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.)
Jesus considerately commands all Christians to pray for good things (Matthew 7:7-11), for “the prayers of all saints” arise “before the throne” of God (Revelation 8:3-4). One of these good things is found in Matthew 26:41, where Jesus says, “Watch and pray, that ye enter not into temptation: the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.” This sentiment is echoed in the Lord’s Prayer: “Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil” (Matthew 6:13a). This teaching (like all teaching in Scripture) is eminently practical: if we are praying, we are not involved in sin for at least the time that we are praying! Moreover, steady seasons of supplication soften us to the things of God. The Biblical principle is clear: more prayer leads to less sin. Lord, as we pray, protect us from ourselves and our penchant to sin.