CHaNgE
PART ONE
For I am the LORD, and I do not change. Malachi 3:6
Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today and forever. Hebrews 13:8
God is not a man, that He should lie,
Nor a son of man, that He should repent.
Has He said, and will He not do it?
Or has He spoken, and it not come to pass? Numbers 23:19
Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above,
And comes down from the Father of lights,
With whom there is no variation or shadow of turning. James 1:17
The grass withers, the flower fades,
But the word of our God will stand forever. Isaiah 40:8
LORD, you have been our dwelling place in all generations.
Before the mountains were brought forth,
Or ever You had formed the earth and the world,
Even from everlasting to everlasting,
You are God. Psalm 90:1,2
If we are faithless, He remains faithful
- for He cannot deny Himself. 2 Timothy 2:13
Forever, O Lord, Your word is settled in heaven. Psalm 119:89
The above quoted verses from both the Old and New Testaments of the Bible - and numerous other verses which could be quoted bear witness to the unchanging character and divine attributes of the Living God. The God of the Bible - expressed as the triune God - Father, Son (the Lord Jesus Christ) and the Holy Spirit - can be fully trusted to be true to His character, and to fulfill His Word.
The Bible further tells us that 'God is Love.' 1 John 4:8
and also it says that 'God is Light' in verses such as 1 John 1:5 where it says: This is the message that we heard from Jesus and and now declare to you:God is light and in Him there is no darkness at all.
Unlike some other so-called gods of other religions, the One True God is not capricious. His character has not, or will ever change. He is not vindictive. He is both a God of Justice and of Mercy.
Although God's nature and His character never change, those who would be His disciples must change. The Bible tells us clearly that man is separated from God by his sin, as it says in Romans 3:23 For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God.
Jesus Christ, the eternal Son of God, came to earth to be born a baby, grow up into manhood, all the time living a sinless life - then die a cruel death on a Roman cross - as the Word of God states in 2 Corinthians 5:21 For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.
Romans 5:8 declares that God demonstrates His own love for us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.
Just as a human being starts life as a helpless baby, and in the course of time, grows through various stages of childhood, then into adulthood, all the while maturing physically, mentally, intellectually and socially - with the proper nurturing and tutoring, so too the child of God goes through various stages of growth, of CHANGE.
At the point of salvation, a Christian is born again by the Spirit of God, his or her human spirit being re-created by the Holy Spirit. The apostle Paul put it this way: Therefore, if any one is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new. 2 Corinthians 5:17
Every Christian starts his journey of new life in Jesus as a spiritual "baby", feeding on the "milk" of God's Word, as it says in 1 Peter 2:1,2 Therefore, laying aside all malice, all deceit, hypocrisy, envy and all evil speaking,
as newborn babes, desire the pure milk of the word, that you may grow thereby, if indeed you have tasted that the Lord is gracious.
The writer to Hebrews, believed by many to be the apostle Paul, talks about those who lack spiritual maturity, who come to still rely on milk, instead of solid food (spiritually speaking) because they have not progressed from the first principles of the faith as expressed in Hebrews 6:1,2.
Through daily feeding on God's Word, through study and meditation on the Word of God, through prayer, fellowship with other believers, through praise and worship, both alone and in a corporate body - and through sharing by way of bearing testimony to the goodness of God in our lives, we grow through stages into a place of spiritual maturity , all the while remaining teachable that we may continue to grow.
The goal of the Christian life is not to change for the sake of change, but to be transformed to the image of Christ in us - to become more like Jesus.
Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty.
But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord.
2 Corinthians 3:17,18
I beseech you, therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service.
And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good, and acceptable and perfect will of God.
Romans 12:1,2
The fact that through the redemptive work of Christ's death on the cross "we have been accepted in the Beloved" - we are now sons and daughters of the Most High God by God's grace, does not excuse us from the need to change into becoming more and more into Christlikeness.
As it says in Ephesians 4:15 But speaking the truth in love [in all things both our speech and our lives expressing His truth], let us grow up in all things into Him [following His example] who is the Head - Christ." AMP. version.
If you have read this blog and would like to know more about how to become a Christian, go online to www.vision.org.au This is the online home of Vision Christian Media in Australia, which includes Vision Christian Radio, broadcasting to well over 700 communities, large and small in all Australian states and territories.
Click on the "Grow you faith" tab, then from the dropdown menu, click on "Looking for God?" God Bless!
Romans 5:8 declares that God demonstrates His own love for us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.
Just as a human being starts life as a helpless baby, and in the course of time, grows through various stages of childhood, then into adulthood, all the while maturing physically, mentally, intellectually and socially - with the proper nurturing and tutoring, so too the child of God goes through various stages of growth, of CHANGE.
At the point of salvation, a Christian is born again by the Spirit of God, his or her human spirit being re-created by the Holy Spirit. The apostle Paul put it this way: Therefore, if any one is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new. 2 Corinthians 5:17
Every Christian starts his journey of new life in Jesus as a spiritual "baby", feeding on the "milk" of God's Word, as it says in 1 Peter 2:1,2 Therefore, laying aside all malice, all deceit, hypocrisy, envy and all evil speaking,
as newborn babes, desire the pure milk of the word, that you may grow thereby, if indeed you have tasted that the Lord is gracious.
The writer to Hebrews, believed by many to be the apostle Paul, talks about those who lack spiritual maturity, who come to still rely on milk, instead of solid food (spiritually speaking) because they have not progressed from the first principles of the faith as expressed in Hebrews 6:1,2.
Through daily feeding on God's Word, through study and meditation on the Word of God, through prayer, fellowship with other believers, through praise and worship, both alone and in a corporate body - and through sharing by way of bearing testimony to the goodness of God in our lives, we grow through stages into a place of spiritual maturity , all the while remaining teachable that we may continue to grow.
The goal of the Christian life is not to change for the sake of change, but to be transformed to the image of Christ in us - to become more like Jesus.
Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty.
But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord.
2 Corinthians 3:17,18
I beseech you, therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service.
And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good, and acceptable and perfect will of God.
Romans 12:1,2
The fact that through the redemptive work of Christ's death on the cross "we have been accepted in the Beloved" - we are now sons and daughters of the Most High God by God's grace, does not excuse us from the need to change into becoming more and more into Christlikeness.
As it says in Ephesians 4:15 But speaking the truth in love [in all things both our speech and our lives expressing His truth], let us grow up in all things into Him [following His example] who is the Head - Christ." AMP. version.
If you have read this blog and would like to know more about how to become a Christian, go online to www.vision.org.au This is the online home of Vision Christian Media in Australia, which includes Vision Christian Radio, broadcasting to well over 700 communities, large and small in all Australian states and territories.
Click on the "Grow you faith" tab, then from the dropdown menu, click on "Looking for God?" God Bless!
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