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 considered yesterday, we need both “the song of Moses” and “the song of the Lamb” (Revelation 15:3) in our worship. If Christians of any century could attend our churches today, they should be able to recognize that our worship of the Trinity is consistent with their historical worship. Like them, we should pray openly and fervently. Similarly, we should read the Scripture and teach and preach from it. Unfortunately, an increasing number of churches are led by people who do not believe that the Bible is the infallible, inerrant, Spirit-inspired Word of God. These churches are, as we would expect, usually popular. We are reminded of the frightening words of Jesus in Matthew 7:21-23: “Not every one that saith unto Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of My Father [Who] is in heaven. Many will say to Me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Thy name? And in Thy name have cast our [demons]? And in Thy name done many wonderful works?’ And then will I profess unto them, ‘I never knew you: depart from Me, ye that work iniquity.’” The use of “many” indicates that a large number of church-going people are not actually believers. An emphasis on the Gospel message must be an integral part of each church’s mission. The heavenly focus on “the Lamb” must be our focus as well.