[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"\u002Farticles\u002Falways-the-same":3,"\u002Farticles\u002Falways-the-same-surround":77},{"id":4,"title":5,"author":6,"bibleBooks":8,"body":16,"columnName":60,"date":61,"description":22,"extension":62,"image":63,"meta":64,"minRead":65,"navigation":66,"path":67,"postType":68,"publication":69,"publicationUrl":63,"seo":70,"stem":71,"topics":72,"__hash__":76},"blog\u002Farticles\u002Falways-the-same.md","Always the Same",{"name":7},"Dave Faust",[9,10,11,12,13,14,15],"John","1 John","Luke","Mark","Hebrews","2 Peter","Matthew",{"type":17,"value":18,"toc":56},"minimark",[19,23,26,29,32,35,38,41,44,47,50,53],[20,21,22],"p",{},"At exactly 8:00 a.m. on December 29, 2002, engineers hit a switch and imploded Cinergy Field, reducing it to a pile of rubble.",[20,24,25],{},"Located on Cincinnati's riverfront, the stadium had been part of American sports history for more than three decades. On that field Hank Aaron tied Babe Ruth's home run record and Pete Rose broke Ty Cobb's record for most hits in a career. As an adult I sat high in the centerfield seats and watched the Cincinnati Reds defeat the Oakland A's in the second game of the 1990 World Series. As a teenager I stood on the field and sang with a large choir when the North American Christian Convention held its Friday evening service there in 1972.",[20,27,28],{},"So much history, so many memories—and so quickly gone. Impressive as it was, Cinergy Field only stood for 32 years. The implosion took just 37 seconds—slightly more than one second for every year the stadium was used.",[20,30,31],{},"Life passes swiftly, and change is the norm. When I was a college freshman 30 years ago, my tuition rate was $18 per semester credit hour—less than one-tenth of today's average rate. You could buy a house then for what a car costs now. Gasoline was 30 cents a gallon. Polyester leisure suits were fashionable, and so were long sideburns, lava lamps, and a TV show called \"Laugh In.\" (Come to think of it, some changes have been good!)",[20,33,34],{},"The ancient Greek philosopher Heraclitus said, \"All is flux, nothing stays still,\" and \"Nothing endures but change.\" Heraclitus, though, lived 500 years before Christ. He didn't know that \"Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever\" (Hebrews 13:8). In a rapidly changing world, there is a wonderful consistency about Christ.",[20,36,37],{},"His character hasn't changed. When Jesus walked through first-century Jerusalem or taught by the Sea of Galilee, he was \"full of grace and truth\" (John 1:14). He still is. No matter how closely you examine him, you'll never find a character flaw, an unfulfilled promise, a mistake in judgment, a sinful motive.",[20,39,40],{},"His love hasn't changed. In fact, \"this is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us\" (1 John 3:16).",[20,42,43],{},"His mission hasn't changed. Jesus \"came to seek and to save what was lost\" (Luke 19:10). He came to do for us what we could never do for ourselves. He is still the greatest Forgiver, the closest Friend, the steadiest Hope-Giver, the only Savior.",[20,45,46],{},"His truth hasn't changed. \"Heaven and earth will pass away,\" but not the words of Jesus (Mark 13:31).",[20,48,49],{},"His power hasn't changed. By rising from the dead, Christ demonstrated that he has \"the power of an indestructible life\" (Hebrews 7:16). \"His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness\" (2 Peter 1:3).",[20,51,52],{},"His authority hasn't changed. Jesus said, \"All authority in Heaven and on earth has been given to me\" (Matthew 28:18). His leadership sets the direction, his example sets the pace, his commands set our hands to work. He is still the Lord!",[20,54,55],{},"Fads and philosophies come and go. Impressive buildings crumble to the ground. Today's hero will be forgotten tomorrow. But Jesus is just as reliable today as he was yesterday, just as deserving of our trust as he was when Peter first confessed him as the Christ. And for a trillion tomorrows, he will remain the same.",{"title":57,"searchDepth":58,"depth":58,"links":59},"",2,[],"From First Look","2003-04-13","md",null,{},3,true,"\u002Farticles\u002Falways-the-same","column","The Lookout",{"title":5,"description":22},"articles\u002Falways-the-same",[73,74,75],"Biblical Theology","Spiritual Formation","Church Leadership","e3VXLSo6eagWwQvbTuJFtOIERfx4ot8sQ8bvbTJY6PI",[78,83],{"title":79,"path":80,"stem":81,"description":82,"children":-1},"All Sufficient Grace for Even Me","\u002Farticles\u002Fall-sufficient-grace-for-even-me","articles\u002Fall-sufficient-grace-for-even-me","On an arid Arabian mountainside, a shepherd took a hard look at himself and asked, \"Who am I to be a leader?\" After all, he wasn't a good public speaker, and his hot temper sometimes got him into trouble—including one time in the past when he killed a man who was mistreating one of his countrymen. Was God's grace sufficient for Moses?",{"title":84,"path":85,"stem":86,"description":87,"children":-1},"Amazing Jesus","\u002Farticles\u002Famazing-jesus","articles\u002Famazing-jesus","Words like great and awesome have become so overused these days that they mean next to nothing. In popular lingo, God is great—but so is a talented baseball player or a new cleaning product. Shouldn’t we reserve words like awe for the reverence we show our Creator, not the way we feel about a movie or a pizza?"]