Daily Reading for Sunday, Feb. 3: Change

26 “Even they will perish, but You endure;
And all of them will wear out like a garment;
Like clothing You will change them and they will be changed.
27 “But You are the same,
And Your years will not come to an end.
28 “The children of Your servants will continue,
And their descendants will be established before You.”
Psalm 120:26-28

This is our God. He is immovable, unchangeable, immutable. He is ever-present, ever-enduring, ever-lasting. There is no changing in Him for He is perfection itself. And the most wonderful part of God is that He shares Himself with us. He does not distance himself from such feeble creatures as we are. We cannot possibly attain the level of perfection that He is, and yet, He doesn’t look upon us with scorn, nor does He rebuff our seeking of Him. In fact, He encourages it. He has drawn us from everlasting to everlasting, ever seeking the intimacy of relationship He created us to enjoy. God’s years will never cease, but man’s will. God will never change, but man must change. We are exhorted to be transformed, renewed, and born again so that we may experience more of God through our changes and growth. If we do not change, we do not grow. And something that doesn’t grow is dead; but God created us to be alive! He breathed His life, His light into our lifeless frame. He purposed us for life and that purpose has never changed. Change us, Oh Lord, into your likeness! Renew us, Oh Christ, by the power of your love! We long to be what you’ve created us to be, that we may truly walk with you as you have established us before you. Grant us, dear Lord, the desire to be changed so that we may be all you’ve desired us to be in you. Amen.

Daily Reading for Saturday, Feb. 2: Change

“This is the word that came to Jeremiah from the LORD : 2 "Go down to the potter's house, and there I will give you my message." 3 So I went down to the potter's house, and I saw him working at the wheel. 4 But the pot he was shaping from the clay was marred in his hands; so the potter formed it into another pot, shaping it as seemed best to him. Jeremiah 18:1-5

“When I think of a house being renovated, usually one has to tear some things out. It might be old floors, old doors, or even walls. Do we have any walls that we have built that need to be torn down? There are also some things we better not mess with, such as supporting beams, supporting walls, and the foundation. We need to inspect our own spiritual house to see what needs torn out and keep the strong supporting foundation of HIS WORD to build on. Renovations usually are not easy, but they usually increase the value of the home, and usually make the structure more sound and strong.” Vonna Money

To the believer, change is a beautiful word that indicates the intimate working of the Holy Spirit in our lives. Often, though, the enemy will come to us and accuse us with all our faults and imperfections, and He will taunt us with the thought that we really haven’t changed at all. Yet with the Lord moving in our lives, as He sees the marring of the vessel, He doesn’t destroy us—He simply forms us into a new vessel, one without deformity and perfectly useful for His purposes. In the renovation process that Vonna speaks of, we don’t destroy the house because we know some things need to be updated or rethought. We simply tackle those areas. In the same way, when we approach the concept of change either as individuals or as church, we don’t need an “all or nothing” approach. The Holy Spirit will indicate areas that need attention and prayer. We seek Him, He shows us. Sometimes the renovation is radical indeed—going down to the very foundations. But most often, the change is subtle with a tweak here and a nudge there. Whatever the method of change, the outcome is still the same…a shining city on a hill displaying the light of life for all to see and draw near.

A special thanks to Vonna Money for your definitions of change, and your awesome thoughts about renovation and the Potter’s wheel.

Daily Reading for Friday, Feb. 1: Change

“No one puts new wine into old wineskins; otherwise the wine will burst the skins, and the wine is lost and the skins as well; but one puts new wine into fresh wineskins.” Mark 2:22

“And Jesus said to them, "Therefore every scribe who has become a disciple of the kingdom of heaven is like a head of a household, who brings out of his treasure things new and old.” Matthew 13:52

