Looking to 2021 with Hope

Here we are again, facing a new year. Most people are bidding “good riddance” to 2020 and looking to the new year with hope. Somehow I don’t think 12:00 am of January 1 is going to suddenly make everything better. Yet, it’s a beautiful word: HOPE.

I mean, I get it. We look at a new year and we see its potential and possibilities and we hope to finally get it right. Whatever it is.

Yet we know that hope outside of the Lord is shallow and fleeting. Our only true hope, our blessed hope, is in the Lord Jesus Christ. It is this hope that will carry us through whatever the new year may bring. It is what carried many of us through 2020. Hope in the Lord is what brings the peace that surpasses all understanding. You see, this hope is not wishful thinking, rather it is the blessed assurance of to Whom we belong. For the child of God, those who are clothed in the righteousness of Jesus, we know that whatever may come- His will be done- and we rest safely within His shadow. This is not to say that we will not have difficult times, for that is the human experience, but we look to Him for help and strength and He has His hands upon us. It is then when He carries us.

This hope we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and steadfast, and which enters the Presence behind the veil,
Hebrews 6:19 NKJV

Now hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us.
Romans 5:5 NKJV

Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.
Romans 15:13 NKJV

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His abundant mercy has begotten us again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,
I Peter 1:3 NKJV

There are dozens more verses offering hope.

Perhaps this is the year our blessed hope is realized and we see Him face to face. Until then, trust Him, be watchful, and occupy.

Maranatha

COVID Deaths in US Fall to Lowest Levels

Dec. 28 (UPI) — The United States on Sunday saw significant decreases in COVID-19 cases and deaths — marks that were two of the lowest in weeks, according to updated data from Johns Hopkins University.

The data shows 150,100 new coronavirus cases and about 1,200 related deaths nationwide. The case count, apart from Christmas Day, is the lowest since late November and the death toll is just the second this month that’s been 1,200 or lower.

Cases and deaths are typically lower on Sundays and Mondays, due to slower reporting over the weekends.

Since the start of the pandemic, there have been 19.14 million coronavirus cases and about 333,200 deaths in the United States, according to Johns Hopkins.

The United States is now averaging about 2,200 deaths per day, a 15% decline compared to a week ago, according to Stat. The nation is averaging 184,000 new cases per day, also a decline of almost 15% over last week.

After ascending to records for almost three weeks, the number of COVID-19 patients hospitalized nationwide (about 119,000) has leveled off and declined slightly, according to the COVID Tracking Project.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has adjusted vaccine safety guidelines for persons with underlying conditions.

The updated guidance says those with underlying conditions can receive either of the approved messenger RNA, or “mRNA,” vaccines if they have not had a severe allergic reaction to any of their ingredients. The available mRNA vaccines are made by Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna.

https://www.breitbart.com/news/new-covid-19-cases-deaths-in-u-s-fall-to-lowest-levels-in-weeks/

“THE JOY OF THE LORD IS MY STRENGTH”

A Weird Dream

I had a very weird dream on Christmas eve/early Christmas morning. I am not saying it is from the Lord or prophetic in any way; it was just weird and I want to document it here.

In my dream I am seated inside a stadium or an auditorium of some kind and I notice that the First Lady is in the row in front of me. Whomever we were listening to stopped talking and we all got up to leave. I got the attention of the First Lady and was complimenting her. The scene then changed to where we were once again seated in some sort of stadium and I was sitting beside the First Lady feeling proud and tickled about my new BFF. (Haha.) Then suddenly, the Democratic candidate for President was there walking about erratically. He walked into a wall and knocked himself out. I rushed over to him and knelt down over him. I remember thinking, why is no one stopping me? There were people all around us but no one pulled me away from this man. His appearance kept changing from looking like the Democratic candidate for President to a certain high-profile health official whom no one had even heard of before the year 2020. (I am intentionally leaving out names, but think JB and AF.) Anyway, this man peaked through his eyelids, saw me, then closed them tight again and somehow I knew he was faking being hurt. I exclaimed to everyone he is faking it! The crowd around me became very angry that I was calling this man out as faking it. I began to flee and they began to chase me. The scene changed again and I was doing something I can’t remember, but that same crowd showed up and started to chase me again. As I was running I was hit in the back with something that knocked me flat on my face. I was able to turn over onto my back but then I could not get up. I was somehow frozen or made immobile. The crowd surrounded me and began restraining me and somehow I knew they were going to burn me alive. I remember praying, “Jesus, please don’t let me feel it.” The dream ended.

The dream is weird for obvious reasons but also because I have not spent much time thinking about the key people within the dream. While I admire our current first lady and think she is lovely, I have certainly never fantasized about being her friend. Granted, I have asked the Lord to help me understand what is going on with the election. I am certain there are nefarious shenanigans surrounding both the election and the Virus. I do not usually have dreams like this and when I woke up I considered writing it down, but to be honest I was just too sleepy. Thankfully I’ve been able to recall most of it, although I really don’t know if it’s necessary for me to remember it. Still, I am documenting it here. Comments/thoughts are welcomed.

I hope you had a Merry Christmas. As of this writing, it is 11 pm on Christmas night and we have no cell service here in central KY, allegedly due to the explosion in Nashville which occurred early Christmas morning and took out an AT&T hub. That is 4 hours away from us, but…..here we are. Thankful for Wi-Fi.