Pastors's Message Forty More Days (The Bible verses in this article are from Jonah 3:3-10)      On the first day, Jonah started into the city. He proclaimed: “Forty more days and Nineveh will be overturned.” The Ninevites believed God. They declared a fast, and all of them, from the greatest to the least, put on sackcloth. When the news 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. Then he issued a proclamation in Nineveh: “By the decree of the king and his nobles: Do not let any man or beast, herd or flock, taste anything; do not let them eat or drink. But let man and beast 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 had compassion and did not bring upon them the destruction He had threatened.      We have heard the word “repent” many times. But have we done what that word says? To repent is to change our lives, not just a little bit for a little while, but a 180 degree about-face in a totally new direction. God called on the people of Nineveh to repent through the word of the prophet Jonah. They took God seriously! They did repent! God noticed and relented from His disaster plan for Nineveh.      Do we take God seriously, seriously enough to change the way we think, the way we act, and the way we speak? Too often we want God to forgive us, but don’t want Him to expect anything of us. Lent begins with Ash Wednesday on February 22. This year is a good time for you and I to repent. Let’s recognize what is wrong with our attitudes and lives. Let’s admit that we need God’s forgiveness. Let’s change our lives to match what God expects of us.      Who knows? God may yet relent and with compassion turn from His fierce anger so that we will not perish. Your servant for Jesus' sake,   Pastor Lyle Hansen To see more of Pastor Hansen's messages, please go to the Previous Messages page.

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