Those particular people made a few mistakes in their thinking. Even though they were noted for showing unusual kindness the islanders mentioned in Acts 28 made some mistakes.

1. The islanders thought Paul was a murderer because bad things happened to him.
2. The islanders expected Paul to die from the snake bite.
3. When they realized Paul didn’t die they then thought he was a God.

How many times have you assumed things that were wrong?  If you are like me you’ve had your share of believing that evil things only happen to evil people.  That is a lie. 

We do know that evil people will receive a just reward for  their wicked ways. Some times judgment comes on wicked people before they meet their maker. We must also be aware of the fact that bad things happen to good people, too.  Sometimes God intervenes with some sort of miracle like he did for Paul in Acts 28. This story was important enough for God to inspire man to have it written so we can still read & learn from it today.

Paul had given his life to the Lord.  He was doing all that he knew was right and good.  In this story we can see that Paul was working hard to gather brushwood for the fire.  A viper bit him hanging on to his hand.  We live on this earth and there are spiders, snakes,  & other things that can bring us harm. 

How many times have you heard of how God stepped in to stay the hand of the enemy?  How many miracles do you know that have happened during your own lifetime?  God is still alive today.  He is still performing miracles.  Some times a person gets cancer & they live longer than expected.  Some times they leave this earth much quicker, too.  We must not become the type of people that assume we know it all & we understand it all.  God’s ways are higher than our ways.  His thoughts are wiser than ours, too.  Let us keep God on the throne and let Him handle things His way.  Let’s keep trusting Him no matter what we hear or see.  Let’s keep from passing judgment too quickly when bad tidings come a person’s way.

I’ve already addressed the issue of people assuming a person must have done something wrong just because something bad happens to them.  I’ve also shared a bit of how I feel about God’s control over life & death.  The islanders in Acts 28 are not the only people that think they know when a person is going to kill over.  The last wrong thoughts the islanders had were when they began to believe that Paul was a God because he didn’t die after the viper bit him.

Just because God’s anointing or blessing is on a man is no reason to lift the man up. We are to have no other Gods before the one true God.  Do not lift up the gifts or the blessed ones too highly.  God says we are to have no other Gods before Him.  No one must be more important to you than the most High God.

A dear Christian friend & I talked about Job.  Job is another person that had his very own friends become like miserable comforters to him.  He did all that he believed is right and good and his friends tried to blame him for his woes.  If you love Jesus and you love your friends do not be too quick to judge them.

You can judge the fruit of their lives.  If they walk around telling lies and cheating/stealing from people and doing things that you know God does not want them to do it is right and good to speak up against evil.  If they claim to know the Lord & they are not following after His ways then the Word of God clearly says to steer clear of them.  If they speak using foul language you know God’s Word says that blessings and curses should not come from the same mouth.  If they do things that you know are clearly wrong you are able to judge the fruit they are showing.  That is allowed.  Just don’t try to take the place of God and judge their hearts by the things that happen to them.

Good people and bad people get rain.  Good people and bad people may have misfortunate things happen to them.  We live in a fallen world.  The circumstances of life are not proper ways to discern whether or not a person is walking with God.

Do you know there will be poor people on this earth as long as we are living in it?  You can’t judge a person by the type of clothes they wear or the car they drive. 

People do make mistakes.  I’ve made plenty of mistakes.  I’m grateful to God for helping me learn that it is wrong for us to pass judgment on others based on circumstances or the amount of money they have in their pocket.  I pray you will join me in asking God to help Christian people wake up to some of the  mistakes they’ve made in the past so they won’t make nearly as many in the future.  With God we can be overcomers.  We can stop judging by circumstances.

I won’t neglect to add something else.  Please read what I wrote above and know that God loves a just scale.  God likes things to be balanced.  No one can balance things better than He can.  Please also recall that there are times God will pass judgment on a person because they have done evil things.  There are times He may let them eat the bitter fruit of having their own way.  When He allows things like that to happen He will make it work for good.  We just have to remember that no one can make all things work together for good the way He can.  Let’s let Him continue being the judge of all.

