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Lord's Prayer

Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come; Thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.

For Thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, forever and ever.

Prayer of St. Edmund

O  Lord, into your hands and into the hands of your holy angels, this day I entrust my soul, my relatives, my benefactors, my friends and enemies, and all who confess your holy name.

O Lord, by the merits and prayers of your son, Jesus Christ, keep me today from all evil and unruly desires, from all sins and temptations of the devil, from a sudden and unprovided death, and from the pains of hell. Enlighten my heart with the grace of your Holy Spirit. Grant that I may ever be obedient to your commandments. Let me never be separated from you, O God, who lives and reigns forever, Father, Son and Holy Spirit.

Thank You Lord

Sometimes I stop and wonder why you're still here; Or what is good about me, and why you even care.

You're always there with me to help me out each day; Even though I seldom listen to the words you have to say.

The things I always pray for, I know they will come true; My joy and peace you give me when each day is new.

You continue to forgive me for all that I have done; When nights are filled with sorrow, the day will bring the sun.

In days full of trouble, and friends won't say hi; I know you will be there with me to take me if I die.

For who am I to deserve the grace you have shown; Thank you Lord for keeping me, when life for me was cold.

by Gary R. Ferris

Benediction

God our Father, and our Lord Jesus Christ, and Spirit of God amidst us, direct our way unto you. Make us to increase and abound in love one toward another, and toward all men, even as we do toward you; to the end we may establish our hearts unblameable in holiness before you, even our Father, at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ with all his saints.

Think of the day ahead in terms of God with you, and visualize health, strength, guidance, purity, calm confidence, and victory as the gifts of His presence.

Psalm 119:1-6 (NKJV)

Jonah 1:1-3 (AMP)

Jonah and the Whale

Now the word of the Lord came to Jonah son of Amittai, saying, Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and proclaim against it, for their wickedness has come up before Me.

But Jonah rose up to flee to Tarshish from being in the presence of the Lord and went down to Joppa and found a ship going to Tarshish.

Notes on the Scripture

onah is actually considered a minor prophet, and his book appears in that long list of twelve rarely read books, with hard names, at the end of the Old Testament (rather than in the historical section or, like Job, in the books of wisdom). His name and story have become part of the widespread culture and is well known in two contexts: First, simply as a person who was swallowed by a whale and lived; and second, among sailors, as a person who is a jinx when on board a ship. Other minor prophets are at the opposite end of the spectrum: Who, other than the most dedicated Bible scholars, can tell you anything about Habakkuk or Nahum, or even recognize their names?

That Jonah was a historical character is evidenced beyond question by the reference to him in 2 Kings 14:25: “Jeroboam restored Israel’s border... according to the word of the Lord... which He spoke through His servant Jonah son of Amittai, the prophet from Gath-hepher.”

The two place names mentioned are also historically known. The first, Nineveh, is the subject of a rather heartwarming lesson for all the atheists and skeptics who claim the Bible is a work of fiction and disproven by science: in this case, archeology.

In spite of the fact that Nineveh is called a “great city” three times in the Old Testament (Gen. 10:11, 12; Jonah 1:2; 3:3) and once in the Apocrypha (Judith 1:1), critics long pooh-poohed the claim. When the walled city was finally found and excavated, it measured less than three miles across. That sparked cynical claims that the author, Jonah, did not know what he was talking about. But the real author, the Holy Spirit, was being overlooked. Later excavations have revealed that Nineveh had many suburbs, three of which are mentioned along with Nineveh in Gen. 10:11, 12. One first-century writer (Diodorus of Sicily) justifiably says that Nineveh was a quadrangle measuring about sixty miles in circuit—a “great city” indeed!

The other city mentioned, Tarshish, was known to Solomon and was the furthest extent of the Phoenician trading empire (see Map of Phoenician Trade) in Jonah’s time. While nobody doubts its actual existence, nobody really knows exactly where it was. Some scholars identify it with Carthage, but more likely it was on the southern coast of Spain, at the western extreme of the Mediterranean, the farthest early ships could venture without braving the great storms of the Atlantic Ocean.

At any rate, its role in the story of Jonah is quite clear. It was the farthest end of the civilized world.

An early Phoenician ship, such as the one Jonah might have taken.

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