Hope

   Hope, being a normal part of our daily life, knowing that the things hoped for are not a sure thing, and that includes the hope of ones salvation that God has given for us through His Son, Jesus, the Christ. Christians do have this hope, which we hold on to by faith, but what makes His salvation, which we so earnestly hold on to, not a sure reality? Is our portion of this agreement (covenant) we have with God Almighty as pure as His portion? Jehovah God most certainly can and will provide His promise of the covenant, and He has the commitment to perform just as He has stated, remembering that this agreement was initiated by Him and that He is sure to reward us with His promise. God wants to bless us even more then we want the salvation that His Son has established for His Father and for us, therefore the only possible broken link in this covenant is the one we might sever; we therefore, need to exercise our side of the equation, that we also may have agree to. Jehovah's covenant with humanity was clearly represented in Genesis, where God’s part of the covenant with Abraham was certainly performed, "In that day Jehovah made a covenant with Abram saying, I have given this land to your seed, from the river of Egypt to the great river, the river Euphrates." (Genesis 15:18). God remembered this covenant and later Moses was given this task of taking the Israelites to the promise land and the Israelite heard the guidelines and agreed saying, "And Moses came and told all the words of Jehovah to the people, and all the judgments. And all the people answered with one voice and said, We will do all the words which Jehovah has spoken." (Exodus 24:3). Jehovah did take them to the Promise land, but only after spending forty years in the wilderness. Some made it to Canaan but many didn’t because they lacked a trust in their God, that He would deliver them to the promise land. Jehovah then waited until all these that didn't believe in His voice died a natural death during their forty years in the wilderness; afterward the remaining Israelites and their new generations were led to the land that God promised them, keeping His part of the covenant. We are also being lead to a promise land, which is God's kingdom, but those not following correctly, may also not enter. Even Moses, who guided them the entire way for forty years, was not allowed to enter the promise land because he made one error at the rock at "Meribah". This forty years in the wilderness reveals the importance of trusting in God Jehovah's word and His way, by following His instructions. Jehovah also showed Moses mercy at the end because He was accepted into God's kingdom, but only after Moses experiencing death.

   Faith is a needed element, because hope is what Jesus has given us with His promise to return, to gather the righteous and take them, first to New Jerusalem, then after a thousand years to the new earth, which will be part of God’s kingdom. This hope is born from what was written by the apostles, inspiration by as His holy spirit gave them what to write. This hope exercises our faith that Christ speaks the truth, as does His Father, that the words written in God's Book are accurate, dependable and true. We have no hard evidence that the Kingdom of God will be established as His words declared, only the physical printings and the meanings of His words, that gives us the hope of God's promised eternity in Jehovah's kingdom.

    The word “hope” comes with an uncertainty and calls for, not only faith but a willing participation in conforming to God’s perfect and helpful instructions, listed in the Old Testament as laws and Commandments “Here is the patience of the saints; here are the ones keeping the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus.” (Rev 14:12), which is to be kept from our love and understanding of these laws, not out of works of obedience, but grasping understanding of Jehovah's concept of righteousness, for His words indicate an action from us, in our desire for this reward available from Jehovah. Understanding God's perfect laws, why they are perfect, how they benefit us because of Gods love for us causes us to act our desire and a responding love for the law maker and for His laws, as a blessing from Him. If all the laws of God were obeyed, sin would not exist, then Jehovah's written laws would not be needed. Jehovah’s principles are born from and for the realities that we are to live in, which is God’s created system, knowing it is just and pure. God’s angels were tested when Lucifer introduced sin in Heaven, then he and the angels that took Lucifer's stand were exiled from their home, down to earth and were given a death sentence. Heaven remains pure, as it was, and that is as much as we are told. We do know that anyone cherishing or holding onto sin will not enter God’s new world, "Not everyone who says to Me, Lord, Lord, will enter into the kingdom of Heaven, but the ones who do the will of My Father in Heaven." (Matthew 7:21). Just as harmony was broken in Heaven, Adam also broke the harmony in the Garden of Eden, via Satan's deception, so laws were needed, and remain needed because earth's harmony hasn’t yet been restored. It is said by some Christians that the New Testament claims the laws are written in our minds and our hearts and that God’s written laws are done away with, nailed to the cross, but Paul had a different view “Then do we make law of no effect through faith? Let it not be! But we establish law.” (Romans 3:31). "establish" is Strong's #2476I, among the various meaning are: abide, appoint, bring, continue, and others. I need to ask one question: are the laws that are indicated to be written in our minds and hearts by God, would they be any different then the laws written on the two tablets of stone, the Ten Commandments? If so, then that would mean God did change His ways and this cannot be, because He said, “For I am Jehovah, I change not…” (Malachi 3:6). God's word stands as it has stood for four thousand years, He has changed nothing, only our foolish misinterpretations and our incorrect translations of His word, causing many to think differently and incorrectly as to Jehovah's intentions. His covenant stands, either written or placed in our heart, "This is the covenant which I will covenant to them after those days, says the Lord: Giving My Laws on their hearts, and I will write them on their minds.” (Hebrews 10:16), which is from an Old Testament quote, "but this shall be the covenant that I will cut with the house of Israel: After those days, declares Jehovah, I will put My law in their inward parts, and I will write it on their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people."(Jeremiah 31:33), meaning that we are to strive to know and comprehend His laws and love them so that there is no need for them to be written down, as in God's word? I don't see that this has happened yet in the Christian community, because most transgress the first four of His Commandments. More logically, this spoken by Jehovah in Jeremiah 31:33 will occur after Christ returns and takes those who have been seeking God and learned of the pureness of His ways and have strived in this life to do His word, because they have came to love His pure ways. These two verses say, "after those days", not these days.

