A Seasonal Salutation to all our church family and friends of Heritage, HE LIVES!
I have been meditating for the last few days on the Immutable Immaculate. Let me break down the meaning of these two inductive words, which describe for us a facet of the character of the Sovereign Godhead. First let’s look at the word Immutable and why it is so important to the Christian faith here at Christmas time.
Immutability is the biblical idea that God is unchanging in His character, will, and His promises. James chapter 1, verse 17 puts it like this: “Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change.” This is not just some random verse in the Holy Bible that we spotlight but a positive insight into the nature and deity of what God is like, as you can find in Malachi 3:6… “For I, the Lord, do not change; therefore you, O sons of Jacob, are not consumed. It is important to know the scripture in order to know God. For instance, we discover who He is as we mine the word of God for Diamonds of truth to build our lives on.
My friend Erland Stromquvist was a navigator in a cross-country rally car, which is a big sport in Europe. He told me about a race where his navigator failed to warn him concerning a hair turn in the dirt road, he was racing through in the Swedish countryside. He went straight and ended up plowing into the tall evergreens in the forest as a result he lost the race. Erland was telling me this as we raced across Sweden, on a sheet of ice. Let me mention that I really prayed through as we flew by the frozen lakes of December in post card like landscapes.
Follow with me as I share with you the strength of line upon line truth:
Numbers 23:19
“God is not a man, that He should lie,
Nor a son of man, that He should repent;
Has He said, and will He not do it?
Or has He spoken, and will He not make it good?
Psalm 102:25-27
“Of old You founded the earth,
And the heavens are the work of Your hands.
“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.
“But You are the same,
And Your years will not come to an end.
Psalm 33:11
The counsel of the Lord stands forever,
The plans of His heart from generation to generation.
Isaiah 46:10
Declaring the end from the beginning,
And from ancient times things which have not been done,
Saying, ‘My purpose will be established,
And I will accomplish all My good pleasure’.
You can follow the hand of God as He lays out His blueprint of Providential guidance, which will be fulfilled. “The Lord will accomplish what concerns me; Your lovingkindness, O Lord, is everlasting; Do not forsake the works of Your hands.” Psalm 138:8. The Psalmist keyed into the immutability of God several times in these beloved chapters.
The one verse most familiar to people who are not even aware of what they are reading is found in this well-known verse: “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.” Hebrews 13:8.
Can you see what God has called attention to over and over in so many chapters and so many verses? I want you to see how easy it is to follow the Holy Spirit’s leading into the heart of the Father and the obedience of Christ.
Romans 11:29
“for the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable.”
Titus 1:2
“in the hope of eternal life, which God, who cannot lie, promised long ages ago,”
Hebrews 6:17
“In the same way God, desiring even more to show to the heirs of the promise the unchangeableness of His purpose, interposed with an oath,”
James 1:17
“Every good thing given and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shifting shadow.”
I think I may have set you up to better understand, Immutability. Let me put the icing on the cake for you as found in Hebrews 6:17 and 18 states the following:
“In this way God, desiring more abundantly to show the heirs of the promise the unchangeable nature of His own purpose, confirmed it by an oath; so that by two immutable things, in which it was impossible for God to lie, we who have fled for refuge might have strong encouragement to lay hold on the hope that has been set before us. These two things involve the true hope that only the true Church of God has. The writer of Hebrews takes the next two chapters to detail out these two immutable things. They are as presented, God Cannot Lie and God cannot Change.
This brings me back to the IMMUTABLE IMMACULATE, Christ birth was Immaculate and, in that God, cannot lie. He who swore on His own self, affirms that this is how His Son was born, free from spot or stain; spotlessly clean: immaculate linen. He is free from moral blemish or impurity; pure; undefiled. Christ was the spotless lamb of God born before the foundation of the world, with us in mind.
Cleddie and GayNell Keith
January 1st through the 21st will be our corporate fast. There will be a Healing Service Sunday Jan 21, 2024 at 10 AM.