I’m not sure why but I’ve never been good at remembering chapter and verse in biblical references. I remember accounts and passages but not always where they’re found. Having said that one of the first verses I managed to memorise is Hebrews 13:8, “Jesus Christ is the same, yesterday, today and forever.” I think the reason I remember it is because of a song that had a line in it that went something like,

“We believe in Hebrews 13:8,

Jesus Christ is never out of date.”

Perhaps the means for learning scripture is tied up in that somehow – associating the word with an image of singing a song, doing an activity or something else that helps to jog the memory.

The point is that Jesus is as relevant today as He was when the disciples first met Him. His teaching is often dismissed today by people who say that He and the church have become irrelevant, that society has moved on but that the church, and therefore Jesus, has not.

The author of Hebrews makes the point very clearly as he rounds off this letter that although the world does change and move forward we should remember that Jesus remains the same. So we’re reminded not to be carried away by all kinds of strange teaching (v.9). Isn’t it true that practically every week someone has a new idea about spirituality or the need to avoid it? Or that there are another 10 things that are really bad for us and 10 more that will lengthen life and increase happiness? Or that life would be so much better if we owned the right things or had the right holidays? Some of those things may or may not have some merit but the point is that the one constant that we have in the world is that Jesus never changes. He is the one on whom we can always depend, His standards are never altered and in Him we can stand on the promises that were made when they were first spoken out back in Deuteronomy 31:6, “Never will I leave you and never will I forsake you.”

I heard a someone on the radio today saying that the best way to relieve stress, anxiety or depression is to walk in a woodland, stroke a cat or just gaze into the eyes of a baby, all of which are great things to do, but even better why not turn to Jesus and hand Him our troubles? He is our constant.

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 Lord Jesus, please help me to walk with you, to simply let go and let You instead of struggling through life’s up’s and down’s. Amen.