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.)
We have been reconsidering some of the reasons why the words of Jesus in Revelation 22:7a – “Behold, I come quickly – are sometimes relegated to the position of an afterthought. Another factor that can easily focus our attention elsewhere is our affluence. Jesus warned about “the deceitfulness of riches” in Matthew 13:22, and part of that deceitfulness is the obscuring of prophetic truth. Because we are quite comfortable with what we have – wealth and conveniences unimaginable to previous generations – it is a real temptation to cling to what we know and have. It is harder for modern Christians, especially in the United States, to direct our thoughts to a better world when in so many ways many of us are very happy with what we currently possess. It is always wise to self-evaluate and ask questions, including the following: “How much of a hold does money have on me?” Jesus presents us with an absolute choice: “Ye cannot serve God and mammon [money]” (Matthew 6:24c). Part of serving God is cherishing His Word, including prophecy, and recognizing that, as my pastor used to say frequently, “It’s better farther on.”