As I walking the other morning, I noticed how absolutely clear the sky was. You could see every single star visible by man. It was that clear. Big dipper and little dipper. I’m a star gazer, not a star knower. Not sure of who or what Pleaides or Orion is and to me the Milky Way is a very good candy bar. As I was looking up in the darkness though I wondered where the North Star was. I wasn’t even sure where north was, I’m directionally challenged. Then I thought about the Star of Bethlehem. You know, the one that went ahead of the wise men and led them to Jesus?
I started thinking that as much as things change, they really do stay the same. When I looked up at those stars in the sky it dawned on me, those are the same stars that Adam looked at, that Abraham looked at, that King David looked at, that the Disciples looked at. Those were the thoughts in my mind when I returned to the house and pulled out my devotional to start my day.
…before the daystar knew its place or the planets ran their course,
the interests of the saints were made secure in Christ Jesus.
Charles Spurgeon
And that’s what it said. Wow, that’s odd! No, it’s not odd, it’s God! He ties things together for us and every once in a while our faith is strong enough to recognize it.
The One who made the Pleiades and Orion, who turns darkness into dawn and darkens day into night, who summons the waters of the sea and pours them out over the face of the earth– Yahweh is His name. Amos 5:8
Isn’t that a beautiful verse? Yahweh is His name. The One who placed the stars in the sky – Yahweh. A name too sacred to speak. Yhwh. Lord. God. As much as things change, they stay the same, He has promised.
“I am the LORD, and I do not change. That is why you descendants of Jacob are not already destroyed. Ever since the days of your ancestors, you have scorned my decrees and failed to obey them. Now return to me, and I will return to you,” says the LORD of Heaven’s Armies. Malachi 3:6-7
Amos and Malachi were both speaking to the Israelites regarding repentance, 340 years apart. The message was the same. Repent. You see, people did not change from Adam to Malachi. People were the same. Rebellious. Disobedient. Sinful. Savior needing.
Fast forward about 4,000 years (give or take a year or two) from the creation of Adam to the birth of our Savior Jesus, things really hadn’t changed. Remember what Dr. Luke said?
Prove by the way you live that you have really turned from your sins to God. Luke 1:8
People were the same. Rebellious. Disobedient. Sinful. Savior needing.
Now fast forward another 2,000 years or so between the birth, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ to today. People are the same. But, just as people are the same, God is the same. The same God that pursued the people of Israel is the same God that pursued the woman at the well, and the same God that pursues us today. He has not changed. He is the Word.
In the beginning the Word already existed.
The Word was with God,
and the Word was God.
He existed in the beginning with God.
God created everything through him,
and nothing was created except through him.
The Word gave life to everything that was created,
and his life brought light to everyone.
The light shines in the darkness,
and the darkness can never extinguish it.
John 1:1-5
His message is the same as it was in the very beginning. Even before He put the daystar in place, it was all buttoned up. The Word, Jesus Christ, is the Light that shines in our darkness and the darkness can never extinguish it. The Word is the same from beginning to end!
“In the same way, I tell you, there is rejoicing in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents.” Luke 15:10
Before creation, the interests of the saints (that includes you and me), our eternal lives were made secure in Christ Jesus. His Message is relevant yesterday, today and tomorrow. Why? Because people are the same as they were yesterday, as they are today, and as they will be tomorrow. Rebellious. Disobedient. Sinful. Savior needing. The truth is that God is unchanging – Amen! His plan before time began was to rescue people who needed rescuing, from Adam to Beth, to you, and beyond.