“Love Truth And Peace!”

“Love Truth And Peace!”(Zec.8:18-23).
We have already started counting the days of the new year. The body of Christ may have joined in the celebration of another secular new year; but in the midst of it all, the body of Christ is still following the seasons of the Church. And we are in the season of Christmas when we celebrate and rejoice in the incarnation that became our salvation.
Salvation is not just about the expectation of eternal bliss. Salvation is also about God changing our story from despair to hope within a present reality. We can borrow a leaf of this truth from Israel’s history.
In the midst of the exile, amidst despair and a lack of trust in a better future, the people were engaged in numerous monthly fasts, all geared towards the expectation of restoration.
Those fast periods had specific purposes. The few mentioned in the text include the fast of the fourth month during which the people lamented the breaching of the walls of Jerusalem by Nebuchadnezzar. The fast of the fifth month commemorated the burning of the temple alongside other important buildings. The seventh fast marked the assassination of Gedaliah, and the fast of the tenth month was to mark the beginning of Nebuchadnezzar’s siege of Jerusalem. As you may have noticed, these fasts commemorated God’s anger on the people’s sin, alienation, and God’s wrathful visitation.
But since God is a father who is not angry for long, he assured the people in the same way he is assuring us today that all those sorrowful fasts “will become joyful and glad occasions and happy festivals…” Yes, “tough times never last, but tough people do!”
All that is expected of us is to “love truth and peace.”
Truth and peace will become our greatest evangelistic tool as many will take firm hold of each one of us by the hem of our robe and say, “Let us go with you because we have heard that God is with you.” Oh, yes, Immanuel!Hallelujah!
My friend, this is a new dawn, full of hope and immeasurable promises of God that can not fail! Do not let it slide!
Prayer: Thank you, LORD, for the blessed assurance found in Christ alone. Amen!
Have a blessed day! Peace be with you! Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!
Rev Babila Fochang.
02/01/2025.