Hope 28 Song

Revelation 21:21 - "I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband."

Song: In the New Jerusalem
1. When the toils of life are over
And we lay our armor down,
And we bid farewell to earth with all it's cares,
We shall meet and greet our loved ones,
And our Christ we then shall crown
In the new Jeru-sa-lem.
CHORUS: There'll be singing, there'll be shouting
When the saints come marching home,
In Jeru-sa-lem, In Jeru-sa-lem; [In the New Jerusalem]
Waving palms with loud hosannas
As the King shall take His throne,
In the new Jeru-sa-lem . . . .

2. Tho' the way is sometimes lonely,
He will hold me with His hand,
Thro' the testings and the trials I must go;
But I'll trust and gladly follow,
For sometimes I'll understand,
In the new Jeru-sa-lem . . . .
CHORUS: There'll be singing, there'll be shouting
When the saints come marching home,
In Jeru-sa-lem, In Jeru-sa-lem; [In the New Jerusalem]
Waving palms with loud hosannas
As the King shall take His throne,
In the new Jeru-sa-lem . . . .

3. When we join the ransomed army
In the summer-land above,
And the face of our dear Savior we behold,
We will sing and shout forever,
And we'll grow in perfect love,
In the new Jeru-sa-lem . . . .
CHORUS: There'll be singing, there'll be shouting
When the saints come marching home,
In Jeru-sa-lem, In Jeru-sa-lem; [In the New Jerusalem]
Waving palms with loud hosannas
As the King shall take His throne,
In the new Jeru-sa-lem . . . .
LYRICS AND MUSIC: C. B. Widmeyer

Looking forward to meet Jesus in the sky!

Dorothy

Hope Series 27

Revelation 21:5 - "And he (Jesus) that sat upon the throne said, Behold, I make all things new. And he said to me (John), Write: for these words are true and faithful."

            
            Theme: Revelation, A Book of Hope

God opened the "Genesis" with His new creation, a paradise for Adam and Eve while "Revelation" closes human history. But there is one distinct (clearly seen) difference in Revelation--evil is gone forever. Genesis describes a garden with an evil serpent; Revelation describes a perfect city with no evil. The Garden of Eden was destroyed by sin; but paradise is re-created in the New Jerusalem.

Jesus said, "Behold, I make all things new." God is the creator. The Bible begins with the majestic story of His creation of the universe, and it concludes (end) with His creation of a new heaven and a new earth. This is a tremendous hope and encouragement for the believer.

The book of Revelation ends with an urgent plea; "Come, Lord Jesus!" In a world of problems, persecution, evil, and immorality, Lord Jesus Christ calls us to endure in our faith. Our goal is to hold on to the hope of His calling that God has given us to do, endure.

Revelation is, above all, a book of hope. It shows that no matter what happens on earth, God is in control. It promises that evil will not last forever. Like Scripture said, "The God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet (Rom. 16:20a). And Revelation represents a picture of the wonderful reward that is waiting for all who believe in Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord.

May the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen. (Rev. 22:21)

Dorothy

PS. My friend, this is a closure of the Hope Series 27 with one more song in Hope 28, "In The New Jerusalem." I pray that God has blessed you with Hope Series from 1 through 28. After that, it will varies "Fresh Manna" devotion since it's Christmas!!!!

Hope Series 26

Job 42:7a - Then The Lord said to Eliphaz, "I am angry with you and your two friends, for you have not been right in what you have said about Me, as My servant Job was."


                Theme: Hope for Job's Friends
 
God made it clear that Job's friends were wrong. Job's friends made the mistakes of guessing that Job's suffering was caused by some great sin. They were judging Job without knowing what God was doing. This should warn us to avoid making any rash judgments about a person we "think we know" because God may be working in ways we know nothing about.

Does Job's friends have any hope of forgiveness from God and from Job? Yes, God gave them an instruction what they must do. They were to take some animals for burnt offering and go to Job for offering. God said for Job to pray and intercede for them.  When Job prayed for his friends, The Lord gave back everything he had lost, but this time, twice as much as before (Job 42:8-10).

What can we learn from this? After Job receiving much criticism, Job was still able to pray for his three friends. Is it difficult to forgive someone who has accused us of wrong doing? Job gave us a perfect example that he did forgave his friends. Job prayed for them when they had hurt him. Job forgave them. Can we forgive our friends who hurt us?

God called Job a good man and God had Job prayed for them. Their only hope was through Job's intercession for them. If your friends have hurt you and God might be angry at them for hurting you, would you pray to God and ask Him to spare them from His anger and cover them with the blood of Jesus and ask God to save their soul?

The key to all this one verse: "Humble yourself in the sight of the Lord and He will lift you up." (James 4:10) I have quoted this so often when I had faced some challenges of criticism. God will reward you when you pray for them. There's peace in forgiveness.

So trust God today!

Dorothy

PS. I know it's long, but I believe that many of us might have faced this. I love this devotion because of who God was and still is through the story of Job. This soften my heart about God Himself. I love Him!