When discussing change and our approach to it, we must be careful to keep change in perspective. We don’t want change simply for change sake. There is great value in tradition and consistency of practice. Look at the saying of Jesus about wineskins. You don’t pour new wine into old wineskins. The new wine will ferment, causing that already stretched wineskins to burst—ruining the vessel and the contents. This verse should not be interpreted to say that only the new wine is worth having. What Jesus is telling us through this passage is that we must be judicious in our applications of both the old wine and the new wine. While change does have value, so too, does consistency. We don’t wear our winter coats in the middle of summer because the season doesn’t dictate that we do. We would be foolish to use and otherwise vital piece of clothing in a season that it wasn’t appropriate to use it in. In the same manner, while we must value and embrace change, we also must be wise in our approach. We can’t be lead by every wind of doctrine that blows around, nor can we follow every new method. We cannot be in a state of constant change; we must have periods of stability so that the building can settle and become firm on its foundation. Dr. Raleigh Jenkins once described the spiritual walk in terms of a stair step. On the horizontal plain, it seems as though not much in happening, not much is occurring. It is on that plain that the consistency of sound spiritual disciplines and practices grounds us in our faith. Then we reach the vertical plain, and that is where growth and maturity come into full fruit. We seem to rocket up to a higher level of understanding and awareness. This is the arena of change. We have change and consistency, each fueling the other and both accomplishing the plan of God in our lives, and we need both change and consistency in order to be that perfected house of God that He is building us into.

Daily Reading for Thursday, Jan. 31: Change

“There is an appointed time for everything. And there is a time for every event under heaven-- A time to give birth and a time to die; A time to plant and a time to uproot what is planted. A time to kill and a time to heal; A time to tear down and a time to build up. A time to weep and a time to laugh; A time to mourn and a time to dance. A time to throw stones and a time to gather stones; A time to embrace and a time to shun embracing. A time to search and a time to give up as lost; A time to keep and a time to throw away. A time to tear apart and a time to sew together; A time to be silent and a time to speak. A time to love and a time to hate; A time for war and a time for peace.” Ecclesiastes 3:1—8

The inevitability of change is evidenced all around us. Winter changes into spring. Night changes into day. Summer’s crop changes into autumn’s harvest. And yet, there is often a reluctance to walk in change. Change brings uncertainty; staying the same is safe, comfortable, and known. If we continue to do things the way we’ve always done them, we know exactly what to do and when to do it. The uncertainty is gone, and we are in complete control of the situation at hand. And that is precisely where God does not want us to be. If we can control our fate, our future, and our ministry, what do we need God for? God is interested and heavily invested in our growth process. Hebrews 5:12 states the expectation that believers should be growing and maturing. God is not interested in a perpetual nursery ministry, where all He is doing is taking care of the babies. Babies are wonderful, but they are considered to have a deficit if they fail to grow. It is inevitable that as we grow in wisdom, knowledge and experience, we will be changed. And this is as true for a culture and society as it is for an individual—for individuals ultimately make up a society. How we approach this inevitability speaks volumes for our trustworthiness for reaching the souls around us. If we bury our heads in the sand, not wanting anything to change, our effectiveness for reaching those around us vanishes. And we cannot be the people we were created to be, nor can we touch the people we were given to touch.

Daily Reading for Wednesday, Jan. 30: Change

“They were all amazed, so that they debated among themselves, saying, "What is this? A new teaching with authority! He commands even the unclean spirits, and they obey Him.” Mark 1:27

Jesus wasn’t the same kind of teacher the Jews had become accustomed to. He actually talked as if He knew what and who He was preaching about—and He did things a traditional rabbi would never have done. When we examine the change processes of God, we understand that although His character, eternal persona, and eternal purpose never change, His methods of expressing Himself and achieving His purpose do. Throughout the Bible we see instances of God revealing Himself. Indeed, the names attributed to Him...Jehovah Jireh, Jehovah Shalom, Jehovah Tsidkenu, Jehovah Rapha, Jehovah Nissi, Adonai, Elohim...all reflect the distinct and changing manners in which God has revealed Himself to man. God’s purpose was cemented before the foundations of the world were even spoken and put into place. (1 Peter 1:20) His purpose has always been and will always be the redemption of those enslaved to sin, trapped by their fallen nature. And yet, we see through the ages that God has changed how He has achieved this purpose. Hebrews 7:11-12 states “Now if perfection was through the Levitical priesthood (for on the basis of it the people received the Law), what further need was there for another priest to arise according to the order of Melchizedek, and not be designated according to the order of Aaron? 12 For when the priesthood is changed, of necessity there takes place a change of law also.” There are many things that could be taught about these passages, as they are explanations of the fact that the law was limited in what it could accomplish on our behalf, and that we needed an intercessor who could accomplish what the law could not. But notice in verse 12 the words “of necessity”. God changed the way He did things which necessitated other changes. And so, as we walk in the ways of the Lord, our purpose is the same as His, and we will change what we must, while remaining true to Christ, in order to achieve the eternal purpose of God in our lives.

