When I revival breaks out should you not rejoice in the revival? God's grace and mercy demonstrated to people not in your neighborhood. When reading the story of Jonah one might ask who is God really revenging? As long as we can see God's revenge on this side we might see a little humor as well. Yet if this story was happening to you how would you feel. Often revenge is what one would like to do, but if one is wise they will not revenge, and only allow God to revenge in a situation. Every see the revenge of God and your not the one in the punishment seat, you need to be merciful, incase something worse befall you.

Jonah goes out side the city to wait to see if God would show mercy or still revenge Nineveh. It hot in desert land above the city. Hot enough that Jonah makes a crude shelter and God in his mercy grows a gourd that covers Jonah in his shelter and gives a cool shade, only for the next day a cankerworm eats that plant and leaves Jonah in heat that will cause one to faint. Jonah understands not because here is Nineveh full of sin and they repent and God's show mercy, but he goes outside the city and finds the revenge of natural force of worm and heat upon him. Then he gets angry with God for showing mercy to Nineveh, In fact so much so he wishes for death that does not come. He feeling his own plight but not his shame from experiencing the wrath of God for disobedience. After all he was in the belly of a fish three days for running away, but nothing happens to Nineveh.

How can we understand God's revenge or timing of revenge? Often we think it be merciful if one is judged by the laws of man then the law of God. How can we judge what God deems just for one, including else and another including ourself. Be better to feel the correction of God in one's life despite the fervent heat of a desert then to feel the wrath of God like Sodom and Gomorrah. Had Sodom and Gomorrah been warned and preached too? The king of Sodom we know had meet Abraham when Lot was kidnapped. There questions we may never have. Yet Jonah understood God shows mercy so the question is why preach? If God is full of grace and mercy enough to repent from his revenge, why even preach. God desires to give people time to turn away(repent) from sin. Repent means to turn away. God wants man to turn away from sin, so he speaks of his wrath. Jonah knew God's wrath and also mercy, but he did not know why they were shown more mercy then he was, nor why God would continue to revenge him on the hill above the city with the response of the fervent heat upon him after shading him the day before. Jonah loved destruction apparently, loved to see correction more then he love mercy. Yet he been on the back end of the whip of God himself.

God is speaking to Jonah why not forgive 120,000 people in a city, that can discern right or left. God was after the Father of Nineveh in the since the one to allow the city to rise. why not offer then mercy if they repent? After salvation did you sin, then you know worse then Nineveh. God offered his children in Nineveh the opportunity to repent and they did. Did not the king fear God? Jonah did he fear God, no he approached God and say I am angry you did nothing to Nineveh, but because of my anger you had my shade destroyed.

God loves each of us to the point he gives us all opportunity to repent. Especially before some judgment befalls. David was judged for his sin with Bathesheba but he had all kinds of combines and other women as wives. When our sin reaches heaven judgment will come upon our life. His love for us does not exempt us from his correction. Though at times we may feel we are being unjustly corrected, God loves his children enough to correct and to judge their actions. Some children take far less correction because they desire to get rid of sin in their life, while others continue in sin. Do not think that they will not be caught in their sin and corrected. It is better to pray that other's hearts will open to the need of repentance and that one's heart not be harden to the need of repentance.

Jonah looked for God's judgment. How many Christians wait for the day of Christ return only failing to see they are also looking for God's final judgment on this old world, where there be weeping and gnashing of teeth, but no repentance. Do we want God's judgment to come. Do we want his judgment in our life as well for desiring evilment of judgment without repentance and change. If our laws of our land worked on the guidelines of repentance no one would be in jail, all would repent to keep one out of being judge by others. Yet our land is based on laws that are not always applied to all, that not right either. God's judgment can be applied to all of us concerning our sin. Our sin will be corrected, or judgment will come. All sin and all fall short. The blood covering only protects against our eternal destination and us before the throne of God concerning our final destiny. For by grace ye are saved not by our works, should anyone boast.

Dear Heavenly Father, may your correction of children open their hearts to your truth through your word, that our punishments and correction in this life continues, even after salvation there is no evil in the church you are desigining and builing is purified by fire and blood, yet there is no more sacrifice for sin. In Jesus precious name, Amen.

Continual Scripture Study: Ephesians 2:1-22 KJV
1 And you hath he quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins;
2 Wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience:
3 Among whom also we all had our conversation in times past in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind; and were by nature the children of wrath, even as others.
4 But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us,
5 Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;)
6 And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus:
7 That in the ages to come he might shew the exceeding riches of his grace in his kindness toward us through Christ Jesus.
8 For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:
9 Not of works, lest any man should boast.
10 For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.
11 Wherefore remember, that ye being in time past Gentiles in the flesh, who are called Uncircumcision by that which is called the Circumcision in the flesh made by hands;
12 That at that time ye were without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope, and without God in the world:
13 But now in Christ Jesus ye who sometimes were far off are made nigh by the blood of Christ.
14 For he is our peace, who hath made both one, and hath broken down the middle wall of partition between us;
15 Having abolished in his flesh the enmity, even the law of commandments contained in ordinances; for to make in himself of twain one new man, so making peace;
16 And that he might reconcile both unto God in one body by the cross, having slain the enmity thereby:
17 And came and preached peace to you which were afar off, and to them that were nigh.
18 For through him we both have access by one Spirit unto the Father.
19 Now therefore ye are no more strangers and foreigners, but fellowcitizens with the saints, and of the household of God;
20 And are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner stone;
21 In whom all the building fitly framed together groweth unto an holy temple in the Lord:
22 In whom ye also are builded together for an habitation of God through the Spirit.