"Has There Been A Change?"

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“May I never forget the lash of the whip, the emptiness, the longing, the loss of self, the days of my captivity, O God my Savior. For if I forget how it was for me, how will I remember how it is for others? And if I forget how it is for others, how can I love them where they are? For if I cannot love them where they are, I am still in Egypt. Nothing has really changed." (More Light On The Path,Has Anything Really Changed?)

Backdrop of confession did not include a lasting repentance-guilty of false confession and false repentance, -not living a changed life - stiff-necked and stubborn people-filled with unbelief -longing for the things of this world.

confession did not include a lasting repentance-guilty of false confession and false repentance, -not living a changed life - stiff-necked and stubborn people-filled with unbelief -longing for the things of this world.

Note the tragic fact: the people did not trust God nor obey Him. They had been rebelling against the Lord ever since Moses had known them (). They were guilty of continued disobedience and rebellion against God, guilty of provoking God time and again. They had obviously confessed their sin after each act of disobedience, but their confession did not include a lasting repentance. They were guilty of false confession and false repentance, of not living a changed life. They did not continue to trust and obey God, but were continually slipping back. They were a stiff-necked and stubborn people, filled with unbelief and longing for the things of this world.

Word Study: Repent[-ed] - to change one’s mind and purpose -to recover one’s senses, come to a right understanding - denotes to reform, to have a genuine change of heart and life from worse to better.

This change is always for the better, and denotes a change of moral thought and reflection; not merely to repent of, nor to forsake sin, but to change one’s mind and apprehensions regarding it; hence, to repent in a moral and religious sense, with the feeling of remorse and sorrow.

Note: Repentance is Followed by showing a complete change, out of a former mode of life, to a new and different life.

Note: Repentance is Followed by showing a complete change, out of a former mode of life, to a new and different life.

Note: Repentance is Followed by showing a complete change, out of a former mode of life, to a new and different life.

μεταμέλομαι, to rue, regret; to have dissatisfaction with one’s self for what one has done, to change or alter one’s purpose, have anxiety consequent on a past transaction; to have pain of mind, rather than change of mind; and change of purpose, rather than change of heart.

THE TENSIONS OF CHANGE - Little men with little minds and little imaginations go through life in little ruts, smugly resisting all changes which would jar their little worlds.     Author unknown

Author unknown

Change is often ignored by Christians because it creates a tension and discomfort. Change forces us to look at what we are doing and evaluate it as to whether it is God-ordained or human-initiated. Change requires discussion, investigation, reflection, evaluation, and a solid biblical understanding. In our busy world today, we often fail to do this. We become stuck in our outdated ways of doing things, because change takes too much energy.

As a result, change is often overlooked until a crisis becomes so significant that it cannot be ignored. By then the change has polarized each side into competing camps, and discussion about biblical change is difficult.

People avoid change until the pain of remaining the same is greater than the pain of changing. Author unknown

“I the Lord do not change. So you, O descendants of Jacob, are not destroyed. Ever since the time of your forefathers you have turned away from my decrees and have not kept them. Return to me, and I will return to you,” says the Lord Almighty...

From this passage we see a wonderful depiction of God’s unchangeableness in nature, will, and character that includes fairness, justice, love, and reciprocity.

In contrast, the Jewish nation’s underlying qualities are depicted as not so persistent, nor pristine. Their underlying nature, will, and character are unreliable, fluctuating, and indecisive.

Do you really love God? If so there should have been a change: taken on His nature, will, and character

Author unknown

Therefore, Loving one another proves that we see God’s love () - We know the love God by salvation - Thus, if God so love us we are to love one another

We know the love God by salvation - Thus, if God so love us we are to love one another

Loving one another proves that God’s Spirit is within us ()

Note: If we don’t change, we don’t grow. If we don’t grow, we are not really living. Gail Sheehy

“I the Lord do not change. So you, O descendants of Jacob, are not destroyed. Ever since the time of your forefathers you have turned away from my decrees and have not kept them. Return to me, and I will return to you,” says the Lord Almighty...

Gail Sheehy

In contrast, the Jewish nation’s underlying qualities are depicted as not so persistent, nor pristine. Their underlying nature, will, and character are unreliable, fluctuating, and indecisive.

“Has There Been A Change?"