Jesus Is . . .! Series

Jesus Is . . . !

Hebrews 13:8

November 12, 2017

I heard about a man who came home one day to find that his wife hung a plaque on the wall which read, "Prayer changes things." When she came home the next day, the plaque was gone. She looked all over and couldn’t find it! So, she asked her husband ‘what happened to that plaque!’

He told her, “I took it down and put it in the closet.”

She was shocked that he would do that! So, she asked, "What's the problem? Don't you believe in prayer?"

He said, "Of course I do, I believe in prayer, but I don't like change."

There was a bumper sticker that read ~ "Change is inevitable, except from a vending machine."

Change, it’s all around us. It certainly is inevitable. At the end of each year, it’s always interesting to see those stars who have passed away. In 2017, we’ve said good bye to the famous

Mary Tyler Moore, Judge Wapner, Chuck Barris, Chuck Berry, Erin Moran

Don Rickles, Adam West, Jerry Lewis, Glen Campbell, Monty Hall

J. Geils, Greg Allman, Chester Bennington, Tom Petty.

Then we have our personal tragedies. Those loved ones we have said good-bye to. People we witnessed become ill and passed from this life to the next life with God. It’s not always easy to witness that change.

We look at our homes . . . and we see areas which need work. We look at our furniture and without realizing it, they’re not quite as comfortable as before. They’ve gotten older and used. We look at ourselves - - - and . . . well, let’s not! We’ve aged too. Even I’ve aged (PICTURES)

In our world today, as soon as you buy a new phone or a new computer it seems to be outdated by the time you get it home. Things are changing so fast that there is a part of us that wants to stay in some sweet safe place that we remember from our past. Then again, we don’t all mind change either, but we want change to be on our terms. We like having bathrooms in the house instead of venturing out in the cold. We like having central air and air conditioning in the car. What would we do without microwaves? We like our modern conveniences, but if we could, we’d choose which ones we really wanted. Yet, change is part of life.

In Ecclesiastes, Solomon wrote ~

1 For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven. – Ecclesiastes 3:1

We’re going through that seasonal change now. The leaves have changed colors and are falling off like crazy. We’re hitting that cold winter weather, snow is coming, but we keep an eye on the Spring, the warmer weather, and finally the summer heat. And before we know it, we’ll be back here in 2018, wondering where the year went.

Next year, we’ll be one year older. With that comes changes. For some - - - they are the hoped for changes which come with youth and the excitement and hope of growing older. For others, it’s the agony of growing older and the changes which come along as well.

Everything changes, everything is in motion. Change can also cause anxiety. We want something to be the same, something not to change, something to be my anchor. And we have that rock, that anchor. It’s what we’ve been talking about for the past few months. Jesus is the anchor for our soul. We’re reminded of that in our reading for today, one simple, yet profound verse. The writer of Hebrews tells us ~

8 Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever. – Hebrews 13:8

1. God's love is unchanging

Human love can be fickle, can’t it? Love seems to change all of the time. One day - - you’re madly in love, the next day, it’s over! We say “I love you” - - but then our actions don’t show it.

The Supremes sang a song called "In and Out of Love.” Listen to the lyrics ~

Just when I feel sure love's here to stay,

It seems to suddenly just fade away.

Keep falling In And Out Of love,

Can't seem to find the lasting kind,

It seems I can't find the joy I need,

Love always somehow all goes wrong with me.

Sometimes that’s the way it goes. Love seems to change, not always for the good. Yet, sometimes we do experience a wonderful love. We may experience it in marriage, maybe through family or some amazing friends - - - and we have the opportunity to experience it within the body of Christ. A powerful love we share with one another. It’s a love which is predicated on the love of Christ in our lives. It’s a love which seeks to serve one another, to extend grace and unity through the power of the Holy Spirit. Yet, our love can be fickle, even in the church.