Goodbye 2010, and “Hello” 2011. If you are like most of us, you felt a little strange writing 1/1/11 on Saturday. Just think, that won’t happen for another hundred years. But with every new year, comes change. Some of the changes will be good, some not so good, but you can be sure, there will be change. It’s been said that “change” is as sure as death and taxes.
As I write this, my family and I are experiencing some of those changes. At last year’s New Year’s celebration, I had three daughters still living at home, this year I have two at home and a new Son-in-law ( a wonderful young man I love like my own son…Thank you God!). Various family members begin this new year with precious additions. Let me take this opportunity to welcome to their first New Year celebration, Grayson Christopher and William Kevin. You have been blessed to be given to wonderful parents.
Last year, I began the new year with a Kentucky address and this year I begin the year with a Missouri address. And after eight wonderful years with the great folks at Cool Springs Church in Morgantown, KY, my family and I made our debut on January 2nd, as the new pastor and family at the exciting Jackson First General Baptist in Jackson, MO.
Change is inevitable. But there is one truth that never changes, the truth that our God Never Changes! Just think about it. With all that changes in our world, we can take comfort knowing that God never will. The psalmist said, “I will say of the LORD, ‘He is my refuge and my fortress; My God, in Him I will trust’” (Psalm 91:2 NKJV). God said, “For I am the LORD, I change not…” (Malachi 3:6). The writer of the book of Hebrews says in chapter 13:6, “Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and today, and forever.”
Not only is God a strong foundation on which we can stand, but His Love will Never Change either. 1 John 4:16 says that, “…God is love, and he who abides in love abides in God and God in him.” If you ever need to be reminded of how much God loves you, just go back and read John 3:16, “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.”
God never changes, His love for us never changes, and His Purpose for you Never Changes! God told the prophet Jeremiah, “For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the LORD, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope.” God has a plan for your life and when you surrender to His plan for your life, He receives the glory. Think about it, you can put your trust in God because He never changes. You can rest in His love, because His love never changes. And you can rejoice that His purpose in your life never changes. And when you live out His plan for your life, you have the honor of putting a smile on the face of God!
