Some good news for a change, but it's not over yet.

Back in March a California Appeals court rendered a verdict that had it been upheld would have seriously threatened homeschooling in this state. Many believed, it would effectively make homeschooling illegal. It wouldn't have as I discussed in a previous blog, but it could have made a lot of trouble for homeschooling families from officials who misinterpreted the ruling. There was a lot of speculation and reaction from both sides of the argument. There was a lot of press regarding the whole issue. Maybe now, that the decision has all but been dismissed as of yesterday, the roar of outcry has been reduced to a tiny buzz. The story in the LA times was buried way back in the California Education section. Other than my notice from Focus on the Family, I wouldn't have heard anything about it. Interesting isn't it.
Here is the link to the story in the LA Times.

On another note....

HELP! I'M BEING OPPRESSED. YOU SAW THEM OPPRESSING ME RIGHT?


Sure it says repressed. But it's still funny.

Will you recognize your king when he comes?

"All the days of the oppressed are wretched, but the
cheerful heart has a continual feast." Proverbs 15:15

Have you ever woken up one morning and immediately said to yourself, "This is going to be a horrible day," ?
What happened? You probably had a horrible day, right?
Very few people can tolerate a perpetual "Pollyanna" but in some ways this is exactly what God is calling us to be. Or another shiny example is Mr. Bill, that tiny plasticine character that kind can the bright side of any situation. It may be an oversimplification, but I think we need to adopt the cup is half-full mentality and toss the half-empty one, because if we are sat down and really counted each one of our blessings, we know that the cup would really be overflowing.

In this world there truly are oppressed peoples. Poverty, disease, wars, slavery, are still a very real part of this modern world we live in. Most of my audience are probably not being oppressed by any of the aforementioned issues, but what if you are? Or what if you are being oppressed by something, maybe not as bad, but the weight of oppression is still there. Is any form of oppression easier than another form to the one who feels oppressed? Probably not because when we re oppressed, whether real or imagined, it becomes easy to lose hope. And when you lose hope the oppressors win, and the job provider of those oppressors win too. You know what his name is right? Satan. If Satan can destroy someone's hope, he has just shut the door on Jesus in that person's heart, because Jesus is hope. And without the hope of Jesus Christ we are indeed wretched.
Of course there are many in this world, in this country whose idea of oppression is "I'm oppressed if I can't get what I want, exactly when I want it!" According to this definition all two year olds and most teenagers(at least my daughter) are oppressed.
How many times do we tell ourselves , "Well, I'll be happy when I get this, or when this happens.", only to see our desire come to fruition and still be unhappy and saying, "now, if this just happens, I'll be really happy." God does not promise us happiness. Happiness is fleeting. God wants us to focus on the eternal. Joy is eternal and there for the taking in every thought we have and every action we take. Of course like flowers with no sunlight, joy cannot exist without the presence of hope.
The bible is filled with verses about hope, both old and new testaments. We can find many words in Hebrew and Greek about hope. I challenge you to simply look up the word hope in a regular dictionary. It is an eye opening experience.
So to explore the second part of this verse... Many proverbs are structured this way in a comparison and contrast format. So to contrast or oppose oppression, the answer is to have a cheerful heart. How on Earth can one have a cheerful heart when they are being oppressed? There is no earthly way at all. The only way is through hope. If you accepted my challenge from above, you will have found that the word hope can be used as either a verb or a noun. In the Strong's Hebrew and Greek concordance this particular word for hope is elpis. According to Vines, we can also see this as meaning having hope in the author of hope or he who is at it's foundation. So the key to having a cheerful heart in any situation is to rely on the author of hope to give it to you because the world does not have it to give. It is hope that sustained Paul through all his trials. It was hope that allowed Peter to boldly go to his place of crucifixion on an upside down cross. It was hope that caused Jesus to die for our sins, not to receive it, but to give it, give it to us, through the resurrection.
So because He is God, He can be a noun and a verb at the same time. He is hope.
So, The next time you begin to feel oppressed, start concentrating on just how full your cup really is. Let it cheer you and bring the joy to your heart that God has promised us all through the hope that His son, the Lord Jesus Christ offers us.