100 years ago, the moon was about 150 inches closer to earth than it is now. A brother and sister were fighting, and the next minute they are playing together. I was hungry when I woke up this morning, and now I am full from breakfast. I promised that I would do the laundry, and then I forgot to do it. 10 years ago I bought my first computer, now it’s broken in my garage.  Last year I was 5ft. 10in., this year I am 5ft. 11in. I bought a new pair of jeans last month, and yesterday I ripped a hole in the knee. I went to Wal-Mart to buy a new book, instead I bought a new DVD. My mom was mad at me for not washing the car, now she is happy that I made her breakfast. I had a best friend in 5th grade, and now I barely see him any more… Okay, you’re probably really confused. Although this list seems random, they all share something in common. They are all examples of change.

Everything is in the state of change. Even something as big as the moon, seeming like it never changes, moves a little further away from Earth each year. Your body changes, your character changes, your mood changes, your age changes, your knowledge changes, your motive changes, your relationships change. We are imperfect creatures, always in the state of changing.

God is in control of what changes, but he is not affected by what changes. He is “the same” always (Malachi 3:6a). This attribute can be better defined as unchangeableness or immutable.  As endlessly changing creatures, it sometimes confusing thinking about this attribute. God’s changelessness is a difficult concept to wrap our minds around, but He is the Creator and we are the creation. We need to keep ourselves in perspective in relation to God while studying, musing about, praying, and worshiping Him.

Orthodox Calvinist theologian, Herman Bavinck, in one of his famous publications, The Doctrine of God said:

“The doctrine of God’s immutability is of the highest significance for religion. The contrast between being and becoming marks the difference between the Creator and the creature. Every creature is continually becoming. It is changeable, constantly striving, seeks rest and satisfaction, and finds this rest in God, in him alone, for only he is pure being and no becoming. Hence, in Scripture God is often called the Rock.”

God is the Rock. His character never changes even in the minutest amount. His immutability is a very difficult attribute to write about because of its extreme intricacy. I will do my best to cover it, but I recommend studying it for yourself.

If God is really unchanging this means that he is unwavering in keeping His promises. To say that God doesn’t keep His promises, that would be the same as saying the God is unfaithful, which we know to be false. (1 Corinthians 1:9, 1 Thessalonians 5:24, 2 Timothy 2:13, Lamentations 3:23, etc.)

Some people take the theological position in saying that God is in some respects temporal, mutable, and passible. These people are supporters of process theology. They say that process and change are essential aspects of genuine existence, and therefore God must be changing over time also, just like everything else that exists. This is NOT TRUE! In my last blog post I talked about God’s Independence. I wrote that because of His independence, God does not need us for anything, which means that we make a 0% impact on his character. These process theologians imply that in order to hold any significance, we must influence the very being of God. To me, that sounds like they blatantly contradict what the Bible says. They bend the scriptures to try and make them feel better about their “significance in life”. God is independent and unchanging, remaining solid as a rock. God determined that we would mean something to Him. Our significance to the Kingdom and for the Kingdom is directly related to whether or not we serve Christ.

Being immutable, God is clearly set apart from the rest of creation. It is massively important for us to make the distinction that God is unchanging. It really is a big deal. If God were changing, it would mean that it is possible for Him to not fulfill His promises. So the promise of the forgiveness of sin could easily change? Whoa, that’s a profoundly sobering thought! So now, you understand why it’s so important to uphold the doctrine of God’s immutability.

How could we trust an always-changing God? As an always changing and imperfect creature, studying this attribute makes me even more thankful for a perfectly righteous and holy God. The entire groundwork of our faith rests on God’s unchangeableness. Without it, Christianity would fall apart. He is our flawless foundation, our righteous stronghold, our unwavering rock, the never changing God of our salvation.

Psalm 18:1-2
“I love you, O Lord, my strength. The Lord is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer, my God, my rock, in whom I take refuge, my shield, and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold.”

Like a relationship between a father and his children, God does not need us. Being fully independent, means that he is self-sustaining. A father doesn’t need his children, he doesn't rely on them to provide for the rest of the family, and he doesn't expect them to help him with anything. His children really have nothing to offer because the father already gave them everything. A father is fully independent, his children depend on him for things, and he provides those things. God is the same way. He gave us EVERYTHING we need and more (Acts 17:24-25). Everything belongs to God (Job 41:11). He provides for us and takes care of us.

We are not independent. We do not share this attribute with God. From the moment we are born we are dependent on our parents to feed us, clothe us, and take care of our needs. Our parents even shape our character. If we were fully independent, we would build our own character by ourselves. Obviously this is impossible. Parents, friends, pastors, and ultimately God shape that of who we are today. If we did not have God we would be totally different, making us dependent. Without creation God would be exactly the same, making Him independent. Wayne Grudem, author of Systematic Theology says, “Without creation, God would still be infinitely loving, infinitely just, eternal, omniscient, Trinitarian, and so forth.” God is an unchanging God.

