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 ongoing demonic warfare against all that is good (Revelation 9) can be daunting, but Ephesians 6:10-14a confirms that we can “stand” against any spiritual onslaught. We can “stand” firm – your mother might remonstrate, “Don’t slouch!” In other words, we need to “be strong in the Lord” (verse 10). We must not doubt the reality of spiritual warfare nor of the “power of His might” – that is, the power of our Savior God. Both are true. Psalm 97:10a wisely counsels and commands, “Ye that love the LORD, hate evil.” Both “love” and “hate” are more than emotional responses; they are choices. We must choose to stand with Jesus (“love”) and against Satan and the demons (“hate”). We must make repeated decisions to do the right things. In mark 12:30, Jesus said, “Thou shalt love the Lord thy God” – not just when there’s time, not just when things are going well, not just when we feel like it – “with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength.” We must resolve to “be sober” (self-controlled, spiritually well-balanced) and to “be vigilant” (wide awake) because our “adversary the devil” (I Peter 5:8) is real. However, our thoughts (“all thy mind”) must center on our Savior, the only source of true spiritual strength.