"Hope Has Come!"

"Thy statutes have been my songs in the house of my pilgrimage." (Psalms 119:54)

  When we get right down to it, isn't this the reason we celebrate Christmas? For over 400 years the Lord was silent in the land and upon the face of the earth; and on that night, whatever night it was, He speaks in the cry of an infant. Since the foundations of the earth, this was the plan in the heart of God: to create man in His image, making him holy, and giving him a position higher than the angels. The word, "statutes," as mentioned before, means a prescribed action; in other words, God's will is not something that just happens, it is well planned out and is not up for negotiation. There have been examples of negotiations being made with God in the Bible; but my mom would let me negotiate with her over some of my chores; that didn't mean I changed anything, I just felt a little better about doing things her way, while thinking I was having my way. When I first started this blog, I shared about the difference between God's perfect will and whatever you would like to call the difference. Call it imperfect, if you will; but regardless of what you might call it, everything that happens is in line with God's perfect will; the Story ends the same no matter what happens here on this earth! It is a lot like this whole Global Warming scam; as if we could somehow change anything, the earth still belongs to the Lord! No matter what we might do, His will is going to get done, and in perfect order. The term, "My Songs," is joy and rejoicing in Triumphal Songs; songs in night, is one way to show it, as Paul and Silas sang their victory songs in their jail cell. It pants a picture of giving praise based upon what is the hope, not based upon what are the circumstances. In other words, this temporary place is not our home, and nothing that can happen to us here will change our position there, in the place Jesus has prepared for us. "The House" shown above, is nothing more than a tent, which is exactly what this body is, a temporary dwelling place, used for our "pilgrimage" through this life as a human being; a sojourning place; 'used of human life, in which man remains, like a guest, for a shorter time than he wishes.' When we are talking about real hope, the hope we need is not based upon anything here; the Good News that the angels declared was about man's Salvation, not about blessings that are here on this earth! That cry on the blessed night, was that of our Savior; a baby in a manger, who was not just born the King of the Jews, but the KING of the world...

"All these people died still believing what God had promised them. They did not receive what was promised, but they saw it all from a distance and welcomed it. They agreed that they were foreigners and nomads here on earth. Obviously people who say such things are looking forward to a country they can call their own. If they had longed for the country they came from, they could have gone back. But they were looking for a better place, a heavenly homeland. That is why God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared a city for them." (Hebrews 11:13-16) NLT