Tag: Life

15.o. “Do not marvel at this”

John 5:25  “Truly, truly, I say to you, an hour is coming, and is now here, when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God, and those who hear will live. For as the Father has life in himself, so he has granted the Son also to have life in himself. And he has given him authority to execute judgment, because he is the Son of Man. Do not marvel at this, for an hour is coming when all who are in the tombs will hear his voice and come out, those who have done good to the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil to the resurrection of judgment.

Ephesians 2:1     And you were dead in the trespasses and sins

Ephesians 2:5    even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved

Revelation 3:1   “And to the angel of the church in Sardis write: ‘The words of him who has the seven spirits of God and the seven stars. “‘I know your works. You have the reputation of being alive, but you are dead.

Jesus had already explained that one who lives can hear His word, believe, and have everlasting life. Now He adds that one day even the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God, and be raised again.  He said do not be astonished or surprised by what I am telling you. While we are breathing and have the appearance of life we can still be dead spiritually.  When a person understands this they will make a choice to believe in or deny Jesus Christ.  To believe (clings too, relies on, and trusts) in Him they are born again and alive in Christ.  They rely on the words of Christ.  They understand they are separated from this new life because of their sin, no matter how good they outwardly appear to live.  They understand the need for redemption.  They understand the need for forgiveness.  They understand the need to repent and turn away from their old life. The Holy Spirit indwells them in this new life to guide, lead, instruct, and encourage them in the grace, love, mercy, will, purposes, and glory of God the Father through Jesus Christ.

When a person does not understand how they are spiritually dead, even though they are still breathing, they will make a choice to deny Jesus Christ. Though they have the appearance of being alive they are dead.  They choose to deny their sin, the glory and power of God, and the need for redemption through Jesus Christ.  It is in this denial they are dead while they live.

Jesus also says that a time is coming when those who are in the grave will hear his voice and be reunited with their spirit.  This resurrection with the spirit and body will happen with all who have ever been alive.  Some to the resurrection of life and some to the resurrection of judgment.  Those who trust and believe in Jesus Christ may experience a physical death of the flesh but they will be resurrected alive to be with Christ forevermore throughout eternity.  Those who deny Jesus Christ will experience a physical death of the flesh and will be resurrected to judgment, torment, and separation from God for eternity.  This is the second death.  This death is not an end, but it is an eternal death where there is total awareness of judgment, torment, and separation from God for eternity.  We may experience a peaceful or traumatic physical death but this sting of physical death is nothing compared to the second death of those who choose to deny Jesus Christ.

Oh that the mystery of this would be made aware in full understanding in our hearts, minds, and souls.

15.n. “Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have the Son of God does not have life.”

John 5:19  So Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, the Son can do nothing of his own accord, but only what he sees the Father doing. For whatever the Father does, that the Son does likewise. For the Father loves the Son and shows him all that he himself is doing. And greater works than these will he show him, so that you may marvel. For as the Father raises the dead and gives them life, so also the Son gives life to whom he will. For the Father judges no one, but has given all judgment to the Son, that all may honor the Son, just as they honor the Father. Whoever does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who sent him. Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life. He does not come into judgment, but has passed from death to life.

Mark 16:16    Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned.

Romans 10:13    For “everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”

1 John 5:11-13   And this is the testimony, that God gave us eternal life, and this life is in his Son.  Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have the Son of God does not have life.  I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, that you may know that you have eternal life.

Death is the country where every Christless soul lives. The man who knows not God lives a dying life or a living death, but he who believes in the Son of God passes over from the empire of death to the empire of life.” (Clarke)  I recently heard of a person saying “Pro-choice” (abortion) is a God-given right.  He has given us the freedom to choose and that makes it ok to be “Pro-choice.”  Part of this is true – God does give us free will to choose.  The free will choice to believe or not to believe.  The free will choice to right rather than wrong.  The free will choice to speak the truth or lies.  The free will choice to give generously or take greedily.  The free will choice to love or hate.  The free will choice to hope or fear.  The free will choice to believe in Jesus Christ or not.  Our free-will choices throughout life have consequences on this side of the grave.  But there is one free will choice that will have eternal consequences.  When the free-will choice is made to deny and reject Jesus Christ the consequence is eternal torment forever and ever.  God gave us free-will to choose belief in Jesus Christ.  Essentially, will you use this free will to choose eternity in heave through Jesus Christ or eternity in hell with Satan and the multitudes of other people who have made and died in their free will choice?

