It's That Time of Year

It's that time of year when some people look back to review the events of the past 12 months and look forward to a fresh start. Somehow a new calendar can give us a new set of hopes for the new year. Certainly, for any American who is a lover of freedom and sustainable economics, this year promises much.
It's an important use of history—recent or long-past, to learn lessons from the past year and planning to apply them to the upcoming year is a worthy endeavor. What to learn this year? What to accomplish? How to do it?
But very often looking at the past can make me yearn for the future to be unchanged. ---That's not a bad thing. Oooh, if my property taxes of 2025 would be identical to 1995!! Sometimes "new" is NOT "improved". On a micro level, I remember when I was a kid, that candy bars came in the same size wrapper but had been injected with air so we'd think the much smaller candy was still the same size! This is why efficiency experts talk about the fact that when starting anything new, managers must deal with "resistance to change". It's human nature. When things change, anything at all, most are quick to let you know that they don’t like it. In fact, some out here don't even like thinking about this!
The more challenging changes and circumstances we encounter, and the more disappointment we see in people, the more we may begin to wonder--Is there anywhere we can find some reliable stability?
The truth is, there is only one thing that never changes, the one that stays the same: the Lord God. In the Bible, Malachi 3: 6 tells us God's words: "For I the LORD do not change; therefore you, O children of Jacob, are not consumed " There is no transition, inconsistency, or change in this God. The same God who created this unique blue planet. The one who gives us the ultimate peace offering in Jesus so we can live life confident of a life of meaning here and life in His amazing presence after. Anything I can imagine about Heaven can only be a speck of the reality.
The idea of God being changeless is no mere psychological fuzzy blanket. No, His stability is reality and essential to any unflawed idea of God. If God changes, it means any or all of the following: 1. That He is or has been incomplete (i.e. He's not perfect); 2. That He forgot something (i.e. He's not perfect); 3. That he is a slave of time (i.e. not all-powerful); 4. There's something He didn't know and needs to address (i.e. He's not all-knowing); or 4. He's a victim of circumstances & events (i.e. He's not really in charge). All of which are preposterous and mean God is not worthy of worship. Happily, none of them is true.
But God IS perfect. He does not change in His nature, His love, His character or His purpose. The unchanging nature of God and His unchangeable Word are real things on which we can stake our lives—and our Eternity. They mean that He is completely trustworthy and predictable! So even though the calendar changes, God does not. This means that as we look at the new year, let's plan with God's consistent, loving stability in mind! And keep in our minds that He has plans for each of us to use the gifts He's given us. Pastor Geoff
                                                                            Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever. Hebrews 13: 8