Jonah 2
New King James Version (NKJV)
2 Then Jonah prayed to the Lord his God from the fish’s belly. 2 And he said:

“I cried out to the Lord because of my affliction,
And He answered me.
“Out of the belly of Sheol I cried,
And You heard my voice.
3 For You cast me into the deep,
Into the heart of the seas,
And the floods surrounded me;
All Your billows and Your waves passed over me.
4 Then I said, ‘I have been cast out of Your sight;
Yet I will look again toward Your holy temple.’
5 The waters surrounded me, even to my soul;
The deep closed around me;
Weeds were wrapped around my head.
6 I went down to the moorings of the mountains;
The earth with its bars closed behind me forever;
Yet You have brought up my life from the pit,
O Lord, my God.
7 “When my soul fainted within me,
I remembered the Lord;
And my prayer went up to You,
Into Your holy temple.
8 “Those who regard worthless idols
Forsake their own Mercy.
9 But I will sacrifice to You
With the voice of thanksgiving;
I will pay what I have vowed.
Salvation is of the Lord.”
10 So the Lord spoke to the fish, and it vomited Jonah onto dry land.

Yesterday we saw Esther, a beautiful young orphan who had been crowned queen, then asked to do an impossible task. Although she was afraid she knew her strength came from the LORD so she asked others to pray with her so she would have courage to do what God wanted her to. The truth is not all of us are Esthers. Many of us chose to run if the task is too frightening, too difficult, or might require more than we are willing to give.

It is not comfortable to admit but many times I have been more like Jonah. God told Jonah to go to Nineveh and tell them that they were sinning and God was not going to stand for it any longer (Jonah 1:1-2). Jonah did not want to do what God had asked him to do. Nineveh was the center of the Assyrian Empire, enemies of the Israelites. Jonah was probably afraid of the consequences that could come from delivering such a message to one's enemy. Chapter 4 of the book of Jonah gives us some more insight into another reason Jonah is reluctant to go; he knows God is "a gracious God and merciful, slow to anger and of great kindness, and [when sinners turn to You and meet Your conditions] You revoke the [sentence of] evil against them." (Jonah 4:2b AMP). Jonah finds a ship headed in the opposite direction and sees it as a perfect escape so he takes it.

We often find ourselves in the midst of raging storms when we are out of God's will; storms that not only affect our lives but the lives of those around us as well. Just like Jonah we can be oblivious to the raging storm we have caused until someone points it out to us, then we have a choice, apologize and admit our wrong doing or continued denial. The good news is that when we admit our wrong doing God rescues us! God did not allow Jonah to drown when he took ownership of his sin. He sent a big fish to rescue Jonah from drowning, then when  Jonah repented and was ready to submit his will to God, God had the fish spit Jonah onto dry land.  Did you see the rescue was a big fish? Most of us would not see three days in the belly of a fish as being rescued but Jonah 1:6 assures us that Jonah did. Take heart Beloved, even if you are enduring a raging storm of your own making or find yourself in a pit you dug yourself, God loves you  and longs to rescue you! Fall on your knees in prayer, confess all to the One who made you and loves you more than any other then give Him thanks even if the rescue does not seem like a rescue right now! God is faithful!

Father, You rescue me from the pit and set my feet on solid ground. Your mercy and compassion are unmeasured.You call to me and pursue me even when I am running from You, that is how great Your love is for me! Father help me to hear Your voice and respond obediently and when I don't help me to be like Jonah and recognize my folly immediately and turn back to You! You alone are God, You alone are my salvation! In Jesus saving name, amen.

