Jonah warns about serving false god and vows to serve God with thanksgiving: Jonah’s Prayer Part 5 of 6

Jonah 2:8-9

Click for a description of the mark of the beast.
Click for a description of the image of the beast.

“Those who regard worthless idols forsake their own mercy. But I will sacrifice to You with the voice of thanksgiving; I will pay what I have vowed. Salvation is of the Lord.” Jonah 2:8-9

While Jonah was in the belly of the fish, in deep water, and far from dry land he said, “I will sacrifice to You with the voice of thanksgiving…” As we live in an atheistic world, there is thanksgiving within us to God for the born-again experience that we have in Jesus Christ. “And now my head shall be lifted up above my enemies all around me; Therefore I will offer sacrifices of joy in His tabernacle…” Psalms 27:6 Click here for all of Psalms 27. The vow we have made to God, what we owe Him, is to live in the righteousness of Jesus Christ, not to live for a false god, to have clean hands and a pure heart towards Him, “Who may ascend into the hill of the Lord? Or who may stand in His holy place? He who has clean hands and a pure heart, who has not lifted up his soul to an idol, nor sworn deceitfully.” Psalms 24:3-4

While Jonah trusted in the mercy of God, he pitied the hopelessness of those who were in the world serving false gods and burning the bridge to God’s mercy. As followers of Jesus Christ, we should have it within the Spirit to think less about pitying ourselves and focus more on a world that needs to know the love, mercy, and grace of God through Jesus Christ. When Jesus was crucified, He said, Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they do^, “And when they had come to the place called Calvary, there they crucified Him…Then Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they do.” Luke 23:33-34

We live in a world where the culture is global as they serve a false god. The false god of today’s world culture is the entity that has power over physiology to replace the conscience and spirit by giving people what to think, feel, say, and do. This entity enlivens the image of the beast to live and speak through people as they are groomed to the mark of the beast by what they are given to say and do. Even so, with Jonah, we say in Jesus Christ, But I will sacrifice to You with the voice of thanksgiving; I will pay what I have vowed. Salvation is of the Lord.

“And if it seems evil to you to serve the Lord, choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve…But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.” Joshua 24:15

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“….to you who do not hold to her teaching and have not learned Satan’s so-called deep secrets,
‘I will not impose any other burden on you, except to hold on to what you have until I come.’
“I am coming soon. Hold on to what you have, so that no one will take your crown.”
Revelation 2:24-25, 3:1