14.j. “And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together.”

John 1:1  In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made. In him was life, and the life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.

Proverbs 8:22-31    “The LORD possessed me at the beginning of his work, the first of his acts of old.  Ages ago I was set up, at the first, before the beginning of the earth.  When there were no depths I was brought forth, when there were no springs abounding with water.  Before the mountains had been shaped, before the hills, I was brought forth,  before he had made the earth with its fields, or the first of the dust of the world.  When he established the heavens, I was there; when he drew a circle on the face of the deep,  when he made firm the skies above, when he established the fountains of the deep,  when he assigned to the sea its limit, so that the waters might not transgress his command, when he marked out the foundations of the earth,  then I was beside him, like a master workman, and I was daily his delight, rejoicing before him always,  rejoicing in his inhabited world and delighting in the children of man.

Colossians 1:17    And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together.

Hebrews 1:10    And, “You, Lord, laid the foundation of the earth in the beginning, and the heavens are the work of your hands;

Psalms 33:6    By the word of the LORD the heavens were made, and by the breath of his mouth all their host.

Isaiah 45:12    I made the earth and created man on it; it was my hands that stretched out the heavens, and I commanded all their host.

John 8:12    Again Jesus spoke to them, saying, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”

We think of Jesus Christ as our redeemer and savior.  We trust in God’s Word that says He sent His Son into the world to redeem the lost and whosoever believes in Him will have eternal life.  Do you ever give thought to where He came from?  It may give you a greater appreciation for His love for you.  Before the beginning and before creation and before heavenly hosts, earth, and living plants and creatures Jesus Christ was.  He existed in eternity.  He is Holy, Pure, and True. He willingly came to earth, taking on the form of man, healed the sick, blind, deaf, lame, paralyzed, dead, proclaimed the day of salvation, suffered, died, and rose again all for the single purpose – to redeem the lost and give hope to the perishing.  Think about the grace, mercy, and love He displayed for you.  For certain you did not deserve this gift of eternal life but in and through His power, might, and love He came and bore your sins so that you might have eternal life.

When things around you are falling apart and there seems to be no reason for you to rejoice and give praise to Jesus Christ remember who it is that gave His life just for you.

13.x. ‘Truly, I say to you, I do not know you.’

Matthew 7:14  For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few.

Proverbs 4:26-27    Ponder the path of your feet; then all your ways will be sure.  Do not swerve to the right or to the left; turn your foot away from evil.

Isaiah 35:8    And a highway shall be there, and it shall be called the Way of Holiness; the unclean shall not pass over it. It shall belong to those who walk on the way; even if they are fools, they shall not go astray.

Matthew 25:1-12    “Then the kingdom of heaven will be like ten virgins who took their lamps and went to meet the bridegroom.  Five of them were foolish, and five were wise.  For when the foolish took their lamps, they took no oil with them,  but the wise took flasks of oil with their lamps.  As the bridegroom was delayed, they all became drowsy and slept.  But at midnight there was a cry, ‘Here is the bridegroom! Come out to meet him.’  Then all those virgins rose and trimmed their lamps.  And the foolish said to the wise, ‘Give us some of your oil, for our lamps are going out.’  But the wise answered, saying, ‘Since there will not be enough for us and for you, go rather to the dealers and buy for yourselves.’  And while they were going to buy, the bridegroom came, and those who were ready went in with him to the marriage feast, and the door was shut.  Afterward the other virgins came also, saying, ‘Lord, lord, open to us.’  But he answered, ‘Truly, I say to you, I do not know you.’

