Do You Have Change For A...

I have been sitting on this thought for weeks now, and I think it's time to let it loose.

CHANGE. We see it all around. We see it coming. We see it everyday. Everywhere you look there is change. Computers are daily coming out with the latest technologies, especially the Apple community. This being said, it is a sad sad thing to a MAC user because our computers are constantly being upgraded and so is the price. (here's a quick little plug: MACS ROCK!!!). Camera's are even being upgraded by the minute. I went to a camera store a few weeks ago to see if I could sell my camera, which is not even a year old yet, so I could hopefully buy another brand. Come to find out, they would only buy it for a little over $100!! (I bought it for $500) and to buy another camera would cost about $800. Yickes! Having camera equipment is like buying a car.

Even in our own lives, we want change. I need to change my clothes. I need to change my diet. I need to change my baby's diaper (again). I need to change my hair style. I need to change my oil. I need change for a $100 when I just need a dollar for the candy machine at work. I need my marriage changed. I need my relationship status changed. (by the way, I'm not saying all of these because they deal specifically with me. I don't have a baby or even $100 bill...I'm speaking in general) I need my sheets changed. I need my name changed because I am now in the protective service community. All of these changes are not bad at all. I think it depends on where your heart and motives might be in them, especially in the marriage one, but change is a good thing. Change comes in many forms and can often be major blessings from the Lord.

Well, as you may know (or not know if you are completely ignorant of any kind of news lately) President-elect Obama is being sworn in on Tuesday, January 20. Living in DC, I am seeing it everywhere...from getting letters in work emails and snail mail about the parking system this weekend to seeing the Capitol stage being built, it's everywhere. Obamanation is on it's way and for a crazy weekend in the District of Columbia. It's exciting, that's for sure! But one major slogan has been piggy-backing with Mr. Obama and that is CHANGE. "Change Can Happen". "It's Time For Change." "A Change We Can Believe In". It's everywhere. I even see it in advertising ads like Pepsi and Ikea. I walked past a Pepsi advertisement ad this morning with their newly designed Pepsi symbol looking like the Obama symbol with a website underneath that says, Refresheverything.com. Then walking in and out of the metro has become quite entertaining as we are constantly being bombared with new Ikea posters leading from the moment we step out of the turn style all the way up to the metro escalators with the bright yellow and blue signs that say something about change. Every other sign will be "Time for a Change", "Change can Happen", "Need a Change?" with pictures of new couches, the latest book stalls, and cute little lamps. The signs are also accompanied by the kind of stars you would see on a patriotic symbol like the American flag or something you might see in the Oval office. Just yesterday, I walked into Union Station and there was a huge crowd surrounding a white circular room. As I turned the corner, I saw two guys standing there in black suits and sunglasses. Then it dawned on me. They were pretending to be secret service men and they were standing in what looked like and Ikea-made Oval office. People were sitting in the Ikea-made president's chair and desk taking pictures. It was a cute scene.

Being apart of this history in the making is really great! One day, I can say to my kids or grandchildren that I lived a few blocks away from that moment in history. I'm not the most political savy person...at all. I mean, ashamedly, I couldn't tell you the difference between the Congress and the Senate and what their functions are. Yes, I did take government in highschool, but political science was never something I enjoyed reading about. Taking about politics doesn't necessarily get my britches in a twist. I have been bitten by a tiny political bug though. I now have a TV in my office and MSNBC is on constantly. So I do know a little bit about what's going on in the world.

President-elect Obama has come in full force representing a new Hope or a new Change for all. But what kind of change and hope are we looking for? Is there some kind of universal change that is going to make everything better for everyone? What kind of change are people looking for? Do they want the abortion law to be different? Do they want our troops pulled out of the war? Do they want the economy better (as we ALL do)? Do we want more freedom of religion or do we want to abolition the church all together? Is it that more states need to legalize same sex marriages? What about those women and not only women, but 10 month old babies being raped in the Congo? Can we send more troops there? What about all the trafficing that's going on? How can we change that? This world is fallen. We need a savior! Obama is definitely not a savior, and he never claimed to be. But if only this country would look to the true savior. If only they would look to where our forefather's looked, to the sovereignty of God. They knew his faithfulness endured forever. They knew that the real change would be in the heart's of people. There are definitely major things that need to be changed in our country. But is Obama the only hope we have? Absolutely not! What happens when all these things change? What happens when Obama is going to fail his most faithful followers? He's human, he will fail. I wonder what our forefathers would have said about all this change that people want? Well, I think we can see it written all over the walls in the Lincoln and Jefferson memorial. The big theme in those writings are based upon the sovereignty of God.

Change in this country will happen. But any time, I see a new sign talking about change, my mind is drawn back to the sovereignty of God. He doesn't change. He is faithful and won't let us down. There's something we can hope in and put our trust in. Seeing those signs also makes me think about the change that we do need. We are a fallen nation. Sinful. Evil. We desperately need a change, but change in economic status or legalizing abortion isn't going to help. We need a change of hearts. David's cry in the Psalms is one that we all need. "Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me. Restore unto me the joy of my salvation." We need a heart change here, people. Change is talked about all over the Bible. Paul writes about it in Colossians 3:5-14 when he talks about putting to death what ever is earthly in you and then putting on Christ's character which is love, compassion, patience. This the kind of change we need to have.

With that being said, President Obama, I look forward to what you are going to do in this country. I may not agree with everything you do, but no one's perfect and this country doesn't run on my opinions, though they may be very few. It's exciting to be witnessing history. But thankfully, for you and for me, I don't depend on you for my hope. God is my King. He is my Sovereign Lord. He is the one who gives and has given hope and change to a dieing sinful wretch like me. I sing a long with the Psalmist David as he declares God's faithfulness that reaches to the skies. I sing praises to him for his steadfast love and faithfulness for I know, he will never let me down.

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