Unchanging

    There was man from Brooklyn who went to court to change his last name from Kelly to Feinberg. Then a year later he went back to the same court to change is name again. This time he changed his name to Garibaldi. 

    It was at this time the judge asked the man "Mr. Feinberg this is the second time you have petitioned this court to change your last name with in a year. Now I must ask you are you trying to make the court confused or foolish?" 

    The man replied "No not at all your Honor" 

    "Well then why are you changing your name then" asked the judge

    The man replied "Because your Honor my neighborhood keeps changing" 

We live in a world full of change do we not. From culture, to technology, to style, to politics nothing stays the same. In our church we have a wonderful godly lady who is 101 years old I can't imagine the changes she has seen in her lifetime. She used to teach in a one room school house years ago. Now today schools can do online learning. Students used to write there ABC on slate, now students are taking home computers home instead of books. 

    However even in my own life I have seen quite a few changes myself and I am just 45 years old. I can remember my teachers always talking about how I needed to memorize my multiplication tables because i won't always have a calculator around. I would love to go back in time and show them everything my phone can do now. Just a few short decades we went from pen and ink, to computers, to laptop's and now tablets. 

    Now one thing is for sure, we don't always like change. In fact many times we fight it tooth and nail. We like the familiar, the ol' reliable but change tends to mess those two things up. We don't like to change our routine, and learn new things.

    It was not too long ago that Taco Bell had said that they were doing away with the Taco Pizza. When it was announced there was a great outcry to Taco Bell to bring it back. The odd thing is that I willing to wager that many of those people had probably not bought a Taco Pizza from Taco Bell in quite sometime. In fact I am pretty sure that the the reason why Taco Bell made such a move was because there were not that many people actually buying that menu item. 

    

    So why the outrage? Why the outcry to bring back a menu item few people actually ate on a regular basis? Well my hunch is that they were familiar with it, they depended on it being there. I think they correlated the Taco Pizza with Taco Bell. For Taco Bell getting rid of the Taco Pizza would be like McDonalds getting rid of the BigMac or Burger King getting rid of the Whopper. It was changed that the people spoke and said they did not like it, so bring it back! 

We sometimes can read certain stories in scripture and think that God has some how changed. When we read stories like the Red Sea crossing and how Israel walked across the Sea on DRY GROUND! WOW!  Or when we read about how Daniel was throne into the lion's den, filled with hungry blood thirsty lions and spent the night and the next Day Daniel was perfectly fine with not a scratch on him.

We read stories about Shadrach, Meshack and Abednego, and how they were thrown in a fiery furnace and not only where they not burned, they did not even smell like smoke!  Or when we read about how Jesus hearing of Lazarus's death called out to him to come out of the grave and Lazarus who was dead for 4 days all of a sudden came back to life! We read these stories and it can cause us to think that perhaps that God and the God of Today are some how different. We sometimes can think that the God of the Old Testament and the God of the New Testament has some how changed. 

When we think about God, we need to understand that one of His Characteristics is that He does not change. He is unchanging. He is the same yesterday, today and tomorrow, and will be the same for all eternity.  He will not change His Nature, His Power, His Character, or His will. He is unchanging. The God that Abraham worshiped is the same God that David danced for, and it is the same God we read about in Revelation chapter 5 and 6.  He can not be forced to change His will, or His ways, He is unchangeable. 

“Because I, Yahweh have not changed you descendents of Jacob have not been Destoryed (Malachi 3:16)

When that passage was written the nation of Israel had been in rebellion against God and His words for years. Time after time they had followed after other Gods and followed the examples of other nations. They had at one time said that they would follow God and His word, but the nation had changed and no longer were faithful to the God of Abraham Isaac and Jacob. 

     So what is God's response to there change of heart? How does God respond to there constant and consistent rebellion? Well God tells us that He has not changed and for that reason alone Jacob has not been destroyed. God is saying, even though your loyalty towards me, and your love for me has changed, my love and my promises toward you have not changed. In short God is saying "You might have changed but I have not" 

    Now this should be a great comfort for you and I. You see there is nothing you or I can do that will ever change God's love for us. We can know for certain that all the promises that God makes in His word He will keep. All of the things God tells us about who He is, will not change. The God you relied on last year, is the same God you can rely on today. He is the same yesterday, today and forever more. 

