One of the givens of human life is change. We experience it from the very beginning of life, at conception in our mother's womb. It never ceases, we keep changing, and we see it in everything around us. When someone asks me, "How is everything in Musselshell?" I often answer, "Same as always." Then I realize I have just told a lie. I don't make a list of changes, so they are not on the tip of my tongue, but change is always taking place. I know of one exception to this, and that is God. We are told in scripture that He never changes. Hebrew 13:8 says that “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, and today, and forever.” The theological term we have given to this is "immutable." God does not change, and that is important for us as we live in a changing world which sometimes makes it confusing. So I submit to you that in this changing world there is a constant, God. When I asked the question in my last column, "who makes the rules," if it is God, then the rules don't change, they stay the same.

Let me help you think through this a little more concerning God. Change implies that when it takes place, there is something different, and mostly we could say that it is either better or worse. Change can be good or bad. If it is indeed a change, it would not be the same. Again the Bible is going to be crucial. It tells us about God and who He is. It tells us that God is a God of Wisdom (I John 3:20). Can God ever know or learn anything that He never known before? On the opposite end, could He forget anything or lose knowledge about something? God is also a holy God. Could He become more holy or less holy? He is a just God. Could He become more just or less just? Could God be more merciful or less merciful than He is? More loving or less loving? In other words, God would not be God if He were changeable. He is perfect in every aspect. If God makes the rules, it would only make sense that what He has said to us about what is right and wrong doesn’t change either.

God promised many things to those who have entered into a relationship with Him through Jesus. To the children of Israel in Jerimiah 29:11, he said, "For I know the plans that I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for calamity to give you a future and a hope." Many of you would be surprised to know that God still has a future plan that includes the nation of Israel. He still has a design for them. He also has a very specific plan for those of us today who enter into a relationship with Himm through Jesus christ. Romans 8:28, states, "And we know that God causes all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose." God is working for the good of His children, and nothing is going to change that. No matter how fast things are changing, no matter how bleak it may appear to be, God has not changed, nor can He. An old saying states, "you can take that to the bank."

Pastor Lynn Rettig

Musselshell Community Bible Church