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 ongoing spiritual warfare against Satan and the demons will continue throughout the terrible time of the Tribulation (Revelation 9). We are to “stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth” (Ephesians 6:14a) of God’s Word. In a practical way, how do we put on this “truth”? A good example is the Apostle Peter. As our Lord had predicted, Peter had openly denied Jesus (Matthew 26:69-75). At this point in his life, Peter was a timid, even cowardly, man. Soon, though, he became one of the acknowledged leaders of the disciples (even before the coming of God the Holy Spirit on Pentecost to indwell each believer). The truth had not altered; it cannot, for truth is not relative but absolute. What had changed was Peter’s appropriation of and appreciation for that truth. He had experienced the bad news of God’s Word: he was a sinner, too weak to stand on his own. He then experienced the good news of God’s Word, for he was forgiven personally by Jesus (John 21:15-17). The spiritual battle for Peter would include martyrdom, as Jesus also specifically prophesied (John 21:18-19), but he was prepared even for that sad certainty. He knew that he was forgiven, and that central truth strengthened him to stand firm in the battle. May we likewise stand in the surety of our salvation.