     You see the unchangeableness of God can give us comfort in the day and age in which we are living in. In a time when change is happening all around us, God is still the same. When the issues of life change unexpectedly, God is still the same. When facing the challenges and uncertainties of change that we all must go through in this life, God is still the same. When nothing in your life seems familiar or dependable, God has not changed. 

SO take a moment out sometime today or this week to read one of those great stories in the bible. Maybe the story of the Exodus journey, Elijah on Mt. Carmel, or Daniel in the lions den. Maybe the story about Jesus walking on water, or maybe the story of how a viper bit Paul and he did not die.

 But what ever story you decide to read, remember that the same God you read about in those stores is the same God today. Then take some time to  pray to God and thank him that He is unchangeable. He can do great things in your life today, because he has done great thing in the lives of others in the past. 

Triune God

    For the past several months we have been going through the book of Revelation, and one night a few weeks ago we got into a discussion about God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit and it led to us discussing the Trinity.  

    Now what I find interesting and what seems to be the number one argument when it comes to the doctrine of the trinity is that the word Trinity cannot be found in the bible. Many will say things like "How can you believe in a doctrine when the word for that doctrine cannot be found anywhere in scripture. 

    The truth is that they are correct in saying that the word Trinity cannot found anywhere in any of the 66 books of the bible. But does that mean that the doctrine is incorrect or that it is a false doctrine?  Well to answer that question I would say No. Just because the word trinity is not found in the bible does not mean the doctrine is not found in scripture. Just like you can read throughout the bible and you will never find God saying "you should not smoke meth" but I think we can all agree that there are enough principals in scripture that would point you to the idea that the bible speaks against it. 

    When it comes to the doctrine of Trinity we find the principals from the very first few chapters of Genesis.  We see it throughout the bible in various stories and passages of scripture all the way to the last book of the bible, book of Revelation. 

 “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness. And let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over the livestock and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.”- (Gen 1:26)

    Notice that here in the very beginning God is speaking to himself in the plural. In fact the word for God in the bible is Elohim which in Hebrew is in a plural form. 

“And the Holy Spirit descended upon Him (Jesus) in bodily form like a dove, and a voice came out of heaven, (that’s the Fathers Voice)  “You are my beloved Son, in you I am well pleased”- (Luke 3:22)

   Notice here that all three persons of the Trinity is represented; God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit.  

    There are many many other passages that out line the doctrine of the Trinity throughout the scriptures. 

 The Baptist Faith and Message define the Trinity as "The eternal triune God reveals himself to us as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, with distinct personal attributes, but without division of nature, essence, or being.”

    Now the definition is one thing understanding it far different. The idea of the trinity is a bit hard to wrap your head around. There is One God, and Only ONE God. The doctrine of the Trinity is not a doctrine of polytheism ( the belief in many God's) it is a monotheistic ( the belief in One singular God) doctrine. This being said this one God has three distinct persons. God the Father is God, God the Son is God, and God the Holy Spirit is God. All three are God and yet all there are separate but equal persons.

 

    Some have tried to make since of the Trinity by using various illustrations. None of those illustrations can really explain the doctrine quite correctly. I think the best illustration I think fits best for me  is what my professor shared to us in seminary when we were talking about the doctrine of the Trinity, He said "God in one and one in three and the one in the middle saved me". 

    Now none of these illustrations are perfect and they still don't fully explain the doctrine of the Triune God we find throughout the bible. In fact the doctrine of the Trinity is one of those great mysteries of how it all works and no one really fully understand this doctrine completely .
John Wesley very appropriately said "Bring me a worm that can comprehend a man, and then I will show you a man that can comprehend the Triune God"

    And I think here lies something for us to grab ahold of. Many times we want to know it all. We don't like feeling there is something we don't know or even worse can't know. When I was going to school I struggled with tests and I did not like the idea that my peers were learning things that I struggled to grasp. 

    However we need to understand that when we are talking about God and who He is, there are things we will never know. We need to be ok with not knowing certain things, in fact we talk about God, we should expect it. Think about it how could you and I who are finite, limited beings ever comprehend a limitless, timeless, eternal, all powerful and all knowing God. I mean there are things we don't know about creation. There are planets that we have explored. There are large areas of our own planet that we our selves have not seen. We are all the time discovering new creatures. So why would we think we would know everything about the one who created all things? 

