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 Revelation of Jesus Christ” (1:1) is in part a revelation of His holiness (3:7; 4:8). John’s reaction in 1:17 is a model for us: “When I saw Him, I fell at His feet as dead.” Each one of us must decide what we will do in response to our Lord’s holiness. In Psalm 51:17, a repentant David wrote and sang, “The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit: a broken and a contrite heart, O God, Thou wilt not despise.” We know that David was forgiven of great and grievous sins. This transformation began when he bowed down in his heart before God. When we do the same, our Savior will employ us for lasting – everlasting – good. I have long been intrigued by the remarkable Welsh Revival of 1904-05. Repentance and evangelism swept across the nation of Wales; crime nearly ceased, and most bars closed not because of new laws but because of a paucity of customers. Years before, a man named Evan Roberts heard a preacher who asked the congregation to pray for revival in that tiny land. Roberts prayed for that revival, and he specifically prayed for himself, “Bend me! Bend me!” He became a key figure in that revival, and the heart cry of the believers swept throughout the cities, towns, and countryside: “Bend the Church, and save the world!” If we will bend before Jesus, He will use us to save the world.