Welcome to the end of 2024. Boy, it’s been some kind of year. Listen to most people and they can’t wait for this year to end. How about you? One survey1 tells us some surprising things.

 

• With the cost-of-living crisis and conflicts around the world, 65% say 2024 was a bad year.

• When it comes to being optimistic about 2025, it’s about the same as 2024. And how did that turn out?

 

No matter who you are, we can all say two things are true. First, 2024 was a year of change. And second, 2025 is going to be another year of change. Change is all around us and it’s coming from all directions.

 

It might sound strange, but we all need change. And whether we say it out loud or not, we all want change. Some will quietly disagree while others will yell in my face. But the simple truth is that without change, we die.

 

As you’ve been sitting there, your body has made about 2 million new red cells and another new 1 million white blood cells every second. And your body sheds 30,000 to 40,000 dead skin cells every minute. That sure sounds like a lot of change to me. But we probably don’t think about these kinds of changes because we don’t have to do anything. They just happen.

 

If you have children or grandchildren, there was a day that you didn’t. And then came that day when they burst onto the world and into your life. That was a change we welcomed with open arms. I’ll never forget hearing and holding our newborn children. I’ll also never forget meeting our adopted son for the first time at the Detroit airport.

 

Some changes are painful beyond belief. Maybe there was someone you’d given your heart to, and they were unfaithful. There was someone you trusted, but they took advantage of you. Or that special someone in your life died, bringing unbelievable, burning grief and sorrow.

 

Now there’s a chance that I’m not the right person to be talking about change. After all, my life has had a whole lot of change.

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• I’ve had 17 full-time jobs

• I’ve held about 20 different roles in ministry.

• I’ve gone through 23 significant surgical procedures that don’t include all the small stuff like colonoscopies.

• And if that’s not enough change, I’ve owned 13 cars and lived in 10 different houses.

 

But there’s more to change in life than our bodies, jobs, houses, and cars. It may sound strange, but the whole story of God’s love for us is one of change.

 

Yes, God Himself does not change.

 

• Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever2.

• He never changes or casts a shifting shadow3.

 

And His message to us has been the same throughout history.

 

• Salvation has always been God’s gift; grace through faith.

• It’s about us openly admitting that we’re totally hopeless and broken.

• God had to come and pay the price we couldn’t pay.His one-time sacrifice covers all our sins: past, present, and future.

• Our response is to receive what He’s done.

 

Yes, God is the same yesterday, today, and forever. And so is His unchanging message of salvation. But His loving call and gracious command for you and me is to change. Think about the first step in reuniting our relationship with God. It’s repentance. It’s one of the big, foundational messages of Jesus.

 

I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.

Luke 5:32, NIV

 

And what’s repentance? Repentance is all about change.

 

• Changing our minds about who God is and who we are.

• Changing how we think about our evil sins and our supposedly good works.

• Changing the selfish lordship of our lives and putting it at the feet of Jesus.

 

God doesn’t tell us to clean ourselves up before He’ll have anything to do with us. Look at the life of Jesus and you’ll never see Him turn away from sinners. If He did, He’d be the loneliest man in history. Instead, He goes after them. He calls sinners to Himself. Jesus is speaking to you and me to repent. To change by turning away from ourselves and towards the Lord God.

 

Our relationship with God starts with change. But it doesn’t end there. There’s more change. The flip side of repentance has got to be confession. And what’s confession? It’s where we agree with God about who He is, who we are, and that we are in desperate need of change. A change that only God can bring.

 

If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.

1 John 1:9, NIV

 

What’s confessing our sins? It’s a call to change. We admit that we’re all wrong and need Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross to forgive us. To change us. To heal our brokenness with Him and others.

 

You see, Jesus didn’t come to pat us on the head and tell us that we’re ok. The simple truth is that we’re not ok. As a matter of fact, we’ve fallen far, far away from God and can’t get back. We continually miss the target that God’s put in front of us.

 

Repentance and confession aren’t why God forgives. God’s total forgiveness of sin isn’t based on what we say or do. God’s grace is why He saves. What did we bring to the table? We were sinners4. We were His enemies5. He’s the one who reaches out to us. He’s the one who died for us.

 

I remember a time in my life when I thought God’s forgiveness was based on my repentance and confession. Just think about this and you’ll quickly find a number of really serious problems.

 

• Did I say it correctly?

• Was I really sorry enough for my sin?

• Did I leave out something?

• How do I know that it worked? Am I’m really forgiven?

 

But when forgiveness is totally based on who God is and all that Jesus did on the cross, this brings a whole lot of freedom to our relationship with our Heavenly Father. There are no secrets because He already know all about us, and Jesus’ death covered all our sins. What could be better?

 

Some people think that talking about repentance and confession is a real downer. It’s negative and depressing. It’s something we really don’t need to hear. We should move onto something more positive. More uplifting. More encouraging.