Luke 13:23-30     And someone said to him, “Lord, will those who are saved be few?” And he said to them,  “Strive to enter through the narrow door. For many, I tell you, will seek to enter and will not be able.  When once the master of the house has risen and shut the door, and you begin to stand outside and to knock at the door, saying, ‘Lord, open to us,’ then he will answer you, ‘I do not know where you come from.’  Then you will begin to say, ‘We ate and drank in your presence, and you taught in our streets.’  But he will say, ‘I tell you, I do not know where you come from. Depart from me, all you workers of evil!’  In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth, when you see Abraham and Isaac and Jacob and all the prophets in the kingdom of God but you yourselves cast out.  And people will come from east and west, and from north and south, and recline at table in the kingdom of God.  And behold, some are last who will be first, and some are first who will be last.”

1 Peter 3:20-21     because they formerly did not obey, when God’s patience waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was being prepared, in which a few, that is, eight persons, were brought safely through water.

Romans 9:27-29    And Isaiah cries out concerning Israel: “Though the number of the sons of Israel be as the sand of the sea, only a remnant of them will be saved,  for the Lord will carry out his sentence upon the earth fully and without delay.”

What happens to those who fail to follow Jesus? What about those who try to find another path to God? Will they make it to heaven? Let’s look at what Jesus had to say about eternity.

First, Jesus taught that two eternal destinations exist. Universalists claim that all roads lead to the same place, that everyone’s going to heaven regardless of what he or she believes or doesn’t believe. But Jesus drove a stake through that claim when He said in Matthew 25:46, “These will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.” Jesus taught there are two destinations: eternal punishment and eternal life.

Second, Jesus taught that hell is a reality. Of all the verses in the New Testament that record the words of Jesus, do you realize that 13 percent of those verses deal with the reality of hell? For example, Jesus believed that hell is an actual location, not a state of mind (Matthew 25:46). Jesus taught in Matthew 22:13 that hell is a place of physical suffering. And most devastatingly, Jesus said that hell is an irrevocable destination. Once there, no one leaves. In Luke 16, Jesus told the story about Abraham, the rich man, and Lazarus. The rich man found himself in hell and begged Abraham to provide relief and a way out. Abraham answered and said, “Between us and you there is a great chasm fixed, so that those who wish to come over from here to you will not be able, and that none may cross over from there to us” (v. 26).

Third, Jesus taught that the majority of humanity will occupy hell. The single greatest objection to the idea that faith in Christ is the only way to heaven is it means relatively few people will be in heaven. There are seven billion people in the world today. Only 25 percent of the world’s population can be classified as Christian, and most of those only because of their birth or nationality; when you talk about those who’ve actually trusted in Christ, it’s minuscule compared to the world’s population. People say, “It just can’t be true that billions of people will be in hell while only a few will be in heaven.” That seems illogical until you realize that’s exactly what Jesus taught. He said the population of heaven will be relatively small compared to the population of hell. In Matthew 7:13-14, He said, “Enter through the narrow gate; for the gate is wide and the way is broad that leads to destruction, and there are many who enter through it. For the gate is small and the way is narrow that leads to life, and there are few who find it.” I realize you may find this teaching offensive, but please consider this: the majority of everything we know about hell comes from the lips of Jesus Christ Himself. To dismiss the idea of hell means you have to dismiss Jesus Christ and what He taught about eternity

12.j. “Those who make them become like them; so do all who trust in them.”

Habakkuk 2:18  “Of what value is an idol carved by a craftsman? Or an image that teaches lies? For the one who makes it trusts in his own creation; he makes idols that cannot speak. Woe to him who says to wood, ‘Come to life!’ Or to lifeless stone, ‘Wake up!’ Can it give guidance? It is covered with gold and silver; there is no breath in it.” The Lord is in his holy temple; let all the earth be silent before him.

Isaiah 42:17     They are turned back and utterly put to shame, who trust in carved idols, who say to metal images, “You are our gods.”

