Begins with a bang... finishes with peace?

 

                                                                        2025- A Fresh Start

 WIZZ, zeeeeeee, BOOM! 

        Just before midnight, dazzling, spectacular New Year’s Eve fireworks fan across the Sydney Harbour Bridge, painting the night sky with color and excitement. Hong Kong, Paris, London, New York, and Las Vegas, each hoping to surpass their counterparts, showcase equally dazzling displays.  

       But wars, cyclones, floods, and earthquakes have shattered countless lives in 2024, and the world yearns for peace and safety. Will there be any relief and restoration in 2025? What do the fireworks symbolize? Our survival as a race in 2024 or represent our yearning for peace and safety in 2025? How will we navigate this year? Without vision, people will perish. (Proverbs 19:25.) The world needs hope, but where will we find it? Is journeying with Jesus the answer, and why should I follow him?

My previous blog highlighted the backstory of Jesus’ birth, prior to the creation of the world. If we research Messianic Psalms, we’ll discover amazing prophecies about Jesus. God had told David his greatest descendant would sit on his throne and establish an everlasting kingdom. Matthew and Luke provide Jesus’ genealogy and establish his right to David’s throne. Since Jesus was born to a virgin, Mary, we can trace his earthly lineage, but his heavenly sinless nature is God given because God is his Father. He’s unique to humanity.  

   In Psalm 2:7, David records God’s words: “You are my Son: today I have become your Father.” If Jesus is the eternal Son of God, how does God become his Father? It is at his conception as a man, God has become his earthly Father, although as the son of the Trinity, he had always enjoyed this role. John 1:1. David lived about 1000 years before the birth of Christ, and by the Holy Spirit, prophesied the virgin birth. Isaiah would also verify this in Isaiah 7:14. God would be with us, Emmanuel.

The Sons of Korah recorded a song for a king’s coronation and describe the king’s eternal reign. “Your throne will last forever and ever.” Psalm 45:6. The writer of Hebrews explains this refers to Jesus, and he begins his letter by confirming Jesus’ sonship. God had sent us angels, but when he sent his Son, he radiated God’s glory in the world through his life, death, and resurrection.

God confirmed his delight in Jesus in Psalm 89:27-29. “And I will appoint him to be my firstborn, the most exalted of the kings of the earth. I will maintain my love to him forever, and my covenant with him will never fail. I will establish his line forever, his throne, as long as the heavens endure.”

  Why should I follow Jesus and submit to his authority? 

     Because he is the Son of God and he’s established his kingdom on righteousness and justice.

 If I need truth, love, hope and peace, I must be right with God. But what prevents me from following Jesus? My failure to keep God’s ten commandments. Since my sin condemns me, I stand condemned in God’s court of justice and I need a mediator or priest to represent me. 

Look no further than Psalm 110:4, where the eternal king stands in God’s presence arrayed in holy majesty. The Lord swears with a promise this king is also a priest forever, according to the order of Melchizedek, the archetype of the Messiah. Hebrews 7. Jesus is the eternal priest who became the mediator and the sacrifice for our sins, the unblemished lamb sacrificed on our behalf. We owe him a debt we can’t repay, but we should express our love and gratitude by the way we love and live in obedience to him.

Where will we discover hope and peace in 2025?

Let’s look to this eternal King and Priest who promised both his disciples and us his peace. He is the Prince of Peace. Life storms may rock your boat, but if Jesus is your hope, he'll guide you as you depend on his peace and presence to restore calm. He promised to be with us. We must prioritize our time and listen to him.

As we enter this year, let Christ, the Messiah, be our reason for being. He's the connection between Christmas and a hope filled New Year.

If the Lord Jesus Christ is our savior and friend, let’s commit everything into his hands by deciding 2025 is the year we actively journey with Jesus, recognizing he is worthy of our loyalty and love. Paul the apostle’s maxim was, “For me to live is Christ.” Philippians 1:21. Let’s we serve the Lord with the same passion and accept his gift of peace. John 14:27.

Will you join me in prayer for the nations?

Dear Heavenly Father,

You are the King who rules over all kings and authorities with love, justice and wisdom. We have not lived by your loving guidelines, but we confess our sins and ask you for forgiveness. Thank you for your grace and mercy. Teach us to seek your peace according to your perfect will, and so to share it with our families, friends and neighbors. Please bring peace to the nations, through relief from disasters, sickness and war, one heart at a time, turning the nations to you until Jesus rules in victory. I pray in his name and may his perfect will be done. Amen.

     Happy New Year. The Lord bless you and keep you.