Wednesday, October 30, 2013

I Change Not

Nothing is guaranteed in this world.  The only thing that you can count on is that things
change.  Our environment is changing, our families change with the passing of time, our
plans have a way of changing on us.  Life brings change.  Some changes are good, but
others are hard to swallow.  I've stated before that I am not a person that takes to change
easily.  I like knowing what I'm doing today, tomorrow, next week. 

There is one thing that never changes, one thing that we can always count on.

Malachi 3:6a  "For I am the LORD, I change not:"

Our wonderful Lord and Savior is always the same.  The love He had for us yesterday
will be the same love He will have for us tomorrow.  What a comfort to know that the
Lord is the one constant we have to hold on to in this ever changing society of ours.

If the Lord says that "I change not," then it would stand to reason that what is in the
Word of God changes not.  Some people are of the mindset that the Bible is an "old
fashioned book," that it holds no relevance to us today.  May I politely say that they
are wrong!  The truth of God's Word is just as relevant today as when it was penned
thousands of years ago.  Truth is truth, it doesn't change.

One of the truths of the Bible that people are trying to change today is the "power
of the blood."  They are trying to gain salvation without the application of the blood. 
May I politely say once again, they are wrong.  The Bible tells us over and over about
the importance of the shed blood of Christ our Savior.

We see back in Exodus chapter 12 the institution of the Passover.  This was associated
with the last plague that God sent upon Egypt for not letting His people go. He
instructed Moses to tell the Israelites to take a "lamb without blemish, a male of the
first year:" (vs 5), this lamb was a picture, or a type of the Lamb of God, the Lord
Jesus Christ who would shed His blood for us.

That night long ago in Egypt, when the Almighty God passed throughout the land, all
homes without the shed blood of the sacrificed lamb on the doorposts had the firstborn
killed.  Only the inhabitants of the homes that had doors with the blood on them were
spared the wrath of God.

Exodus 12:13  "And the blood shall be to you for a token upon the houses where
ye are:  and when I see the blood, I will pass over you, and the plague shall not be
upon you to destroy you, when I smite the land of Egypt."

The blood of the lamb gave life to those under it.  This was a picture of the blood of
the Lamb of God, we have life when we are under it, washed in the precious blood of
the Lord Jesus Christ.

God puts great importance on the blood, because you see, this was the blood of His
dear Son.  What God puts importance on should never be shunned or cast aside!
The blood of Jesus was the payment for our sins.

Acts 20:28  "Take heed therefore unto yourselves, and to all the flock, over the
which the Holy Ghost hath made your overseers, to feed the church of God,
which He hath purchased with His own blood."

Hebrews 9:11 & 12  "But Christ, being come an high priest of good things to
come, by a greater and more perfect tabernacle, not made with hands, that is
to say, not of this building;  neither by the blood of goats and calves, but by His
own blood He entered in once into the holy place, having obtained eternal
redemption for us."

Our eternal redemption is only through the blood!  Don't ever let anyone tell you that
the blood is of no importance, that it has no value to you.  The blood of Jesus Christ
is precious to the believer.

1 Peter 1:18 & 19  "Forasmuch as ye know that ye were not redeemed with
corruptible things, as silver and gold, from your vain conversation received
by tradition from your fathers;  but with the precious blood of Christ, as of
a lamb without blemish and without spot."

Ephesians 1:7  "In whom we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness
of sins, according to the riches of His grace."

Another truth of God's Word that is being pushed aside, is the truth of God's Word!
Many have the mindset today that the Bible is just a book filled with fables that are
good to tell your children at bedtime.  It has good thoughts in it, but most of them are
outdated.  Or, its just a book that has outlived its usefulness, we've grown beyond
having to believe what it teaches.  This is all rubbish and its the thinking that will
send you to hell.  God's Word contains the only truth that can change a heart and
can give eternal life to the repentant soul.  Don't go changing God's Word to try to fit
your circumstances, it doesn't work that way.  God's Word changes your circumstances. 
The Word of God is the very core of our faith.

Hebrews 11:3a  "Through faith we understand that the worlds were framed by
the word of God,"

I've mentioned before Psalms 119, this is a chapter where the importance of the
Word of God is highlighted in every verse.

Psalms 119:4  "Thou hast commanded us to keep Thy precepts (Word)
diligently."

God's Word is from time past, until time is no more, His Word abides forever.  God's
command to keep His precepts has no expiration date on it!

Psalms 119:144a  "The righteousness of Thy testimonies (Word) is everlasting."

Psalms 119:89  "For ever, O LORD, Thy word is settled in heaven."

Matthew 24:35  "Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not
pass away."

Today we have the precious Word of God, that changes not, that we can hold in our
hands.  We have the freedom to read and meditate on His words and to hide them in
our hearts.  Someday we will live with the Living Word in Glory, the Lord Jesus Christ
Himself, what a wonderful day to look forward to.

Until that day we have the promise in Hebrews 13:8, "Jesus Christ, the same
yesterday, and to day, and for ever."  We have the comfort of knowing that there
is One person that will not change...ever!

 
Great is Thy faithfulness, O God my Father!
There is no shadow of turning with Thee;
Thou changest not, Thy compassions they fail not;
As Thou hast been, Thou forever wilt be.
 
Summer and winter, and springtime and harvest,
Sun, moon, and stars in their courses above.
Join with all nature in manifold witness,
To Thy great faithfulness, mercy and love.
 
Pardon for sin and a peace that endureth,
Thine own dear presence to cheer and to guide;
Strength for today and bright hope for tomorrow,
Blessings all mine, with ten thousand beside!
 
Great is Thy faithfulness!  Great is Thy faithfulness!
Morning by morning new mercies I see;
All I have needed Thy hand hath provided,
Great is Thy faithfulness, Lord, unto me!
 
                                                       Thomas O. Chisholm







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