Jeremiah 10:3-5     for the customs of the peoples are vanity. A tree from the forest is cut down and worked with an axe by the hands of a craftsman.  They decorate it with silver and gold; they fasten it with hammer and nails so that it cannot move.  Their idols are like scarecrows in a cucumber field, and they cannot speak; they have to be carried, for they cannot walk. Do not be afraid of them, for they cannot do evil, neither is it in them to do good.”

Jeremiah 10:14-15    Every man is stupid and without knowledge; every goldsmith is put to shame by his idols, for his images are false, and there is no breath in them.  They are worthless, a work of delusion; at the time of their punishment they shall perish.

Romans 1:23-25     and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man and birds and animals and creeping things.  Therefore God gave them up in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, to the dishonoring of their bodies among themselves,  because they exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever! Amen.

Psalms 115:4-8     Their idols are silver and gold, the work of human hands.  They have mouths, but do not speak; eyes, but do not see.  They have ears, but do not hear; noses, but do not smell.  They have hands, but do not feel; feet, but do not walk; and they do not make a sound in their throat.  Those who make them become like them; so do all who trust in them.

Isaiah 44:14-20    He cuts down cedars, or he chooses a cypress tree or an oak and lets it grow strong among the trees of the forest. He plants a cedar and the rain nourishes it.  Then it becomes fuel for a man. He takes a part of it and warms himself; he kindles a fire and bakes bread. Also he makes a god and worships it; he makes it an idol and falls down before it.  Half of it he burns in the fire. Over the half he eats meat; he roasts it and is satisfied. Also he warms himself and says, “Aha, I am warm, I have seen the fire!”  And the rest of it he makes into a god, his idol, and falls down to it and worships it. He prays to it and says, “Deliver me, for you are my god!”  They know not, nor do they discern, for he has shut their eyes, so that they cannot see, and their hearts, so that they cannot understand.  No one considers, nor is there knowledge or discernment to say, “Half of it I burned in the fire; I also baked bread on its coals; I roasted meat and have eaten. And shall I make the rest of it an abomination? Shall I fall down before a block of wood?”  He feeds on ashes; a deluded heart has led him astray, and he cannot deliver himself or say, “Is there not a lie in my right hand?”

What is in the heart of man that they should even consider the need for an idol to worship?  Why is there a desire at all?  What is it they hope to gain by it?  Ecclesiastes 3:11 “He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the human heart; yet no one can fathom what God has done from beginning to end.”  Romans 1:19-20   “For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them.  For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse.”  Romans 1:28  “And since they did not see fit to acknowledge God, God gave them up to a debased mind to do what ought not to be done.”

Man is without excuse.  God makes Himself known to man.  He has shown them.  He has also given man the free choice to worship, honor, and glorify Him alone. Yet, man chooses to deny God and intentionally choose to make and worship man-made idols.  There is severe consequences for this choice both in this life and in eternity.  No excuse can be given.  No excuse will be accepted.  The intentional choice to deny God and honor, glorify, and worship Him has a beginning in the heart of every man that does so.  In this beginning, they make an intentional choice of self-reliance in what their hands have made or have been made by the hands of others.  They become more and more blind and deaf to God and things of God’s.  God is not mocked.  Man will reap the rewards of their decisions.  We do well to make sure things of this world do not become idols in our heart and mind.  God wants all our heart, mind, soul, and strength.

12.d. “But my righteous one shall live by faith, and if he shrinks back, my soul has no pleasure in him.”

Habakkuk 2:4  “Behold, his soul is puffed up; it is not upright within him, but the righteous shall live by his faith.”

Daniel 4:37    Now I, Nebuchadnezzar, praise and extol and honor the King of heaven, for all his works are right and his ways are just; and those who walk in pride he is able to humble.

Luke 18:14     For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the one who humbles himself will be exalted.”

Daniel 5:20-23     But when his heart was lifted up and his spirit was hardened so that he dealt proudly, he was brought down from his kingly throne, and his glory was taken from him.

John 3:36    Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life; whoever does not obey the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God remains on him.

