Pastor's Corner

for Sunday Oct. 17th
"I Can't Change Jesus"
Bruce Howell tells the following story about Bill Irwin. “Bill Irwin, a man who is blind, has a talking computer he uses to study the Bible. He's had a few chuckles over some of the pronunciations. "For a long time," Bill says, "the computer pronounced Holy Bible as 'holly bible' until I figured out how to modify it." But there was one thing Bill couldn't change. The computer uses the Spanish pronunciation for Jesus Christ--HEYsus Krist. "The programmer is Hispanic," Bill told me with a smile, "and he made sure that HEYsus Krist cannot be altered." I like that. It reminds me that among the things in life that can be changed to suit my taste, one remains tamper-resistant--I can't change Jesus. When life is unsettled, I gain great comfort from the Bible's affirmation that "Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever" (Heb. 13:8). But the statement is also a stern rebuke to my tendency to try to modify the words and character of Christ when I don't like what he says. How easy it is to forget that I came to Christ longing for him to transform me, not the other way around! Praise God that his Word and his love are perfect and unchanging. And praise him too that in his love he is working to change me.”
Full surrender is when we accept Jesus for who He is and not for who we want Him to be.
Pastor Don.