Roll With The Changes – Especially In Experiencing Jesus!
Word-of-the-Day: ’<The Lord said through Isaiah, to the Israelites,> (18) “Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past. (19) See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland.”’ (Isaiah 43:18-19)
Who had the removal and arrest of Venezuelan Dictator Nicolas Maduro, the potential collapse of the Communist regime in Cuba, and the United States and Israel striking Iran to remove the threat of nuclear weapons it claimed it could make, on your 2026 ‘bingo card?’ Who could have seen the global power and influence shift happen away from the Russia/China/Iran axis? How about Europe showing that its ‘hand’ is very weak and without resolve?
We are completing the first quarter of 2026; it started with a more internal focus for the United States but now has shifted toward changing the game, and the players, of the global stage toward a more favorable cast for the US. It is hoped that with these changes, it also opens the already growing mission field in Iran and in the Middle East, in South America, and in the Caribbean.
In our personal lives, we may have already experienced a birthday – if not now it’s soon to come!, perhaps a loved one passed away or a child was born. We suffer illnesses, job loss, new jobs, retirement. We change in spite of our desire not to. Change is never easy to do, and is seldom something we look forward to. We want things to stay the same and predictable, as we know through repeated practice how to respond. The fact is; however, nothing ever stays the same – except for our Triune God. Nations come and go, people move around, war and peace interweave over the course of history.
In Isaiah, God is addressing Israel, through the prophet Isaiah. Israel had, up to this point, only had clues on its future and God’s chosen people. Since Moses, the worship of God was through sacrifices as prescribed in Leviticus and the Mosaic Law. The redemption and forgiveness of people were through the blood of animals, and the offering of their bodies on the altar. But, was the sacrifice of an animal sufficient for a human’s Salvation? Sacrifices were made over and over for a person wanting absolution of their sin. The Old Covenant wasn’t efficient and many believed (especially among the Israelites) that it only applied to them.
But God had a plan that involved His ‘mystery’; though it was hinted, God had a change planned all along for the people of the world, both the Jew and the Gentile. Through Isaiah, God provided His Ultimate Sacrifice. A Sacrifice that would be sufficient – a Sacrifice that would be good forever, once and for all. He also revealed his plan for a Savior, the one who would be the Sacrifice would shed His blood to provide Salvation, a freedom from the shackles of sin that all humans are held by, and by freedom from the sting of death, an ending to the mortal life we also all must face.
This plan also provided for the Messiah, who would forever lead His people, those who accepted the Sacrifice of the Savior for all eternity to be with the Father, to live without sin or death. The Messiah would be a King, in the lineage of David as promised, forever on the throne to govern and care for the people.
All this was a change to the people of the world; Jehovah was considered the God of the Jews, not of the Gentiles. They only knew the Levitical Law, the way written down by Moses from God’s spoken Word to him for worship. The change was foreign, likely even to Isaiah, and it wasn’t immediately implemented. From Isaiah’s writings to the arrival of the Messiah, 750 years had passed.
But the Messiah did come, and we know that the Messiah came in form of God Manifested, Jesus. Only Jesus, as God, could fulfill His role as the Ultimate Sacrifice and become the Savior to all who believe in Him. Jesus comes from the lineage of David, and as we enter Easter we celebrate and remember that point in history when everything changed; upon His crucifixion we had been given the Sacrifice that would be eternal, providing Salvation through His defeating sin and death, leading us into eternal life with the Father.
Change is inevitable; we must accept it, whether that change is on the world stage or on the eternal stage. If you are reading this and are a Believer Saved by the Grace of Jesus, go be the change agent for those who don’t Him. If you don’t Jesus, please seek Him. Repent of your sins and sinful nature, praying to Him to provide His gift of Salvation to you. Go seek a Christ-centered, Bible-focused church, and get a copy of the Holy Bible (in a translation that you can easily read and understand) and begin reading it (I recommend the Book of Luke in the New Testament, followed by Acts and then the Book of John).
Seek to fellowship with others who are Believers, to learn more about the nature of Christ and to experience Him through others. You will want to share Him with others, and prayerfully others did with you! Some change is scary, its often unpredictable. But God’s plan never changed, though our perception of His plan did – and your perception will change for the better if you change your life for serving Jesus.
