January 6, 2026
By Heather Brickner, pastor of Branch and Vine, Atlantic Conference
Scripture meditation: Mark 1:35 – “Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house and went off to a solitary place, where he prayed.”
Discipleship element: Embracing Jesus’ life and teachings in daily life, leading to a changed mindset and lifestyle.
Jesus demonstrates a rhythm that we are invited to embrace. It is the opposite of the rhythm that society teaches us. Society demands a rhythm with a crescendo of haste, productivity, and the pursuit of bigger, better, more. This rhythm has no room for pause and rest.
Jesus demonstrates a rhythm consistently rooted in times of quiet and prayer. Out of communion with the Father, Jesus preaches, people are healed through miracles, people are liberated from evil spirits, and Jesus ignites the greatest multiplication movement – his Church. Today, we can follow his example. We begin with rest, then we enter the work of living our ordinary lives awake and aware of Jesus’ invitation to announce and demonstrate his love where we live, work, hang out, go to school, and gather as a local church.
Yet, why am I tempted to cling to society’s rhythm, rather than Jesus’ rhythm? Richard Foster writes in Celebration of Disciplines: “Our Adversary majors in three things: noise, hurry and crowds. If he can keep us engaged in ‘muchness’ and ‘manyness,’ he will rest satisfied.” You and I are tempted by society’s rhythm because God’s enemy loves when Christians are too busy to listen for and obey the Holy Spirit.
In our desire for God to lead us in a movement of the Holy Spirit where people are discovering Jesus for the first time or a renewed time, we must say yes to Jesus’ rhythm of being people who begin with prayer and rest. Only out of the overflow of communion with Jesus can we as individuals and a community respond courageously and lean in faithfully. We not only pray for our neighbors, friends, and family who do not yet know Jesus. Out of the overflow of that prayer, we are also prompted to connect, dialogue, and serve so that, over time, they might embrace Jesus’ saving love.
In this new year, how might you begin or recommit to one daily practice of prayer and rest and the weekly practice of Sabbath? It is in these practices that we submit to Jesus’ rhythm and that we join with Jesus’ Kingdom work.
Prayer
Father, rewrite the rhythm of life so I may listen, hear, and obey your leading in my life and community. Amen.