^“Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me. In my Father’s house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you.And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also.And whither I go ye know, and the way ye know.Thomas saith unto him, Lord, we know not whither thou goest; and how can we know the way?Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.” John 14:1-6

Jesus promises us that the truth will set us free.  It happens.  Freedom comes to those who walk in truth.  You cannot serve two masters.  Follow the Lord in the land of the living.  Serve Him with gladness.  Tell the truth & walk with the truth for your very life everlasting depends upon this.

The enemy of God has lied to you making you think it’s okay to tell lies.  It is not okay to tell lies.  If you follow God wholeheartedly then you will tell the truth and keep telling the truth.  The truth is what will set you free from the lies of the enemy.

I sang a little song last night that I clung to months ago.  I sang, “O Lord, please set us free from the tricks on the enemy.”  One of the major schemes the enemy uses is the spirit of lies.  satan lied to Eve in the garden.  That lie is what started the fall of man. 

The spirit of lies has also moved through prophets of old.  In the book of Jeremiah you can read about the false prophets and the true prophets of God.  The true prophets were the ones that told the truth even if it didn’t please people when they heard the truth.  The false prophets just said things they knew people wanted to  hear. 

There is a warning against the false prophets in the book of Ezekiel.  God does not want people to speak forth wrong things.  God wants His people to declare words of truth.  Deception does not come from God.

Healing and deliverance will come to those who walk on the straight and narrow path that leads to life.  Those who walk on the good path will turn away from evil.  When you turn away from evil you will quit lying.  I believe there are some people crying out to God for deliverance from evil.  I believe there are some that may have to totally be free of the spirit of lies in order to be set free.  It may be the only way they will ever know peace.  It may be the only way they receive total healing from God. 

Liars will not be in the Holy City.  Revelation 21:8, “But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death.”

The only hope for these sinners is if they grab hold of the truth turning from evil ways so they can live. 

If you were engaged to a wonderful person and you know that person would be faithful and true to you you wouldn’t want to do anything to ruin that relationship.  You would love them and tell them you loved them.  You would do everything possible to keep them.  If you then married them and the relationship was destroyed because you stopped showing them love and because you started lying to them all the time you would have no one to blame but yourself for losing them.  That is the way it will be for those that don’t turn away from evil before they meet their maker. 

The truth will set you free.  Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life; no man comes to the Father but by Him.  If you want to sincerely walk with God you may follow Jesus.  Being a follower of Jesus means you will be a doer of the Word not a hearer only.  You will be saved by grace because salvation cannot be earned.  You will also walk in truth because you love the truth. 

Those who love the Lord hate evil.  Those who love God hate injustice.  Those who love the Lord hate evil deeds.  Those who love the Lord hate lies.

Take the truth and bind it around your neck so it will protect you.  Take words of truth and let them flow from your mouth.  Determine in your heart that you will abide in God’s Word.  Determine in your heart that nothing will separate you from telling the truth thereby abiding in God’s love. 

If you want peace that passes understanding to be yours at all times walk in the truth.  Speak the truth in love.  Speak the truth at all times.  Do not turn to the right or to the left.  Walk on the straight and narrow path that leads to life.

I copied the key beliefs first then I will give an example of a prayer someone may want to recite from their heart as they speak to God about salvation.

• You must believe in God the creator of the Universe. 
• You must believe that God sent Jesus HIS SON to this earth when God allowed Mary to conceive  this Child by the power of the Holy Ghost when the Spirit of God came upon her.  YES – This is the Virgin who conceived.  She is the Only virgin that conceived a child.
• You must believe that Jesus walked on this earth and you must know that HE did not sin. 
• You must also believe that Jesus freely gave up His life for us when He allowed himself to be nailed to that cross.  He died on the cross for our sins.
• You must believe God raised Jesus from the dead after the three days.
• You must confess (speak it unashamedly) what you believe about Jesus.  Read Romans 10  and see what God’s Word says about confessing what you believe.  [For those that don't already know this now you can understand why a true believer needs to confess what they believe]

Sinners need to pray this way:

Dear God,  I have sinned.  I have done so many things wrong I know I need your forgiveness in my life.  Please forgive me, clean me up like it says in I John 1:9 that you will do if we confess our sins.  Clean me up, Lord.  Help me walk with you and do the right things from now on. I ask these things in Jesus mighty name. 

