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.)
Prayer for forgiveness is part of “the prayers of all saints” that are ever “before the throne” of God (Revelation 8:3-4). Pride is one of mankind’s most persistent and pernicious problems. I Corinthians 4:6 speaks of the possibility of being “puffed up.” Verse 19 in the same chapter warns specifically about “the speech of them which are puffed up.” Job was certainly guilty of such pride. He spoke such hard (and inaccurate) things against God that “the LORD answered Job, and said, ‘Shall he that contendeth with the Almighty instruct Him? He that reproveth God, let him answer it’” (Job 40:1-2). Job’s challenging of God was prideful, and he needed forgiveness. In Job 42:6, he wisely prayed, “Wherefore I abhor myself, and repent in dust and ashes.” We all must learn to so humble ourselves, for “pride goeth before destruction, and [a] haughty spirit before a fall” (Proverbs 16:18). God’s full, free, and forever forgiveness is assuredly a better outcome.