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 are to pray for good things (Matthew 7:7-11) as “the prayers of all saints” arise “before the throne” of God (Revelation 8:3-4). We thus must pray for others. The example of the Apostle Paul is instructive: “For God is my witness, whom I serve with my spirit in the gospel of His Son, that without ceasing I make mention of you always in my prayers.” To help me remember prayer needs, I keep a prayer list. When I do not have that list before me (such as at night when I am lying abed), I run through the pews of the church in my mind, think of the people who usually sit there, and intercede for them. Some people do not need such memory devices, but I do. The greatest example of praying for others is, of course, Jesus Christ. As He was being crucified, He repeatedly prayed, “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do” (Luke 23:34a). Each person who enters into a personal relationship with Jesus through faith in Him is forgiven, is eternally saved, and becomes another answer to this prayer of our Savior. Let us then emulate Him and repeatedly pray for others.