UNCOMMEN: 180 Degrees of Change

Scriptures: Jonah 1, Jonah 2, Jonah 3, Jonah 4

Jonah

We are looking into the lives of some Bible characters who had to do a 180 to come back to God. We’ve all been there, and I want to tell you not to worry; we are in good company. I’ve picked seven stories to help us understand that no matter where you are in your faith, it’s not too late to turn (180 Degrees) to God.

We’ve been reading about Jonah from when you and I were kids up until we have kids of our own. We focus on Jonah disobeying God and being chastised by spending three days in the belly of a big fish. We tend to gloss over the fact that Jonah ran because he didn’t want God to show compassion to the city of Nineveh. 

That is a downright horrible way to think. 

But there are many Christians who would probably fall in the same mindset (including myself at times). I’m sure there are people we could rattle off who we believe do not deserve God’s mercy (Hitler, Ted Bundy, Charles Manson, Stalin, all the Nazis, and many more).

The 180

None of us deserved God’s mercy and forgiveness of our sins, but thankfully He gave it nonetheless. Imagine if the person who leads you to Christ told God he didn’t want to because you didn’t deserve God’s forgiveness. 

As Jonah found out, it’s not our right to determine who should hear the Gospel and who shouldn’t. The Gospel is for everyone, and I don’t think any of us want to be chastised by God for not obeying the call to tell someone about Jesus. None of us deserve it, but Praise God it was given to us.
 

John 3:16-17 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.

Uncommen Questions:

Have you ever thought that someone didn’t deserve to hear the Gospel of Jesus based on their past?

Have you ever run away from God’s direction only to be brought back to that same spot by God?

Uncommen Challenge:

I challenge you and me to always put ourselves in the position of those in need of hearing the Gospel. At one time, we were dead in our sins, and someone loved us enough to tell us about Jesus. Oh, what a glorious day that was! 

Scriptures: 2 Samuel 11, 2 Samuel 12

David

Focus Verses: 2 Samuel 12:9-11 — “Why have you despised the word of the Lord, to do what is evil in his sight? You have struck down Uriah the Hittite with the sword and have taken his wife to be your wife and have killed him with the sword of the Ammonites.”

If you use a GPS or phone to navigate in your town, you’ve run into this situation. You enter the address you want to drive to, and your “smart” device gives you the most direct route and how much time to get there. Sounds easy enough…GO!

Halfway through the route, you find yourself in a place that you regret, whether it’s due to traffic or being in a bad part of town. Your GPS wasn’t really concerned with your surroundings; instead, it was the most convenient way to get to your destination. 

David should have gone to war with his men instead of staying home, committing adultery, and ultimately even murder. I’ll let you read the chapters to see the outcome of those choices.

It’s essential to have someone like Nathan to confront you and help you with your 180. There were consequences to David’s actions, but they could have been far greater without repenting. When you read the verses, it didn’t seem like David set out to sin. He didn’t think, “man, I’m going to get with Bathsheba while her husband is at war.” Wrong place . . . wrong time . . . wrong direction.

Unfortunately, we don’t have to wait for an opportunity to sin; it seems to be at our fingertips 24/7. The more connected we are, the more opportunities we have to be connected to the wrong things. Guarding our eyes, ears, mouth, and heart is a full-time task, and we need to be aware of our surroundings.

Be prayerful of what you think, what you say, and where you go. You may find yourself in need of a 180.

Uncommen Questions:

Have you ever found yourself in a place you never intended to be? 

Do you have a Nathan in your life?

When was the last time you prayed to God to show you if you need to change direction?

Uncommen Challenge:

I challenge you and me to be praying about the direction we are going. That we seek God’s will and direction for our life without having to “recalculate the route.”

Scripture: Exodus 2:11-15

Moses

Focus Verse: Exodus 2:14 — “’He answered, ‘Who made you a prince and a judge over us? Do you mean to kill me as you killed the Egyptian?’ Then Moses was afraid and thought, ‘Surely, the thing is known.’”

The foolishness of a hiding place. Where do you think you or I can go to hide from God? 

As we read in Exodus 2:11-15, we see that Moses killed an Egyptian and fled Egypt out of fear of the Pharaoh when, in fact, he should have been fearful of what he did in God’s eyes. God said HE would deliver His people. He didn’t need Moses to take matters into his own hands.

