Nobody Left Out: Waves of Grace: A Messy, Broken, 40-Day Adventure Through the Book of Jonah

by Michael Murray

The Book of Jonah Is More Than a Fish Tale…

Jonah is one of the most famous stories in the Bible. Your classic "guy meets fish" story.

Guy meets fish. Fish swallows guy. Fish spits guy out on God's command.

It's easy to view Jonah as a nice little Bible story with a clear Obey God or get eaten by a whale. (Or big fish.)

But it's so much more than that!

Jonah flips everything we'd expect from a Bible story upside down. It uses humor and irony to share a profound message of grace.

In the book of Jonah…
Nobody Left Waves of Grace is a 40-day devotional through Jonah's story. In short, daily readings, we'll join Jonah on his adventure and see ourselves in each mess he creates.

We'll follow Jonah as he runs from God and gets caught in a storm.

We'll sink to the bottom of the ocean with him and wait for God's rescue.

We'll walk with him begrudgingly into Nineveh—a city Jonah despises—and consider what (or who) it represents for us.

And through it all, we'll get an up-close look at the waves of grace God has for us all.

Whether you grew up with the story of Jonah or have never cracked open a Bible, Nobody Left Waves of Grace will show you the depths of God's love for messy, broken people....

He doesn't want anyone left out!


About the

Michael Murray is just a messy, broken guy trying to follow Jesus one step at a time. He was born with cerebral palsy, a disability that affects motor skills. Living life with CP has given Michael a unique perspective on God's grace and mercy. He created the Nobody Left Out book series to share the good news that every single person matters to Jesus.

Michael and his wife Diana live in Orlando, FL, with their son Emmett and dog Ruby. He is a big fan of sweet tea, musicals, and writing about himself in the third person.

Genres: Christianity

146 pages, Paperback

Published May 14, 2022

Reviews

[Graham Cammock · Rating 5 out of 5]

Awesome, this is a very good book, especially in a Christian or saintly way and you can't knock it. If you want an in depth understanding of the book or story of Jonah, this is the book for you. Jonah is a stubborn character or prophet who disobeys God's command to travel to Ninevah to forewarn the Ninevites of impending judgement for their violent ways and to call them to repentance. Jonah disobeys God because Ninevah or Assyria is Israel's foe and so Jonah ends up in the belly of a fish. Inside the fish Jonah himself repents, is regurgitated by the fish and the carries out God's command. Even after fulfilling God's command, Jonah is still stubborn. The story of Jonah is about how God transforms our stubbornness and how we should obey God, forgive our enemies and love our neighbours etc. At one point the author says he once had a small argument with his wife and afterwards he apologised and said he was being Jonah, and I fully understand what he means, as we can all be stubborn Jonahs sometimes. There are several other parables of Jesus' in this book that are emotionally explained in depth, such as, the prodigal son and the good Samaritan etc. By reading this author's books you gain a deeper understanding of and bond with the Bible. You've got to be a devout and good Christian to read the Nobody Left Out Series, and I highly recommend them.

[Charlee Bailey]

This a 3 book daily devotion. This is the 2nd book about Jonah. There is a single topic for each devotional. There are bible segments to read for each days study. They are repetitive but germane to the story. The study is 40 days for each book.

We all know the story of Jonah but, this is an entirely different perspective - Jonah's. we read Jonah's POV for why he ran away when God told him to go to Nineveh. I have to admit this is the first time I've ever laughed during a bible study. Given Jonah's view of God's mercy does make you think in a different way. (I'm not saying Jonah was right, but I know that God does have a sense of humor).

Having the bible passages linked to other passages and presented from a different POV give me a level of understanding that I might have not thought about. The other thing that I realized is, we all have a Jonah in our lives, and sometimes we are Jonah!

[Ida Wilcox · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've read this along with "Nobody Left out; Jesus meets the messes" what an eye opening perspective on Jonah and God's word.

In my church Sunday school we just went over the story of Jonah and even though I have heard the story before, this time around it just felt different. It totally came alive to me, very personal. This book just put the icing on the cake.

How do I look at people who have done me wrong but God shows mercy. It makes you go deep.

LOVE IT

[Marie · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the most enjoyable devotionals I've ever read. It's the story of Jonah and the whale ( but was it actually a whale?), in 40 very short chapters that are meant to be read one per day. I was so caught up in Murray's fun style of writing that I often read several days' worth at a time. He's self published, so just Google it. His other devotionals are just as good!

[Fred Fanning · Rating 5 out of 5]

Inspiring Lessons

This book is filled with inspiring lessons for all Christians. I know I learned a lot. I can not think of a better theme than God not wanting to leave anyone out.

[Jeannie Campbell · Rating 5 out of 5]

In such an engaging approachable way, the author takes you on a journey through Jonah. I appreciate his way of looking at all the angles—the good and the ”bad” characters—and the supporting scriptures are often so insightful, bringing a new layer of understanding I hadn’t thought about.

[Mitchel Hortie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book. It helps to not judge others as quickly as one normally would, and to remember to love others and have mercy on those that you may consider an enemy. It's important to treat everyone with the same love and respect that God gives you.

[Josh Wright · Rating 3 out of 5]

For whatever reason, this book didn't quite resonate with me like I wanted it to. Maybe it's because Jonah is my favorite bible story and the author's approach differed from the one I would have taken. But it's very much worth a read.

[Lisa McClurg · Rating 5 out of 5]

All of the "messes" Bible studies are amazing. Easy for a beginner, but deep enough to challenge you to look further. I love his humor and perspective!