Today's Daily Devotion

Today's Devotion is brought to you by prayer team member Bobbi Heffel

From Trial to Triumph

Luke 23:26-43

The Crucifixion

 ²⁶ As they led him away, they seized Simon from Cyrene, who was on his way in from the country, and put the cross on him and made him carry it behind Jesus. ²⁷ A large number of people followed him, including women who mourned and wailed for him. ²⁸ Jesus turned and said to them, “Daughters of Jerusalem, do not weep for me; weep for yourselves and for your children. ²⁹ For the time will come when you will say, ‘Blessed are the barren women, the wombs that never bore and the breasts that never nursed!’ ³⁰ Then “‘they will say to the mountains, “Fall on us!” and to the hills, “Cover us!”’

   ³¹ For if men do these things when the tree is green, what will happen when it is dry?”

 ³² Two other men, both criminals, were also led out with him to be executed. ³³ When they came to the place called the Skull, there they crucified him, along with the criminals—one on his right, the other on his left. ³⁴ Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.  And they divided up his clothes by casting lots.

 ³⁵ The people stood watching, and the rulers even sneered at him. They said, “He saved others; let him save himself if he is the Christ of God, the Chosen One.”

 ³⁶ The soldiers also came up and mocked him. They offered him wine vinegar ³⁷ and said, “If you are the king of the Jews, save yourself.”

 ³⁸ There was a written notice above him, which read: THIS IS THE KING OF THE JEWS.

 ³⁹ One of the criminals who hung there hurled insults at him: “Aren’t you the Christ? Save yourself and us!”

 ⁴⁰ But the other criminal rebuked him. “Don’t you fear God,” he said, “since you are under the same sentence? ⁴¹ We are punished justly, for we are getting what our deeds deserve. But this man has done nothing wrong.”

 ⁴² Then he said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.”

 ⁴³ Jesus answered him, “I tell you the truth, today you will be with me in paradise.”

John 19:25-27

Behold Your Mother

 ²⁵ Near the cross of Jesus stood his mother, his mother’s sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene. ²⁶ When Jesus saw his mother there, and the disciple whom he loved standing nearby, he said to his mother, “Dear woman, here is your son,” ²⁷ and to the disciple, “Here is your mother.” From that time on, this disciple took her into his home.

Matthew 27:45-50

The Death of Jesus

 ⁴⁵ From the sixth hour until the ninth hour darkness came over all the land. ⁴⁶ About the ninth hour Jesus cried out in a loud voice, “Eloi, Eloi    lama sabachthani?”—which means, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”

 ⁴⁷ When some of those standing there heard this, they said, “He’s calling Elijah.”

 ⁴⁸ Immediately one of them ran and got a sponge. He filled it with wine vinegar, put it on a stick, and offered it to Jesus to drink. ⁴⁹ The rest said, “Now leave him alone. Let’s see if Elijah comes to save him.”

 ⁵⁰ And when Jesus had cried out again in a loud voice, he gave up his spirit. 

Sometimes we find ourselves in a situation that is out of control, unbearable, painful.  Sometimes we feel beat down and ready to give up. We have been hanging on to the last knot in our rope and Friday just won’t get here soon enough. What do we do? How do we go on? 

We follow the example of Jesus. The pain he endured on the cross was unbearable but he knew the Father had a purpose in it. Jesus endured the pain while still thinking of his mother’s needs and making arrangements for her future needs. He had physically been beaten to beyond recognition yet he didn’t hold malice toward the ones who attacked him. Better yet, he asked for forgiveness for the ones that had abused him. While hanging on to humanity and the life left in his body he never called upon the armies of angles at his disposal to rescue him. He lived out that situation knowing that was what he was born for and, that there was a great purpose in it. 

