Some things never change. I love this statement as it applies to the character of God, “He is the same yesterday, today and forever!” If you are looking for an unchanging constant in your life, it would be Jesus and His character.
So many times when people read the Bible, they may think it is not relevant for “today”. Their argument could be anything from “no longer do we sacrifice animals” for repentance of sin….to we don’t see the “supernatural” as the Israelites did with the “parting of the Red Sea” as Moses led them out of captivity…..but scripture packs power.
All the history in the Bible demonstrates the “character” of God and fulfillment of prophesy and His promises. Even though today, in modern civilization, life on a daily basis operates differently–from communication to travel to medicine. God is still God. He is active, in control, and available to reveal His character, His Holy Spirit, His Help, His direction, His forgiveness and His guidance to anyone who seeks it.
We are reminded in Isaiah 43:11-12 that He is God. “‘I, I am the Lord, and besides me there is no savior. I declared and saved and proclaimed, when there was no strange god among you; and you are my witnesses,’ declares the Lord, ‘and I am God.'”
As I have grown in my faith over the years I have noticed that if ever it has seemed that God was changing….or was different…I can be brutally honest and say the only thing that was up and down and all around was me, myself and I. God is constant. Firm. Steadfast. Very REAL today. It is we who waver. Hot and cold. Distracted. Unengaged. Obstinate. Blinded. The list goes on and on….of not-so-pleasant attributes of the “sin” nature or our “flesh.”
I am so thankful for the words found in Numbers 23:19, “God is not human, that he should lie, not a human being, that he should change his mind. Does he speak and then not act? Does he promise and not fulfill?”
The good news is that God is all-powerful and if we choose to do so, we can “die to self”. Allow His powerful hand to transform our lives…..that, my friend, is as REAL and ACTIVE today as it was a 1000 years ago. God can and will CHANGE you…. your desires, your focus and, YES, He is still performing miracles. If I/you/we don’t see or experience them…..maybe…it is my/your/our…vision…our lack of engaging with God and allowing HIM complete control so that He has access to my/your/our heart and life so that “we can experience” Him in all His fullness.
Faith in Jesus is just that….it is trusting and believing that He is the Son of God, in His life on earth (fully God but fully man), His ministry, His death, and His resurrection. When we take these steps of faith….He sends His Holy Spirit…to live inside of us…who enables us to “experience” His character, will, and direction for our lives. It is something that is hard to explain unless you take the steps of faith.
What I can personally testify to is this…..the more I look for Christ, the more I pray, the more I seek to “surrender my will to His” on a daily basis…being intentional….the MORE I not only see His invisible hand in my life, some would it call “coincidence,” NOT…a BIG NOT….the more I experience daily “miracles” and “confirmation” of my steps.
In the past I have asked for Him in some way to confirm my path and steps. Currently, He does it without me asking. I will give you one recent example. I am preparing to speak several times in October. As I have prayed, studied, and been hard at work on what “God would have me to say,” I had just titled a message, “Becoming a Contagious Christian”. As I studied, I was certain that is what God had put on my heart, the word “contagious.”
The word “contagious” came to me out of “thin air”…what I mean by that…is that I haven’t read it anywhere recently. I haven’t heard the word “contagious” said recently, but I had been seeking a word to accurately describe what God wanted me to communicate and to be the subject of the message. “Contagious” was the word that came to mind when I woke up for no reason at around 4 a.m. the other morning. Kind of crazy, but sometimes that is when God speaks to me or puts thing on my mind. I just wake up from a deep sleep. So I have learned to get up when that happens and go write.
So I got up and titled the message I am working on…this all happened early one morning. With that being said…a dear friend Julie Crowder, who is volunteering her gifts to Back 9 Ministries….was speaking to me on the telephone late that same day. What word did she use in describing what she felt about something I had asked her to watch and give an opinion on? An honest opinion! She used the word “contagious”.
I was driving when she used the word…and I had to fight from putting on the brakes on I-26. I had not been looking for confirmation, but in God’s loving way…He was confirming and encouraging my study and my steps. This may not seem like a big deal to you…but I can tell you…when you are seeking to please God and obey…He calls you out of your comfort zone…to a realm where He lives and works…way beyond what you are humanly capable of and does what He is faithful to do which is “equip the called!” and encourage…HE will never leave or forsake….
God doesn’t just do this for Sherry…He seeks to affirm, confirm and equip all believers….God is steadfast…seek Him today and experience the miracle of His mighty, loving hands in your life.
Hebrews 13:20-21, “Now may the God of peace who brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, the great shepherd of the sheep, by the blood of the eternal covenant, equip you with everything good that you may do his will, working in us that which is pleasing in his sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen.”