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 return today to the first part of Revelation 8. Verses 3-4 speak of “the prayers of all saints” and “the prayers of the saints.” The scene is the reception of all of these prayers “up before God” and “before the throne.” Since prayer is so obviously important to our Savior God, we should be serious about it, as well. In Luke 18:9-14, Jesus told a parable (a story with practical applications) about “certain which trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and despised others” (verse 9). The high and haughty one thought that he was God’s gift to God! He pompously pontificated, “God, I thank thee, that I am not as other men are, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this publican [tax collector]. I fast twice in the week, I give tithes of all that I possess” (verses 11-12). Such self-congratulation is not really prayer. It is communication, yes, but with the imagined adoring throngs and not with God. There is not the slightest note of dependence in this man’s pharisaical fantasy. Verse 14 delivers a divine verdict: “Everyone that exalteth himself shall be abased.” A convicting warning thus emerges: public preening is not prayer.