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 persistent malice of Satan and the demons (Revelation 9) necessitates a strong “stand” (Ephesians 6:14) from each Christian. Crucial to this standing is having “your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace” (Ephesians 6:15). Although this command is not speaking directly of evangelism, elsewhere in Scripture foot imagery is used about spreading the good news (“the gospel”) of salvation through faith in God the Son, Jesus Christ. Isaiah 52:7 prophesies, “How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him that bringeth good tidings, that publisheth peace; that bringeth good tidings of good, that publisheth salvation; that saith unto Zion, ‘Thy God reigneth!’” In the immediate context, the prophet is speaking of the joy of the return to Jerusalem of the Jewish people from their captivity in wicked Babylon. In Romans 10:15, the Apostle Paul, writing under the inspiration of God the Holy Spirit, applies the principle of this verse to Christian evangelism: “And how shall they preach, except they be sent? As it is written, ‘How beautiful are the feet of them that preach the gospel of peace, and bring glad tidings of good things!’” Yes, our “feeble” and “uncomely” feet (as we studied yesterday from I Corinthians 12:22-23) become “beautiful” when we share the message of eternal life available through faith in Jesus!