Hope and Courage for the New Year

Psalm 23 December 29, 2024

It is interesting to note that there is a difference between the secular season of Christmas and the Christian Season of Christmas. One group believes that Christmas ends on Christmas Day. The Church Season of Christmas begins on Christmas day and lasts twelve days. It ends with Epiphany the time of the unveiling of Jesus to the Magi. Today is the First Sunday of Christmas. This coming Wednesday is New Years Day. It is hard to believe that 2025 is almost upon us. We are twenty-five years into the 21st Century. It is sad to say that the 21st Century is following the 20th Century with wars and disasters. Parts of the world are enflamed with war. This country is spending billions on war in many nations. It is hard to have hope and courage in a world troubled by many things. New Year’s Resolution will not solve the problems the world faces. Instead of burying our heads in the sand, we can have hope and courage as we realize God is in charge and has given us salvation in Christ Jesus.

Many people in the church and outside the church have the belief that when we die God is going to take us before the balance scales. Some believe that he will put all our good deeds on one side and all our bad deeds on the other and if the good outweighs the bad we will get the reward of heaven. The prophet Isaiah writes: “All of us have become like one who is unclean and all our righteous acts are like filthy rags (Isaiah 64:6a).” We humans are bent to evil. There is no way our good works outweigh our bad. The Good News is that God made a plan to forgive our sins unconditionally. Jesus came, he taught, he preformed miracles, and was killed on a Roman Cross for our sins. John tells us, “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him (John 3:16-17).” We are not saved by our good works but by the grace of God. We could give everything we have but that act will not save us. Salvation comes via God’s grace through Christ Jesus alone. We do not believe in Jesus plus anything else for our salvation.

You can have hope and courage in 2025 as you trust Jesus alone for your salvation. Salvation is about God’s grace, not our works. Paul writes to the Ephesian Christians about salvation: “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith -- and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God – not by works, so that no one can boast (Ephesians 2:8-9). What is grace? It comes from the Greek word, charis. It describes grace as the mercy of a more powerful person to another. Some synonyms of grace are mercy, compassion and favor. Peter writes that “God is the God of grace (1 Peter 5:10).” Once I was watching a TV Judge show in which a woman came before the Judge accused of a minor violation of the law. The Judge asked her for her comments and she replied that there was no question but that she was guilty. The judge asked her a couple more questions and then dismissed the charges. The judge gave the accused his grace. However, in a similar way, if we come before our Lord accused of our many sins, we do best to confess our sins and receive the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ. The Psalmist reminds us that, “The Lord is merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in mercy (Psalm 103:8).”

Another way you can have hope and courage in the New Year is by recognizing that this life is not all there is and that after death those who believe in Christ Jesus are welcomed into heaven. I know Christians who answer the question, “When you die are you going to heaven” by replying, “I don’t know but I hope so.” Once I was talking with a genuine Christian woman who believed in Christ Jesus for her salvation but somewhere along the line did not realize that by trusting in Jesus she was assured of salvation. Both she and others who believe in Jesus are assured of their salvation and their future life in heaven. Jesus was talking with his disciples in the Upper Room on the night he was betrayed and told them not to be troubled. He said, “Do not let your hearts be troubled. You believe in God; believe also in me. My Father’s house has many rooms; if that were not so, would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am (John 14:1-3). If someone asks you how you know you are spending your future in heaven, you tell them because Jesus promised heaven to those who believe in him and trust him for their future.

Psalm 23 is a familiar Psalm. As we move into 2025, the Psalmist, King David, can also give us hope and courage. There are a couple verses that I enjoy, well more than a couple. “Even though I walk through the darkest valley, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me (Psalm 23:4).” Once I read a series of books written by WEB Griffin called “The Brotherhood of War.” It is a remarkable series. However, I objected to the main character’s mistranslation of verse 4. He commented several times, “Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil (good translation) because I’m the meanest so-and-so in the valley.” He said he did not fear evil because of his meanness. In contrast, we Christians do not fear anything when we walk through the valley of shadow of death or valley of deepest darkness, not because of meanness, but because God is present with us. For God loves us so much that he not only wants to be with us but he is present with us.