Believer’s pray – Lord God,  I believe You are the creator of the Universe.   I also believe the following facts found in the Word of God: I believe You sent YOUR  SON, JESUS,  to this earth when God allowed Mary to conceive  this Child by the power of the Holy Ghost when the Spirit of God came upon her.  YES, I do believe in the virgin birth.  I believe Jesus walked on this earth and that he did not sin. I believe Jesus died on the cross for my sins. I believe God raised Jesus from the dead after 3 days.  I will confess with my mouth for I believe in my heart that Jesus Christ is Lord. Thank-You,  God for setting me free from the power of sin  & death.  I am now a believer in the Lord Jesus Christ.  I’m trusting in You & the power of Your Word for salvation.  Please help me start my life over doing those things that please You most.  Help me keep faithful to reading and hearing Your Holy Word.  Help me have the light & the love of Jesus Christ flow through me so others will glorify You.

It reminded me of God’s great power.  God is all powerful.  He is the Highest ruler! 

You know why people get excited when they hear songs that remind us that our God reigns.  Christians that love the Lord with all their hearts bask in the words that flow about how good our God is.  Songs of adoration  &   Praise come forth from our lips because we know the words of adoration are true.

No one is greater than our God.

He holds our lives in the palm of his hands.  He commands the wind & the rain to obey Him.  God sent His Son, Jesus, to help us.  When Jesus walked on this earth he was here in human form but it didn’t stop him from performing miracles.

Jesus left the earth but He told us we (make note of who WE are—>believers in the Lord Jesus Christ) would have power to do certain things.

I’m posting Mark Chapter 16 at the end of this writing so you can review the words of JESUS.  

Look at the things God can do.  Read what signs will follow those who believe.  Do you really believe in God?  Have you accepted Jesus Christ as your personal Savior? The signs listed in Mark 16 will follow those who believe.

You may ask why I mentioned Isaiah 14 at the beginning of this writing.  When I read Isaiah 14 I was reminded of the one that opposes God.  There is one called Lucifer who thought he would ascend above the heights of the clouds &  be like the most High.  That one will be brought down to the pit instead.  He thought he was going to overpower God.

The deceiver would love to keep as many people deceived as possible.  We know he wants company in the pits of hell.  It seems as though he works very hard to get as many people deluded as possible.  The enemy will use greed, power trips, drugs, alcohol, sex sin, and anything else he can use to keep a person from truly getting closer to God.  As long as a person does not see their need for the Savior it is possible they will keep doing things the way they’ve always done things.  It is possible they will end up in the pit of destruction with the enemy of God.

God paved the way for sinners to be saved by grace.  It’s a free gift of God that cannot be earned.  Yet this free gift is ignored by many.  There will come a day when the sheep are separated from the goats.  Every idle word spoken and every evil deed done is something each person must be held accountable for.  You can be free from your burden of sin.  You can have all those sins washed away.  It is possible to walk with God and it is possible to spend eternity with the Lord. 

You must believe in the Lord Jesus Christ. 

If you are reading this or hearing this and you have not yet asked Jesus into their heart do it today.  Ask God to forgive you for your sins.  Ask God to wipe your slate clean.  Ask Him for help to do the right things for the rest of your life.  Don’t expect yourself to be the sweetest person on earth or the cleanest person alive instantly because while we live on this earth we are apt to get our feet dirty.  Do know that if you are sincere with God you will never be the same again.  God will meet you where you are.  Think of how much you want a bath once you’ve gotten dirty.  Think of your sins as nasty filty things that you want to get rid of.  Belief on the Lord Jesus Christ can help you get spiritually clean.