If you’ve seen the movie “The Ten Commandments,” it gives you a view (a Hollywood-made view) of Moses’s life in Egypt. Once brought into the family of Pharaoh, he had everything he could want, or so he thought. But then his past was revealed, and things took a 180 toward God’s plan. Before Moses knew of his past, he viewed life through the eyes of the Egyptian leadership. Once he learned of his past and identity, his view changed and saw how “his” people (the Israelites) were being treated and acted upon it. That’s where he got into a little hot water and had to flee to Midian to avoid being killed.

How many times do we try to take matters into our own hands only to mess things up? God is in control of everything and does not need us to get in the way to carry out His Will. He uses us to do His Will, but we need to make sure we are acting on His guidance and not our own. Moses didn’t have his encounter with God at the burning bush until after he killed that man back in Egypt. But Moses should have still understood that murdering someone would be a sin. 

They say “ignorance of the law excuses not” and this applies here to God’s commands. We should read God’s Word, so we know what God is trying to teach us. Between God’s Word and the Holy Spirit’s indwelling, we shouldn’t have a Moses Moment.

But if we do, know that we can do a 180 and repent to God for any action we’ve taken. If we’re truly His, we will be met with forgiveness every time.

Uncommen Questions:

Have you committed an act that you need to take to God today?

Do you think God will forgive you for anything you’ve done?

Do you think God can use you?

Uncommen Challenge:

I challenge you and me to make a 180 and approach God with whatever we are still carrying with us. Ask Him for forgiveness and to show you His will for our lives. 

Scripture: Luke 15:11-32

The Prodigal Son

Focus verses: Luke 15:17-19

Luke 15:17-19 — “But when he came to himself, he said, ‘How many of my father’s hired servants have more than enough bread, but I perish here with hunger! 18 I will arise and go to my father, and I will say to him, Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you.’ 19 And he arose and came to his father. But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and felt compassion, and ran and embraced him and kissed him.”

The Prodigal Son is the textbook example of our 180-degree concept. In twenty-one verses, God paints a picture of a person who gets in a tight spot only to find redemption and acceptance once he turns back to his Father.

How many of us have it all too good where we are but want something else? Our story tells us the youngest son seems to have it pretty good while living and working for his Father. But he thinks there is more to be had out in the world only to find that no one loves and cares for him as his Father did.

The Bible even treats the son kindly in the ways it speaks about him. Consider the scene: he’s standing in a pigpen (literally a mud puddle) and is discovering how lost he is. Yet, the Bible paints a picture of redemption as it says, “but when he came to himself.”

At least the young son had sense enough to go back to his Father. How many of us would let pride get in the way and be ashamed to go back home to the one who loved him so much?

But my favorite part of this story is verse 19.

“But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and felt compassion, and ran and embraced him and kissed him.”

How much different would our story feel if the son just came home and knocked on the door to speak to his Father? But instead, “while still a long way off, his Father saw him…” tells me the Father was looking for his son. It goes on to say that the Father felt compassion for his son and embraced him. I’ll let you have the honor of reading the full story there in Luke.

If you find yourself not where you belong, your Heavenly Father awaits. He’s looking for you and wants to welcome you home with open arms.

The question is, are you ready to come home?

Uncommen Questions:

Do you find yourself far from God?

Are you considering coming home?

Uncommen Challenge:

I challenge you and me to reexamine where we are in a relationship with God. Are we in the protected care of our Father, or do we find ourselves standing in a pigpen of our own choosing? 

Scripture: Mark 14:66-72

Peter

Focus verse: Mark 14:71 — “Then he began to curse and swear, ‘I do not know this Man of whom you speak!’”

In Mark 14, Peter denies Jesus. He commits a sin. Yet, we see Peter later in Acts 2:14-38, preaching the Gospel. Christians have reconciliation through Christ.

I love Peter because I’m probably more like him than anyone in the Bible.

• Says the wrong things
• Does the wrong things
• Thinks the wrong things

But God uses Peter despite all of that to spread the Gospel of Jesus. While the Bible shines a light on this moment in Peter’s life for all the world to see forever, we’ve probably been in that same place. 

We are at a family function, and you say something about your faith in some way. Someone there says, “you believe in all that fairy tale stuff?” Or they may say something more aggressive. Either way, you are now the center of attention, and what you say matters all of a sudden. Peer pressure can sneak up on you, and you may find that you play your faith down, try to change the subject, or swear you don’t do that stuff.