The attribute of independence is often called “self-existence”. God was not created. God is, was, and always will be (Exodus 3:14). It’s hard to wrap our minds around the fact that God always “was”. But we can’t expect to know the mind of the creator who created our minds.  God was here before anything came to be. He spoke everything into existence. 

Even though a child can’t really give his father anything, the least a child can do is obey everything the father says. God is still able to receive joy from us. We, and the rest of His creation can glorify him. We are commanded to worship Him and glorify Him. Our response to His independence should be thankfulness. We need to constantly think and remind ourselves that He completely takes care of us. We cannot do anything without God. If we really believe that God is the independent creator and gives us every reason to be thankful (because He gave us everything), then we will do what He says and serve Him.  God receives joy when we do what He says, just as a father receives joy when his kids obey him. Some say that the reason why God created us is because he felt lonely and needed fellowship with other persons. This is not true. To say that would mean that God was not happy and content with himself, which means that he is not actually an independent God. That would imply that He needed us. When I say that he doesn’t need us, that doesn't mean that we are meaningless. Wayne Grudem says, “…we are in fact very meaningful because God has created us and he has determined that we would be meaningful to him. That is the final definition of genuine significance.” God did not have to create us, but He did anyways, to bring Him glory. It’s encouraging to think that God actually delights in His people and rejoices over them (Isaiah 62:3-5). If we are one of God’s children (a Christian) then we are not meaningless because we live for Him not our own selfish desires.

Because He is independent, God does not need us for anything, yet he chooses to love us, delight in us, and He allows us to bring joy to His heart. This should humble us and help us realize that we have nothing to offer God. He does not need us to accomplish His will, but because we love Him, we will serve Him fervently and live according to His will.

I have 671 friends on Facebook! I probably only talk to about 10% of these people on a regular basis. Maybe even less than that. The question I ask myself is, "How many of these people are really my friends?"

What is a friend? Merriam-Webster dictionary defines a friend as: One who you share esteem or affection with. I agree that you share affection with friends, but there is much more to it!

I'm not talking about someone who you sit next to in math class and talk to once in a while, I'm talking about a friend, as Proverbs 18:24 says, "...sticks closer than a brother." In the Bible, David was close friends with King Saul's son, Jonathan. The relationship between David and Jonathan is a perfect example of what a good friendship has and what it should be like. I consider a friend someone who would give their life for me. Who loves me as much as they love themselves. In 1 Samuel 18:1 it says, "After David finished talking with Saul, Jonathan became one in spirit with David, and he loved him as himself." Do you love your friends as much as you love yourself? Real friends are people who love you. Love is the biggest thing in a friendship.

What is love? What does it look like and feel like? Love, to most, consists of warm fuzzy feelings and writing on each others Facebook walls myspace hearts<3 and a million smiley faces:) That's just babyish love! The strongest form of love is sacrificial love. Jesus showed us how much He loved us when He died on the cross for us. Self sacrifice is the strongest form of love.

John 15:13–15 
There is no greater love than to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. You are my friends if you do what I command. I no longer call you slaves, because a master doesn't confide in his slaves. Now you are my friends, since I have told you everything the Father told me.

We need to set a Christ-like example and be willing to lay down our lives for others. So when I say, "real friends are people who love you", I mean that they are willing to die for you. We offer our friendship out to many people, but how many of them can really say that they are your friends? Do they bear with you in your burdens? Are they there when you need someone to talk to? 

Over the years of my life, people have come and gone. For a long time, I defined a friend as someone who I just messed around with, but the time we shared together was pointless! It wasn't until these past 6 years of my life that I actually benefited from a friendship. I was finally able to grow in character and grow spiritually from the people around me. That's what friends are! They aren't just the people you enjoy spending free time with, they are the people who care enough for you, that they would invest in your growth! 

That's where the second part of the love comes in. A friend cares about who you are more than how you feel. If your friend approaches you telling you that you have sin in your life that needs to be corrected...they love you! A friend who loves you will show it by rebuking you when you are doing wrong. So many people have the definition of friendship backwards. 

I was talking to a guy a while back, and this is what he described a "good friend" to be like, "I know my friend cares for me because I got drunk one time at a party, and he didn't let me drive home. He called a cab for me." ...............So that's what a good friend is like? NO! A good friend would of made sure that you didn't get drunk in the first place. Better yet, a good friend wouldn't of let you go to a party where the temptation of drinking would of come up! 

See how the world totally has it all wrong?!

