Same But Different

Week one - Same God
Hebrews 13:8

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New year - lots of talk about change
I want to start the year talking about what is going to stay the

.

It’s always easier for someone or something else to change than it is for

to change.
“When the kids are older…”
“When I’m getting paid more…”
“When he or she stops treating me like…”

• We’re the only ones we can change.
• We’re often the ones who
  Reveal Answer
  to change.

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Specific application - our relationship with God
Most of us want a better, stronger, more engaged relationship with God.
It would be a lot easier if God would make all of the moves and you could keep doing what you are doing, and doing what you’re not doing, and it would just happen.
It would be easier if God’s ways would be more in line with your ways. If God’s justice perfectly matched your justice. If God liked exactly what you like, and disliked exactly who you dislike.

It would be

for God to make all of the moves, but it wouldn’t be

Reveal Answer

.
It’s actually really good news that

Reveal Answer

.

For the Lord is good and His love endures forever; his faithfulness through all generations. —Psalm 100:5

The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases. —Lamentations 3:22

Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today and forever. —Hebrews 13:8

*good news because He chose to give His life for mine and offer me a forgiveness I could never deserve, and it would be pretty awesome if He never changes His mind and takes it back

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God is the same - justice and mercy, grace and truth, acceptance and challenge (“you are the sons and daughters of God, but who do you say I am?”)

Having a north star -
*Polaris is the star in the northern hemisphere toward which the earth’s axis points
The metaphorical north star is the fixed point we depend on while everything else (including us) changes.

What is the constant you’re going to hold onto this year as you navigate all the other changes?

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has to be our north star.

Everything else is going to change and we’re going to want to bend Jesus to our ways, but that isn’t better.

One more thing about the sameness of God -
God makes the first move
1 John 4:19 - We love because He first loved us.
God is the same in His pursuit of us.

Now it’s your move…
You can have a different relationship with God. You can have something unlike what’s been there before. But the thing that will need to be different is

.

God will always be there. Will you?