Whatever you are going through God is there with you in the midst of it. As out of control as it seems, he knows about it and he is in control of it. He will use it to refine you and bring you closer to him, if you allow him to. Remember that you aren’t the only one hurting. Reach out to others and help them however you can. Forgive the ones that have hurt you and are currently hurting you. Hang on until God tells you otherwise. We don’t always know why he created us, the task he has for us, or the prosperity he has for us around the next corner. We do know he loves us and we can trust him. “For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” (Jeremiah 29:10-12)

Today’s Prayer

Father, here we are at the holiday season. Everything is decked out for Christmas and everywhere we look hearts and faces are aglow. As wonderful as this time of the year is it can leave us feeling lonely and filled with pain. Lord I pray for those of us who need your loving touch, a fresh filling of your joy, that we would experience your presence anew. Lord, take these things that grab us, hold us or bind us and put them in perspective so that we may leave them at your feet. Holy is you name! You are worthy to receive all glory, power and honor! Thank you for all you have done on our behalf and all you are still doing. Merry Christmas! We love you too! Amen

All scripture used today is from the New International Version 1984 (NIV1984) http://www.biblegateway.com/

Today's Daily Devotional

Today's Inspiration by Dream Team Member Shelley Brandon
John 14:9-17

9 “As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love. 10 If you keep my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commands and remain in his love. 11 I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete. 12 My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you. 13 Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. 14 You are my friends if you do what I command. 15 I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master’s business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you. 16 You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you so that you might go and bear fruit—fruit that will last—and so that whatever you ask in my name the Father will give you. 17 This is my command: Love each other.

Romans 7:14-25

14 We know that the law is spiritual; but I am unspiritual, sold as a slave to sin. 15 I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do. 16 And if I do what I do not want to do, I agree that the law is good. 17 As it is, it is no longer I myself who do it, but it is sin living in me. 18 For I know that good itself does not dwell in me, that is, in my sinful nature.[c] For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out. 19 For I do not do the good I want to do, but the evil I do not want to do—this I keep on doing. 20 Now if I do what I do not want to do, it is no longer I who do it, but it is sin living in me that does it.

21 So I find this law at work: Although I want to do good, evil is right there with me. 22 For in my inner being I delight in God’s law; 23 but I see another law at work in me, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin at work within me. 24 What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body that is subject to death? 25 Thanks be to God, who delivers me through Jesus Christ our Lord!

So then, I myself in my mind am a slave to God’s law, but in my sinful nature[d] a slave to the law of sin.

Today’s song is another Josh Groban tune called “Higher Window”. Like yesterday, I’m renaming the song “Paul’s Song”

The two scripture passages may not appear to go together but for me they do. Jesus is telling his disciples in John that we are to love one another. When we love one another, when we love each other enough to share our Savior with them our joy is certain, it is promised. When we love each other and serve each other we reach beyond our human tendency to focus on ourselves.

When I’m working on a particularly detailed yarn project my eyes focus solely on the work in my hands. They are so absorbed in the tiny details in my hands that when I look up everything else around me is blurry. We do this on a spiritual level as well, focus on our own lives, our own issues so intently and completely that when we look outside ourselves the rest of the world is blurry. Jesus is telling us to focus outside our own bodies and love the ones God has placed in our lives.

Now I will attempt to tie this all together. Paul was so focused on persecuting that he missed Jesus altogether. He didn’t love; his heart was full of hatred. Christ removed Paul’s eyesight so that Paul might see. Even after his encounter with the living Christ, Paul struggled with his humanity. “15 I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do.” He did however love. Paul loved Jesus so much that he found joy in the worst of circumstances in order to teach the world around him about his Savior.

Now as to the song; I can picture Paul after his blinding experience in the presence of Jesus. On his knees, asking what Jesus wanted him to do and pleading, “Don’t tell me it’s too late to love you!” How many times have those words echoed from lost souls throughout history. On our knees before the Lord, broken, lost, alone and desperate, “Please Jesus, don’t tell me it’s too late to love you!”

Most Holy God, we give you thanks for the Light from a Higher Window… your love shining down on us. Help us to share your light with everyone we meet. Help us to keep your love in us shining and visible as a living testimony to your truth. Keep us ever mindful of what we ought to be doing to help us remember that you have freed us from bondage with the gift of your son. In Jesus’ name… Amen.