Proverbs 27:5-6 
"Better is open rebuke 
than hidden love.
Wounds from a friend can be trusted, 
but an enemy multiplies kisses."
I hope the definition of a "friend" is clear to you now. It's important that we guard who we surround ourselves with. I have only a select few of good friends. With these people, I am able to have mature spiritual conversations, I can count on them for helping me with my burdens, I can help them with their burdens, and we spur each other on. God has blessed me with them, and I thank Him for them! I hope you have good friends too!

Leave a comment! 
If you have any other spiritual topics in Christianity that you would be interesting in hearing about, please email me! luke.melrose@gmail.com

Proverbs 2:2-5
Tune your ears to wisdom,
and concentrate on understanding.

Cry out for insight,
and ask for understanding.

Search for them as you would for silver;
seek them like hidden treasures.

Then you will understand what it means to fear the Lord,
and you will gain knowledge of God.

How will we understand God and learn to fear Him?

Well, this obviously wont happen by sitting down and doing nothing. A good viewpoint of our God is very important. With reverence and awe we see God. One might ask, “How do I attain this fear of God? How will I get this reverence and awe for Him?” The answer to this question is very simple. The more you read your Bible, and learn about God, the bigger He gets. I mean, if we really want to veiw God the way He is supposed to be seen, the only way you can do this is by learning about Him. God is constantly explained all throughout the Bible, and it is OUR job to read it, study it, and learn everything about God. In the Bible it explains WHO He is, what He has DONE, and what He is DOING, and what He will DO. So let’s increase our knowledge (daily) by getting into God’s Word!

This short blog is designed to get you to READ YOUR BIBLE! I cannot stress enough how important this is! The Bible is the living word of God....God breathed! Do you realize what this means? The creator of everything, from the trillions of unseen atoms, to the 250,000,000 x 250,000,000 stars, intricatley placed  across our vast universe....HE has written a book! Like I said before, the Bible wasn't written by a bunch of old guys, IT IS WRITTEN BY GOD! He did not write this best seller to be ignored or maybe read by people, He wrote it so that ALL mankind can read, learn, and repent! This book is powerful and I STRONGLY recommend reading it. Without it, the world is lost. So if you really want to be wise (and Im not talking about worldy knowledge, because in the end it is useless).....If you want to be wise.....READ. THE. BIBLE. Let us build our minds and fill it with scripture so that we can get to know our closest friend, our father, our creator...the almighty God.

Proverbs 2:6
For the Lord gives wisdom;
from his mouth come knowledge and understanding...

If you would like to join me and many other high school Christians out there who want to learn about God's Word together, JOIN US ON SCRIPTURE OF THE DAY! On this website you will find many other High schoolers commenting and learning about the Bible DAILY! We are serious about reading the Bible everyday! ARE YOU!?

Everyone has had a life. Some have lived it, and some of us (myself included) are living it. It's really sad to see how people dont value life as much as they should. I'm not really talking about the value of earthly life, because there are many people (non-Christian too) who care about this life were living. They care about the healthiness of human life in a non-eternal sense.

Now, I'm not saying that we aren't supposed to care about those things, but I am saying that there is a more important part of life that everyone needs to look at. ETERNAL LIFE.

We are only on this earth for a little while. Which means that this is NOT our home. As Christians, our home is in Heaven with Him. Sounds like an amazing future to me!

We need to make sure that we are spending our life on this earth in the way God wants us too. How are we serving Him? Do we obey Him and do everyhting He says?? If not, then what's the point!? God didn't create us to live for ourselves! We are here for HIS glory, not ours. It's imparative to serve God with 100% of our being. Our reward is in Heaven, where there is no sin, no guilt, no pain, etc. I look forward to the day when I will be with Him. My soul will be satisfied. I hope everyone else is with me on this. It's important to value life here on earth, but the real life awaits us in Heaven.

It's like my youth pastor once said, "We are foreign exchange students from heaven." I thought that was kinda interesting. When you meet someone from a different country for the first time, its easy, based off what you learned from them, to make a judgement on what the rest of his people in his country are like. Its the same way when a non-Christian looks at you because he is basing the whole religion of Christianity on you. God isn't the only one looking at us, there are people all around us who look at our example. To some people, the only "Jesus Christ" they will see, in this life, is the one we show by our example. As Christians, we try to be like Christ and live in his ways. We cannot deface the Christian name by being complete hypocrites. So let's live our lives according to what God wants, not our own selfish ambitions. Life is short.

Before I begin about the topic....let's just say something.

We are Christians, and we belive in God. I constantly hear the words, "God is amazing," but seriously.....how much amazement does God bring YOU? If someone was to ask you, "tell me about God"....would you be able to rant on and on about Him? I would hope that you cannot stop talking about Him! .............It comes down too how big God really is in your life. Is he just the guy who created everything, knows everything, sacrificed His son, and H loves us, etc...? Or is He the guy that when you talk about Him, THERE ISN'T EVEN ENOUGH TIME IN A DAY TO TALK ABOUT GOD!!!