Pray the believers prayer.  Use your own words & pray asking God to help you walk as a believer in the Lord Jesus Christ.  Key beliefs for the Christian Believer:

• You must believe in God the creator of the Universe. 
• You must believe that God sent Jesus HIS SON to this earth when God allowed Mary to conceive  this Child by the power of the Holy Ghost when the Spirit of God came upon her.  YES – This is the Virgin who conceived.  She is the Only virgin that conceived a child.
• You must believe that Jesus walked on this earth and you must know that HE did not sin. 
• You must also believe that Jesus freely gave up His life for us when He allowed himself to be nailed to that cross.  He died on the cross for our sins.
• You must believe God raised Jesus from the dead after the three days.
• You must confess (speak it unashamedly) what you believe about Jesus.  Read Romans 10 (listed before Mark 16 below) and see what God’s Word says about confessing what you believe.  [For those that don't already know this now you can understand why a true believer needs to confess what they believe]

Who can stay the hand of God?  That is the question I asked at the beginning of this writing.  Believers know that no one can stop God from moving.  No one can stop God from doing good.  No one can stop the day of their own death.  It is appointed that all men will die once & then each person will meet their maker.  The maker is the Lord God Almighty.  He reigns. He is Living.  He will hold each person accountable for things they’ve done.  Be prepared to get your own heart right with God.  No one else can take care of salvation for you.  It’s personal between you & God.  Your local priest or preacher can’t save you from eternal death and the power of hell.  Your kind acts, words, deeds, or gifts given to others won’t save you from the flames of hell.  There is one way to heaven.  Jesus talked about this in John 14:6 when he told us what all believers know.  Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life & no man cometh to the Father but by faith in Jesus. Believe & be saved.

Romans 10

“Brethren, my heart’s desire and prayer to God for Israel is, that they might be saved.For I bear them record that they have a zeal of God, but not according to knowledge.For they being ignorant of God’s righteousness, and going about to establish their own righteousness, have not submitted themselves unto the righteousness of God.For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to every one that believeth.For Moses describeth the righteousness which is of the law, That the man which doeth those things shall live by them.But the righteousness which is of faith speaketh on this wise, Say not in thine heart, Who shall ascend into heaven? (that is, to bring Christ down from above:)Or, Who shall descend into the deep? (that is, to bring up Christ again from the dead.)But what saith it? The word is nigh thee, even in thy mouth, and in thy heart: that is, the word of faith, which we preach;That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.For the scripture saith, Whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed.For there is no difference between the Jew and the Greek: for the same Lord over all is rich unto all that call upon him.For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.How then shall they call on him in whom they have not believed? and how shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard? and how shall they hear without a preacher?And how shall they preach, except they be sent? as it is written, How beautiful are the feet of them that preach the gospel of peace, and bring glad tidings of good things!But they have not all obeyed the gospel. For Esaias saith, Lord, who hath believed our report?So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.But I say, Have they not heard? Yes verily, their sound went into all the earth, and their words unto the ends of the world.But I say, Did not Israel know? First Moses saith, I will provoke you to jealousy by them that are no people, and by a foolish nation I will anger you.But Esaias is very bold, and saith, I was found of them that sought me not; I was made manifest unto them that asked not after me.But to Israel he saith, All day long I have stretched forth my hands unto a disobedient and gainsaying people.”

 ^{MARK 16,”}And when the sabbath was past, Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James, and Salome, had bought sweet spices, that they might come and anoint him.And very early in the morning the first day of the week, they came unto the sepulchre at the rising of the sun.And they said among themselves, Who shall roll us away the stone from the door of the sepulchre?And when they looked, they saw that the stone was rolled away: for it was very great.And entering into the sepulchre, they saw a young man sitting on the right side, clothed in a long white garment; and they were affrighted.And he saith unto them, Be not affrighted: Ye seek Jesus of Nazareth, which was crucified: he is risen; he is not here: behold the place where they laid him.But go your way, tell his disciples and Peter that he goeth before you into Galilee: there shall ye see him, as he said unto you.And they went out quickly, and fled from the sepulchre; for they trembled and were amazed: neither said they any thing to any man; for they were afraid.Now when Jesus was risen early the first day of the week, he appeared first to Mary Magdalene, out of whom he had cast seven devils.And she went and told them that had been with him, as they mourned and wept.And they, when they had heard that he was alive, and had been seen of her, believed not.After that he appeared in another form unto two of them, as they walked, and went into the country.And they went and told it unto the residue: neither believed they them.Afterward he appeared unto the eleven as they sat at meat, and upbraided them with their unbelief and hardness of heart, because they believed not them which had seen him after he was risen.And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature.He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned.And these signs shall follow them that believe; In my name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues;They shall take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover.So then after the Lord had spoken unto them, he was received up into heaven, and sat on the right hand of God.And they went forth, and preached every where, the Lord working with them, and confirming the word with signs following. Amen.”

