Why did an unchanging God create a changing world?

The month of March is filled with change here in Texas. It really does come in as a lion and leave as a lamb—usually. March brings about the changes in the weather I enjoy, but this year it is also bringing about changes in our world. Changing news occurs each day and, recently, each hour of each day.

God told the prophet Malachi, “For I the Lᴏʀᴅ do not change; therefore you, O children of Jacob, are not consumed” (Malachi 3:6). The book of Hebrews tells us, “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever” (Hebrews 13:8).  

As I watch the news, the weather, the stock market, and the culture, the word unchanging seems irrelevant to almost everything. Why did an unchanging God create a world that seems to constantly change? 

God wants us to face forward

Our theme for the month of March comes from the book of Isaiah. God told the prophet, “Remember not the former things, nor consider the things of old. Behold, I am doing a new thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive it? I will make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert” (Isaiah 43:18–19). 

The Lord was telling Isaiah to preach the coming changes, including the coming of the Messiah. His covenant with the nation of Israel was going to change at that time. Did an unchanging God change his mind? 

The best answer from Scripture is that God doesn’t change his mind; people change and therefore God’s favor and blessings justly respond. God will do all that is best to bring people into a faith relationship with him. 

Time has always been moving toward the day that time will end and eternity begins. The changes we see are simply an unfolding of God’s plan and a reminder that he will always have a higher goal for our lives than earthly success and earthly blessings. 

The point of life is to face forward and keep moving toward a life that is eternal. 

What new thing is God doing today?

Don’t you wish you knew what God has planned for this world? We know the end of the story, but how long is the book? Which chapter are we in? 

We have wars and rumors of wars. We have storms, earthquakes, and every sign we have been taught to look for. So did my grandparents. Will we “perceive” Jesus is returning, or will Jesus come back when we least expect it? The answer to both questions is yes. I don’t know when Jesus will return, but I’m certain of this. God is making “a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert.”  

It’s easy to think the problems of this world indicate the return of Christ, but that might not be our indicator. The Jordan River was at flood stage for Joshua, and it was an opportunity for a miracle, not a problem. That is how I am praying for the people of Ukraine these days. I’m asking God to make his reality known through the events I see in the news. I’m asking God to redeem and praying that Putin will be transformed by Christ into a Paul. That is a change that would shout God’s glory to the world. 

The power of God is needed, and God’s children need to be praying continuously, with every news report, for every person. Those Russian troops probably have some that know God. What might they do if they are directed and used by God? I’m remembering that a very young David slew Goliath and a very small army took Jericho. Gideon prayed and God answered. 

We should be praying David, Joshua, and Gideon-type prayers during these days. 

We may never know God’s answers to these prayers, this side of heaven

I want to close with the doxology that ends Paul’s words in Romans 8–11. He spent three chapters trying to help his Jewish brothers and sisters understand there was a new covenant, and, like the Gentiles, they needed to choose Jesus to be their Messiah too. 

How did Paul sum up his understanding of the “new thing” God was doing? By telling the church in Rome that God cannot be understood apart from his omniscient power. 

Paul wrote: 

 

Oh, the depth of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God!

How unsearchable his judgments, and his paths beyond tracing out!

Who has known the mind of the Lord?

Or who has been his counselor?

Who has ever given to God, that God should repay them?

For from him and through him and for him are all things.

To him be the glory forever! Amen. (Romans 11:33–36 NIV)

 

 

Why did an unchanging God create a changing world?

We will never fully comprehend God, this side of heaven. God’s judgments are “unsearchable.” We can be certain that we will never understand “the mind of the Lord.” He is Lord and we are not. 

So, I close this blog post with biblical truth that will never change. All things are from God. All things work through God, for his perfect plan. And to God be all glory forever. 

World leaders will come and go, believing they have earned glory for themselves along the way. The world’s news will change daily. But God holds this world in the palm of his hand and his glory is forever!  

We give our unchanging God praise and honor as we watch the changes unfold in our world. We can’t know which chapter of history we are experiencing today but we know how “his-story” ends. 

Pray for those who need to move to God’s side to do so today.

One Word That Makes All the Difference

The word is “whatever.”  Interestingly, that word was labeled one of the top five annoying words in 2016. The meaning of the word depends a lot on the attitude behind the person using it. The Bible uses the word whatever about 173 times, depending on your translation and, when the word is used biblically, it makes all the difference.

God used the word whatever in the very beginning to show us the difference between human beings and the rest of creation. People were created in the image of God and he honored us with the power of choice.  He had just finished creating all the living things on earth and he brought them to Adam. Scripture says, “Whatever the man called every living creature, that was its name” (Genesis 2:19).

Imagine if God had presented those animals for Adam to name, but Adam felt he had something better to do. Adam could have glanced at all those animals and flippantly tossed his hand saying “whatever” and a trip to the zoo would be a much different experience.

Almost every time the word “whatever” is used, it’s because we have a choice to make. God created everything, but only human beings were created in his image, with the ability to choose. Whatever happens today, we can choose to look and act like God’s unique and powerful children or something less. The whatever verses in Scripture will help us choose what is best.