I’m here to encourage us all to stand true to our faith in times like this. As long as you’re not the “Ugly Christian” and are the reason people may not come to Christ, then, by all means, state, “yes, I am a follower of Jesus.” Then if you are savvy, you ask, “are you?” They may scoff and move on. They may give you a reason as to why they are not, or it may open a conversation for the Holy Spirit. 

We may not have to stop traffic to tell the world of our relationship with Jesus, but we shouldn’t hide it either. If they ask you why you believe, then give your answer. It’s important to know why you believe in Jesus.

The 180

Peter had three chances to express his involvement with Jesus and chose not to express it. But even that didn’t stop him from spreading the Gospel. So if you don’t do so well in that situation, pray that God will strengthen you and give you another chance to answer that.

For the record: I am a follower of Jesus Christ.

I hope you can say that with me and out loud when needed.

Uncommen Questions:

Are you a follower of Jesus? Do you know him as your Savior?

Are you ready to answer when asked about your faith? (with truth and grace)

Uncommen Challenge:

I challenge you and me to pray for wisdom, be reading God’s word, and be ready to answer with truth and grace.

Scriptures: John 20:24-31, John 11:16

Thomas

Focus Verse: John 11:16 — “Then Thomas, who is called the Twin, said to his fellow disciples, Let us also go, that we may die with Him.”

Thomas gets all kinds of shade thrown his way because of his response in John 20:24-31. He even gets a nickname that has lasted a lifetime—Doubting Thomas.

Our focus verse is taken from a few chapters before that when Jesus was raising Lazarus from the dead. Thomas took a 180 in the wrong direction when stating he wouldn’t believe if he didn’t see the holes and the wound in Jesus. 

It’s essential to be sure when you are in the middle of your 180 that it’s always turning toward God. Thomas saw Jesus do signs and miracles over and over again. Thomas was the only disciple mentioned by name in that story. 

There will be times when we turn toward God and times in which we find that we have turned away from God. The turning away from God may not be as obvious and may have happened over a long time. Notice that God remains the same, and we seem to be going around and around.

Fortunately, Thomas took another 180 after that time in the upper room and went on to bring Christianity into India. Thomas was killed for his faith in roughly 72 AD. 

While most of us won’t be asked to die talking about our faith (some may), we are told to go and make disciples of all people. We will all have our moments of doubt, but at the moment of Thomas’s greatest doubt, Jesus showed up. Notice Jesus didn’t show up to condemn Thomas; he showed up to provide Thomas what he needed—His Savior!

Are you in need of a 180 toward God?

Uncommen Questions:

Do you find you are in the middle of a 180 toward God? Or away from God?

Do you find you need proof to believe in Jesus just as Thomas did?

Uncommen Challenge:

I challenge you and me to be a Thomas that is turning toward God and take the message of Christianity to someone who needs to hear it.

Scripture: 2 Chronicles 7:14

People

We end our 180 devotion talking about a collective 180-degree turn that our world needs. As of writing this devotional, we are in the middle of a worldwide pandemic with Covid-19, and nationwide protests around four police officers who killed George Floyd in Minnesota. 

Racism is an evil that is straight out of the pit of Hell, and it’s been around long before I was born, and I believe it may be around long after I’m gone. We were all made in God’s image, and we should look and treat each other as such.

Galatians 3:28 —”There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is no male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.”

Acts 3:19 —”Repent, therefore, and turn back, that your sins may be blotted out.”

I believe that this world is showing just how far from God it is. The way we treat God and each other narrates a self-centered culture that is prideful and lost. There were two cities that came to the point of such sin that God destroyed them both (Sodom and Gomorrah: Genesis 19:1-29). I pray that God has mercy on people, and we turn our hearts toward Him.

If you are having a conversation about how others need to change, I urge you (and I) to look in the mirror first. Each of us needs to make our own 180 toward God. Take some time to pray that God opens our eyes to our thoughts, actions, words, behavior toward people, and adjust accordingly. 

Remember, our 180 should be toward God and to be more like Jesus.

Uncommen Questions:

Do you believe you are where God wants you to be today? Or are you in need of a 180?

Is there something in your life that you need to repent?

Uncommen Challenge:

I challenge you and me to turn back toward God and repent of any sin we may have in our lives. Love people as God loves us.