 ⁴⁶I am come a light into the world, that whosoever believeth on me should not abide in darkness.

If we follow His ways we can defeat using anger in a wrong way.

If you read the love Chapter (I Corinthians 13) you will see that love is patient, kind, and it rejoices in the truth.  Love is not proud, boastful, envious, rude, self-seeking, easily angered, and love does not delight in evil.

We live in a world where some people try to manipulate by using angry words or by thrashing out in anger.  This kind of anger is not from God. 

God is love.  I’m not saying there won’t be times while you walk on this earth that you won’t get angry.  Anger is also an emotion that we have when we have been wronged or when someone we know has been wronged.  Anger can be used in a good way to get people to stand up for what is right.

What if no one would have rescued the Jewish people?  What if hearts were so hardened that people like Corrie & Betsy Ten Boom wouldn’t have reached out to save people that were being abused.  What if our courts didn’t go after criminals?  What if the sex offenders, thieves,  and murderers were not held accountable for their dastardly deeds? What if no one had something rise up from within them telling them that something is wrong and they should do all they can to make things better?  Anger has a purpose.  Jesus turned over tables in the temple courts saying they were making His Father’s house a den of thieves. I am told that is a righteous anger. 

In Genesis 6:5-7 we read, ^“And God saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. And it repented the LORD that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him at his heart.And the LORD said, I will destroy man whom I have created from the face of the earth; both man, and beast, and the creeping thing, and the fowls of the air; for it repenteth me that I have made them.”

The Lord was grieved that man started doing things that were evil.  We know many times it looks like the days of Noah around us. 

You know there are people that get angry at other people just because they don’t say what they want them to say or do what they want them to do.  You know someone is evil if they angrily demand their own way all the time.  When a person gets angry just because they don’t get exactly what they want that is not considered healthy anger. 

I remember getting an angry email from one person because I didn’t start an early morning email message saying, “Good Morning”  before I wrote to them asking a question concerning something they mentioned to me the evening before.  I feel sure the good morning wasn’t what really got the person’s goat but it was mentioned in anger and I was told how rude I was for not saying what they expected me to say in my email message.  Now that’s a form of someone trying to control your actions and your words.  If you don’t do what they want when they want they get angry.  Another person got angry because I sometimes write emails without placing a name at the beginning of the email.  I thought, “Come on now, we all know who the email is being sent to –>your email address is who the message is sent to & my email address is who the message is sent from.”  I can hear a friend of mine saying,  “People need to get a life.”  There is more joy in life if people don’t stress over the little things.

Does it really matter which side of the sink your dishes are washed in?  Does it matter if they are washed in the dishwasher or washed by hand?  Does everyone have to eat everything on their plate even if they don’t like it all & even if they are already full? 

Some people make rules that cause them to get very angry if their own little rules are not followed.  What about picking on someone because of the words they choose to use when they say something? Oh. . . or the tomato tomato thing.  You know I say, “Tomato” & you say, “Tomato” forget all about the fact that it is spelled exactly the same way while you consider the fact that some people will want to argue over how a word is spoken even if everyone listening already knows what you are talking about. 

It makes me want to just say this, “PICKY PICKY PICKY!”  We are human and sometimes we are too picky.  Pickiness causes anger.  Nitpicking causes people to stop showing love the way they are supposed to. Let’s face it the wrong kind of anger comes forth many times just because someone isn’t getting their own way.

Listen people, when we all get to heaven it isn’t going to matter which side of the sink you washed your dishes in.  It isn’t going to mean a hill of beans whether or not the bill was paid by driving it to the place where it had to be paid or whether you used online banking or the regular snail mail service to send that payment out. 

What is going to matter is how you used your words (every idle word spoken) and what you did to fellow people on this earth.   God is going to judge everyone. the goats will be separated from the sheep.