God instructed Moses to consecrate the altar saying, “Whatever touches the altar shall become holy” (Exodus 29:37). Those words give added meaning to the moment when the veil of the temple was torn, from top to bottom. Only God could have done that and only the death of Christ could make that holy altar available to everyone.  Whatever touches the altar of God is made holy, and Jesus gave everyone access to the altar. What do you need to bring to his altar today?

Later the Apostle Paul taught one of the most important things we can bring to God’s altar is our thoughts. If our thoughts are made holy, our actions will follow. Philippians 4:8 is possibly the best use of the word whatever in the Bible. The verse says, “Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things.”

When we take our thoughts to the altar of God, He will make them holy. What are holy thoughts?

  • God will make our thoughts true and separate them from the lies we might have believed.
  • Our thoughts will honor God and his purpose
  • Our thoughts will be just and we can see things with God’s perfect judgment
  • God can remove whatever is making our thoughts dark and purify them with his holiness
  • God can change our ugly thoughts to ideas and opinions that are lovely
  • Our thoughts can often condemn us and others. God can make them commendable instead.
  • God can make every thought excellent and worthy of praise.

So, whatever plans you have made for the day, remember that God created you with the ability to choose his holiness and Jesus provided everything you need to attain it. The altar is right in front of you, and the curtain is wide open. Whatever will you choose to do?

New Covenant Greatness

Last week, I wrote about the movie I Can Only Imagine. My mom hadn’t seen it, and I wanted to see it again. I always get something new the second time I watch a movie or reread a book. I Can Only Imagine is about redemption, but it is also about greatness. Bart’s dad wanted to be a great football player, and, when he wasn’t, he wanted his son to become a great one. Bart wanted to be a great musician, and, when he was told he wasn’t, he wanted to quit. God wanted those two men to be great by his standards. Both men had to adjust their definitions of greatness before they could receive God’s definition.

Jim and I also saw the new movie about the apostle Paul. The most memorable moment for me was Paul awaking from nightmares in his prison cell. He had been dreaming about the Christians he had persecuted and killed. When he awoke from his nightmare, he quietly repeated the words, “Your grace is sufficient, your grace is sufficient, your grace is sufficient.” I think of Paul as one of the greatest disciples of Christ. I tend to forget he had also been a great enemy.

On Sunday night, I watched the new production of Jesus Christ Superstar. I had seen the original cast perform in the 1970s at an outdoor theater in California, and I understand now why Christians stood at the theater entrances to pass out literature and try to convince us not to go inside. My theology was young in those days. I felt sad as I watched it again on Easter Sunday and saw Hollywood “act” like they knew Jesus and what he taught. I grieved the misconceptions those watching might receive.

But I also remembered that night when my teenage self sat in that outdoor theater and watched God “show up.” That evening, when the actor portraying Jesus was hung on the cross, a thick fog moved in and the cross was almost obscured by the way the lights were reflecting off the cloud. As a young girl, I saw God’s story that evening, not Hollywood’s. I hope that happened for some people last night as well.

Sometimes in life, a lot of moments finally add up to a lesson God has been working in your life to teach. It seems God rarely teaches an important lesson in one sitting. And when God finally says, “This is what I want you to know,” we have a choice to make.

I’m finishing up the Bible study this year with a series of lessons from the Sermon on the Mount. One commentary called it Jesus’ inaugural address. This time, as I’ve studied those passages again, I’ve come to think of them as the lessons Jesus would teach and re-teach for the rest of his life. Finally, on the Mount of Ascension, Jesus concluded his earthly ministry saying, “Go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you” (Matthew 28:19–20). Every disciple who witnessed the ascension chose to do what Jesus had asked.

The lesson for Easter week came from the passage when Jesus finished teaching new commandments, the Beatitudes. He told his disciples they were to “be” salt and light in the world. Jesus said, “Anyone who sets aside one of the least of these commands and teaches others accordingly will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever practices and teaches these commands will be called great in the kingdom of heaven” (Matthew 5:19). I had never really considered the Sermon on the Mount as the new covenant lesson for greatness.

The crowd gathered by the Sea of Galilee consisted of apostles, disciples, the curious, and those who would soon become Jesus’ enemies. Pharisees and Sadducees listened to Jesus preach that day. They heard him tell his disciples, “Unless your righteousness surpasses that of the Pharisees and the teachers of the law, you will certainly not enter the kingdom of heaven” (Matthew 5:20). Jesus would be hung on a cross two years after saying that because he redefined what it meant for a person to be “great” in God’s eyes.

What lesson did all the moments of my Easter week add up to teach?

The thought I woke up with this morning and felt led to write about is this: Jesus taught his disciples a new definition for greatness. Then Jesus lived that picture of greatness every day after. During Easter week, Jesus washed the feet of his disciples and died for their sins. Later, he told them that through the power of his Holy Spirit they would become his disciples and teach others to be great as well.

God is perfect greatness. Jesus is God’s greatness in the flesh. Disciples are God’s greatness in practice. The challenge is that we have to understand and accept his definition for greatness. Jesus said, “Whoever practices and teaches these commands will be called great in the kingdom of heaven.” Let’s take a few moments to reread Matthew 5. Then, let’s go out and have a “great” day.