CHANGE…COMING!
By Pastor Harv Meppelink

We have heard so much about CHANGE…politically speaking, of course!
But more than politically, no matter who we are or what we do, we experience change every day. There are changes in the weather. We change our clocks—from daylight savings time to regular time…and back again. We change the oil in our automobiles. We make changes in our diet…in order to lose weight. We take a different road to work…just to break up the monotony. These are just a few.

But can we carry “change” too far? Some people think it applies to their marriage: “I’m tired of my spouse. I’ll look around for someone else!” Some think it applies to their car: “I’ve got 100,000 miles on this car. I’m going to get a newer one.” And some think it applies to church: “I’ve seen how this church operates, and I want to change churches!” Yes, we can carry the “change” notion too far.

God does not change.

In Hebrews, the author said, “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever” (13:8). His promises never change. His power never changes. His salvation through Jesus never changes. His promise of heaven for those who follow Him to the end of their life has not changed! One thing is certain: You can count on God, our Heavenly Father.

There is great pressure today upon the truth of God’s Word in the very atmosphere of our nation. Ridicule, mocking, misuse of the body, attempting to educate the mind against the pages of the Bible just might increase in this new year. And I want to shout to those who refuse to believe, “You might think that the Bible is “politically incorrect” or that we don’t need this “old stuff” anymore, but just wait! There is a day coming when the God of the ages will call all of us to accountability! On that day, the powers of darkness will be destroyed!” Who will do this? God! Even now, we are so close to that final day when Jesus will return in the heavens!

The Bible says, “And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing. The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God” (2 Corinthians 4:3-4). The blind need a guide. They need to be brought to Christ, the Light of the world. The text continues, “For God, who said, ‘Let light shine out of darkness,’ made His light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ” (v.6).

We have a new year ahead of us. That’s 12 months, 365 days, 8,760 hours of opportunities to change for the better and to make a difference for eternity. Let’s make 2009 a year of LIGHT!