10 Jun Inspirational Writings

As Christians, we believe that God’s word, while written initially to an audience that is not us, nevertheless has the uncanny capacity to speak to all peoples and all cultures, regardless of time and place. We actually have a name for that: we call this the doctrine of inspiration.

I would go so far as to argue that to not have this idea at work in our lives is to leave us at the mercy of every wind of every culture that has ever blown our way, or as C.S Lewis put it so brilliantly: “Everything that is not eternal is eternally out of date.”

Now, this short note is not to convince you of the need of this doctrine in your life (although if it moves the needle that way, so much the better). The real purpose of this is just to say: no matter what we are facing or going through, God’s word can speak to it…

…which brings me to what we are going to be looking at for the next couple of months at Mosaic Church.

For the next couple of months, we will be moving through a group of writings that many of us might not be familiar with: the Minor Prophets (the books of Hosea through Malachi, or basically the last 12 of the Old Testament).

They wrote some tough things to read, they sometimes had difficult-to-pronounce names (at least for native English speakers), and they are known for only a handful of things they said.

But, like us, they lived in troubled times. Like us, they faced difficult moments in their nation. And, best of all, they had a burning passion to know God better and to live lives that showed it—all of them, that is, except for one.

And we will begin this series looking at him.

He was, shall we say, not the best prophet that God ever called, and his name was Jonah.

His four-chapter, brilliant, insightful narrative is way more than a fish story; it’s a story about mercy, grace, violence and anger. Most of all, it’s a story about the God who brings salvation and redemption to the worst of us.

So, welcome to the Minor Prophets.

Four weeks in Jonah, five for the rest of them (sort of a greatest hits version, if you will).

My prayer is that they would speak to you and all of us in our moment, as they spoke to people in their moment.

Can’t wait.

Morgan