When you see an angry person think of what it says here in Proverbs 22:24-25,^“Make no friendship with an angry man; and with a furious man thou shalt not go: Lest thou learn his ways, and get a snare to thy soul.”

If you have a problem with anger take a look at this verse in James 1:9-20, ^“Wherefore, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath: For the wrath of man worketh not the righteousness of God.”

Walking around with an angry spirit trying to control others with your anger is clearly wrong.  If you can’t control yourself then you are not walking with the fruit of the spirit in your life. I continue to think it is so odd that an angry person can’t control themselves yet they try so very hard to control others with their angry words or actions. 

It is alright to steer clear of the angry man.  It is probably in your best interest to get far away from anyone that shows the wrong kind of anger.  They are not good people to be around.  It is not healthy for children to see their behavior.  It is not a healthy environment to be in when someone is letting their emotions fly. 

Jesus walked away from people that were out to harm him.  He did not stand around and take abuse until the appointed time came for him to willingly suffer and die for our sins.  Everyone that knows the Bible knows He did not have to allow himself to be bruised and beaten for us.  He freely gave His own life so we could be redeemed. 

Read the Scriptures and let God’s Word show you how to stay away from angry people in any way that you can.  Read it for yourself and you will see that God wants His people to speak up for righteousness. God’s Word says that those who love the Lord hate evil.  It is okay to Hate it when a 35 year old man molests a teenager.  You don’t have to hate the person/sex offender.  It is alright to hate the terrible act they did.  When you hear another person has been murdered you can feel sorrow for the family members who lost their loved one at the hands of a callous-hearted murderer who probably tried to hide his crime like Cain did.  You can hate it when a strong man that has been trained for war kills a child or a woman.  You can hate that crime.  These criminals have done wrong.  They should be punished.  The least they can do is step up to the plate and tell all that happened and why it happened instead of hiding out as if no one knows what they have done.  The worst kind of criminal of all is the one that rationalizes blaming everyone else for the crime he committed.  You can tell I hate crime. Even though I hate the crimes I have learned that the criminal is to be pitied for they are in a sorry state of mind indeed.  Their souls are hardened and selfish.  May God have mercy on their souls. May their spirit be saved on the day of the Lord.

Defeating anger is able to be done if we continue to recall that we cannot control another person.  We can’t show love and force another person to do everything we want just the way we want it done. Defeating anger is also choosing to pray for those murderers and sex offenders even though the acts they have done have caused great harm to other people.  Defeating anger also means walking in forgiveness remembering the words of Jesus when he hung on the cross.  He said it best when he said, “Father, forgive them for they know not what they do.”

When you read God’s Word you will find that it is completely okay to walk away from the angry people in your life every time you have an opportunity to get free of them.  They have not earned the right to have loving tender hearted people around them if they choose to lash out at others as if everyone must take their abusive words and actions.

You will also see that you should follow God’s ways.  God does not want you to be too picky and He does not want you to be the one that lashes out at other people when you are not getting your own way. 

It will probably help keep your blood pressure down if you are slow to get angry.  More importantly you will be able to be a doer of the word and not a hearer only if you can be led by God’s Holy Spirit.  Self-control is a fruit of the Holy Spirit.  You will be like a well fortified city if you use self-control. 

^{Isaiah 2:3,”}And many people shall go and say, Come ye, and let us go up to the mountain of the LORD, to the house of the God of Jacob; and he will teach us of his ways, and we will walk in his paths: for out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of the LORD from Jerusalem.”

^{Ecclesiastes2:26,”}For God giveth to a man that is good in his sight wisdom, and knowledge, and joy: but to the sinner he giveth travail, to gather and to heap up, that he may give to him that is good before God. This also is vanity and vexation of spirit.”

^{Psalm 16:7,”}I will bless the LORD, who hath given me counsel: my reins also instruct me in the night seasons.”

^{I John 5:20,”}And we know that the Son of God is come, and hath given us an understanding, that we may know him that is true, and we are in him that is true, even in his Son Jesus Christ. This is the true God, and eternal life.”

