Saturday Song: Trooper, "Raise a Little Hell"

When I first heard this song, I hated it because I assumed it was promoting rowdy behaviour. But I realized what this Canadian group were singing about when I listened carefully to the lyrics.

Listen to this classic from the summer of 1976 here:

We know from King Solomon that there's a time for every purpose under heaven. Ecclesiastes 3:7 (BBE) reminds us there's, "A time for undoing and a time for stitching; a time for keeping quiet and a time for talk;"

We also read that believers, especially if we hold power, must speak out for those who have no voice. Psalms 82:3 and 4 (BBE) exhorts, "Give ear to the cause of the poor and the children without fathers; let those who are troubled and in need have their rights. Be the saviour of the poor and those who have nothing: take them out of the hand of the evil-doers."

We likewise find in Proverbs 31:8 and 9 (BBE) that we mustn't be silent about injustice. "Let your mouth be open for those who have no voice, in the cause of those who are ready for death. Let your mouth be open, judging rightly, and give right decisions in the cause of the poor and those in need."

God expects us all to speak out against injustice. Isaiah 1:17 (BBE) declares, "Take pleasure in well-doing; let your ways be upright, keep down the cruel, give a right decision for the child who has no father, see to the cause of the widow."

And if the Lord's command isn't enough, Proverbs 21:13 (BBE) says, "He whose ears are stopped at the cry of the poor, will himself get no answer to his cry for help"

What a privilege it is to be the advocate for those who are powerless and insignificant to the governors of this world. God will bless us for caring for those defenseless people.

On Monday, if Christ doesn't return by then, I hope to post about why we must pray for politicians, even the slimy ones.

Saturday Song: Klaatu, "Hope"

Did you know that there are two kinds of hope? The first is a wish for something good. The second is an assurance of good things from God Almighty. The first is based on wishful thinking but the second is based on the Lord's faithfulness.

A Canadian band called Klaatu wrote a song about hope. It's part of a concept album about a lighthouse keeper on a devastated planet. The last of his kind, this alien spent the last day of his life coming up with a universal prayer. Hope was the only idea which fit his criteria.

Listen to Klaatu's song here.

The Bible has much to say about both kinds of hope. One example of the first kind of hope, or the lack of it, is Job 7:6 (KJV). "My days are swifter than a weaver's shuttle, and are spent without hope."

But we have the experiences of thousands of years of faithful believers that the trials of our lives aren't in vain. Psalms 31:24 (KJV) reminds us, "Be of good courage, and he shall strengthen your heart, all ye that hope in the LORD."

Our hope is an abiding trust in our heavenly Father and his good plan for us. Psalms 38:15 (KJV) expresses this well. "For in thee, O LORD, do I hope: thou wilt hear, O Lord my God."

And like the psalmist wrote in Psalms 42:5 (KJV), our hope in our heavenly Father can lift us out of even the deepest depression. "Why art thou cast down, O my soul? and why art thou disquieted in me? hope thou in God: for I shall yet praise him for the help of his countenance."

The Apostle Paul, persecuted and on trial, held onto the hope promised to Israel and all who would believe in the Saviour. Acts 26:7 (KJV) says, "Unto which promise our twelve tribes, instantly serving God day and night, hope to come. For which hope's sake, king Agrippa, I am accused of the Jews."

This hope is more than a wish, it's a work of sanctification. As 1 Peter 3:15 (KJV) reminds us, "But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts: and be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear:"

So, what do you think of Klaatu's "hope" and what I've written? Please feel free to comment.

On Monday, I'll be posting about who the real child of promise was.