Greetings Saints and Friends,
​In the dark depths of the oceans, where the light of the sun can not penetrate, where the pressure is more than enough to burst your eardrums, the luminous anglerfish and lantern fish enjoy life. “Wow, Peter! Did you see Debbie!?” “Simply amazing, Stanley, simply amazing. God is so imaginative. He never creates even one of us luminous fish exactly the same. The way each of us has our own unique color combination when we light up down here in the dark is simply amazing. Do you remember the story of that big fish who met with our ancestors and told them that God had created him for the special task of swallowing one man?” “Oh, yes. What was his name?” “It was Jolly. Jolly fish, that’s what it was. It’s said that he did seem to be quite the fish, too. And the story he had to tell of the one that got away was interesting, to say the least. Imagine, a man being tossed overboard from a ship to keep it from breaking apart and sinking to the bottom of the sea.” “Wasn’t that man’s name Jonah?” “Yes, it was. It’s said that after Jolly swallowed Jonah, God directed his course to swim for three days in the dark. During the time that he swam around, Jolly could not tell if Jonah was alive or not. Finally, God told Jolly to vomit Jonah onto the seashore.” Jonah 2:10
​“Peter, do you know the reason why the story of Jonah and Jolly is passed down from generation to generation?” “Yes. For humans, Jonah was called a sign. That is, something that would point to Jesus when He came to pay for mankind’s sins. Jesus pointed this out when talking with a group of people. Though Jesus had been healing people of all kinds of sickness and diseases, casting out demons, and raising the dead, there were some who continued to disbelieve who He is. They came to Jesus with a chip on their shoulder and said to Him, ‘Teacher, we want to see a sign from You.’ To which Jesus replied to them, ‘No sign will be given to you except the sign of the prophet Jonah. For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the great fish, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.’” Matthew 12:38-40
“That’s right. After Jesus was crucified, His lifeless body was taken down from the cross by Joseph of Arimathea, wrapped in fine linen, and placed in a borrowed tomb. John 19:38-42 Then as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the great fish, Jesus spent three days and three nights in the tomb. Then He arose again as He said He would do.” “Stanley, do you remember the saying passed down the fish-line to us?” “Oh yes. I can remember the expression on Granddaddy’s shiny fish face when he would say, ‘Death breathed a sigh of relief when Jesus got up and left the tomb, even as Jolly fish happily deposited Jonah onto the seashore!’”
​“But there is a reason that the story of Jonah and Jolly has been passed down to us, too.” “That’s right. And I am so thankful for that. Jolly helps us to know what those great splashes in the water are that we can feel all the way down here in the depths of the sea where man can not go. If I had not known what those are, I would be a fearful fish at the sound and movement of the water.” “There it is! Did you feel that one, Stanley!” “I felt the weight of it all!” “It’s certainly not the first batch, but I’m always amazed at how far down they go. Not even we, created by God for the fathoms of the sea, can plunge to the depths where He casts mankind’s sins. What a promise He has given them: ‘You will cast all our sins into the depths of the sea.’ Micah 7:19 To think, way down there somewhere are the sins of Adam, Eve, Abraham, Daniel, David, Paul, Mary, Luke, and all who trust in Jesus as their Savior. Since the time that Jesus paid the price for their sins, then arose on the third day in victory, all the sins of those who trust in Him continue to be cast into the depths of the sea, never to be brought up.” “Simply astonishing, Stanley, simply astonishing! And there are no sins that God can not forgive, when someone trusts in Jesus.
​Today anyone can say to Him: ‘Jesus, thank You for paying for all of my sins when You died in my place and rose again. Cast all of my sins into the depths of the sea and help me to live for You. Amen’ Have you allowed Jesus to make a splash for you?”