Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.

Today's scripture reading is from Ezekiel 8-10 and Hebrews 13. Hebrews 13 contains exhortations to a church under persecution. Despite the difficult environment believers found themselves, the author of Hebrews (apparently unknown) gave them these instructions:

1. Keep on loving one another as brothers and sisters (verse 1)
2. Show hospitality to strangers (verse 2)
3. Remember those in prison and those who were mistreated (presumably because of their faith) - to suffer with them (verse 3)
4. Keep marriage sacred and avoid sexual immorality (verse 4)
5. Keep their lives free from the love of money and be content with what they have (verse 5)
6. Remember the church leaders and imitate their faith which was lived through their way of life (verse 7); submit to their authority (verse 17) and pray for them for a clear conscience, for a desire to live honorably, and for release from prison (verses 18,19)
7. Don't be carried away by all kinds of strange teachings; e.g. a preoccupation with taking ceremonial food (verse 9) 
8. Through Jesus, offer to God continuously a sacrifice of praise (verse 15) and a sacrifice to do good and to share with others (verse 16)

The promise of divine assistance if we do these things can be found in these verses:

1. God's presence with us - “Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.” (verse 5 taken from Deuteronomy 31:6)
2. God's help - “The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid. What can mere mortals do to me?” (verse 6 taken from Psalm 118:6,7)
3. God's immutability - "Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever." (verse 8 - also Malachi 3:6; 1 Samuel 15:29; see John Piper's sermon on this divine attribute and why it is important in a changing world)

This wonderful knowledge of God's involvement in our lives through times of trouble is in huge contrast to the story of the Israelites described in the Ezekiel chapters. There I find God's special chosen people completely abandoning their faith in God. Ezekiel was told: "“Son of man, do you see what they are doing—the utterly detestable things the Israelites are doing here, things that will drive me far from my sanctuary? But you will see things that are even more detestable.”"(Ezekiel 8:6)

God eventually had to exercise divine judgement on His people and finally abandoned them to their own destruction. This is exactly what Saint Paul was warning us in Romans 1:18-32.

I live in a constantly changing world. With recent passing of laws that promote abortion and euthanasia, I do feel the persecution for my faith. And with moral decay in society I fear that I may be easily drawn into the same moral depravity if I am not careful. "For everything in the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life—comes not from the Father but from the world." (1 John 2:16). But I have God's divine promise and His grace to help me live according to the above instructions and I shall see Him at the end of my days.
"But he who endures to the end shall be saved." (Matthew 24:13)