Thanks Diane: Jon V guest blogger

First off, thank you Diane for allowing me to share my poetry! I'm a guest writer and my name is Jonathan Vasgar. I pray that the poems and thoughts will be a blessing. The first poem is one God gave me in a low point in my life. God bless, hope you enjoy.

Face of God
by Jonathan Vasgar

Trials are a hard thing, they tear out your heart.
They leave you torn and broken, ripped apart.
We cry out to God for answers, seeking to understand.
We forget to seek the face of God, instead we look to His hand.

Some of us have relationship trouble, heart broken in two.
Some of us have financial woes, no clue what to do.
Some of us are hit with terrible disease, such as cancer.
Remember, seek the face of God, for He knows the answer.

He knows our every desires, our goals, ambition-
Seek the face of God, He'll bring them to fruition.
He understand your struggle, confusion, and woe-
But seek the face of God, He'll show you where to go.

Don't doubt God's love, tenderness, or care.
Seek the face of God, He'll always be there.

America’s Best Kept Secret

Fellowship of Christian Athletes is grateful to announce a powerful partnership with Second Chance with Saving Grace

May 26, 2009 – SCwSG is a non-profit 501c(3) organization that reaches out to hurting people and animals wherever they may be found. SCwSG impacts the world by focusing on serving others, equipping, empowering and encouraging everyone to be all God created them to be. They visit schools, churches, children's hospitals, prisoners, civic organizations, wherever they are invited, delivering an inspiring message of Hope with Love Kits of Encouragement!

Diane Dike, Ph.D., the founder of SCwSG and the co-founder of the Spiritual Tsunami, has teamed up with FCA to travel the Nation to challenge and motivate our "Huddles." All age groups connect with Diane who knows what it is to be broken, homeless and hopeless. She was an elite athlete and coach but in her twenties, Diane was diagnosed with a painful, debilitating and incurable blood disease. She was devastated and lost all that was important to her, including her athletic abilities. Thinking she was better off dead than disabled she contemplated suicide. However, in the midst of her despair, Diane received the transforming love of Jesus. Through this experience she learned the secret to happiness and that God still has a purpose and plan for her life even if her body is broken.

She is an expert in perseverance and overcoming seemingly insurmountable obstacles. The disease turned into a gift that allows her to captivate the corporate executive, the athlete, the coach, the prisoner... she is Satan's worst nightmare because she will not give up! She challenges us all to realize with God nothing is impossible because he's given us the tools to meet life's challenges and be the winner He created us to be no matter what! She's experienced terrible tragedy yet she prevails with her husband, God's love and her adorable rescued Italian Greyhound Service Dog, Gracie. Diane's dedicated her remaining days to being a light in the darkness giving God all the glory. America’s best kept secret is sharing hope and encouragement everywhere she goes and will dare you to do the same.

We appreciate Diane's desire to partner with our efforts to spread the love of Jesus and minister at our events across this great Nation. Please visit her web site: www.DianeDike.org to learn more about her inspiring ministry and influential books including, The Adventures of Gracie and Diane, series and God Made Only One of Me (foreword by Michael W. Smith). We know you will fall in love with her and Gracie, just like we did. To schedule them for your next event please contact,DianeDike@aol.com

As Diane always says, "Stay Strong and Courageous!"
Your FCA & SCwSG Team
# # #

SCwSG is a non-profit 501c(3) organization started by Paul and Diane Dike, Ph.D. with their life's savings. Diane Dike is an award-winning author, speaker, singer. Together they reach out to hurting people and animals wherever they may be found. SCwSG impacts the world by focusing on serving others, equipping, empowering, educating and encouraging everyone to be all God created them to be. They visit schools, churches, children's hospitals, prisoners, civic organizations, wherever they are invited, delivering an inspiring message of Hope with Love Kits of Encouragement! See their interesting books for children and adults or schedule this dynamic duo to speak to your group today by email or: www.DianeDike.org

Perseverence

Just about every failure, trouble, challenge has a second chance if we keep our eyes on Jesus. He’ll keep us strong and courageous in GOD's saving grace so we can persevere...

