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.)
Because the attacks of Satan and the demons are undeniably real (Revelation 9), we must be ready. We have considered Ephesians 6:14 this week: “Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness.” To this clear command, we add I Thessalonians 5:8a: “But let us, who are of the day, be sober, putting on the breastplate of faith and love.” This description does not contradict the previous one. Rather, we should recognize the connection of these attributes: faith works righteousness in love. Faith is inward, reassuring the inner man; love is outward, reaching to God and to others. It is always wise to remember that our Savior God is always doing more than one thing. Just as we cannot separate and compartmentalize His divine perfections, we cannot say that we as His people have faith without love – or righteousness without both faith and love. Our Lord is doing a complete work in us – and He will finish it: “Being confident of this very thing, that He [Who] hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ” (Philippians 1:8).