^{Psalm 32:6-11,”}For this shall every one that is godly pray unto thee in a time when thou mayest be found: surely in the floods of great waters they shall not come nigh unto him. Thou art my hiding place; thou shalt preserve me from trouble; thou shalt compass me about with songs of deliverance. Selah.I will instruct thee and teach thee in the way which thou shalt go: I will guide thee with mine eye.Be ye not as the horse, or as the mule, which have no understanding: whose mouth must be held in with bit and bridle, lest they come near unto thee.Many sorrows shall be to the wicked: but he that trusteth in the LORD, mercy shall compass him about.Be glad in the LORD, and rejoice, ye righteous: and shout for joy, all ye that are upright in heart.”

PROVERBS 2 “My son, if thou wilt receive my words, and hide my commandments with thee; So that thou incline thine ear unto wisdom, and apply thine heart to understanding;Yea, if thou criest after knowledge, and liftest up thy voice for understanding;If thou seekest her as silver, and searchest for her as for hid treasures;Then shalt thou understand the fear of the LORD, and find the knowledge of God.For the LORD giveth wisdom: out of his mouth cometh knowledge and understanding.He layeth up sound wisdom for the righteous: he is a buckler to them that walk uprightly.He keepeth the paths of judgment, and preserveth the way of his saints.Then shalt thou understand righteousness, and judgment, and equity; yea, every good path.When wisdom entereth into thine heart, and knowledge is pleasant unto thy soul;Discretion shall preserve thee, understanding shall keep thee:To deliver thee from the way of the evil man, from the man that speaketh froward things;Who leave the paths of uprightness, to walk in the ways of darkness;Who rejoice to do evil, and delight in the frowardness of the wicked;Whose ways are crooked, and they froward in their paths:To deliver thee from the strange woman, even from the stranger which flattereth with her words;Which forsaketh the guide of her youth, and forgetteth the covenant of her God.For her house inclineth unto death, and her paths unto the dead.None that go unto her return again, neither take they hold of the paths of life.That thou mayest walk in the way of good men, and keep the paths of the righteous.For the upright shall dwell in the land, and the perfect shall remain in it.But the wicked shall be cut off from the earth, and the transgressors shall be rooted out of it.”

The one thing I want to be sure to write here is this:

God is able to help us forgive all kinds of people for all kinds of things.  He is able to let us continue to love others even if they have done or said cruel things to us.

So We should be able to say,  “With God’s help I choose to follow Jesus on the path of forgiving others even though it seems as though they don’t always know how awful their deeds are/were.”

 ⁵So we, being many, are one body in Christ, and every one members one of another.

Jonah had been given instructions by the Lord.  He knew what he was supposed to do.  He avoided doing the right thing.

Jonah had funds to pay for his fare to get on the ship that was headed for Tarshish.  He got on the boat and started to travel away from the place God told him to go to.

There are times when people travel away from the place they are supposed to be.  They may think that since God has given them the provision to travel it’s okay to go.  This is not always the case.

Just because you have green lights to begin something doesn’t mean it is necessarily what God wants you to do.

It has been said that God guides where He provides.  That should not be taken to the extreme.  God will surely supply you with all you need to accomplish anything He wants you to do.  Just don’t make the mistake of thinking every open door that comes your way is the entrance you are to take.

In Jonah’s case God stopped Jonah from continuing his trip to Tarshish.  God may stop you from following through with plans that He did not want you to do, too.  There are other times when He may just let you eat the bitter fruit of having your own way. 

It is important for us to pray that we can hear from God clearly.  Let’s not be like Jonah was when he ran away from doing what God told him to do.  Jonah had funds he needed to pay for the fare.   Just because he had the way to run away doesn’t mean it’s what God wanted him to do. 

God told Jonah to speak up against the evil things going on in the City of Ninevah.  The Scriptures do not say that God asked any other person to do this. God saw how Jonah tried to run away from the job He wanted him to do.   God even let Jonah get on the ship.  It is clear that even though God allowed a way for Jonah to start the trip God didn’t make a way for Jonah to completely get away from the task at hand.

The next time you believe the circumstances are right & the provision is there to do something make sure God has given you His stamp of approval before you move forward to do important things.  A few things falling into place does not always prove God is telling you it’s okay to step into a situation.