Hebrews 10:38    but my righteous one shall live by faith, and if he shrinks back, my soul has no pleasure in him.”

Pride and arrogance are very dangerous for the soul.  They will blind you in darkness and shut out any light of the working of the Holy Spirit of God.  Satan, the Prince of darkness reigns and is the king of darkness, dark-things, dark-thoughts, dark-actions, dark-words, dark-wants, dark-pleasure, hatred, anger, jealousy, coveting, pride, arrogance, immorality, neglect, complacency, fear, defiance, etc…. Our sinful nature seems to have a great deal of this darkness attached to our heart, mind, and soul.  This darkness has an appetite for more and more and, once tasted, hungers for more.   The Word of God brings light into the dark places of our soul and exposes all darkness.  It is very possible and probable that we have darkness in some areas of our lives.  How can this be?  We neglect His Word which will expose this darkness.  We have closed the door to our hearts, mind, and soul for some areas of our life.  Through neglect of His Word our hunger and thirst for humbly serving, honoring, following, obeying, and trusting Him leaves areas in our life in darkness. We need to be very mindful of the fact that there is no neutral state in a Christian’s life.  There is either growth or decay.  When our lives are stagnating, darkness festers and want for the Word of God is not to be found.     The shadow of darkness grows bigger and bigger as we slide further and further away from the light of God’s Word.  It is hard to see the light of Jesus Christ when the only light you have in life is that of darkness.  It is also impossible for those areas of our life, where we have chosen to keep in darkness, to ever change if we are not humbly submitting our hearts, minds, and souls to the life-changing Word of God.  Be ever conscious of the sinful nature within you that wants to keep some areas of your life darkness.  Our faith will never grow in darkness, it needs the Light of God’s Word. We do well to have a heart like David and this be an ever-present prayer on our heart. “Search me, O God, and know my heart! Try me and know my thoughts! And see if there be any grievous way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting!   

11.l. “Who can stand before his indignation?”

Nahum 1:6  Who can stand before his indignation? Who can endure the heat of his anger? His wrath is poured out like fire, and the rocks are broken into pieces by him

Jeremiah 10:10     But the LORD is the true God; he is the living God and the everlasting King. At his wrath the earth quakes, and the nations cannot endure his indignation.

Malachi 3:2    But who can endure the day of his coming, and who can stand when he appears? For he is like a refiner’s fire and like fullers’ soap.

Lamentations 4:11    The LORD gave full vent to his wrath; he poured out his hot anger, and he kindled a fire in Zion that consumed its foundations.

Revelation 16:1    Then I heard a loud voice from the temple telling the seven angels, “Go and pour out on the earth the seven bowls of the wrath of God.”

John  3:36 Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life; whoever does not obey the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God remains on him.

Human terms cannot give the full meaning of the infinite and sovereign God’s emotional experiences. As his love is infinitely incomprehensible, so are his displeasure, hate, anger, wrath, and vengeance. There is good reason indeed for the writer to the Hebrews to warn sinful people that it “is a dreadful thing to fall into the hands of the living God. God provided a way for divine redemption—repentance—forgiveness—salvation—which turns His wrath away from the sinner. To reject that perfect plan of restoration is to reject God’s love, mercy, grace, and favor and incur His righteous wrath. The judgment of God has serious eternal consequences for the unrepentant sinner.  The one who believes in the Son will not suffer God’s wrath for his sin, because the Son took God’s wrath upon Himself when He died in our place on the cross.  Those who do not believe in the Son, who do not receive Him as Savior, will be judged on the day of wrath.

11.f. “To open their eyes, so that they may turn from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to God”

Micah 7:8  Rejoice not over me, O my enemy; when I fall, I shall rise; when I sit in darkness, the Lord will be a light to me. I will bear the indignation of the Lord because I have sinned against him, until he pleads my cause and executes judgment for me. He will bring me out to the light; I shall look upon his vindication. Then my enemy will see, and shame will cover her who said to me, “Where is the Lord your God?” My eyes will look upon her; now she will be trampled down like the mire of the streets.