   “Hope” accompanies a desire and a belief that the debt for our repented sins has been paid, because of calvary and the resurrection of Christ. What is unsure in the covenant between God and man is our individual worthiness of His gift. Not all will be deemed worthy, "For Moses writes of the righteousness which is of the law, The man doing these things shall live by them." (Romans 10:5) a quote from Leviticus 18:5 "and you shall keep My statutes and My judgments, which if a man shall do them, he shall live by them. I am Jehovah." The parable of the ten virgins represents the same, in that five prepared for the bridegroom's coming and five didn't prepare. We are asked to ready ourselves for Heaven (the Kingdom), since sin is not allowed in God's kingdom, anyone holding on to sin will not only be rejected from entering Heaven, but will be destroyed along with sin in the lake of fire, prepared for Satan, his angles and the false prophets. Jesus came to call everyone to repentance; “…I came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.” (Matt 9:13, Mark 2:17 & Luke 5:32). Man is called to repent from what? Sin is the only answer, and what is sin? Sin is the transgression of the God's laws. What are the laws for our repentance? The laws are the commandments of God that were written by His own finger onto stone tablets. The laws are to be feared at first, but once we consider them and come to understand them, then they will be loved, except by those who continue to break Jehovah's commands and law, which provides a reason to fear God's acts of justice. This includes all of us until we take it upon ourselves to repent and discard every sin. Christ paid the price for our repented sins, Christ is our example and He (in His human state) was righteous because He fulfilled the laws of God, walking in them and preaching His Father's ways to lead us in the same correct direction. Are we to walk any different then Christ's leadings? We are called to follow Jesus, along the narrow path, which He has already walked, all the way to Calvary, where He was called to go by His Father, and this is for us to follow, “And who does not take up his cross and follow after Me is not worthy of Me.” (Matt 10:38 & 16:24 etc.), this is for us to act in committing ones self to Jehovah's ways, as Christ did in His earthly walk. You can choose to believe the multitude of sermons and written words of men that say the law of God was nailed to the cross or anything along that line, this is your choice. What was nailed to the cross was the sacrificial laws, only. We are not judged by the words of man, but by the words Jehovah gave to His Christ, who came calling us to repentance, with the authority given to Him by His God and Father, Jehovah, "He is Jehovah our God; His judgments are in all the earth." (Psalm 105:7), "And let them know, Your name is Jehovah, that You alone are the Most High over all the earth." (Psalm 83:18) and, "For all the people walk, each one in the name of his god; but we will walk in the name of Jehovah our God forever and ever." (Micah 4:5). The Commands of God were stressed throughout the New Testament, "Then do we make law of no effect through faith? Let it not be! But we establish law." (Romans 3:31), "What then? Shall we sin because we are not under the law, but under grace? Let it not be!" (Romans 6:15) "Here is the patience of the saints; here are the ones keeping the commands of God, and the faith of Jesus." (Revelation 14:12),

   Heaven is waiting for those who followed the Lamb of God, those who studied the words in His Book and learned that the law is the key to all righteousness, loving God with all their soul and learning that the laws are for man's happiness, with a love for their neighbors. Only those prepared for God’s Kingdom, accepting the covering grace of Jesus will enter through the gates of Heaven and enjoy the unimaginable treasures Jehovah has waiting for us, and the first treasure is being in God's presence. Many examples of our need to conform to Jehovah's way were outlined in the Old Testament when the Israelite, while wondered in the dessert for 40 years, because of their unbelief and lack of faith that God Jehovah would clear their way to the Promised Land. Those that showed their lack of faith died in the wilderness, but God did bring their descendants and those who exhibited their faith in Jehovah arrived at the promise land, and He will do this for those seeking Jehovah. The promise is sure, only the character of each one of us is in question. This is for us now to determine and to present our cleansed character, by our actions toward our fellow man and toward Jehovah and His Son. Job was a supreme example of what God desires in His holy kingdom, soon to be established. Job was steadfast in his faith, before his trial from Satan and during Satan's overwhelming efforts to break Job's faith. God saw Job's heart and was absolutely sure he would stand just where he stood in all his life, righteous. We too can have that degree of faith, and Christ is waiting for each of us to ask for His guidance and power.