;hope

Our God is a God who saves; from the Sovereign LORD comes escape from death. Psalm 68:20

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I present this blog as a comfort to my friends who are discouraged. May God grant you hope and peace during this time of transition. Hang in there, chicas.

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Hope, next to Redemption, is my favorite theme in the Bible. I love that though things seem impossible, when people cry to God, He hears them. He saves. He rescues.

I love that in the midst of God's judgment in the Hebrew Scriptures there's still a promise of hope. Hosea's adulterous wife is forgiven. Ezekiel sees dead bones come alive. The weeping prophet promises us a hope and a future.

Zechariah calls us prisoners of hope -- no escaping.

And then Jesus Christ promises full life in him. He offers a "new way to be human," as the band Switchfoot sings. He gives us a new purpose: to be fishers of men, instead of fish. He flips culture upside down, telling us to give Caesar what is Caesar's, to turn the other cheek and give all our money to the poor. He invites us in on an adventure with Him and His Father; he lets us in on a perfect, triune relationship -- He gives us His Spirit.

Christ heals us; he forgives us. When the woman poured the perfume over Jesus' feet and wept, cleaning His feet with her tears and hair, He told her that her sins are forgiven.

Your faith has saved you; go in peace. Luke 7:50b

I remember Pastor Paul's sermon on this verse. He said that as Christians we tend to get "caught up in the semicolon" -- we forget the verse continues after our pardon.

We tend to dwell on the bad we've done, or the bad we're witnessing or the bad we think is around the corner.

But Jesus says, "Go in peace."

There's hope there.

He's saying that though things were rough,

though we needed saving,

everything's going to be okay.

No really, I hear Jesus pleading, IT'S GOING TO BE OKAY.

I get that things are hard. I get that change, even positive or mediocre change, can be hard. I get it. But Jesus asks us to go in peace. He wants us to have hope that He has things under control.

Because he does.

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Try not to feel good when thou art not good, but cry to Him who is good.




Prisoner of Hope, it won’t be long now
Prisoner of Hope, you can be strong now

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The Armstrongs -- I thank you so much for all that you've done for me and for Northeast. If I tried to name specifically all the lessons you've taught me, this blog would go on for thousands upon thousands of words. (So I'll keep this generic!) But I really do thank you; my faith has grown on account of you.

Please stay in touch, and enjoy California.

Oh, and Paul, good luck with the Marines.

In Him with Love,

Lauren Deidra

Ezekiel