Daily Reading for Tuesday, Jan. 29: Change

“Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come.” 2 Corinthians 5:17

Change can be described in many ways. It is defined thusly: to cause to become; to alter; to transform; to convert, to become different, to pass from one phase to another, something of the same kind but new or fresh. Change denotes a making or becoming distinctly different and implies either a radical transformation of character or replacement with something else. Alter implies only a partial change so that the identity is preserved. Vary suggests irregular or intermittent change. Modify implies minor change, often so as to limit or moderate. Transform implies a change in form, usually in nature, or function; and convert suggests more strongly a change to suit a new function.

Clearly, the word change has many meanings. But for the Christian, it primarily means that we have passed from the old world of sin into the new life of sainthood. We have been transformed by the power of Christ into eternally living beings who truly bear the image of our Father and the light of His countenance. We take on attributes that we once may have only looked upon in disdain—traits such as goodness, kindness, gentleness, faithfulness. We become loving of those who hate us, and we give not seeking our own comforts but seeking a greater kingdom and the benefit of those who are its inhabitants. We comfort the afflicted, we care for the poor and needy, we weep over the lost and seek those who may be found. Clearly, we are not what we once were when we were steeped in the sinfulness of our self-centeredness—when we were our own gods and determined our own destiny. We have traded rags for riches, and what change that trade has wrought. We are new creations in Christ. We have changed. And so, we embrace change. We allow the growing, maturing work of the Holy Spirit to infiltrate our lives to greater degrees each and every day. And we change more and more, into the likeness of the true person God designed from the outset.

Daily Reading for Monday, Jan. 28: Change

Core Value: Change

We embrace innovation and creativity!

Life is always changing. God’s word and nature never changes, but like the seasons of the year, human culture and society is ever changing. Sometimes that change is slow in occurring; other times it is as fast as lightning. Methods will constantly change, but the message of Christ stays the same! How we do church must change with the culture in order to reveal the relevance of God’s Word. We must always be growing in ministry excellence to be effective in the real world. A culture of excellence creates an attitude of never being satisfied with being satisfied. We will strive to be the best at what God leads us to do.

~Lighthouse Fellowship Core Value #3

Introduction

We live in an era of rapid change. Cultural and societal trends and traditions change as frequently as the weather changes. What was once considered dependable and reliable can no longer have that consideration. The challenge for the church has been and will always be thus: how do we take the timeless truths of the gospel and communicate them in the culture and society that God placed us in? That is the challenge of the day, and the impetus of this core value. We have determined, as a church, that we will not become a relic of yesteryear, something that has nostalgic value and nothing more. We are convinced that the message of Christ has as much relevance in our world as it ever has, and we are determined to do whatever it takes to proclaim that message to those who are needing it. This does not mean, however, that we embrace every “new thing” that the wind blows in. The only direction we seek is the Lord’s; the only true compass is His word. Therefore, we will not shrink from changing methods; we will seek to be creative, relevant, and current in our communication of the gospel while holding fast to the firm, eternal foundation of the Word of God.

Daily Reading for Monday, Jan. 28
“For I am the LORD, I change not…” Malachi 3:6 KJV

One of the seemingly greatest paradoxes of our faith is that we are a people in a constant mode of change who serve an unchanging God. Consider the fact that our bodies age, our opinions shift, and our characters mature. These all point to the effect of change in our lives, and the growing process that God has put into effect. When we seek to know God and His plans for us, we first find a God whose character is cemented in timeless and eternal dominions that are not touched by the changeableness of this fallen world. God must be unchangeable in character because his character is perfect, his persona complete. We, on the other hand, will never achieve such perfection in and of ourselves; hence the sweet sacrifice of Christ on our behalf, so that we may enter into that eternal realm of living. We enter in but we have not yet attained the full perfection of Christ (Philippians 3:12). The door is opened to us for the transformational process of God to take place in us through the blood of Christ, and we walk through that door through the power of the Holy Spirit walking beside us as comforter, counselor, and guide. And this is not only for us to be transformed, but for others to see our transformation and be drawn to Christ by it. And so we embrace change—for its perfecting work in us, and for its drawing work through us. And we allow our lives and methods to change, so that as many as will can come to the unchangeable, unshakable, immovable Christ—the rock of our salvation.