The most important five-letter word in Calvinism isn’t TULIP. It’s Jesus.

He has first place in everything (Col. 1:18). The whole Bible is about him (John 5:39). The apostle Paul tells us again and again that our swagger must go and we are to boast only in the Lord. “So let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord” (2 Cor. 10:17). If we are going to toot a horn, there’s one note we have: “But as for me, I will never boast about anything except the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ” (Gal. 6:14). Christ is our confidence. Christ is our cause. Christ is our song.

Let’s brag about Jesus. Parents have no problems bragging on their kids: Johnny did this at soccer… and you just won’t believe what little Sally said the other day. We brag about what we love.

You mind if I brag about the Lord for a minute? Join me.

The God Who’s There for Us

Jesus literally holds the entire universe together, and yet he’s never too busy for me. My Jesus walked on a Galilean sea, in the middle of a raging storm, and acted like it was no big deal. And another time, he told the wind and the waves that enough was enough: “Be still!” I can’t even get my dog to sit.

In the town of Cana, a groom failed to bring enough wine for the wedding after-party—a big embarrassing social no-no. Instead of running to the corner store, Jesus turned water into wine, showcasing his glory and his kindness for this failing newly-wed. Jesus helps failures. Jesus is there in crises.

Jesus is so kind to us that even when we are at our lowest, he still wants to keep us. Even when we wanted nothing to do with Jesus, he still wanted us. He still loved us. When I forget to ask Jesus for help, he still helps me.

The Messiah of the Misfits

The crowds mocked Jesus. So what? The Pharisees were always out to get him. No big deal. His family tried to get him to tone down his preaching. Fat chance. Jesus still hung out with the people that compromised his reputation. The people that society had kicked to the curb—Jesus went to them. He has a large heart for the outcasts, the misunderstood, the oddballs. He’s the Messiah of the misfits.

When I hear a noise in my backyard at two in the morning, I just hope it’s the neighborhood cat. Darkness and danger terrify me, but not Jesus. Our Lord went toe-to-toe with the demonic powers. Jesus stood up to these ancient bullies as they controlled and hurt men, women, and children. One command from Jesus and the demons scurried like roaches in the light.

Jesus encountered people with broken muscle tissue and misbehaving cellular structures, limbs, and organs. All fixed by the Carpenter of carpenters. The great Physician told a man with a shriveled and paralyzed hand to go ahead—stretch that arm out. Healed.

Jesus let Peter walk on water, contorting the sub-atomic properties of liquids and solids. And then he let Peter sink too, before enabling him to stand again. We’d all sink without Jesus.

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