Jaw-dropping Jewels about Jesus
Rarely does Jesus, God the Son, do exactly what we expect of Him. It seems odd that He so frequently surprises us, given that He never changes. Hebrews 13:8 makes this absolute statement: “Jesus the same yesterday, and today, and forever.” Still, though He is blessedly consistent in His goodness, Jesus does unforeseen things. Even when He does what is expected, He does not always do it in the way that we anticipate. Let us join with Jesus on a jaw-dropping journey. (I will be using this opening paragraph for each of the brief messages in this series. The following material will change daily.)
The disturbing demonic activity of Revelation 9 takes place during the Tribulation time. However, demons are active even now, and it is wise to be wise to them! Satan’s inveigling involvement in the lives of Christians is usually quite subtle. I Timothy 4:1-3 indicates that demons will endeavor to corrupt sound, Scriptural doctrine: “Now the Spirit speaketh expressly that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils [demons]; speaking lies in hypocrisy; having their conscience seared with a hot iron; forbidding to marry, and commanding to abstain from meats, which God hath created to be received with thanksgiving of them which believe and know the truth.” We can be certain of this: Satan will not stroll into our churches, introduce himself, and present a calm and reasoned refutation of our Biblical faith. He and the demons know that the Bible is true and that salvation is freely available through faith in Jesus Christ. They will seek to distract us from the clear truth by “experiences” and entertainment. They will try to distort God’s absolute statements, as Satan did in Genesis 3:1: “Yea, hath God said, ‘Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden?’” We are specifically warned that people within the Church will dispute some, most, or even all of Scripture: “For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine” (II Timothy 4:3a). God’s people should not have to “endure” Biblical teaching; we should embrace it! Let us be always aware that Satan is ever ready to attack God’s Word.