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.)
Today, Jesus will love us (Romans 5:8, 10; 8:1, 38-39), will be faithful to us (Romans 8:14-17), and will work in us to strengthen us in our love and faithfulness. Romans 8:29 confirms that God is shaping us right now: “For whom He did foreknow, He also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brethren.” One area (of many) that requires His transformative power is prayer. Romans 8:26-27 says, “Likewise the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities: for we know not what we should pray for as we ought; but the Spirit [Himself] maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered. And He that searcheth the hearts knoweth what is the mind of the Spirit, because He maketh intercession for the saints according to the will of God.” The fact that we need God’s help to talk to Him – something that we should love to do – reminds us of how limited we are and how far we have to go before we are “conformed to the image of His Son.” Often when I am praying, I say, “Lord, You know.” When my words fail, the prayer continues through the efforts of the Triune Godhead (note verse 34, which reassures us that Jesus “also maketh intercession for us”). Thus, our Lord is at work not only through our prayers but also in our prayers. Such blessed thoroughness confirms that Jesus is at work today in our prayer lives.