Rebellious Prophet - Jonah

If I were to write a book about a rebellious prophet, one of my first choices would be JONAH.


Just read the first chapter of Jonah in the Old Testament of the Bible.

Notice how many times Jonah did exactly the opposite of what God told him to do.
Notice his emotions.
Notice the predicaments he faces.
Notice how God never gives up on Jonah even when Jonah would rather die than live.

Good grief, now that is a faithful and persistent God for sure.

The chapter is only 17 verses and I happen to enjoy the old King James Version for its poetic language. And Chapter 1 is only the beginning of Jonah's trials and tribulations as he rebels against being called to be a prophet.

I invite you to read the first chapter. Like potato chips ... I bet you can't read/eat just one. More compelling than the hottest sci-fi flick around.

The difference is... YOU provide the special effects with your imagination.

My question to you is what would YOU do if God told you to go and tell a whole city to stop being evil and turn instead to worship the God of Israel?

I imagine I might hide behind a rock in the desert. Even as Jonah went the absolute opposite direction and went to sea instead. Its a great story full of paradoxes and images. Enjoy. Listen and Learn.

Jonah Chapter 1

At the Earth's Core - Prologue

EDGAR RICE BURROUGHS was an American Author most known for the Tarzan series. He lived from 1875-1950. Those were days filled with change for sure! Including 2 major World Wars! And enormous social and economical changes. Consider that when you read his work.

His novel At the Earth's Core was published in 1914 so the language and nuances are often humorous today, though quite appropo at the time. This book is in the public domain so you can easily read it from the Project Gutenberg source. One of the options there is an audible book.

To whet your appetite, I share the prologue here. I am enjoying relaxation with this first in a series he wrote, including a visit to the Earth's Core by Tarzan, a few years later.

Enjoy.

At the Earth's Core
by Edgar Rice Burroughs

PROLOGUE

IN THE FIRST PLACE PLEASE BEAR IN MIND THAT I do not
expect you to believe this story. Nor could you wonder
had you witnessed a recent experience of mine when,
in the armor of blissful and stupendous ignorance,
I gaily narrated the gist of it to a Fellow of the Royal
Geological Society on the occasion of my last trip to London.

You would surely have thought that I had been detected
in no less a heinous crime than the purloining of the Crown
Jewels from the Tower, or putting poison in the coffee
of His Majesty the King.

The erudite gentleman in whom I confided congealed
before I was half through!--it is all that saved him
from exploding--and my dreams of an Honorary Fellowship,
gold medals, and a niche in the Hall of Fame faded into
the thin, cold air of his arctic atmosphere.

But I believe the story, and so would you, and so would
the learned Fellow of the Royal Geological Society, had you
and he heard it from the lips of the man who told it to me.
Had you seen, as I did, the fire of truth in those gray eyes;
had you felt the ring of sincerity in that quiet voice;
had you realized the pathos of it all--you, too, would believe.
You would not have needed the final ocular proof that I
had--the weird rhamphorhynchus-like creature which he
had brought back with him from the inner world.

I came upon him quite suddenly, and no less unexpectedly,
upon the rim of the great Sahara Desert. He was standing
before a goat-skin tent amidst a clump of date palms within
a tiny oasis. Close by was an Arab douar of some eight
or ten tents.

I had come down from the north to hunt lion. My party
consisted of a dozen children of the desert--I was the only
"white" man. As we approached the little clump of verdure
I saw the man come from his tent and with hand-shaded eyes
peer intently at us. At sight of me he advanced rapidly
to meet us.

"A white man!" he cried. "May the good Lord be praised! I
have been watching you for hours, hoping against hope that
THIS time there would be a white man. Tell me the date.
What year is it?"

And when I had told him he staggered as though he had
been struck full in the face, so that he was compelled
to grasp my stirrup leather for support.

"It cannot be!" he cried after a moment. "It cannot be!
Tell me that you are mistaken, or that you are but joking."

"I am telling you the truth, my friend," I replied.
"Why should I deceive a stranger, or attempt to, in so
simple a matter as the date?"

For some time he stood in silence, with bowed head.

"Ten years!" he murmured, at last. "Ten years, and I
thought that at the most it could be scarce more than one!"
That night he told me his story--the story that I give you
here as nearly in his own words as I can recall them.

Consider the location. The TIME when it was written and the formality in the desert! I found this to be the beginning of an odd and interesting tale.

Olive Plants: Birding 101: Introduction

Olive Plants: Birding 101: Introduction This is an excellent collection of birding guides from the perspective of an active homeschooling Mom with 2 very active boys.

I visited their blog and loved it. I invite them to visit my Birding Guides Blog and my Birds and Binoculars site. We share many interesting aspects of our lives in these blogs. My thanks to all of them.

A Most Unusual Birding Guide

Pete Dunne's Essential Field Guide Companion:
A Comprehensive Resource for Identifying North American Birds

is most certainly the most unusual "birding guide" I have encountered outside of historical research materials. It has no pictures. It is truly designed to be a companion to your field guide not to serve as one.

I loved exploring this endearing book. The man thinks like I do! He birds like I do! Holistic approach, he calls it the Cape May School of Birding. Perhaps it is.

I see it simply as a broad brush view of the entire scene, the habit, the habitat, the flight pattern, the colors, etc. No one taught me to do that. But if I get a copy of this book for my own use, I will surely seek the author's autograph in Cape May County, New Jersey!

Pete Dunne's Essential Field Guide Companion:
A Comprehensive Resource for Identifying North American Birds

Holy Discontent

What is YOUR Holy Discontent?
Bill Hybels spoke at the Hour of Power tonight. It was powerful.

You can pick up a copy of his book at Amazon from the sidebar on the right.>>>

Listen to your heart. What is it that you JUST CAN"T STAND ANYMORE??
And what will you do about it. Moses went through it. David went through it.

In popular times... POPEYE went through it to rescue his beloved Olive Oyl.

Bill Pierce went thru it to found World Vision to feed starving children.

Bill Hybels is wrecked when he sees dysfunctional or dying churches. He seeks to build
churches built on the model of the early church in Acts 2.

The message is strong. and when YOUR Holy Discontent is stirred and you must do something, will you be prepared. Pick up the book. or Go to Hour of Power. to see the presentation.

I have confirmed my holy discontent and will act upon it tomorrow. See my blog.

PRAYING TO CHANGE YOUR LIFE

by Suzette T. Caldwell

What do you say when you pray?
What is the purpose for praying?
Since the Lord knows what we need before we pray, why pray at all?
These are questions that have been asked over the centuries.
Praying to Change Your Life will answer these questions and more.
This exciting must read book will help to demystify prayer
and empower the believer to pray prayers that produce results.

I just heard her speak at the Hour of Power on America's Televised Church.

Click on the image of the book to link to her website to order this book.
I do not get a commission on it . It is simply something worth doing.

See also the prayer for our nation and video of her presentation.

Have you read LUKE CHAPTER 2 ?

The Christmas Story It's a BOY!

Name: JESUS Born in Bethlehem Announced by Angels Adored by Shepherds He Came in Love to Be Love for all who believe. He came to serve and live among the ordinary people and teach them extraordinary ways of being and living. As he loved us he invites us to love him and live as he did with simplicity and humility.

painting by Dewey Full story found in Luke Chapter 2

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