Entries by Robert Shaw

Missing the Mark

Jonah 3:8 But let man and beast be covered with sackcloth and let them cry mightily to God. Yes, let every one turn from his evil way and from the violence that is in his hands. In 1980 “It’s Hard to Be Humble” was a song written and recorded by Mac Davis that became an […]

Price of Faith

Jonah 3:5-9 So the people of Nineveh believed God, proclaimed a fast, and put on sackcloth, from the greatest to the least of them. 6 Then word came to the king of Nineveh; and he arose from his throne and laid aside his robe, covered himself with sackcloth and sat in ashes. 7 And he caused it to be proclaimed and published throughout Nineveh by […]

Drowning Man Found

Jonah 2:6-7 .…Yet You have brought up my life from the pit and corruption, O Lord my God. When my soul fainted upon me [crushing me], I earnestly and seriously remembered the Lord; and my prayer came to You, into Your holy temple. Do you remember the process you went through to truly surrender to Jesus? Can you recall […]

The Great Offense

Douglas A. Knight; Amy-Jill Levine: The Meaning of the Bible – What the Jewish Scriptures and Christian Old Testament Can Teach Us: ‘The fictional nature of the story of Jonah is indicated not only by the “great fish” that swallows the prophet and after three days vomits him up on dry land or by the […]

Manifestation and Multiplication

Revelation 19:10 The testimony of Jesus is the spirit of all prophecy. What is prophecy but the manifestation of spoken words becoming a reality. Jonah had heard the testimony of God’s miracles to the patriarchs, the Exodus, the conquest of the Promised Land, the Word of God, the exploits of the prophets – and yet […]

Read My Lips

Some may remember when President George H.W. Bush, Sr. was lambasted for a campaign promise during the 1988 Republican National Convention bid for the presidential nomination. What was the now infamous promise? Read my lips. No new taxes. The Democrats never let him forget that one. In the book of Jonah we discover that History […]

Stubbing Your Toe

Jonah 4:1 But it displeased Jonah exceedingly and he was very angry. Jonah 4:4 Then said the Lord, Do you do well to be angry?Jonah 4:9 And God said to Jonah, Do you do well to be angry for the loss of the gourd? And he said, I do well to be angry, angry enough […]

Deadly Silence

Jonah 4:5 So Jonah went out of the city and sat to the east of the city, and he made a booth there for himself. He sat there under it in the shade till he might see what would become of the city. A young man applied for a job as a Morse code operator. […]

A Sleeping Narcissist

Jonah 4:9-11 And God said to Jonah, Do you do well to be angry for the loss of the gourd? And he said, I do well to be angry, angry enough to die!10 Then said the Lord, You have had pity on the gourd, for which you have not labored nor made it grow, which came […]

Pitch Black

Jonah 2:4 But the Lord sent out a great wind upon the sea, and there was a violent tempest on the sea so that the ship was about to be broken. How many of you know that when a storm breaks out on the ocean it becomes pretty dark? Now imagine being Jonah in which […]

How Low Can You Go?

Jonah 2:1, 5-6 Then Jonah prayed to the Lord his God from the fish’s belly,…The waters compassed me about, even to [the extinction of] life; the abyss surrounded me, the seaweed was wrapped about my head.6 I went down to the bottoms and the very roots of the mountains; the earth with its bars closed behind me forever. […]

Stuck in the Mud

Jonah 2:6 But you, Lord my God, brought my life up from the pit. What pit was Jonah referring? The belly of the great fish or the spiritual condition that led to the belly of the fish? Jonah 2:6 echoes Psalm 40:2. Psalm 40:2 states: He drew me up out of a horrible pit [a pit of […]

“We leak!”

James 4:7-8 Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you. 8 Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded.  The Jewish month of Elul begins today, Monday, August 25 and extends to September, 23, 2025. What significance does that have for us as followers of Yeshua? Elul prepares the […]

The Stance of the Gospel of Peace

Nahum 1:15 Behold, on the mountains the feet of him who brings good tidings, who proclaims peace! O Judah, keep your appointed feasts,perform your vows. For the wicked one shall no more pass through you; he is utterly cut off. The root meaning for the root word “good tidings” especially pertained to military encounters whose messenger was fresh […]

Two Minds?

