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 “has loved us, and washed us from our sins in His own blood” (Revelation 1:5). This all-encompassing love for His Church includes both commendation and correction. No loving parent would let a child play with fire or firearms, for injury to that child and probably others would ensue. “We are the children of God” (Romans 8:16b), and our loving Lord is always steering us in the right direction. After commending the first-century church at Pergamum (also called Pergamos) in Revelation 2:13, Jesus exhorts them to “repent” (verse 16). Some of their old pagan ways of worship – including eating food “sacrificed unto idols” and engaging in ritual “fornication” (verse 14) – had resurfaced. We are not certain what “the doctrine of the Nicolaitanes” (verse 15) was, but the people of that time would surely have known exactly what their false teaching was. A simple but vital application for us is to evaluate the people and ideas that we permit to influence us. I am grateful for the many sincere Christians who have consistently directed me into the good Gospel way. May we be like these fine folks – in word and in deed. Lord, let us “run the way of Thy commandments” (Psalm 119:32), and let us run back into Your “everlasting arms” (Deuteronomy 33:27). We are safe there.