We live in the information age.  That’s not news to anyone.  And it’s changing all the time.  In 2006 there were 2.7 billion google searches. In 2008 there were 31 billion google searches.  I have no idea how many there were in 2009 or 2010 but you can bet it was more.

In fact, before you read anymore of this post check out this piece called Did you Know?

Pretty intense, eh!

I don’t have the skill or ability to analyze the complexity of the information age, social media fascination, and facebook effect.

As I reflected on this I thought about a few things that won’t change and that provide inner security for me.  Maybe they will encourage you too and cause you to put together your own list of ‘what won’t change in a changing world’.

Alvin Toffler, who wrote the best-selling book Future Shock says that when people go through rapid times of change they need what he calls, “islands of stability”. Those are things that do not change in your life.

God made human beings to be very adaptable and flexible. But, when everything is flying off the wall, coming unglued, and the hurricanes of change are blowing through our lives, we need to have something that does not change. As we face the 21^st century and the new millennium, we’ve got to be able to say, “I know a lot of things are going to change around me, but I know these things for sure. I can count on this and this and this.”

Is there anything like that in the world? Are there any islands of stability? My guess is there are probably some things in your life that you thought were unchangeable two or three years ago but have already changed. And they weren’t reliable. Is there anything that never, ever changes?

The Bible says that there are a few things that will not change in 2011 or any time soon.

I would like to offer a few ‘islands of stability’ that won’t change in 2011 as it relates to the present and future.

1) The character of God doesn’t change. The prophet Malachi says of God, “I the LORD, do not change”  His wisdom doesn’t change. His love doesn’t change.  His holiness doesn’t change.

2)Jesus is the hope of the world and that never changes. Jesus is the same yesterday, today and forever.  Jesus is the one in whom people can put their hope and experience lasting and meaningful change through His Spirit.

3) The authority and power of the Bible will not change. Jesus said, “Heaven and earth will pass away but my words will never pass away.”  Or the prophet Isaiah asserted, “The grass withers, the flowers fade, but the word of the Lord endures forever.”

4) The power of prayer does not change. Jesus said that ‘people ought to always pray and not lose heart.’   Existentialist Soren Kierkegaard said of prayer, “The function of prayer is not to influence God, but rather to change the nature of the one who prays.”  After 35 years of praying, I believe that.

Generation X author Douglas Coupland gives us a reason to prayyears ago in his book Life After God,  My secret is that I need God–that I am sick and can no longer make it alone. I need God to help me give, because I no longer seem to be capable of giving; to help me be kind, as I no longer seem capable of kindness; to help me love, as I seem beyond being able to love.

5) The human condition doesn’t change. How true is that.  Although technology is speeding everything, we humans seem to be very breakable.  In fact, the word ‘brokenness’ is a very popular word in church and non church circles.  People are broken and need ‘fixin’.

6) The mission Jesus left His people to make disciples of all nations does not change. This doesn’t mean to go and ‘convert’ people, but it does mean we as disciples of Jesus live integrated, congruent lives that draw positive attention to God and not away from Him. The bottom line is that if the world were full of people like Jesus, just imagine what kind of world it would be!

What would you add to the list?  Feel free to post your thought.