Christians must undergo a complete change of heart, putting off the old man that grows corrupt through deceitful lusts and putting on the new man created according to God in true righteousness and holiness (Ephesians 4:22-24). This means new attitudes, desires, habits, and behaviors, modeled on God's character, as part of His purpose of creating sons and daughters in His image. Any change is one of four kinds: start doing something, do more of it, stop doing it, or do less of it. Change is hard because life's experiences have hardened habits into almost involuntary patterns, like a rubber strip that snaps back when released. Carnality resists the new man, as Paul's struggle in Romans 7:15 shows. The way out is to retrain the mind gradually with new habits. Successful change begins with self-evaluation against God's righteousness, asking Him to reveal what must change, writing the change down with its reasons, and envisioning life once it is made. The prospect of inheriting sonship in God's Family supplies the motivation. Change takes time and cannot be rushed, because instant change would come too easily and likely would not last. Endurance and commitment are required, for the inward man is renewed day by day (II Corinthians 4:16-18). Above all, change requires faith in the Father and Christ and the help of God's Holy Spirit, sought in daily prayer (Philippians 4:13). Change is not optional but required, for whoever is in Christ is a new creation (II Corinthians 5:17).

Change is a challenging aspect of life, often met with resistance from a young age. Humans naturally gravitate toward routines that provide stability, and any disruption, like a missed nap or a move to a new home, can cause stress and discomfort for both children and adults. While not all change is negative—such as changing into dry clothes after being soaked in the rain or experiencing a sunny day after weeks of overcast weather—many struggle with it. A new job with a better boss can be a welcome shift, yet the broader human tendency is to resist change due to fear of the unknown, lack of motivation, or a preference for familiar patterns. In personal and professional contexts, change can be particularly unsettling. An open-concept workspace with unassigned seats can provoke irritation and difficulty in adapting, as seen when a colleague struggled with someone taking his usual spot and chose to work from home instead. This illustrates how even those who manage change for others can find personal change difficult. Change, defined as a transformation or transition, is a constant in life—whether through daily variations in meals, shifting attitudes, seasonal shifts, or major life events like changing jobs or homes. God calls us to a life of change, urging a transformation of mind and character. This process is ongoing, shaped by His guidance and the challenges of aligning with His ways. Resistance often stems from fear of significant life adjustments, perceived negative impacts, or impatience with slow progress. Yet, God requires continuous effort to change and overcome, recognizing that everyone is at different stages in their journey. Some may struggle with initial changes, while others face deeper challenges in letting go of personal attachments or complacency. Examples from life highlight the necessity of change. A rich young ruler was unwilling to give up his possessions, revealing a personal barrier to following God fully. Similarly, a lukewarm attitude can reflect resistance to needed change, while a committed individual like Paul demonstrates the importance of sustained effort and discipline in personal transformation. God calls for incremental, beneficial changes in our lives, supported by His strength. Small daily improvements, compounded over time, can lead to significant growth, encouraging us to persist in the positive changes He desires for us.

Change is an ever-present force in every person's life, as God has designed an earth where natural laws continuously produce transformation. He intentionally created this dynamic to compel us to confront change as preparation for His Kingdom. Human actions also drive changes in the environment and in our relationships with one another, with events like economic crises, earthquakes, floods, and droughts illustrating this reality. Despite warnings, many fail to prepare for inevitable change, as seen in recurring floods where people return to flood-prone areas year after year, gambling against history. Similarly, the current economic crisis unfolded despite numerous alerts about unprecedented credit-fueled buying and mounting debt in both private and business sectors. Banks, lured by potential gains, extended excessive credit, leading to failures and loss of operational liberty when the credit bubble burst, aligning with God's warning in Proverbs 22:7 that the borrower becomes servant to the lender. God's warnings about catastrophic events before Jesus' return are clear, yet many reject them, mirroring the dismissal of economic collapse predictions. Massive changes in political, economic, and religious structures loom ahead, alongside wars of unprecedented scale. Now is the critical time to demonstrate to God that we take His warnings seriously, love Him and His way of life, appreciate His gifts, and desire to be like Him and His Son. Through prayer, study, and submission, we must show readiness to give our all as living sacrifices to be in His Kingdom, diligently conforming our lives to the image of Jesus Christ.