 

Well, the truth is that there’s nothing more positive and spiritually uplifting than repentance and confession. That is, if you look at them the way that God does. Without repentance and confession, we’re dead. We might be squiggling around a little bit in this life, but from God’s eternal perspective, we’re not just a little bit dead. We’re really dead. We’re totally dead. We’re dead dead. And if this was all there was, it would be the worst news of all.

 

But the Good News is that God has done something about it. It starts when we tell God just how bad we are, how totally helpless we are, and that we need His forgiveness. In return, He gives us all His righteousness. In Jesus Christ, He’s offering us complete and total forgiveness. As we give ourselves to Him as Lord, He receives us as His children. Of all the possible changes in the world, this has got to be the biggest change of all.

 

I once was lost, but now am found

Was blind but now I see6

 

And as great as this change is, it doesn’t stop there. As a matter of fact, it’s only the beginning. God’s changing a life brings newness of life. A new kind of life. A life that’s so far above what we could ever think or imagine. Why else would Jesus say:

 

I have come in order that you might have life—life in all its fullness.

John 10:10 GNT

 

There’s no need to give life to someone who’s already alive. That just doesn’t make any sense. Only the dead need life. And that’s why Jesus came, to give life to dead people just like you and me.

 

God’s kind of full life isn’t a life that just sits there like a bump on a log. It isn’t a changeless life. A stagnant life. Not on your life. It’s an active life. It’s an energetic life. And yes, it’s a changing life. A life that keeps moving forward. A life that continually changes to be more and more just like Jesus. The Apostle Paul says that we:

 

are being transformed into His image with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.

2 Corinthians 3:18 NIV

 

Did you see that? Are being transformed. This transformation has started but isn’t over. It didn’t start and then stopped. God’s life isn’t just sitting there like a car stalled in the middle of the road. Or those people at the grocery store who just stand in the middle of the aisle where we need to get something. It’s ongoing. God’s transformation is a process that started when we received Christ, and it keeps on going till we see Him face to face.

 

Yes, God is in the business of transforming His people. Changing them to be more and more like Jesus each and every day. I don’t care if you’re new to following Jesus, or you’ve been at it a while, change is the order of the day.

 

So, how do we change? The answer isn’t in a plan, three steps, or even in an app on your phone. Change starts when we stop trying to fill ourselves. We see this part of change in Philippians 2.

 

Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others.

Philippians 2:3,4 NIV

 

We come into this world starving for attention. We’re empty and want to be filled.

 

When we try and fill ourselves, we either become overly proud and arrogant, or think we’re less than nothing. We’re looking to fill ourselves, but there’s a hole in our heart that leaks anything we try to fill ourselves with.

 

So, how do we change and fill this giant hole in our soul? Where is God’s kindness and power to repair and change us? The answer comes through Christmas.

 

Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to His own advantage; rather,

He made Himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness.

Philippians 2:5,6 NIV

 

You and I are desperately killing ourselves and each other, trying to fill that emptiness with glory, power, money, and anything else we think will make us whole. But Jesus Christ was the fullest person in the history of the universe, and what did He do? He freely emptied Himself of His glory.

 

There’s no room for debate, Jesus was equal with God for all eternity past. He was more beautiful, powerful, and glorious beyond anything we can imagine. He was full like we can’t understand, and He emptied Himself. The Apostle Paul continues by telling us just how serious Jesus was when it came to change. There was absolutely nothing He wasn’t willing to do. Jesus did the unthinkable.

 

And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled Himself by becoming obedient to death—even death on a cross!

Philippians 2:7 NIV

 

On the cross, Jesus was ignored and cut off from His Heavenly Father. He was taking what we deserved. Because of our selfishness and sin, God should turn away from us. But since Jesus takes our sin, God turns away from Him.

 

Because God put all our sin on Jesus, God can give us His righteousness. God can now treat us like Jesus deserved to be treated. We are God’s treasured possession7. Because of what Jesus has done, we can go to God and ask Him to change us. To fill us. To remake us. One person put it like this.

 

Jesus wants you to come as you are, but not stay as you are

 

Will we hear this? But more importantly, will we cooperate with God so that we don’t stay stuck where we are? Growing in Christ, changing in Christ must be our top priority in life. The person who had the most influence in my life had a poster on the ceiling of his office. It said, “If you’re not changing, you’re not growing.”

 

So, the question is, why would I want to change? Why should I go through all the trouble of cooperating with God to become more like Jesus? It’s going to be a long, hard, and winding road, so why not just take the easy way out?

 

Change, real change, isn’t a matter of going through a long, detailed list to make sure we’ve checked everything off. Change isn’t doing something to avoid being smacked. It’s not even doing something to get on someone’s good side.

