DECEMBER 31, 2025 ~ FROM A PASTOR'S HEART

DECEMBER 31 DEVOTIONAL BIBLE READING: MATTHEW 11:25-30

My prayer for the new year is that I would rest in the Lord completely. Faith happens when we rest in the Lord Jesus. The writer of Hebrews tells us that Jesus is our Sabbath and that we should have entered into complete rest. Only Jesus can give us complete rest. Only He is able to do all things in our lives, and I believe He desires to do so much more for us than we are willing to let Him. The rest is there, because Jesus is there...we just have to enter in. When we try to do the things for ourselves and others that only Jesus can do, that is not faith that is not resting in Jesus.

In the Gospel of John, Jesus told us that He is the Vine and we are the branches. If the branches are not connected and totally dependent on the Vine, they can do nothing. We can do nothing apart from Jesus. Apart from responding in faith and resting in Him, nothing will ever be accomplished. We must stop trying so hard to do Christianity...and start being Christians. As Christians we are totally dependent on Christ, that's how it should be. We were not called to do, to perform, to accomplish...we were called to abide, to trust, to rest. Worry comes when we do not rest in Jesus...and worry is a sin, because it's not faith and anything that is not if faith is sin. My prayer is that I will rest in the Lord who is my Sabbath for today and for all my days... my prayer for you is the same!

Please share your thoughts. This is the final devotion from my book…”From a Pastor’s Heart”. Thank you for going through this journey with me this past year.

Tomorrow we start a daily journey through my book, “The Life That Is Impossible To Live”. This will be a 148 day journey calling us to dependence on the Holy Spirit. These devotions will be shared on the weekdays in 2026. Happy New Year…I hope you join us in the journey.