1 Corinthians 2:16 For who has known or understood the mind (the counsels and purposes) of the Lord so as to guide and instruct Him and give Him knowledge? But we have the mind of Christ (the Messiah) and do hold the thoughts (feelings and purposes) of His heart. This is a profound promise. It’s truly intriguing when you compare 1 Corinthians 2:16 […]

Burning With Zeal, Sons of God, Volcanos and Earthquakes

Micah 1:2 Hear, all you people; listen closely, O earth and all that is in it, and let the Lord God be witness among you and against you, the Lord from His holy temple. What is going on? Have you read some of the headline news regarding global, seismic events? Scientists Give LAST WARNING as Mount Rainier […]

I’m Sorry I Love You, Man Eating Chicken, and Let’s Eat Grandma!?

Romans 2:28-29 For he is not a [real] Jew who is only one outwardly and publicly, nor is [true] circumcision something external and physical.29 But he is a Jew who is one inwardly, and [true] circumcision is of the heart, a spiritual and not a literal [matter]. His praise is not from men but from God. Punctuation, or […]

Do you smell that?

Jonah 1:3 So he paid the appointed fare and went down into the ship to go with them to Tarshish from being in the presence of the Lord [as His servant and minister]. One question comes to mind: What price are you paying to NOT be surrendered to the Lord’s Presence in serving others? It’s […]

Spirit-Filled

Acts 2:42-47 And they steadfastly persevered, devoting themselves constantly to the instruction and fellowship of the apostles, to the breaking of bread [including the Lord’s Supper] and prayers.43 And a sense of awe (reverential fear) came upon every soul, and many wonders and signs were performed through the apostles (the special messengers).44 And all who believed (who […]

Jesus Was There

John 2:1-3 On the third day there was a wedding at Cana of Galilee, and the mother of Jesus was there.2 Jesus also was invited with His disciples to the wedding.3 And when the wine was all gone, the mother of Jesus said to Him, They have no more wine! I’ve restarted a personal meditation series I […]

Never Forget!

Amos 1:9,11 ….because they [as middlemen] delivered up a whole [Jewish] population to Edom and did not [seriously] remember their brotherly covenant….11 because he pursued his brother Jacob (Israel) with the sword, corrupting his compassions and casting off all pity, and his anger tore perpetually and his wrath he kept and heeded forever. Human nature is a funny thing. We […]

Losing Jesus

Luke 2:45 And when they failed to find Him, they went back to Jerusalem, looking for Him [up and down] all the way. Pastor Ken Hemphill recounts the following: Have you ever lost one of your children, even for a split second? You are shopping in a crowded mall. Your little boy slips his hand […]

Come Further Up and Further In!

Joel 1:14 Sanctify a fast, call a solemn assembly, gather the elders and all the inhabitants of the land in the house of the Lord, your God, and cry to the Lord [in penitent pleadings]. Preaching Today gave the following illustration regarding fasting: A woman from Omsk, Russia, is reportedly suing McDonald’s over an advertisement […]

Open the Door and Make Room for the Great Physician

Mark 2:17, 22: And when Jesus heard it, He said to them, Those who are strong and well have no need of a physician, but those who are weak and sick; I came not to call the righteous ones to repentance, but sinners (the erring ones and all those not free from sin). 22 And no one puts new wine into old wineskins; […]

Earning Your Stripes

Hosea 1:9-11 And the Lord said, Call his name Lo-Ammi [Not-my-people], for you are not My people and I am not your God.10 Yet the number of the children of Israel shall be as the sand of the sea, which cannot be measured or numbered; and instead of it being said to them, You are not […]

Conceived by the Spirit

Matthew 1:19-20 And her [promised] husband Joseph, being a just and upright man and not willing to expose her publicly and to shame and disgrace her, decided to repudiate and dismiss (divorce) her quietly and secretly. 20 But as he was thinking this over, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, […]

Beauty From Ashes

Daniel 1:8 But Daniel determined in his heart that he would not defile himself by [eating his portion of] the king’s rich and dainty food or by [drinking] the wine which he drank; therefore he requested of the chief of the eunuchs that he might [be allowed] not to defile himself. Mental Performance Coach, Bryan Cain wrote: […]

Bullet Trains

Mark 1:34 And He cured many who were afflicted with various diseases; and He drove out many demons, but would not allow the demons to talk because they knew Him [intuitively]. Reading chapter one of the Gospel of Mark feels like you are riding along the bullet train A bullet train is a high speed […]

Single-Minded

Ezekiel 1:12-13 And they went every one straight forward; wherever the spirit would go, they went, and they turned not when they went.13 In the midst of the living creatures there was what looked like burning coals of fire, like torches moving to and fro among the living creatures; the fire was bright and out of […]