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Day 256, or September 13. Get God's Word Right.

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Our thoughts today come from Jonah chapter 3 verse 10. When God saw what they did and

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how they turned from their evil ways, He relented and did not bring on them the destruction

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He had threatened.

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And now the big picture surrounding this verse. Jonah eventually escapes from the fish's

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stomach and God calls him again. This time he responds positively and travels to Nineveh,

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which is near Mosul, in north Iraq. The actual tale is called Nabi Yunus, meaning Prophet

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Jonah. Here he preaches to the whole city and everyone turns to God.

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Chapter 3 verses 5 and 6. But Jonah is furious that God forgives them and the book closes

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with him, leaving the city like a spoilt child.

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And now today's action step. Our verse today is a reminder that our God is a forgiving

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God and I feel sure we are all grateful for that. However, when we read this from Jonah's

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perspective, it has a different message altogether. Remember, Jonah is a prophet and when a prophet's

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pronouncement is wrong, it has very serious consequences. Deuteronomy chapter 18 verse

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20 tells us, But any prophet who falsely claims to speak in my name, or who speaks in the

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name of another god, must die.

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In other words, Jonah feared for his life, because what he had told the Ninevites didn't

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seem to be, so couldn't be from God. It's a sobering reminder for you and me too to

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be very careful about speaking on behalf of God. All preachers should be careful that

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what they say is from the Bible actually is and is quoted accurately. All of us must be

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sure that all that we say is in the Bible really is. We have a responsibility to reflect

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God and his gospel accurately. Our opinions may be interesting, but ultimately all that

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matters is God's opinion. We recommend all our teaching team at Walk Through the Bible

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to regularly check that what they teach is truly biblical and not just their own interpretation.

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Jonah thought he'd got it right, but he got it wrong. Don't let the same thing happen

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to you. Be sure you always quote God's word accurately.