Things Can Change – God Doesn’t!

Word-Of-The-Day: ‘<God said,> “I the Lord do not change…”’ (Malachi 3:6a); ‘Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.’ (Hebrews 13:8)

Many of us ‘seasoned Baptists’ have experienced the different ‘flavor-of-the-week’ programs the Baptist church has gone through over the years. ‘WWJD’ (‘What Would Jesus Do?’) in the 1990s was followed with the ‘Prayer of Jabez’ and the series of sermons that followed, and then the ‘Purpose-Driven Church’ of Pastor Rick Warren.

Some of these programs or ‘flavors’ aren’t bad. ‘WWJD’ is a great reminder we should ponder when faced with a decision on how to act; would Jesus do ‘X’, or ‘Y’? What are the moral and ethical ramifications of the paths I can choose from, and which one would best reflect Jesus to others?

Jabez, whose name meant ‘pain’, doesn’t have a big part in the Bible, but in 1 Chronicles 4:9-10 his prayer was recorded, asking the Lord to spare him from pain and ‘expanding his territory’. The Bible states the Lord granted Jabez his request, but some debate whether ‘territory’ was actual land or influence. I believe in the more literal interpretation myself, but if I’m praying for the blog I pray it’s ‘territory of influence’ expands, for a greater audience to God’s Word.

The ‘Purpose-Driven Church’ movement started with good intentions, and I won’t go further into it other than it seemed to go off the rails quickly and most churches don’t follow the principles of ‘Purpose-Driven’ anymore. (The primary purpose a church should perform is the Great Commission through the provision of the Gospel of Christ.)

Music programs change with the demographics and the times, and while some may miss the old hymns other appreciate the upbeat contemporary music.  But the contemporary music styles change as well. The songs of the 1990s are different than the songs of the ‘oughts’, and they sound old to the music of today.

But the bottom-line, fundamental message of God and His son Jesus never changes; the Gospel of Christ is the same today as it was yesterday as it will be tomorrow. Fortunately for us, the one thing that never changes and is always predictable is God. 

The Word of God is predictable as well.  Over 300 prophecies in the Old Testament are fulfilled within the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus.  When God says to do something – do it.  When God says it’ll happen – it will happen. 

It may not happen as we think it should happen but it will happen the way God plans for it to happen.  The ‘Left Behind‘ series gives a great story on how author Tim LaHaye predicts the End Times unfolding, and many of us have our predictions on our role, or our absence, during the Tribulation.  But our predictions, like Mr. LaHaye’s, are likely not going to be what God has planned.  No matter what we think, God knows.

We can use what men provide for us as a starting point, but we must rely on the Holy Spirit to discern and tell us what is right, or what is wrong, with one’s preaching and teaching.  It is also incumbent upon you, the believer, to know the Word and to keep in touch with the Holy Spirit to know what God wants to do in your life. 

I have said quite often that you cannot simply take my word on the Word, whether it’s this blogpost or the outline of the lessons I provide to my Life Group to follow in class. I tell my Life Group to take the outline home and do self-study – I may have missed a point, or taken something out of context.  We occasionally (thankfully rare) catch my inadequacies and mistakes in class.  Sometimes it takes the Spirit to show further definition or a personal message later in the week within the lesson given.

There are others that do preach or provide insight based on how they perceive ‘the tea leaves’ of events happening today, and they are sincere and are of God, but yet may miss the mark unintentionally.  Obviously some out there who are not following the basics in Scriptural doctrine. 

Some use scare tactics (One prominent TV evangelist once pleaded, “I need your $1,000 donation now, or the Lord will take me home!”), others give a message that is not Biblically accurate but play well to the masses who want an ‘ear-tickling’ message they want to hear (“God wants you to be happy and wealthy, and be true to yourself!”).  

We can recognize these messages are wrong as they are not consistent with the Word of God, and as we tune into the Holy Spirit, we can see many of today’s popular messages are not of God, for God, or compatible with God. 

God is not a God of confusion, but instead a God of consistency.  Jesus, through His Father, is ‘the Way, the Truth, and the Life’ (John 14:6).  When you see something or hear something, even from your pastor or, yes, even from me in reading this blog; read the Bible for yourself, and pray for the Lord to show you what He means.  The Holy Spirit will let you know, combined with the knowledge from reading the Word and the insights from it, what God wants.