In reality God is "all that". He should be the topic of our convesation on a regular basis. God can be descibed in many ways. Now, I dont want use this weeks blog to talk everything about God. I wanted to focus more on one centeral thing about Him. HIS CREATION.

When thinking about God, I find that His creation is one of my favorite things about Him. I want to share with you the awe-inspiring sensation that God's creation has brought me.

Genisis 1:1 "God created the Heavens and the Earth."

God- Our Creator
God is our creator, we know this because it says it many times throughout the Bible. The word creator has more meaning than just a word. Let's identify certian marvelous things that he has created! The stars for instance. There are at least 250,000,000 x 250,000,000 bodies out there, each bigger than our own sun! It is by God's hand that they are scattered across the vastness of our outer space! Go and walk out alone one clear night and just gaze up. The night life is one of my favorite things that God has created. Everything about it points to HIS GLORY! For those of you who still aren't impressed (I find it insane to think so), lets look at smaller parts of creation, like the living cell! Yeah, Biology...I went there. Think about it though! The cell isn't even the smallest form of matter. Atoms are. They make up the Nucleus, Cytoskeleton, Ribosomes, etc. (which are all in a cell by the way). It' so amazing! Cells are so intricate and small that they can only bee seen with a microscope. The human body alone is made up of more that 100 TRILLION cells! If that does not blow your mind...I dont know what will, but take time to think about it. I would like to write about everything that God has created....but the internet just isn't big enough to hold all that info.

Our earth is packed tight with different things from beautiful plants, intriguing animals, wonderful people, landmarks, smells, it goes on and on! Our temporary home, Earth, seems big to the people who live in it. In reality, we are only a barely-visible speck in the universe. Next time you look up, or down, or almost anywhere in the world, recognize who made it all. I hope God's creation is as humbling to you as it is to me. With our busy, fast-paced lives its really easy to forget the beauty that God has surrounded us with on this earth. The amazment really drains me and puts things in the right perspective.

Read Genisis chapter 1 and take the time to go outside and marvel.

Fearing God is a concept that doesn't seem to get as much light as it should. In the second chapter of The Practice of Godliness It talks about having devotion to God. Devotion to God includes fearing Him, which does not seem like people really are these days. As Christians, we claim to be one of God's children, but are we really acting like it?

Fearing God means having reverential awe for Him. To put it into an easier grabbed concept , it means: respectful amazement. Are we really amazed by God anymore? Or better yet, do we even think about him anymore?? It doesn't seem that way. We are slowly drifting away, forgetting about what really matters the most. Even with Christians, it seems like they hardly ever give any thought to God. This is a bigger problem than one would think. Forget the secular non-Christians out there....Christianity is getting watered down! 

Our minds need to be centralized around God. What kind of things do you think about during the day? Are they all about yourself?..... What am I going to do today? what am I goning to wear today? Who am I goning to hang out with today? etc..... Im not trying to point fingers at others, because I am guilty of the same selfish thoughts on a regular basis. He should be on our minds all the time. Only He is worth thinking about and devoting our time to. We are not put on this earth to better ourselves... we are here to serve God.

Our attitude towards God will effect the way we serve Him. So again, it comes down to, do I respect God? Can I honeslty say that I hold Him in the highest regard? You would if you loved him with all your heart. We know that if we want to walk in His ways, we are to fear Him.... but do we? In Deutoronomy 10:12 it says:And now, O Israel, what does the Lord your God ask of you but to fear the Lord your God, to walk in all his ways, to love him, to serve the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul...God tells us to fear Him, follow Him, love Him, and to serve Him. This verse puts all four of these things on a parallel. If we love God, we fear Him. If we serve God, we follow Him. We do all of it or nothing. Many Christians claim to love God, yet they dont want to do what he says. This is SO wrong!

How big is God in your world? Is there anything that you devote your time to more than God? It is important to keep God in the higest regard. We do this by reminding ourselves constantly about Him. Reading the Bible is the best way we can increase the size of God in our little universe. The Bible is constantly talking about God...what better way is there to learn about God? The more we read the Bible, the bigger God gets... The bigger God gets, the more we fear Him. It is gravely important to remind ourselves about who God is.

Prayer is a big part of devoting ourselves to Him. The almighty creator of all things is ALWAYS ready to listen to you! It blows my mind to think about how I can talk to GOD whenever and however long I want! What more can we ask for? Dont blow off prayer as something unimportant. IT IS SOOO IMPORTANT! Its' something that we should do every day.

We want to grow in Him, but this depends o
n how important God is to you. Is He important enough to devote yourself to with 100% of your heart and soul? I hope He is.

Proverbs 1:7  "The fear of the Lord is the beggining of Wisdom..."

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