Jesus often told people who trusted him not to be afraid. At least seven times, he tells his disciples and others not to be afraid. The phrase “fear not” appears 365 times in the Bible. Do you remember the time Jesus is left on the shore of Lake Galilee and the disciples are in the boat sailing for Capernaum? The lake is normally calm. During the weeks I spent in Galilee the lake looked like a calm lake in Indiana. I even saw people water skiing on it. However, at certain times when cool air from the over 9000 feet above sea level Mount Hermon comes down the valleys into the almost 700 feet below sea level lake it creates dangerous and terrible wind and waves. The disciples were in a small wooden, perhaps 27 foot long, fishing boat that was being buffeted by the wind and the waves. They were in fear for their lives. And to add to their fear, they saw a human figure walking toward them on the water. They thought it was a ghost. Their fear level skyrocketed. Jesus, who was walking on the water toward the boat, ”… immediately said to them, ‘Take courage! It is I. Don’t be afraid’ (Matthew 14:27).” When he got into the boat the wind and the waves died down. We can have hope and courage because Jesus is with us and he has power even over the terrible and dangerous winds of life.

We can have hope and courage because God in Christ Jesus has power over Evil. Sometimes we think that evil has the upper hand. If one keeps up with the news, it seems that all around the world evil is winning. Syria was run by an evil dictator and now overthrown by Islamists that want to impose Sharia Law on the world. Islamic dictatorships throughout the world are persecuting and murdering Christians. Why God does not deal with that problem is a mystery to me but I have to acknowledge that God is in charge and he knows the future. Jesus revealed that he had power over evil spirits and disease. Jesus performed many miracles. One count reveals that he performed thirty-four miracles recorded in the Bible. John at the end of his Gospel wrote that, “Jesus did many other things as well. If every one of them were written down, I suppose that even the whole world would not have room for the books that would be written (John 21:25).”

Jesus began his work at a wedding in Cana. They ran out of wine and Jesus mother asked him to do something about it. He asked the steward to bring out six water jugs used for ceremonial cleaning that were filled to the brim. Each would hold twenty to thirty gallons. He then told them to draw some out. They discovered the jugs were filled with fine wine. The steward commented that at most feasts they serve the fine wine first and when they run out of it they serve the poor quality wine. I know that even many non-Christians know that miracle. In fact, there are many jokes about it. However, it is no joke that Jesus transformed water into fine wine. The power of God worked in him in amazing ways. Our Savior can even change water into wine without saying anything or do anything. We take heart in his creative power.

Jesus did many other miracles. He healed many people of various diseases and disorders. He showed his power over evil by casting out evil spirits from people. He raised three people from the dead. When Peter cut off the ear of one of the chief priest’s servants in the Garden of Gethsemane, Luke reports that he restored it to him. What Jesus did was not magic. He did not perform illusions as modern magicians do. He clearly has creative power. As you place your trust in Jesus, you can have hope and courage as you move into the New Year.

When I think about moving into the New Year with hope and courage, one of the things I think about is prayer. Over the decades I have seen the power of God work through prayer. James tells us, “The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective (James 5:16b).” Since Christians are made righteous by Christ Jesus, our prayers are powerful and effective. Do not discount your prayers because sometimes it does not seem that God has answered them. Trust the Lord even when you do not think he is answering your prayers because God has promised to answer your prayers. You can have hope and courage because God answers prayer.

As you move into the New Year, trust God. Being a Christian is about trusting God. It is about reading the Bible and trusting that it is the Word of God. It is about knowing that Jesus is the way, the truth and life and that no one comes to the Father except through him (John 14:6). Christmas is about recognizing that the Lord God came in human flesh to give us his Good News and offer us salvation and eternal life. You can have hope and courage in 2025 as you place your trust in Christ Jesus.

A Sermon Preached by CH (COL) Michael W. Malone (USA RET) at Veterans Memorial Chapel, Indianapolis, Indiana