It is a new year, and I hope that it has started out well with you all. I am ready to start a new year here on the blog. After our message this week, we will be starting a new series of messages, and I am looking forward for that. I want to thank the Lord for letting me post these messages, and other posts, for the past year.
Today, I want to challenge you and me to spend more time with the Lord in 2026. I have been reading three different passages of Scripture lately that all speak about time spent with the Lord or waiting on the Lord.
In Luke's Gospel, there are a couple of different passages that speak about Jesus' mother Mary pondering the things that were happening concerning Jesus in her heart. She was taking the time to think about and consider all that was happening to her and how these might play out in the life of her son the Lord Jesus.
In the Gospels, when Jesus is in the Garden of Gethsemane, He asks His disciples to come and watch and pray with Him. He comes back and finds that they have fallen asleep. Jesus asks them why they were not able to watch and pray with Him for even one hour.
Let us also consider that when Jesus was about to leave this earth and return to Heaven, He instructed His followers to tarry in the city of Jerusalem and wait for the power of the Holy Spirit that was to come upon them. That is what they were doing when the Spirit of the Lord descended upon them in the Upper Room on the Day of Pentecost.
In my mind, one of the ways that we grow in our walk with the Lord and make it through this world is by spending time with the Lord. I think that there are at least four ways to do this.
First of all, we spend time with the Lord in prayer. We go to Him and relate to Him our needs and the needs of others. We ask for wisdom and give thanks to the Lord for all that He has done for us.
We also spend time with the Lord through the study of His Word. When we take the time to read the Scriptures and attempt to understand how they apply to our lives, we are spending time with the Lord and allowing the Holy Spirit to bring enlightenment and understanding to our hearts.
Worship is another way that we spend time with Jesus. We give all of our heart and soul to Him and pour out our praise to Him. We spend time honoring Him for who He is and for what He has done.
Also, we spend time with the Lord when we serve Him because we can do nothing for Him apart from Him being with us and giving us the power to accomplish what it is that He has directed us to do.
I know that in 2026, I want to spend more time with the Lord especially through prayer and study. I want to urge you to make the commitment to spend more time with the Lord in 2026. Let His light and His love fill your life. Through spending time with the Lord, we will be equipped to withstand the challenges that beset us in this world. Amen.
Prayer Requests
Please keep praying for my health. Thank you.
Let us pray for all of those affected by natural disasters. Those in Washington and California need our prayers. Let us keep praying for those affected by flooding in Wales and those affected by the hurricane in the Caribbean.
Keep praying for peace. I want us to really focus our attention on praying for peace in Ukraine. Sudan also really needs our prayers. Pray that there will not be war in Venezuela.
For our prayer focus countries this week, pray for those in the nations of Ivory Coast and South Korea. Pray that many will come to know Jesus.
Next week, we will begin our new sermon series. I will post the verses on Tuesday. May God bless you all.
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