New Year, New Challenge!

2021 has been ripe with fear, tension and political upheaval.  We’ve had to learn how to live a “new normal” in the midst of the global pandemic; church has become more complicated as we balance online and in the building worship, we’ve had to let go of or change many personal arrangements and some feel that long held personal dreams are slipping away.  
The beginning of a new year is a time when we get to stop and reflect on the year that has been, and think about the direction we are headed in the future.  It is a time of new goals and resolutions, of recommitment to faith, health and more; of fresh starts and do overs.  For the Christian it is a time to set our hearts and our lives in the right direction and setting goals on redeeming our use of time (Eph 5:15-16).  So we look to scripture to find habits to help us grow:

• Commit to Community:  join a small group, organise activities which encourage community, participate in church life.  We are better together! (Romans 12:4-5)
• Study Scripture: Jesus did! (Matthew 4:4) Also it is designed to train and grow us (2 Tim 3:16-17)
• Prioritise Prayer: Again, Jesus did! (Luke 5:16, 1 Chronicles 16:11). Our Kingdom work is hugely important, but time spent deepening our relationship with God is even more important. Our power, peace, joy, and effectiveness are directly related to the time we spend in God’s presence 
• Seek Solitude: We see examples of God’s people practicing solitude in the Bible.  Jesus invited His disciples to share times of solitude (group solitude) with Him; and other times he went away by himself to pray. (Psalm 46:10, Lamentations 3:25-28)
• Choose Church: Many people today view churches as an unnecessary, but scripture shows us that church is not only necessary, but that it is God’s design to grow us, refine us, nurture and care for us and the church is His vehicle for reaching a lost and broken world. 1 Cor 12:21-26, Acts 20:28, Matt 18:15-17, Hebrews 13:17, Matthew 5:13-16)

May 2022 be a year of unity and peace for all in the name of Jesus and to His glory.  

Grace & Peace

Jen