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.)
The disturbing and distressing certainty of demonic activity (Revelation 9) must be met with each asset available to the Christian. If we are to “stand” (Ephesians 6:14), we must avail ourselves of the belt of “truth,” the breastplate of righteousness,” and the sandals of the “preparation of the gospel of peace” (verses 15-16). Furthermore, verse 17 states, “Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked.” “Above all” does not mean that this piece of spiritual armor is more important than the others; it simply means “in addition to.” We should also note that in the original Greek “wicked” is “wicked one,” a designation for Satan himself. Because his assault against us is savagely personal, we need the full protection of the large “shield of faith.” This shield, measuring roughly 2 ½ feet wide and 4 feet long was sometimes called “the soldier’s door” because it afforded so much protection. It was made of strong wood overlaid with rugged leather and was designed to prevent the enemy’s weapons from even getting to the inner armor. We are reminded again of the intensity of our battle against the forces of evil, and we are assured that we “shall be able” to “stand” in this ongoing and inevitable conflict.