    Finally, would we really want a God we could fully and completely understand? Isn't far better to have a God we can't understand, but who understands us? I think it is. So take some time today and thank Him that even though you cannot fully understand Him completely, He understands you.

God's Personal Letter to Us

    Not to long ago the President of the United States delivered his State of the Union Address. This is a time when the president can boast about his accomplishments, challenge his critics, and inform the public about the direction the country is taking. It is broadcast on all the major news outlets, and can be watched on your computer. The goal and the idea is so that everyone can hear what the president is saying, and what the president is doing. 

    Now I think we could all agree that if the president of the united states wrote you a personal hand written letter telling you about what he had been doing, and the direction he was taking our country. It would be a bit different than the State of the Union Address he delivers to the entire world. It would probably be a bit more personal, there would probably be more specific information. 

    When we talk about God speaking with us there really are two main ways God does this. The first way is what is called His "General Revelation". Think of it like the Presidents State of the Union Address. It is something God reveals to everyone, in every culture, tribe and nation. God reveals things about who He is, What He does through his creation. As you see the stars, or watch the sun rise, or look at the birds flying through the air you can't help but realize that there is a God. The same God who made the large blue whale, also made the smallest bacteria. 

The heavens are sounding the glory of God; the arch of the sky makes clear the work of his hands.- (Psa 19:1)

For there is a revelation of the wrath of God from heaven against all the wrongdoing and evil thoughts of men who keep down what is true by wrongdoing; Because the knowledge of God may be seen in them, God having made it clear to them. For from the first making of the world, those things of God which the eye is unable to see, that is, his eternal power and existence, are fully made clear, he having given the knowledge of them through the things which he has made, so that men have no reason for wrongdoing: Because, having the knowledge of God, they did not give glory to God as God, and did not give praise, but their minds were full of foolish things, and their hearts, being without sense, were made dark. Seeming to be wise, they were in fact foolish,- (Rom 1:18-22)    

     While God does speak to us through Creation, there is another way God has chosen to speak to you and I. God speaks to us though various personal or special means that theologians call "Special Revelation". Think of it like a personal letter sent to you from God. God has chosen to reveal more information to you about Himself, His purpose, and His Plan's in a special and unique way. 

    This letter from God to you, this special revelation is found in the word of God. The word of God can be broken down into 66 individual books of the bible. It is divided into two main sections the Old Testament, and the New Testament. The Holy Spirit breathed this word through Human authors, who were divinely chosen for the task of writing down God's words. God used these personalities, writing styles, and personal experiences to accomplish this task. Every word of the bible is fully inspired, every book, every chapter, every sentence and every word is from God to you. 

 “ The bible as a whole is the Word of God, so that in every part of Scripture there is both infallible truth, and divine authority”- Charles Spurgeon 

 “The Bible is a great revelation of the will of God. It is divinely inspired, every book and chapter and verse” M.E. Dodd ( President of the SBC 1934-1935)

“All Scripture is God-Breathed and is useful for teaching, rebukeing, correcting and training in righteousness so that the man of God maybe thoroughly equipped for every Good work”- (2 Tim 3:16-17)

 Paul is saying in that passage some remarkable things about God's word.

 He tells us that All scripture is God Breathed or Inspired. That means that every part of the bible is God's word, and is important. It was given to us by God for us to read and study and memorize. It means that it can be trusted, its reliable. It means that it has authority and it should be followed. This is not some ordinary book, this a God's word to you and me. This is more important than recieving a letter from the President of the United States!  

    He tells us that the bible is useful, it has value and power. It has value to teach us, to correct us, to train us in the right way to live our lives. It holds truth's that have been time tested and have God's seal of approval. 

    Finally Paul tells us that it is needed for the believer especially. This book is not for the lost world who does not know Christ, it is for those who are saved. You see the bible is not just Divinely inspired but it is also Divinely illuminated. Another words until and unless you get saved by putting your faith in Jesus Christ to save you from your sins and reconcile you back to God. You will not fully understand this book. The bible will not make since to you.

     Before I got saved I was raised in church and knew some scripture, but when I God saved the word of God became alive to me. As I read it, it was as if God was speaking right to me. Its been many years since I have been saved and I have read God's word time and time again. I have read the bible from Gen to Rev several times over. Still to this day I am hearing God speak to me through it. He reveals new truths from passages I have read through time and time again. You see God is the author and He speaks to us through it. 

