Without a doubt our world is always changing. Besides the way we operate, other things change. Our morals. Our values. Our standards. Sometimes that is good; most often not so. Post-modernism’s basic philosophy is there are no absolutes. “Whatever floats your boat.” “If it feels good do it.” And so we make up our own rules, sometimes even changing them midstream. We wouldn’t do that playing Monopoly or Backgammon or even Chutes and Ladders. There are rules to follow. And yes, we don’t want to live that way. We want to make up rules as we go along to fit the situation, or even our mood.
One constant in the life of the Christ-follower is that God never changes. He’s not willy-nilly in His dealings with us. He’s not phlegmatic (wishy-washy) in His feelings toward sin. He doesn’t okay it one time and then come down hard on us the next. I know as a parent, even though I tried to be consistent, there were times I wasn’t depending on my mood, my schedule, or even how I felt. But God is consistent.
This coming Sunday I’m preaching on Our Unchanging God. This morning I read the following couple of sentences:
The strength of the covenant God made with Israel (and with all who would believe thereafter) doesn’t lie in our ability to measure up to God’s standards. If it did, we’d all fall hopelessly short. It rests on the unchanging nature of God’s character. {From Refresh Our Hope-Lori Hatcher-p.88)
God made a covenant with Noah; He kept it. He made a covenant with Abraham; He kept it. He made a covenant with the people of Israel of a Messiah; He kept it. He made a covenant with us; He kept it (that is where Jesus come in). God never changes. His character is always the same. His standards are always the same.
As for me? I’ll trust the ONE who is always the same. Always kept and keeps His promises. Said He would never leave me or forsake me. Never fails. Steady as a rock.
Change is good. I’m all for it in most cases. But I prefer a God who doesn’t change.
Well said, Bill. While they may be cliches, they are true: Jesus is the rock of our salvation, the cornerstone of our faith. In this unsteady world, He is the only anchor that can hold us steady.
Cliches yes. But like you said, Pam, straight on truth.
Thank goodness that God is changeless! Too many things in this world are unpredictable, swayed by the feelings at the time. We simply cannot trust in human beings to be steadfast. Only God remains true from beginning to end.
Blessings, Bill!
You said it right Martha when you said “we simply cannot trust human beings to be steadfast.” Ain’t that the truth! And yes, I am glad God 8is changeless.
I remember having a conversation with my kids when they were little regarding how games were played. I found it interesting how an unnamed oldest would frequently “adjust” the rules mid-game to finagle a win. The two younger siblings not knowing better would often not notice until they had lost.
God definitely isn’t like that. He established the rules, the rules were broken. He provided another chance, the rules were broken again, 3rd, 4th, 5th… the same thing… Then He said enough is enough. Jesus is going to step in and finish this thing.
Thankful that God not only is Just, but is Unfair to our benefit. I deserve nothing, yet I have gained everything. Talk about hope, talk about life, talk about joy.
Praise God He is making the rules and not me!
Would that unnamed oldest one happen to have a name that begins with “D”? That made me chuckle. But I’m glad God decided to take care of our inability to make things right. The cross settled that issue.
So thankful that we serve a never ending, never changing God. I love that we can challenge any world view, our own view, anything we think has truth, take it back to the Bible, and have the absolute standard of truth to measure everything up against. When any view or thought is not in line with Gods, you need to understand you are wrong and God is right. We need an absolute truth from God to keep us on track and in the right frame of mind.
Most definitely agree Gail. As you know, I believe we need to take everything taught to us, told to us, and that we read back to the Bible. Only on His absolute truth can we rely.
Yes! Praise God, He never changes! My sweet mom used to tell me often, “Cheryl, there are three things God cannot do. He cant change. He can’t lie. And He can’t fail.” In this upside-down, perverse, mixed up world where evil is called good and good is called evil, we can rest in the arms of the One who is pure holiness personified and who will always be 100% righteous. That comforts me more than I can even put into words. As things become darker and more and more people compromise the truth and cave to the wokeness and evil, it makes me long to run to the foot of the cross and cling to it with all my might. I wrote about kneeling at the cross today on my blog, in case you care to read it. https://www.homespundevotions.com/2023/09/kneel-at-cross.html
God bless you, Pastor Bill.
Your mother spoke truth Cheryl. Thanks for the staunch defense of the unchanging nature of God. And yes, I would be interested. I’m surprised it did not show up in my email or my feedly. Hmmm. I’ll have to check into that.