Jesus: Always the Same

A couple of weeks ago, I had the opportunity to preach on the last Sunday of 2015. While I was thinking and praying about what God would have me preach, I started to think about how so much has changed in 2015, which sometimes makes me worry about 2016. That got me to thinking that so much changes in this world all the time, and so what I really need--what we all really need--is something stable on which we can stand and place our hope. We need an anchor in an ever-changing world so we can rest. That led me to preach from He. 13:1-9 because there in v. 8 we are given one of the most profound and central statements in Scripture: "Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever." I needed to hear that as one year ended and another began, so perhaps you do too. If you would like to listen to the sermon, you can here, or you can read the transcript here.

I pray that the Holy Spirit will use it to magnify Christ in your heart and mind to the glory of God.

By His Grace,
Taylor

Unchanging

Thou great I AM,
  Fill my mind with elevation and grandeur at the thought of a Being
    with whom one day is as a thousand years,
    and a thousand years is as one day,
A Mighty God, who, amidst the lapse of worlds,
  and the revolutions of empires,
  feels no variableness,
  but is glorious in immortality.
May I rejoice that, while men die, the Lord lives;
  that, while all creatures are broken reeds,
    empty cisterns,
    fading flowers,
    withering grass,
  He is the Rock of Ages, the Fountain
    of living waters.
~ "The Infinite and the Finite", The Valley of Vision

This is a piece of a prayer from The Valley of Vision, which is a book of Puritan prayers. I like it because it reminds me of God's immutability. This is probably my favorite of all of God's perfections. It would be inaccurate to consider one perfection of God to be "better" than another since they are all an equal part of His being, but I do not think it is wrong to enjoy one more or take greater comfort in one than another. I take great comfort in His immutability because by it I know that all He has said is certain and secure. He cannot go back on His word or change His promises. He cannot get "better" or "worse" but has been, is, and always will be perfect. I think what I find most comforting in His immutability is that I know when He says, "Child, I love you perfectly" there is nothing I can do to alter that. It reminds me that when I have messed up big time and come to Him thinking, "The best you can hope for is to be a slave in His house", He loves me like a son.

By His Grace,
Taylor