 

I’ll tell you why and how real change happens. Genuine, long-lasting change comes when we want to please the one who loves us. When we’re filled by the one who loves us, we will want to do whatever pleases them. Because we want to please the one we love, it doesn’t matter if it’s easy or hard. We’ll do anything just to please them.

 

Yes, I know that it sounds simple, but it’s got to be that way. It’s exactly what we need. It can’t be difficult or complex. Change needs to be powerful and basic. And it has to start with God Himself.

 

We love because he first loved us.

1 John 4:19 NIV

 

Change happens when we know that we’re empty and only God can fill us. Our Heavenly Father has already shown His love for us, so we’re energized to respond on a daily basis in love.

 

Here’s a recent, personal example. In case there was any question, I’m deeply in love with Mary Ann. As newlyweds of 49+ years, I’m constantly on the prowl for things to do for her. So, since she likes ginger, I’m always, always, always on the lookout for a new and interesting recipe that has ginger in it.

 

When I saw this TV chef make a pumpkin ginger cheesecake, I found the recipe online and immediately started making notes. After carefully reading over all the ingredients and steps for making it, I knew a few things were true.

 

First –This was more than just a little bit out of my cooking comfort zone. It was something that needed a light touch. A delicate hand, or it was going to turn into concrete cheesecake.

 

Second – I knew that we didn’t have all the right ingredients. I was going to have to scrounge to come up with everything.

 

Third – I was scared. There was a good chance that this was going to look and taste like a tub of spackle or joint compound from Home Depot. But the reward of pleasing the one I love was worth the risk.

 

After Mary Ann said that she might like it, I was a man on a mission. Finding everything except for two ingredients, I went to every store in Lake Wales and came up empty. But I wasn’t going to let this stop me.

 

The first missing ingredient was something called candied ginger in syrup. After a couple of quick clicks, it was ordered. Paid for. And scheduled for delivery the next day. But finding a fresh pumpkin was another story. After Thanksgiving, all the fresh pumpkins in Central Florida mysteriously vanish. I was crushed. How was I going to make pumpkin ginger cheesecake without pumpkin?

 

Calling our daughter, who’s a classically trained chef, she reassured me that canned pumpkin, not canned pumpkin pie filling, was just as good. She also gave me some great tips that would keep me out of cooking jail.

 

Armed with the recipe, notes, and ingredients, I went forward and made the cheesecake. I gave Mary Ann taste tests along the way to see if I was close to what she liked. After the cheesecake was finished, it had to sit in the refrigerator overnight. It seemed like an eternity. When I served that first piece, I got a smile and a thumbs-up. That recipe, along with my personal notes and tips, is now safely saved in my recipe folder so I can make it again.

 

I know, I know, it’s not the winning lottery ticket, or the solution to one of our great world-wide problems. Someone’s thinking, “Why don’t you just go to the Cheesecake Factory? It’s only a cheesecake.” But they’d be wrong. You see, it’s not just cheesecake. It’s a cheesecake for the one I love. It’s a cheesecake to please the one who loves me.

 

So, as we enter 2025, do you mind if I ask you a personal question?

 

Who are you looking to please?

 

Who are you willing to do anything for? Who is it that there ain’t no mountain high enough. Ain’t no valley low enough. Ain’t no river wide enough8 that will keep us from pleasing the one we love.

 

But, when we understand who Jesus is and all He’s done, then we’ll see something startling. He emptied Himself so that God could fill us up. God turned His back on Jesus so that we could have a face-to-face relationship with our loving Creator and Heavenly Father.

 

If you love me, show it by doing what I’ve told you.

John 14:15 MSG

 

It doesn’t get any simpler than this. Loving God always, always, always shows itself through pleasing God. And where does that start? With what He’s told us. His words are the guiding light towards loving and pleasing The Lord.

 

The natural result is to excitedly be looking for ways to please Him each and every day. Nothing will be too big for Him to ask. No matter what He asks, our response will be to please the one who loves us. Who gave Himself for us.

 

No matter what we do or say, He’s already outdone and outgiven us. He was God for all eternity. He was higher than anything we can think about. And what change did He agree to? He was God for all eternity past and yet, when He came to earth:

 

• He wasn’t anything to look at9.

• He was homeless10.

• He only had the clothes on His back11.

 

So, what can we give to the one who’s given everything? How can we thank the God who made a way for us to be with Him forever? The simple answer is change. And there’s change in God’s future plans. He’ll bring down a new heaven and a new earth12. He’ll wipe away every tear. There will be no more death. No more mourning. No more crying. The old things will pass away13. Doesn’t that change sound good? It does to me.

 

Why wouldn’t we willingly give anything and everything to someone who loves us this much? When He wants to make changes in our lives, why would we resist Him? Changes He wants to make today. This week. This month. This year.

 

Are we ready for a change? Are we ready to change? Are we ready to let God change us? We were made to be changed. Let’s start the cooperative changing today.

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