The Unchanging Word In a Changing World

OUR FAST-CHANGING WORLD

Our world is changing and very fast! We operate today almost at the speed of light. Today we are talking about nanotechnology. New knowledge and information are churning out fast. According to a recent research: “Over 2.5 quintillion bytes of data are created every single day, and it’s only going to grow from there. By 2020, it’s estimated that 1.7MB of data will be created every second for every person on earth.”. Everything is just a click away! Just Google it! Indeed the prophet Daniel has prophesied of such a time.

But thou, O Daniel, shut up the words, and seal the book, even to the time of the end: many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall be increased. – Dan 12:4

This boom may have made life more convenient, but it has not healed the moral bankruptcy of Man. This technological advancement has not translated into the knowledge of God. So, we have much information, yet so little knowledge of God. We have so many Christian channels on TV but so little preaching of the true gospel. We have so many Bible versions and we don’t read them! We read almost everything, we study philosophies of men, but how devoted are we to the Bible the Word of God?  We spend most of our waking time on social media and surfing the internet, yet very little time on the Word that can transform our lives and situations and give us an eternal inheritance. In fact, this increased knowledge has made many to stray away from the holy God.

Paul prophesied of a time like this:

This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come.  For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy,  without natural affection, trucebreakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good, traitors, heady, highminded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God; Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away. For of this sort are they which creep into houses, and lead captive silly women laden with sins, led away with diverse lusts,  ever learning, and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth. – 2 Timothy 3:1-6

Indeed we see the fulfilment of this scripture today. Our homes are in tatters, our children have become disobedient, crime is on the increase, divorce, rape, drug abuse, kidnapping, violence, and all manner of wickedness is all we see even in the household of faith. Our technological advancement and knowledge have taken us nowhere. But where do we go from here? Where do we go to find the hope and future we long for?

THE UNCHANGING WORD

The answer is not farfetched: we need to go back to the Bible, The Unchanging Word of God. The Bible contains the infallible and changeless Word of God. The Bible though compiled thousands of years ago remains the most relevant book on earth and will be for all generations. Our hope lies in it; it is the treasure chest that contains the precious map and compass that can steer us on our journey on the strange waters of this world. It remains the only guide and final arbiter of truth. It has power to change lives and situations, it can mend families and broken relationships, it can renew communities and transform nations. Our hope in a changing world is in the unchanging Word of God!

We are constantly striving as humans seeking for change and a better world. We hope for a world of love, peace and prosperity, a world where peace and justice reigns, but there is a place where this world is promised – it is in the Bible, the Word of God.

The life and future we hope for cannot be found in the vain pursuit of knowledge and technology or some new kind of philosophies or ways of doing things. We need to go back to the ancient and changeless Word of God- to rediscover the ways of God and to bring His Word to become the standard of our living and conduct. To make Word of God the center of our lives is the way to find complete rest and satisfaction.

A PERSONAL CHALLENGE

STUDY THE WORD

Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth. 2 Tim 2:15

But evil men and seducers shall wax worse and worse, deceiving, and being deceived. But continue thou in the things which thou hast learned and hast been assured of, knowing of whom thou hast learned them; And that from a child thou hast known the holy scriptures, which are able to make thee wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus. – 2Timothy 3: 13-15

As a Child of God and God’s Agent of Change, I challenge you to keep yourself from the evil and corruption in this world. If you want to save your soul and that of the people you love, if you desire to be used by God as his Agent of Change to influence others, I challenge you to as a matter of priority seek God in His Word. Diligently read, study and understand it very well; know how to rightly relate and apply it to your life and situation; give it a central place in your life; cherish it above your daily food and build your life and relationships on it.

Spent much time studying the Word. Approach it with the diligence of a student and the heart of the seeker- looking to encounter God. I recommend you begin with the 30:30 challenge- to spend 30 minutes every day studying the Word for 30 days. Do it every month and grow from there!

Don’t be satisfied with superficial knowledge of the Word- seek for depths! Know the spirit and the letter. Know the books, their writers, the history, the culture, the story behind every story, the people, the places, the parables, the examples, the miracles, the commandments, the laws, the promises, the grace of our Lord Jesus, the salvation story, the power, the glory and the treasures of Christ. Know the sacred contents of the Word, know both the old and the new testaments, know Jesus, the central theme of the Bible and stop at nothing until the treasure gates are opened to you.

Make the Bible your daily companion, develop the habit of reading it daily. Read it in different versions; read Bible commentaries to expand your perspective on the Word. Above all pray and seek after the guidance of the Holy Spirit- the greatest teacher to lead you into all truths. Then rise to obey everything thing He tells you to do, only so will you be blessed.

Evil men and seducers shall wax worse and worse, deceiving and being deceived but you continue in the Word- rooted and grounded in it!

Cultivate a new attitude and renewed commitment to the unchanging Word. Stay with the Word any time you open it until you encounter the life and spirit encased within it, until you are changed into the very likeness of Jesus in ever-increasing glory. For only so can you be saved from the corrupting influences of this world and be equipped to accomplish your assignment.

• PREACH THE WORD

I charge thee therefore before God, and the Lord Jesus Christ, who shall judge the quick and the dead at his appearing and his kingdom: Preach the word! Be instant in season, out of season. Reprove, rebuke, exhort with all long suffering and doctrine. For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine, but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears; And they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables.

2 Timothy 4:1-4

Finally, preach the sincere and undiluted Word of God! Declare it to all men! Today, there is a lot of preaching and information out there, but the real Word, the true gospel of Christ is not being preached and taught. Declare the whole counsel of God (Acts 20:27) with Christ at the center of it. His life and pattern constitute the basis and foundation for every doctrine and precept. For he is God’s standard for righteousness and living. Scriptures can only make sense when viewed in the light of his person.

We as Agents of Change today must prove to our straying and deluded generation that the Word remains relevant in a changing world. It remains the only potent instrument by which our generation can be delivered from the curse of sin and moral bankruptcy. Nothing else can, nothing else will. Not science, not technology, not some new age philosophy, not some new psychological theory, not government reforms and programs, nor any human movement but the unchanging and immutable Word of God can bring new life, transformation, salvation and eternal inheritance.

Let’s all go back to the Bible!