New Year 2023
Another year now gone and a new year just begun. It’s a good time to spend some time in reflection. Some of us may be reflecting on finances and our career. Some of us may be thinking about our families and relationships. I’d like to encourage us to spend some time thinking about where we are in our spiritual lives. How is our relationship with God? When we look at the year past were there some things that helped us draw closer to God? Were there things in our life which stood between us and God? As we look at the year ahead are there practices that would help us draw closer to God?
May I humbly suggest a few ways that we can draw closer to God? First, spend time in God’s Word. Perhaps more than anything else, listening to what God has said to us can transform us to be more like Jesus. Secondly, spend time with God’s people. Gather for worship and fellowship and allow your relationships with other believers to help shape you. Thirdly, find a way to serve God in a way that is a help to the congregation and to the community around us. There are undoubtedly other ways to draw closer to God, but focusing on these three can certainly help.
Yesterday we began a series in our worship service through the Gospel of Mark. We’ll be taking a chapter at a time. I encourage you to read along. If you read one chapter in Mark a week, by Easter you’ll have read the whole book.
Continue to lift one another up in prayer. Many are in need of encouragement and comfort in this time, in addition to those who need prayers for physical healing.
God bless,
Brian
Mark 2:1-17—How does the crowd respond to Jesus in contrast to the way the Pharisees respond?
Mark 2:18-28—How does Jesus’ interpretations of the Old Testament put him at odds with the Jewish leaders?
Jeremiah 23:1-8—What is the significance of this warning to the leaders of Israel?
1 Peter 4:12-19—How are our sufferings connected to the sufferings of Christ?