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 dastardly demonic attacks of the Tribulation (Revelation 9) are also directed against Christians today. We are thus enjoined to “put on the whole armour of God” (Ephesians 6:11), including “the helmet of salvation” (verse 17). This piece of protection particularly guards our minds against doubt and discouragement. Satan will try to discourage us regarding our families and our health. Furthermore, he will seek to weave wicked worry into our thoughts about our personal finances. We might begin to think that we could serve Jesus better if we had great wealth. As with health, some greedy and grasping Christians will erroneously sniff that our comparative lack of riches is a sign of God’s disfavor. Four points come quickly to mind. First, it is never wise to sidle up to Satan’s side on any subject, for he is ever and always a liar (John 8:44). Second, the Scripture calls wealth a “temptation” and “a snare” (I Timothy 6:9). Third, such an attitude is disdainful of most of our brothers and sisters in Christ who live in developing countries. The warning of I Timothy 6:17a is specific: “Charge them that are rich in this world, that they may not be highminded, nor trust in uncertain riches, but in the living God.” Fourth, I Timothy 6:6 reminds us that “godliness with contentment is great gain.” It may well be that our “contentment” will be far more effective as a testimony to others than any amount of money that we might give. “The helmet of salvation” will help to protect us from discouragement about our financial lives.