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That All Should Be Saved - Your Daily Forward Devotional

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Serenity Now and Forever

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The Proof Is In the Fruit

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Getting Started...

If You Name It, Can You Claim It?

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If You Name It, Can You Claim It?

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Good Reasons To Believe

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How Can We Know The Way?

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Don’t Let Your Heart Be Troubled

Loving Like Him

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Loving Like Him

Good-bye For Now

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Good-bye For Now

Love Your Enemies

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Love Your Enemies

Traitor or Ambassador of Christ?

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Traitor or Ambassador of Christ?

Follow the Master

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Follow the Master

Like Teacher, Like Disciple

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Like Teacher, Like Disciple

Do You Need a Bath or a Foot Washing?

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Do You Need a Bath or a Foot Washing?

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The Return of Christ

Just Jesus

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Just Jesus

Joy In Christ

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Joy In Christ

Privileges and Practices for Christians

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Privileges and Practices for Christians

Grace and Freedom

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Grace and Freedom

So We Do Not Lose Heart

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So We Do Not Lose Heart

Fatherly Discipline

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Fatherly Discipline

The Righteous Shall Live By Faith

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The Righteous Shall Live By Faith

Witnesses To the End of The Earth

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Witnesses To the End of The Earth

God in The Flesh

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God in The Flesh

The Great Physician

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The Great Physician

Service and Sacrifice

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Service and Sacrifice

The Long-Awaited King of the Jews

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The Long-Awaited King of the Jews

Is It Even Worth It?

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Is It Even Worth It?

A Future Perspective

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A Future Perspective

Misplaced Priorities

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Misplaced Priorities

Judgment and Joy

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Judgment and Joy

The Righteous Will Live By Faith

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The Righteous Will Live By Faith

Pride Goes Before Destruction

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Pride Goes Before Destruction

Does God Care About Justice?

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Does God Care About Justice?

That All Should Be Saved

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That All Should Be Saved

A Battle Between Brothers

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A Battle Between Brothers

The Cold Hard Truth

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The Cold Hard Truth

Just You Wait

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Just You Wait

Idolatry Vs. Adultery

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Idolatry Vs. Adultery

The Lord Reigns Supreme

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The Lord Reigns Supreme

Restored to Glory

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Restored to Glory

The Saddest Chapter In The Book

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The Saddest Chapter In The Book

The Bearer of Bad News

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The Bearer of Bad News

Salvation Is of The Lord

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Salvation Is of The Lord

God’s Plan

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God’s Plan

What’s the Point?

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What’s the Point?

Read the Instructions

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Read the Instructions

A Real Relationship

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A Real Relationship

Why Do Bad Things Happen to Good People?

  • May 21, 2022

Why Do Bad Things Happen to Good People?

God Behind the Scenes

  • May 20, 2022

God Behind the Scenes

Miraculous Reconstruction

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Miraculous Reconstruction

Coming Home

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Coming Home

Not Just A Building

  • May 17, 2022

Not Just A Building

The Family of God

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The Family of God

Discipline and Destruction

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Discipline and Destruction

A Heart and Kingdom Divided

  • May 13, 2022

A Heart and Kingdom Divided

The Greatest King Ever

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The Greatest King Ever

No King But God?

  • May 11, 2022

No King But God?

A Love That Redeems

  • May 10, 2022

A Love That Redeems

Rebel, Rescue, Repeat

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Rebel, Rescue, Repeat

A Literal Scarlet Thread

  • May 7, 2022

A Literal Scarlet Thread

He’s Faithful, So Be Faithful

  • May 6, 2022

He’s Faithful, So Be Faithful

Why Did It Take So Long?

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Why Did It Take So Long?

Holy as He Is Holy

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Holy as He Is Holy

Passed Over

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Passed Over

The Beginning of Redemption

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The Beginning of Redemption

The Lord Is Near

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The Lord Is Near

I’ll Be Happy When…

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I’ll Be Happy When…

Working Hard or Hardly Working?

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Working Hard or Hardly Working?

You Can’t Hide a Lie

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You Can’t Hide a Lie

The Sin Underneath All Others

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The Sin Underneath All Others

Play the Long Game

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Play the Long Game

Where Does Joy Come From?

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Where Does Joy Come From?

Well Worth the Wait

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Well Worth the Wait

Getting to Know God

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Getting to Know God

Why Don’t We Just Give Up?

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Why Don’t We Just Give Up?

Take Heart, He’s With You

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Take Heart, He’s With You

Out of Sight, Out of Mind

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Out of Sight, Out of Mind

What Are You Afraid Of?

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What Are You Afraid Of?

Nothing Can Separate Us

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Nothing Can Separate Us

What Has God Forgiven You For?

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What Has God Forgiven You For?

But by the Grace Of God

  • Apr 13, 2022

But by the Grace Of God

A Healthy Swap

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A Healthy Swap

Tell Yourself the Truth

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Tell Yourself the Truth

He Hears You

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He Hears You

Listen and Learn

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Listen and Learn

Do You Need to Put Up Some Walls?

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Do You Need to Put Up Some Walls?

Keep Your Cool

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Keep Your Cool

Great Is His Faithfulness

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Great Is His Faithfulness

Move on to the Meat

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Move on to the Meat

Saving Faith Works

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Saving Faith Works

Is Other People’s Faith Your Business?

