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.)
As we await the certain return of Jesus (see especially I Thessalonians 4:13-18 and Titus 2:11-15), we see abiding evidences of His love, a core characteristic (Luke 13:34; 19:41-44) that deals with our emotions and intellects (Matthew 24:3-10) and our wills (Luke 22:39-46). Furthermore, we see that this is a love that grants genuine spiritual power. In Acts 1:6-11, Jesus ascends to heaven with the promise that He will return “in like manner” (verse 11). Until that promised return, He has also promised “power” (verse 8). Specifically, God the Holy Spirit would inhabit and indwell each believer. II Corinthians 1:22 tells us that “[God] hath also sealed us, and given us the earnest of the Spirit in our hearts”; the real presence of the Holy Spirit is thus guaranteed. In Ephesians 1:13b-14a, we read, “Ye were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise, [Who] is the earnest of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession.” Therefore, the giving of the Holy Spirit to each of us points to the return of Jesus; the Spirit’s present presence is the promise of Jesus’ coming for His people. It is also helpful to reverse the thought: because Jesus is coming again, we know that we have the spiritual power that we need now. In the person of the Holy Spirit, then, we are assured that we are never alone and never without strength, and we are assured that Jesus our Savior will return for us.