Isaiah 60:19-20    The sun shall be no more your light by day, nor for brightness shall the moon give you light; but the LORD will be your everlasting light, and your God will be your glory.  Your sun shall no more go down, nor your moon withdraw itself; for the LORD will be your everlasting light, and your days of mourning shall be ended.

Psalms 97:11    Light is sown for the righteous, and joy for the upright in heart.

Psalms 112:4     Light dawns in the darkness for the upright; he is gracious, merciful, and righteous.

Psalms 27:1   The LORD is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? The LORD is the stronghold of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?

Malachi 4:2   But for you who fear my name, the sun of righteousness shall rise with healing in its wings. You shall go out leaping like calves from the stall.

John 8:12    Again Jesus spoke to them, saying, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”

Acts 26:18    to open their eyes, so that they may turn from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins and a place among those who are sanctified by faith in me.’

Revelation 21:23    And the city has no need of sun or moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gives it light, and its lamp is the Lamb.

Talk about faith and power through Jesus Christ – “when I fall, I shall rise, when I sit in darkness, the Lord will be a light to me”!!  How many times have you been in darkness?  Not the light associated with light and dark but darkness in your soul.  I am sure you can relate to this type of darkness when your heartaches, your mind can’t seem to get out of the rut of some rejecting or negative thought, and no matter how hard your try the light of resolve for the darkness seems out of reach.  Days seem to drag on and you hope tomorrow is better somehow.  this is how it goes when we are looking from within our own self-reliance to overcome the darkness that is robbing light from our days.  Maybe we could learn to trust Jesus Christ more.  Maybe we could rely on Him more.  Maybe we could call out to Him more.  Maybe we could believe in Him more.  Maybe we could claim His promises more.  I am confident that if we did we too could say, “when I fall, I shall rise; when I sit in darkness, the Lord will be a light to me.”

10.r. “Do you do well to be angry?”

Jonah 4:1   But it displeased Jonah exceedingly, and he was angry. And he prayed to the Lord and said, “O Lord, is not this what I said when I was yet in my country? 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. Therefore now, O Lord, please take my life from me, for it is better for me to die than to live.” And the Lord said, “Do you do well to be angry?”

Jonah went out of the city and sat to the east of the city and made a booth for himself there. He sat under it in the shade, till he should see what would become of the city. Now the Lord God appointed a plant and made it come up over Jonah, that it might be a shade over his head, to save him from his discomfort. So Jonah was exceedingly glad because of the plant. But when dawn came up the next day, God appointed a worm that attacked the plant, so that it withered. When the sun rose, God appointed a scorching east wind, and the sun beat down on the head of Jonah so that he was faint. And he asked that he might die and said, “It is better for me to die than to live.” But God said to Jonah, “Do you do well to be angry for the plant?” And he said, “Yes, I do well to be angry, angry enough to die.” And the Lord said, “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?”

James 4:5-6     Or do you suppose it is to no purpose that the Scripture says, “He yearns jealously over the spirit that he has made to dwell in us”?  But he gives more grace. Therefore it says, “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.”

James 1:19-20     Know this, my beloved brothers: let every person be quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger;  for the anger of man does not produce the righteousness of God.

It is hard for me to understand why Jonah was mad enough to want to die.  Did he see their sin and wants to see them punished as God said He would do if they did not repent?  Did he want to see the judgment upon the city and all of the people rather than see them repent?  I just don’t know.  Jonah seemed to have a death wish for some reason.  “Cast me into the sea” and “Please take my life from me” and “It is better for me to die than to live” are all death wish statements.  It is very hard to understand why but what is recorded tells us much about the grace of God.  He saved Jonah from the depths of the sea and the belly of the great fish.  God saved Nineveh from destruction after they repented.  God had pity on them for they were blind to their actions and when they were exposed, called out, they repented.  God is gracious and full of mercy and steadfast love.  We honor and glorify Him by recognizing our sin, repenting, turning away from our wayward ways, trusting, relying on, following, and obeying Him.