Family Devotion Day 21: Who needs to hear about Jesus?

Read

Jonah 3:1-10 “Then the word of the Lord came to Jonah a second time: “Go to the great city of Nineveh and proclaim to it the message I give you.”Jonah obeyed the word of the Lord and went to Nineveh. Now Nineveh was a very large city; it took three days to go through it. Jonah began by going a day’s journey into the city, proclaiming, “Forty more days and Nineveh will be overthrown.” The Ninevites believed God. A fast was proclaimed, and all of them, from the greatest to the least, put on sackcloth.When Jonah’s warning reached the king of Nineveh, he rose from his throne, took off his royal robes, covered himself with sackcloth and sat down in the dust. This is the proclamation he issued in Nineveh:

“By the decree of the king and his nobles: Do not let people or animals, herds or flocks, taste anything; do not let them eat or drink. But let people and animals be covered with sackcloth. Let everyone call urgently on God. Let them give up their evil ways and their violence. Who knows? God may yet relent and with compassion turn from his fierce anger so that we will not perish.”

When God saw what they did and how they turned from their evil ways, he relented and did not bring on them the destruction he had threatened.

Learn

God instructed Jonah to go and preach to the great city of Nineveh. At first, Jonah disobeyed.

He was probably afraid of this city that was known for its cruelty and violence. Besides, it was an enemy of Israel. What would the Ninevites do to him?

So Jonah decided to follow his own heart and board a ship to flee from God’s call.

But after sending a huge fish to rescue Jonah from a storm at sea, God gave Jonah a second chance — this time, Jonah obeyed.

What can we learn from the story of Jonah? Everyone needs to hear the good news of Jesus, whether they are kind or unfriendly. God wants everyone to be saved.

He gave His one and only Son, Jesus Christ, so that whoever believes in Him will not die but have eternal life. Even when our life on earth ends, we will live with God forever.

Even when it’s difficult or you don’t feel like doing it, will you obey and share God’s love with others?

/ Discuss

Think about the people you meet at school, and those whom you see outside of school, such as your neighbours, friends who attend the same enrichment classes and even cousins.
Who are the people in your life that need to hear about Jesus? Can you name them specifically?
What prevents you from sharing about God’s love with them? Instead of running away like Jonah, what can you do to obey God’s call to reach out to them?

/ Pray

Pray for the people whom you want to share about Jesus with by name. Bring their needs before God and pray for God to show Himself to them.
Pray for the Holy Spirit to help you as you make the decision to share about God’s love with them. Ask God to teach you to love them, even if they seem challenging to love.