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 have spent several weeks considering some of the implications of the attacks of Satan and the demons (Revelation 9). We need “the whole armour of God” as delineated in Ephesians 6:10-18. Verse 18 tells us that this protective spiritual gear is fully engaged only if we are “praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints.” Earlier this year, based on Revelation 8:2-4, we studied the subject of prayer quite thoroughly, and I will not go into great detail today on this important topic. We should note, however, that our prayers are part of the ongoing spiritual battle that we and other Christians are inevitably in. The fact that the Apostle Paul specifically requests prayer for himself (Ephesians 6:19-20) is also noteworthy. This eager and effective evangelist understood that he needed intercessory prayer to continue “to make known the mystery of the gospel.” This dependence on prayer is instructive and reminds us that we can be part of an extensive evangelical effort through our simple and sincere prayers. When we pray, we are doing many things, including battling the evil intents of Satan and the demons.