. FISCAL SHOWDOWNS IN CONGRESS: Partisan divisions in Congress led to several showdowns on fiscal issues. A fight over the debt ceiling prompted Standard & Poor’s to strip the U.S. of its AAA credit rating. Later, the so-called supercommittee failed to agree on a deficit-reduction package of at least $1.2 trillion – potentially triggering automatic spending cuts of that amount starting in 2013.
9. OCCUPY WALL STREET PROTESTS: It began Sept. 17 with a protest at a New York City park near Wall Street, and within weeks spread to scores of communities across the U.S. and abroad. The movement depicted itself as leaderless and shied away from specific demands, but succeeded in airing its complaint that the richest 1 percent of Americans benefit at the expense of the rest. As winter approached, local police dismantled several of the protest encampments.
10. GABRIELLE GIFFORDS SHOT: The popular third-term congresswoman from Arizona suffered a severe brain injury when she and 18 other people were shot by a gunman as she met with constituents outside a Tucson supermarket in January. Six people died, and Giffords’ painstaking recovery is still in progress.

Among the news events falling just short of the Top 10 were the death of Apple Inc. co-founder Steve Jobs, Hurricane Irene, the devastating series of tornados across Midwest and Southeastern U.S., and the repeal of the “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy that barred gays from serving openly in U.S. military. Those are just the top stories and there was not a single good news story. That’s the problem, we thrive on bad news.

As Christians, we’ve got some good news.

• It is good Jesus came to Earth.
• It is good Jesus declared his deity.
• It is good Jesus died.
• It is good Jesus conquered death.
• It is good Jesus destroyed the works of the devil.

Jesus said, “Because I live, you shall live also.”

As we think about a New Year, there’s going to be negative things or bad news that will be recognized at the end of the year.  As Christians, we don’t need to dwell on the negative, but accentuate the positive. Good news should be what God’s people think about.  When we get to the end of next year I am sure there will be several things as we look back in reflection that we can truly say were, “good news of good things.” As I look forward to the coming year, I think of several things that I would like to have take place:

I’d like to see people converted. God’s attitude toward the sinner is revealed in 1 Tim. 2:4:  “Who desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.” In America, we have decided that sin is relative.  There is no standard of conduct, but the Bible if very clear that we have a sin problem. Rom. 3:23 says, “For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God.” Is. 64:6 says, “For all of us have become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous deeds are like a filthy garment; And all of us wither like a leaf, And our iniquities, like the wind, take us away.” But that doesn’t mean Jesus doesn’t draw us to Him. John 6:44 says, “No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him; and I will raise him up on the last day.” God made a way through Christ. 2 Cor. 5:21 says, “He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.” We have been justification in Christ: we are declared righteous based on the merits of Jesus. We have been sanctified: Christ’s righteousness is applied to each of us every single day. It’s our responsibility to make sure that everyone knows they’re  welcome at the foot of the cross. John 6:37 says, “All that the Father gives Me will come to Me, and the one who comes to Me I will certainly not cast out.” “The Lord is not slow about His promise, as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing for any to perish but for all to come to repentance.”  (2 Peter 3:9) “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.”  (John 3:16) You don’t have to be a certain way to get Christ, come as you are.

I’d like to see God’s people passionate about ministry. Is. 44:22 says, “I have wiped out your transgressions like a thick cloud and your sins like a heavy mist. Return to Me, for I have redeemed you.” We need to turn back to the Lord. Why? We have a tendency to take things for granted. The things of God become common place so we look for what is new, what is flashy. We’re looking for a thrill. Some evangelicals would have you believe that man does not exist for God’s benefit, but that God exists for man’s benefit. God becomes this great provider in the sky rather than the One who is worthy of our worship. We are looking for God to serve us rather than for us to serve Him. A general commitment to Christ substitutes for repentance. Emotional feelings replace true worship. We tend to be foolish. Matt. 6:24 says, “No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and wealth.” To put anything above the Lord is foolish, but we do it all the time. I think few people would admit that, but our actions speak louder than our words. I’d like to see people get more involved in the opportunities we have here. We tend to be impatient which further separates us from God. America has developed into a nation that doesn’t want to work hard. At 30 years old, we want what our parents had when they were 65.

I’d like God’s people resist Satan. James says, “Submit yourselves therefore to God.  Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.” (Ja. 4:7) We cannot resist the devil in our own strength. We must first submit ourselves to God.  Then we can stand against Satan in the strength and might of the Lord Himself. Resist his destructive plans. Satan is a destroyer. He will try to destroy your home, your church relationship, your testimony, etc. Once you say yes to Satan, it becomes easier the next time, and easier. Satan’s way is never good, but unfortunately, even Christians are too ignorant to recognize this.

I’d like to see Jesus come back in 2012. Phil. 3:20 says, “For our citizenship is in heaven, from which also we eagerly wait for a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ.” Jesus promised in John 14:3, “If I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself, that where I am, there you may be also.” We’re too attached to this temporary home. We work to have things that will pass away. We spend the majority of our time on things that have no bearing on eternity.

What do you want to hear and see by the end of next year? How many will you share Christ with? How will you serve the Lord by serving others? Will you live the life of holiness God has called you to live? How authentic will you be?