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.)
Jesus, the Prince of Peace (Isaiah 9:6), gives us His peace, which is God’s best to us. This peace is from God (Luke 2:14; Romans 1:7) and with God (Romans 5:1). It is also the peace of God. In Philippians 4:7, Paul states that “the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.” Deep in our hearts, then, is the peace of God, if our faith is in Jesus as Savior. The context of Philippians 4 illustrates the practical outworking of this peace. Paul had experienced freedom and had abounded in it (verse 14); now, he was “abased” (also verse 14) by imprisonment for preaching the Gospel. The certainty of his salvation (certainly God’s best!) and the strong sense of purpose that God had given him sustained Paul in his distress. This is “the peace of God” – His very own peace given to us. Yes, His peace is right where we most need it – hidden in our hearts to help our hurts.