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.)
Because of the reality of demonic assault (Revelation 9), we are kindly commanded, “Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of His might. Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places” (Ephesians 6:10-12). This frank and specific warning should garner our attention. Because Satan “is a liar, and the father of it” (John 8:44), we should expect that he will be subtle and sly, tricky in tripping us up (“the wiles of the devil”). The contrast with Jesus is, of course, absolute, for Jesus is “the Truth” (John 14:6). We are to “stand” is this truth. The detailed military imagery of this passage reminds us that Christianity is not spineless sentimentality. We are not jello nor jellyfish. Rather, we are soldiers and are called to stand firm in our faith. “Be strong in the Lord”; take your stand; stand your ground; resist. The battle is real and ongoing.