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Last week I made a quick trip to the United Kingdom to attend the funeral service of a dear, dear friend of mine who died a few weeks ago. This was the first time in several years that I was back in North West London. Much has changed. There are many new buildings and many older buildings that are now empty. Life was different from how I remembered it.

I made time to walk a couple of kilometres to where my parents had a home for nearly 50 years, the home that I grew up in. It has also changed. The new owners have repainted it, changed the driveway and the garage door, put a new roof on the house, and added another level. It was strange to see the difference.

One thing had not changed – the church buildings. Some of these go back many years, even centuries. It was encouraging to know that the church still had an important place in that town. This reminded me that when life changes and not everything works out as planned, God does not change. He remains faithful.

In Psalm 107:8, 15, 21, 31, we read, "Let them give thanks to the Lord for his unfailing love and his wonderful deeds for mankind." It's God's unfailing love, his unchanging love, his steadfast love. We can rely upon this and have confidence.

Maybe you are experiencing changes, difficulties, stresses, or new situations. Maybe you wonder, “Where is God?” Like those old church buildings in my hometown, God's steadfast love remains. He will not fail you. He is with you. And He holds you. We know this because Jesus died on the cross and he conquered death.

Today, be encouraged. The Lord is with you. Even though things may seem to change, he is our solid rock, our sure foundation. His steadfast love never fails.

Let's pray.

O Lord God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, we thank you that you are faithful. You are always steadfast. We trust you; we are confident in your never-failing love. Thank you Lord that Jesus died on the cross for us and rose again from the dead. We pray that you may help us each day as we face different circumstances, some easy, some difficult. Help us Lord to keep our eyes fixed upon you and to continue to trust in you and your ways, for your steadfast love never fails. Thank you O Lord in the name of Jesus. Amen.

May the Lord bless you as we rest in his unfailing love. Thank you.

視頻大意翻譯 (video Chinese translation):

上周，我匆匆前往英國，去參加一位幾周前去世好友的葬禮。這是我幾年來第一次回到倫敦西北部。變化很多，有許多新的建築，許多舊建築也不見了。生活方式和我記憶中的不一樣。

我抽出時間步行幾公里到我父母住了近 50 年的房子那，那是我長大的家。它也變了。新主人重新粉刷，改變了車道和車庫門，安裝了新屋頂，並加建了一層。看到這種差異真是奇怪。

有一樣東西沒有改變—教堂。其中有一些可以追溯到很多年前，甚至幾個世紀前。令人鼓舞的是，教堂在那個鎮上仍佔有重要地位。這提醒我，當生活發生變化，並非一切都按計劃進行時，上帝不會改變。祂仍然信實。

在詩篇 107：8， 15， 21， 31 中，我們讀到：

“但願人因耶和華的慈愛、和他向人所行的奇事、都稱讚他。”他不變的愛，他堅定不移的愛。我們可以依靠並充滿信心。

也許你正經歷變化、困難、壓力或新的狀況。也許你會想，”上帝在哪裡？”就像我家鄉那些古老的教堂一樣，上帝堅定不移的愛仍然存在。祂不會讓你失望的。祂與你同在。祂抱著你。我們知道，因為耶穌死在十字架上，祂戰勝了死亡。

今天，要受鼓勵。耶和華與你同在。即使事情似乎發生了變化，但祂是我們堅固磐石，我們堅固的根基。祂堅定不移的愛永遠不會失敗。

讓我們禱告。

噢主神、聖父、聖子、聖靈，我們感謝祢的信實。你永遠堅定不移。我們相信你; 我們對你永不失敗的愛充滿信心。感謝主，耶穌為我們死在十字架上，從死裡復活。我們祈求你每天都能幫助我們面對不同的情況，有些是容易的，有些是困難的。幫助我們定睛在主你身上，繼續信靠你和你的道路，因為你堅定不移的愛永遠不會停止。主啊，奉耶穌的名感謝你。阿門。

 

 

 

Grace and peace
Pastor Callum