It's a great day to be alive! Maybe it's the fresh fruit, getting more sunshine, my therapy tub arriving any minute now (a year after I ordered it), or surviving a hit and run car accident after a great Tsunami Extravaganza weekend... but I'm feeling revved up and thankful.

I have trouble sleeping and since the accident it’s been near impossible but finally last night I was out until this morning! Whoooeeee Praise the Lord for sleeeeeeep.

I'm reading several books right now one being, Prayers That Outwit the Enemy by Church D. Pierce. Yesterday I woke up to:

Today's Turning Point with David Jeremiah - Thursday, June 4

If I Were Satan

Away with you, Satan! For it is written, "You shall worship the LORD your God, and Him only you shall serve." Matthew 4:10

Several years ago the Baptist preacher, Herschel Ford, preached a sermon titled, If I Were Satan. In his message, Ford said, "If I Were Satan, I Would: (1) Deceive People as to Myself; (2) Make Sin Attractive; (3) Hinder God's Word; (4) Try to Destroy the Power of the Churches; (5) Make Church Members Stumble; (6) Try to Give the World Another Gospel; (7) Get People to Give Excuses."

Think of it this way: If you were Satan, how would you trip you up? He studies the patterns of our lives, probes our weaknesses, knows our failures, and designs ingenious traps for our souls.

We are protected by the blood of the Lamb, but we also have a handful of
infallible strategies--reading the Word of God, memorizing and meditating on it daily; prayer, which is entering into God's presence; the availability of
friends who can hold us accountable; the joy of being about our Father's
business; and the Spirit-given ability to say "No" as temptation strikes.

If I were Satan, I wouldn't like those things!

There are some who say that there is no Devil, but if they would try to live
just one day for God they would know that the Devil does exist. -Herschel Ford


This goes along with what I’m reading and thought I’d share it with you. I'm overwhelmed with God's faithfulness and amazed at how he takes care of all the details. I’m reminded of how to be ready for the daily battles and that every failure has a second chance... We only have to be strong and courageous in GOD's saving grace to persevere...

INVITATIONS
The invitations to share our message of hope in spite of continual challenges are coming in for the summer and fall. I like to be ready for whatever God wants me to share during these treasured events. So reading and daily devotions mean so much to me as I feel God is speaking through them.

During yesterday’s morning devotion God answered a question that I often contemplate in my deepest place… Many loving friends try to get me to healing services so that I can get fixed. I’ve been sick for 20 years so I’ve been to a few.
Through my friend Kathie Lee Gifford on the 700 club:

Terry Meeuwsen asked her about a conversation with Cardinal O’Connor where he talked about the value of suffering.

Kathie Lee said, “He looked at me, and he said, ‘Kathie, remember that our Lord did not change this world so much through His miracles as through His suffering. If you are willing to suffer this injustice for His sake, imagine how God can use you to change the suffering of people who really are in sweat shops around the world.’ I’ve never felt so ashamed of myself in my life.”

“Our Lord did not change this world so much through His miracles as through His suffering.” WOW! I do not even begin to say I understand much of God’s plans but I’ve got my eyes on Jesus. Whether He heals me or not like Peter I hope to walk on water because the circumstances I deal with may come and go but my faith, hope and trust in Him never will… If He can use my present suffering for any good at all I offer it all to Him to do so that in my weakness He can be strong. His grace is sufficient... I’m seeking the Healer more than the healing.

I hope you are encouraged today to stay strong and courageous even if you feel you have failed, if you are suffering or if you are discouraged because with Christ there is hope. There is a second chance with His saving grace. So persevere on-you are not alone. He’s got your back if you will trust and obey.

Stay Strong and Courageous!
Your Friend, Diane
www.Diane Dike.org

America's Best Kept Secret

Press Release: America’s Best Kept Secret