What is truth? This is one of the prevailing questions of our day. What Pilate misses in this text is that truth is not a "what," it's a "Who." Jesus, the Truth, is King of the true Kingdom. On His way to the cross, He makes clear that the important battle is not between phony kingdoms, but between the King of truth and a world of frauds. Heed the voice of the King of truth.

In Christ, I am adopted as a child of God with all the rights and privileges of His Son.

While we were failing Jesus, He was not failing us. Jesus followed the Father’s plan to go to the cross to pay for our sins. He sacrificed Himself to provide the only way for us to be forgiven. So please, when you fail, come to Jesus to be restored.

We are completely insufficient and need to trust the One who is. This is what makes Jesus the perfect Savior. With His infinite strength, He willingly submitted to the Father's plan and laid down His life for us. Find salvation not by working, but by resting in Jesus. Rest in the saving strength of Jesus, who submits to the Father's plan.

In Christ, I am justified. Jesus takes my sin; I receive God’s righteousness.

Do you ever wonder why you exist? What is your purpose? You exist for a reason. And, you won't find joy until you know that reason, and live for your purpose. In fact, Jesus wants you to live for your glorious purpose. Listen and learn how you can participate in God's glorious mission, for you.

In Christ, I am loved eternally, infinitely, and perfectly.

The hard truth is: we are failures! But the solution isn't positive self-talk. The solution is Jesus. He has overcome the world, in spite of our failures! What we need is not more self-confidence, but more Christ-confidence. He gives us everything we need to live the victorious life in Him. Take heart! Jesus has won. Trust Him.

If I trust in Jesus as Savior, I am in Christ.

In John 16, the disciples will soon experience deep sorrow, and will feel like outsiders. Yet Jesus explains that in "a little while" they will have clarity, their grief will become joy, and they will be "insiders" with the Father! Jesus turns it all around. Rejoice in the great reversals won by Jesus' death and resurrection.

Jesus' instructions in John 16 to the disciples to prepare them for His departure didn't involve new strategies or special equipment. Instead, Jesus gives them words and His Spirit. Their job is simply to embrace His words and His Spirit will take care of the rest! To thrive in enemy territory we often need to stop searching for the spectacular, and simply embrace the words of Christ.

As Jesus explains in John 15, when we thrive in our union with Jesus, we will experience hatred from the world - the same hatred He experienced. It is hatred rooted in hatred for God. The more we thrive in Jesus, the more we may face this hatred. Thankfully, He has given us His Spirit to help us bear witness of Jesus and thrive.

I am accountable to God.

In John 15, Jesus explains the key to bearing fruit, experiencing fullness of joy and displaying love to one another. He explains how to thrive...in fact, he commands it because it all comes from Him. Learn to thrive in your union with Jesus, the true Vine.

I am designed by God and dependent upon God.

What is love, exactly? A feeling? Commitment? It's complicated enough in our human relationships! How do we love God, who isn't physically present with us, who we can't see? See how Jesus encourages us to love Him by embracing His Word.

I bear God’s image and have God-given purpose.

The remedy for a troubled heart is faith. The key is not the strength of that faith - that would just leave us troubled that our faith is not strong enough. No, the key is the object of our faith. See how you can calm your troubled heart by believing in Jesus: the way, the truth, and the life!

In the end, every king and every kingdom will fail until the perfect King comes. As we start the new year, find real hope in God, whose mercies are new every morning. And whatever the year brings - rise or fall - hope in the Perfect King.

Isaiah brings God's message of hope in this passage. He tells them that their trouble will turn to peace, their gloom will turn to joy, and their darkness will turn to light. Why? Because the Prince of Peace is coming. In troubled times, hope in the Prince of Peace.