The Reminder is making its archives back to 2003 available on our website. Please note that, due to technical limitations, archive articles are presented without the usual formatting.
By Pastor Brian Gold, Flin Flon Pentecostal Assembly Quite the changing times we are living in. Never before are Dylan's prophetic words "the times are a changing" so true. Obviously technology has a great part to play in all this, yet other areas are seeing vast amounts of transition, too. Have you been to the hospital recently? Not only will your stay be short (for most) but new equipment and software are ubiquitous on the floors, whether in the laboratory or on the medical floors. The thermometer that checks your temperature is inserted in your ear for a few seconds and, voila, the reading is given. Sure beats the other methods that were used in the past. Change also is witnessed in the new 2006 dictionaries. I recently heard that many new words are being added because of web and cell phone technology. Some old words are dropped so the dictionaries don't become too large, and therefore, costly. For some new words, what about "podcasting" and "rescue-ring"? These words are not going to take the normal five years to make it into the dictionary. They're already, incessant usage demands a meaning now, not later, by those who want to stay in touch with technochange. There is even change happening in the church, albeit at a slower pace. Bible versions are changing, using more contemporary language and thought. Choruses and songs from around the world are getting a hearing (and a singing) in the pews (chairs?). But in spite of all the change, God has not changed. He has known all along about Google and Microsoft. They are learning His truth, not vice versa. In many ways God is the one constant in my life. One verse in Malachi, written 2400 years ago, says, "I the Lord do not change." Another verse in Hebrews says, "Jesus Christ, the same yesterday, today, and forever." Pretty incredible for our times, not to change! We can always come to God just as we are, with no pretenses. That's the way God prefers it. He'll let me know what needs changed and what doesn't. And that's not so bad! So even if the present version of XP is fine, we may have to cope with another version, more change. For all the changes ahead in 2006, welcome or not, may God bless you and give you wisdom.
