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 specific warning of Revelation 21:8 is a strong evangelical call: “But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death.” I know people who are naturally more “fearful” than others, but this designation is not referring to a personality trait. Rather, it references a cowardly rejection of the call of Christ Jesus. Sadly, some are so concerned about the disapproval of others that they refuse eternal salvation. Rather than face temporary persecution, they select everlasting “fire and brimstone.” Jesus warned about this cowardliness, especially in the parable of the seeds: “But he that received the seed into stony places, the same is he that heareth the word, and anon with joy receiveth it; yet hath he not root in himself, but dureth for a while: for when tribulation or persecution ariseth because of the word, by and by he is offended” (Matthew 13:20-21). In other words, this person chooses fear rather than faith. A reasonable person will see the folly of this choice and instead will decide to trust in Jesus and be set free eternally from all fear.