Change is an integral part of life, often neutral in nature, capable of being either destructive or edifying. While it is a hard truth for many to accept, especially for those who seek to conserve a certain way of life, it remains inevitable. God has embedded change into creation itself—day turns to night, seasons cycle, and all things in nature grow, deteriorate, and transform. Yet, God Himself remains unchanging, the one constant amidst all flux. Personal change is essential for growth and betterment. As individuals, we must evaluate and utilize positive change to improve ourselves, embracing it even when it is challenging, such as aging. Without change, improvement is impossible. For Christians, personal change is a priority, a lifelong endeavor to transform from a state of human imperfection to one reflecting divine qualities. This transformation involves repenting, converting, growing, maturing, and striving to overcome, ultimately becoming sanctified through a profound conversion process. The Feast of Trumpets serves as a powerful reminder of this need for personal change, both in the present and in anticipation of a future transformation. It signals a call to change, much like the blast of the shofar in ancient Israel announced shifts in status, leadership, or readiness for war. On a personal level, this holy day points to the ultimate change at Christ's return, when believers will be transformed in an instant, at the last trumpet, from corruptible flesh to incorruptible spirit, rising to meet the Lord in the air as immortal beings like Him. This personal transformation is not merely a future event but a process that has already begun. Through the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, given as a guarantee of inheritance, God initiates the change in our minds, renewing them from carnality to spirituality. This ongoing metamorphosis, a complete change from the inside out, prepares us for the glorification to come, aligning our thoughts with the perfect will of God. As we behold His glory, we are being transformed into His image, step by step, through the power of His Spirit, looking forward to the day when we will be fully changed to be like Him.

While people can make positive changes in their lives, true repentance the kind that counts toward salvation only occurs after God has invited a person into a relationship with Him. Human beings are full of sin, and our natures compel us away from the path that God has revealed to lead to the Kingdom of God. Once God initiates the relationship, and we believe and vow to seek Him and His Kingdom, then real change for the better can commence and continue throughout the rest of our lives. Knowing that we need to repent, however, still does not tell us what true repentance is. Repent and repentance are words that we have a vague understanding of what they mean, but like many theological terms, they stand for a great deal more than their simple definitions tell. The English word repentance derives from a Latin word, penitere meaning to make sorry. It is closely related to penitence, which means contrition leading to change of behavior, and is a distant relation of the word pain. Its native English equivalent is rue, regret, sorrow, remorse. Other than its association with penitence, repentance can strike an English speaker as a mere feeling of sorrow, regret, or contrition. However, we realize that biblical repentance goes beyond mere feeling. Even so, this etymology provides a clue about an element of true repentance: It involves pain, particularly emotional pain. To repent is wrenching to the psyche. It really hurts because it is difficult to do. Oftentimes, what we must do is a bitter pill to swallow because it means changing ingrained attitudes, beliefs, and behaviors that have set hard like concrete in our lives. From this, we can conclude that any repentance that comes easily is probably not true repentance. If we have not felt some measure of pain in repenting, it is likely that we have not seen the depths of our sinful ways. The writers of the Old Testament used two different words to convey the idea of repentance. The first is naham, which means to be sorry or to rue. The Hebrew writers use this word to describe God's repentance in the few instances when He decides against an intended action. In this case, repent is an unfortunate translation of naham, as it would be better translated as relent or perhaps regret. Being perfect, God has no need to repent. For instance, in I Samuel 15, Samuel orders Saul to attack the Amalekites and utterly destroy them and their livestock. However, Saul disobeys, sparing the life of Agag, the Amalekite king, and the best of the animals. Because he did not obey God's command explicitly, Samuel writes, . . . the LORD regretted naham that He had made Saul king over Israel (I Samuel 15:35). Here, God was sorry that He had raised Saul to be king over His people; He rued that decision. However, God made it work out for good ultimately. The essence of the meaning of naham lies in the action of breathing strongly. A person will often display this kind of behavior when something has gone wrong and he is sorry for it. In his regret, he may try to control his emotions by taking deep breaths that may descend into sobbing or even painful wails of remorse. This sort of repentance contains a strong emotional character. Nevertheless, we need to remember that true repentance is not an entirely emotional experience. It is not just feeling sorry, not just an emotional outburst about something one regrets. There is more to it than that. Matthew 27:3-5 contains an account of an emotional, regretful repentance, but Scripture makes it clear that it is not a true one: While Judas may have been sorry, it led only to his death. The Corinthian example, though, shows us what godly sorrow really is. The strong emotion produces a determination to clear matters up, to clear oneself of guilt. It gives way to new emotions like anger at sin and fear of punishment for their transgressions. All that the truly repentant person wants to do is to attack the problem and overcome it in