Christmas, Renewal for the New Year.

The Christmas celebration should ignite our souls with a passion for Jesus Christ, His promises, and especially for His Second Coming. Beyond the ritual annual resolutions, the New Year invites us to think about renewing our steps, hopes, and plans, including taking a fresh start in Jesus Christ. The birth of Jesus Christ assures us of hope as “an assured expectation.” The warning is that hope that is built on anything other than God will always disappoint. Just as the world, homes, families, churches, and governance are in the dark time of life, the temptation is to do something to fix, ‘to ease the pain or to escape the uncertainty.’

The world is going through a threshold moment even as we look forward to a New Year. Our hope, peace, joy, love, and purity are in Jesus Christ. There is always the human temptation to ease the pain, to get back to what used to be. Among the lessons of Christmas is that God does not undo our lives; He redeems our lives. God is able to redeem the New Year for you and me.

The birth of Jesus Christ is more about the hope, peace, and joy of what will be in the New Year rather than our losses. Beloved, in the New Year, the arms of flesh will continue to fail; hence, the presence of Christ is the ultimate answer to every prayer, action, decision, and to every light extinguishing loss and challenges.

Remember, 2026 promises to be a year of renewal for you and me in Jesus’ name.