In our changing world, what has not changed

Isaiah 59:1-2 is an interesting text that fits the day in which we live. It goes like this: “Behold the Lord’s hand is not shortened, that it cannot save; nor His ear heavy, that it cannot hear. But your iniquities have separated you from your God; And your sins have hidden his face from you, that He will not hear.”

We live in a changing world. Each generation witnesses’ changes that would astound their ancestors. I asked a farmer years ago, what was the biggest change in agriculture in his lifetime? He didn’t have to think long before he answered me. He told me it was the computer. Farmers can now drive straight without putting a hand on the steering wheel and let a signal from earth to a satellite drive his tractor.

Science and technology breakthroughs have changed lifestyles for all of us. Who would have thought that you could carry a cell phone in your pocket, and you can call anyone in the world. Our young people can’t leave home without it. If you have trouble with your phone as an adult, find a young person to “fix” it.

We live in a world where weather patterns and natural disasters change lives. In the summer and fall, we see our forests explode with fire. We go through winter and experience small amounts of snow. In summer we live with drought.

In our world, there are three constants: God’s power to save remains the same; God’s ability to hear and answers prayer remains the same, and the destructiveness of sin remains the same. Let’s explore these unchanging truths.

God’s power remains the same. “Behold the Lord’s hand is not shortened that it cannot save.” Mankind is constantly looking for something besides himself. We are lost without God.

We can count on God. This statement will remain true throughout time and eternity. “Jesus Christ, the same yesterday, today and forever” (Hebrews 13:8) “For I am the Lord, I change not . . . (Malachi 3:6)

I never asked Jesus to die for me. Salvation is a gift. “God so loved the world that He gave His only Son “ (John 3:16) It isn’t a reward for merit. That is why the entire responsibility is on you to receive or reject. Receiving Him means His forgiveness allows us to experience His “redemption through his blood, even the forgiveness of sins.”

God’s ability to hear and answer prayer remains the same. E. Stanley Jones said this about prayer. “Prayer is a surrender to the will of God and cooperation with His will. If I throw out a boat hook from a boat and catch hold of the shore and pull, do I pull the shore to me, or do I pull myself to the shore: Prayer is not pulling God to my will, but aligning my will to the will of God.

I never want to have a passive idea about prayer. I John 5:14 “And this is the confidence that we have in Him, that is if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us.’ Prayer is not a list of my wants. It is hearing the voice of God. Whatever your concerns are, God says to ask. When He answers you will know it’s God.

Prayer worked for Daniel in the lion’s den, it worked for David facing Goliath and prayer still works . . . for us.

The last constant we experience is the destructiveness of sin at work in the world. The result of sin is always spiritual death. This world is constantly changing, and usually not for the better.We cannot escape the consequences of sin.

Numbers 32:23 says, “But if we will not do so, behold you have sinned against the Lord, and be sure your sin will find you out.”

We have nowhere to go except to our maker and redeemer. Remember these few thoughts as you face a world that is lost without God and offers no hope, except in God’s forgiveness.

– Ron Jantz is from the Foursquare Church in Odessa