FALLS & CHANGES
Over the past 3 years in Our Spiritual Heritage classes (preschool - 5th grade), we have studied that:
- God makes great plans for His people
- God has power over light and water
- God provides bread and life for His people
- God provides the victory for those who trust Him
- God takes care of His family and His travelers, and
- God gives us eyes and opportunity to choose to live for Him.
Over the next 6 months we will talk about “Falls and Changes.” Romans 3:23 says that “all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” What will we do after we fall? We have to make changes. Jesus taught about repentance when He said, “…unless you repent, you shall all likewise perish” (Luke 13:3,5). We learn from Jesus that when we sin (fall) we must repent (change). Thankfully, Christ died to save us from our sins. By God’s grace and through Christ’s sacrifice, we can start over as sinless children of God (Romans 3:24-26; 6:3-7; 2 Cor 5:17). But continued freedom from sin can only be ours if we are willing to make changes in the way we live each and every day. We must “put off, concerning your former conduct, the old man which grows corrupt according to the deceitful lusts” and we must “put on the new man which was created according to God in righteousness and true holiness” (Eph. 4:22-24).
The Old Testament is full of powerful stories about falls and changes. We will read about people who fell, but then refused to change. When they refused to change, the consequences were devastating. Often, those consequences affected not only the ones who fell, but their families and even entire nations. But, there are also vivid stories of people who, when they fell, repented of their sins. They turned aways from sin and back to God. From them, we learn what it means to have a truly penitent heart. And we will see that God forgices and blesses those who turn back to Him.
We will fall, but we can change. God will help us. Then, He will take us to heaven to live with Him.