Hope Alliance Bethlehem

In the life of Abner and his contemporaries, we see that humanity has a broken need to seek power and control - thinking that this brings the significance, acceptance and security we long for.  Even David is not immune from this.  But the ultimate fulfillment of David's royal line, Jesus, tells us that meek will inherit the earth.  And then he goes and does just that and calls everyone to find full rest for their soul in his kingdom.

As David's reign begins, once again we see a man who seeks the wisdom of God, whose life is marked by obedience and faith, and who graciously offers the blessing of his kingdom to those around him.  So too Jesus calls us to partner with him in taking the kingdom to those around us.

When David received the news that Saul was dead, his natural reaction was grief.  Why we he respond that way towards his enemy?  David sought God's glory above his own and showed himself to be the rightful king.  Hundreds of years later, Jesus sought God's glory instead of simply grabbing for the crown.  And in so doing he showed himself to be the rightful, ultimate king.

Confidence is not merely a secular ideal.  It can be a spiritual reality, rooted deeply in our hope and producing true faith.  We see this played out in the life of King Hezekiah during the Assyrian invasion of Judah.  Though tempted and tested, his confidence remained strong because his hope in God was deep.  The greater king who would come - Jesus - would even more perfectly demonstrate this connection of confidence, hope and faith.

Isaiah prophesies to a nation in the midst of significant uncertainty and anxiety.  Their corrupt king has led them in all the wrong ways.  But God in his grace is sending light into their darkness - a new king who brings justice and righteousness.  Ultimately, this child who was to come, arrived as a baby in a manger and brought with this the fulfillment of our hope.

The prophet Jeremiah foretells a time when there is stability in the land and the beginnings of renewal by God.  It's into the reality (while shepherds watched their flocks by night) that Jesus arrived as the exponential culmination of God's renewal for the world.  And now as we wait for his return, we are called to be people marked by hope and working for renewal in this world.

In a broken world, the message of hope finds footing - that out of pain there will be peace.  And this peace is not just the absence of conflict, but a sense and reality of wholeness.  So when the shperhpeds respond to the angels message of "peace on earth" we are cued into God's vehicle from pain to peace.  It is Jesus.

To a nation who had been beaten down and lost its glory, God spoke a word of rest, forgiveness and restoration - a promise of return to its past glory.  This is ultimately accomplished through Jesus - the sturdy oak of righteousness to the glory of God.  We too, take hope in the midst of a broken world, while we await the return of Jesus to make all things new.

Early in his life, Paul saw himself as the epitome of religious success - calling himself blameless.  Towards the end of his life, Paul called himself the "worst of sinners."  Meeting Jesus and understanding his human brokenness changed Paul's outlook on life - not to seeing himself as a morbid failure, but to seeing his relationship with God accomplished only through Jesus' work on his behalf.

Peter's bold profession of Jesus as Messiah is followed a major blunder in correcting Jesus.  Even with this display of imperfect faith, Jesus not only embraces Peter, but makes it clear that he will be a key part of building the church.  And this church is meant to follow the lead of Jesus in subverting evil with good.