Are We Ready For The New Year?

Good Morning Friends,

We’ve spent weeks preparing for Christmas—cleaning, decorating, shopping, gathering with family, singing, celebrating, playing handbell music. Now the day has passed, and we stand on the edge of a new beginning. The question before us is simple:  Are We Ready For The New Year?

Scripture: Children, it is the last hour! As you have heard that antichrist is coming, so now many antichrists have come. From this we know that it is the last hour. They went out from us, but they did not belong to us; for if they had belonged to us, they would have remained with us. But by going out they made it plain that none of them belongs to us. But you have been anointed by the Holy One, and all of you have knowledge. I write to you, not because you do not know the truth, but because you know it, and you know that no lie comes from the truth.

1 John 2:18-21 (NRSV)

Then Jesus said to the Jews who had believed in him, “If you continue in my word, you are truly my disciples; and you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free.”

John 8:31-32 (NRSV)

Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.

John 14:6 (NRSV)

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things came into being through him, and without him not one thing came into being. What has come into being in him was life, and the life was the light of all people. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overcome it. There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. He came as a witness to testify to the light, so that all might believe through him. He himself was not the light, but he came to testify to the light. The true light, which enlightens everyone, was coming into the world. He was in the world, and the world came into being through him; yet the world did not know him. He came to what was his own, and his own people did not accept him. But to all who received him, who believed in his name, he gave power to become children of God, who were born, not of blood or of the will of the flesh or of the will of man, but of God. And the Word became flesh and lived among us, and we have seen his glory, the glory as of a father’s only son, full of grace and truth. (John testified to him and cried out, “This was he of whom I said, ‘He who comes after me ranks ahead of me because he was before me.’”) From his fullness we have all received, grace upon grace. The law indeed was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. No one has ever seen God. It is God the only Son, who is close to the Father’s heart, who has made him known.

John 1:1-18 (NRSV)

The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; those who lived in a land of deep darkness — on them light has shined. You have multiplied the nation, you have increased its joy; they rejoice before you as with joy at the harvest, as people exult when dividing plunder. For the yoke of their burden, and the bar across their shoulders, the rod of their oppressor, you have broken as on the day of Midian. For all the boots of the tramping warriors and all the garments rolled in blood shall be burned as fuel for the fire. For a child has been born for us, a son given to us; authority rests upon his shoulders; and he is named Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. His authority shall grow continually, and there shall be endless peace for the throne of David and his kingdom. He will establish and uphold it with justice and with righteousness from this time onward and forevermore. The zeal of the LORD of hosts will do this.

Isaiah 9:2-7 (NRSV)

Message: Scripture reminds us that we live in the “last hour,” and that the truth is our anchor. Jesus tells us that if we continue in His word, we will know the truth—and the truth will set us free. Logic can take us only so far on this journey. We must look to the faith of Christ for He is the way, the truth, and the life. The Word became flesh, shining light into our darkness, giving us power to become children of God. The promised Child, the Prince of Peace, has come, and His kingdom is built on justice, righteousness, and endless grace. What we need in the coming year is truth—God’s truth. It comes to us in three ways: The Grace of the Father: God sent His Son so we could be sanctified. There are no shortcuts. Grace frees us from lies and sin, and invites us into the Father’s presence. The Word Made Flesh: Jesus’ life and teachings reveal the truth. His Word, alive in us through the Holy Spirit, empowers us to live honestly, love deeply, and bear witness to Christ’s gift. The Power of the Spirit: In Christ we are more than conquerors. The Spirit teaches us to love, to live rightly, and to experience a love that cannot be taken away. Truth becomes real when we walk daily in relationship with Father, Son, and Spirit. This dedication frees us even though we cannot understand why it brings us peace.

And So, as we enter 2026, share the message that through Christ we are born of God, welcomed into His family, and invited into the celebration of new beginnings. Let the mystery of God become meaningful in your daily life through truth, grace, and power. As we enter a new year, remember that we are part of God’s ongoing story of a new creation. The risen Jesus goes ahead of us. Our task is not to escape the world but to embody God’s future within it—through hope, holiness, wisdom, and love embrace the abundant life.

Pray that we become bearers of truth. Pray that we seek it, live it, believe it, and let it transform us. Pray that the Holy Spirit fills us with truth and love. Pray that we remove obstacles that keep others from seeing Christ. Pray that we dwell in the love of the Father, the grace of the Son, and the sustaining power of the Holy Spirit throughout the year ahead.

Blessings,

John Laws