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Is Other People’s Faith Your Business?

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backtothebiblebttb2
Back to the BibleJun 7, 2022 12:00 am GMT

That All Should Be Saved

 

June 7

 

Read Jonah 4:10-11 (ESV)

“You pity the plant, for which you did not labor, nor did you make it grow, which came into being in a night and perished in a night. And should not I pity Nineveh, that great city, in which there are more than 120,000 persons who do not know their right hand from their left, and also much cattle?”

 

Reflect

Do you want your enemies to suffer for what they’ve done or repent and turn to God? What does God want our enemies to do?

 

As an American, when I think about the crimes that terrorist organizations have committed against my homeland and my people, it makes my blood boil. I consider those terrorist groups absolute enemies of my country. But, I have to admit that if God called me to go to one of these groups and preach repentance to them, I would probably hesitate or protest.

 

Maybe you can relate. When you hear a report of a huge sex trafficking organization or of yet another mass shooting, what is your gut reaction? You might initially think, “Dear God, I hope those responsible suffer for what they’ve done.” But, going to visit horrible criminals on the streets or in prison to preach the Gospel to them is probably not at the forefront of your mind.

 

But when we go back to the Bible, we see that God called Jonah to do just that—warn his sworn enemies of coming judgment so that they may repent and be saved. The book of Jonah is focused on warning a gentile nation to turn to the Lord. It shows us that God isn’t just concerned about Israel and Judah, He cares about the whole world and offers everyone a chance to repent and turn to Him. That is our Scarlet Thread of redemption for today. Just as Paul said in 1 Timothy 2:4, God “desires all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.” In the book of Jonah (written about 760 B.C.), God desired that Nineveh be spared. Nineveh was a mighty city in Assyria, a pagan nation that was famously cruel to its enemies and a huge threat to Israel.

 

God called Jonah to “arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and call out against it, for their evil has come up before me” (Jonah 1:2). But Jonah did not respond in obedience. Instead, he boarded a ship bound for Tarshish. In other words, Jonah went in the opposite direction of where God called him to go.

 

So God had a storm come upon the sea that had the sailors scared for their lives. Jonah confessed that he knew God was punishing him for his disobedience, so he told them to toss him into the sea. Now, you are probably familiar with this part of the story. God could have allowed Jonah to perish in the sea for his disobedience. But He didn’t. Instead, He extended Jonah grace and mercy. He sent a huge fish to swallow Jonah whole and he stayed in the belly of the fish for three days and nights. Jonah recognized that the fish was God’s way of saving him and he was grateful: “But I with a voice of thanksgiving will sacrifice to you; what I have vowed I will pay. Salvation belongs to the LORD!” (Jonah 2:9). Then the fish threw Jonah up onto land.

 

God gave Jonah a second chance at obedience and sent him to Nineveh again. This time, Jonah complied. He went into the middle of the city and proclaimed, “Yet forty days, and Nineveh shall be overthrown!” (Jonah 3:4). Amazingly, Nineveh believed God and repented immediately! The pagans who were sent a prophet from the Lord, fasted and put on sackcloth in humble repentance (Jonah 3:5-10).

 

Now, you’d think Jonah would be rejoicing at the lives spared by God because of his message to them. But sadly, he wasn’t. In Jonah 4:2, he said, “...that is why I made haste to flee to Tarshish; for I knew that you are a gracious God and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love, and relenting from disaster.” In other words, Jonah didn’t want Nineveh to be spared. He wanted them to suffer. So God sent Jonah a shade plant to teach him a lesson. Jonah enjoyed the shade of it but by the next day, a worm and a wind gust destroyed the plant that he had just been given. This really upset Jonah!

 

In today’s verses, God pointed out the irony of Jonah’s anger and concern over the loss of life for the plant when just before, he was upset that God had spared 120,000 human lives. Jonah would have been content with a massive loss of human life, but he was not ok with his pet plant withering up. God called the people of Nineveh people who “don’t know their right hand from their left.” In other words, these people were spiritually lost. Unlike Israel and Judah, the people of Nineveh did not have God’s Law, they didn’t have the Levitical priesthood, they didn’t have the sacrificial system to atone for their sins. Jonah should have had compassion for them.

 

Friends, it is clear from the book of Jonah that God desires all people to be saved. He values every human life, and He patiently sends warnings so that everyone can know to be right with God. Who are we to be like Jonah and try to hide the Good News from others? Who are we to hoard God’s mercy and grace?

 

Pray

Lord, please give me Your compassion for lost people. Help me to set aside any hard feelings and offer the same grace and mercy that has been given freely to me. After all, I know that I didn’t deserve to be saved either. Thank You for Your mercy. Amen.

 

~ Pastor Nat Crawford

 

 

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David
10 months ago
Heavenly Father, Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven, and through us, Your love and Your mercy shall be known among those who don't know You. Clothe us in Your righteousness and prepare our hearts so that where You lead us, we shall gladly go to make Your name known.
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10 months ago
Amen
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J
Joan
10 months ago
Amen, salvation is for ALL🙏🏾🙏🏾
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J
JoAnn
10 months ago
Father, we understand that wherever You allow us to go, You will equip us and gives us the boldness to go forth in Your name. Thank You Father that our steps are ordered by You.
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Lavonda
10 months ago
John3:16
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