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 petite pause in God’s plan of judgment in the Tribulation period places great value on silence: “And when He had opened the seventh seal, there was silence in heaven about the space of half an hour” (Revelation 8:1). This short cessation of sound has practical application for us. In a list of seven things that are an “abomination” to God, we find three that are the opposite of silence: “a lying tongue,” a false witness that speaketh lies,” and one who “soweth discord among brethren” (Proverbs 6:16-19). Such a warning should cause us to pause and reflect on the inherent dangers of not practicing silence. Proverbs 26:20-22 warns specifically of the “talebearer” as a source of trouble. All of us have been hurt by what others have said; it is likely that all of us have likewise hurt others. One of the most consistent Christians I have ever known began each day, before getting out of bed, by reciting Psalm 141:3: “Set a watch, O LORD, before my mouth; keep the door of my lips.” That genuine desire worked out into that godly woman’s daily living. The things of God are not self-contained; they spread out into all that we do. Lord, may our silence before You help us to be appropriately silent with others when we are tempted to be talebearers.