The Self Sufficient Eternal God

    There was this boy who was playing outside one day. He was throwing his ball out in the back yard. It just so happened that this boy had thrown a little too hard and the ball landed on top of the roof of his home. The ball rolled down the roof and the boy was hoping that the ball would just simply fall down. Unfortunately however the ball got stuck in the gutter. 

    Well this was a real problem for the boy and he began to think about what he could do to fix this situation and get his ball back. He looked around and saw a large branch from a near by tree and He thought that he might be able to use it to push the ball off. Sadly the branch did not quite reach the ball. 

    Next the boy thought about the large ladder in his fathers garage. "Surely it is tall enough for me to use to climb up on the roof and retrieve my ball. 

    So off the boy goes into the garage to retrieve the ladder. The boy struggled under its weight but he managed to drag the large ladder out of the garage as he headed toward the house. 

    Fortunately the boys father saw his young son struggling and fighting trying to drag this large ladder to the house. The father came over to the boy and asked what his son was doing. 

    The Father than smiled and told the boy that he would get the ball down for him. He took the ladder and effortlessly moved the ladder to the exact spot where the ball was. He climbed up the ladder and retrieved the ball for his son. 

    This story really does highlight an important truth that many of us need to learn and relearn. It highlights a lesson that is true not just for that boy but for all of us. That lesson is this; All of us need help from time to time. 

    Everyone of us at one time or another needed some help. When you were a baby, you relied on your parents to feed you, clean you and cloth you. When you got older you needed to learn to read and write. So you needed to rely on a teacher to teach you those things so you would have an education. When you became an adult you needed a job, so you maybe needed to learn a skill, or a trade and you had to have on the job training to help you know what you needed to be done. No matter how independent you think you are, no matter how self sufficient you believe yourself to be. There was and will always be times in your life when you need to rely on someone else for one thing or another. 

    While this is certainly true for you and I. This is most defiantly not the case when it comes to God. God is indeed self sufficient. There is not one thing or being that God needs. There is not one thing that God is lacking or is in short demand of. He is at all times compete and self reliant. 

     The reason for this is that God has always exited. God has neither beginning or end, He never had an origin story. There was never a time in history where God did not exist. There is not one thing that God does not know, that He does not control, and that is beyond his reach. Because God is the creator of both heaven and earth, then there is nothing in heaven or on earth that He is needing, or has to have. Listen to what Paul says about God in Romans 11: 36;

 “From Him and through Him and to Him are all things. To Him be the glory forever"

    I say all that to say this. Sometimes we can have the misconception that some how God needs us. That sometimes things won't get done if we don't do it. We can sometimes have the mind set that we are somehow so important to God. 

    Sometimes we try to bargain  with God when hard times comes in our lives. We say things like this "God if you will do this or that, then I will get saved."  "God if you will answer this prayer, I will get my life strait." "Lord if you will do this for me today, I will go to church and serve you" 

    No matter how spiritual these things may sound the truth is that it reeks of pridefulness and a complete ignorance of who God is. When people do this they are trying to bargain with God with things that God doesn't even need. You see while God wants you to be saved, God does not need you to be saved, you need that. Your the one who needs to get your life right. You are the one who needs to go to church. You see God may want you to do those things but God is not needing you to do those things. 

    Sometimes we as Christians can have the false notion that God needs us to share the gospel. We can have the view point that if we don't do this ministry then God's work won't be accomplished. We sometimes think that we are more important than we really are. 

    We need to understand that serving God, preaching the gospel, and worshiping Him. These are things that God needs, these are things that God deserves. He deserves our service, He deserves our worship, and He deserves us telling others about all that He has done, namely His provision of salvation.

    We need to see these things a privileges. God does not need us to do anything for Him. He is more than capable of reaching the world with the gospel without you. He is able to do everything He wants to do with our without you. It is a privilege that from God that He uses us to do these things. Sharing the gospel, serving God by serving others, and being active in worship are all privileges from God.  

    So my encouragement to you is that we don't take these privileges for granted. Understand that God wants you to be saved, and its you that needs to be saved. God wants you to serve Him by serving others, and you are the one who will be blessed by doing it. God wants you to worship Him this week, and it is you that needs to take sometime out of your day to do it. God wants you to share the gospel, and you are who will have the joy of being used by God to share the good news with those who need it to be saved.

Take some time to watch this small video devotion that talks even more about the self sufficient God we serve.