January 1st, 2026

Living Water Vineyard – New Year Devotion

Something From Heaven

Stepping Into 2026

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As we get ready to step into a brand-new year, I want to slow us down for just a moment.

A new year always brings fresh resolve.

Studies tell us that around 40–45% of Americans make New Year’s resolutions, yet only about 8% actually keep them. Most of us begin January with good intentions. We want to eat better, get healthier, slow down, pray more, read Scripture more faithfully, love our families better, be more patient, more disciplined.

And those are good desires.

But if we’re honest, many of us have already lived this cycle before. We start strong, full of hope, and then somewhere along the way life gets busy, motivation fades, and sustaining real change becomes harder than we expected.

So as we step toward 2026, I want to ask a different kind of question:

What if the change we’re longing for doesn’t begin with stronger resolve—but with a deeper encounter with God?

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Stepping Into the Upper Room

I want to invite you to imagine a moment that shaped the church from the very beginning.

Picture yourself quietly standing in the corner of a small upstairs room in Jerusalem.

Jesus has ascended. The One they followed, trusted, and built their lives around is no longer physically with them. They are still processing everything—the cross, the resurrection, the joy, the confusion, and the uncertainty of what comes next.

About 120 people are gathered in that room.

They are ordinary people.

Fishermen who spent most of their lives working with their hands.

A former tax collector who had once been rejected by his own people.

Women who followed Jesus faithfully and quietly.

Men who had failed Him publicly.

Some who doubted.

Some who denied.

All of them wondering, What now?

If you were starting a movement to change the world, this wouldn’t seem like the obvious group to begin with.

And yet… this is exactly where Jesus chose to begin.

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Ten Days of Waiting

Before Jesus ascended, He gave His followers one clear instruction:

“Do not leave Jerusalem, but wait for the gift My Father promised.”

So they waited.

Not for a moment.

Not for a single day.

But for ten days.

Ten mornings waking up without clarity.

Ten nights going to sleep still unsure.

Ten days of praying together, remembering Jesus’ words, encouraging one another, and trusting God.

They weren’t told to preach yet.

They weren’t told to organize yet.

They weren’t told to build anything yet.

They were simply invited to wait.

And it’s important to remember—they didn’t fully understand what they were waiting for. The promise of the Holy Spirit was new. They didn’t know what it would look like or how it would unfold. They just knew Jesus told them not to move forward without it.

Jesus didn’t say, “Try harder.”

He didn’t say, “Figure it out.”

He said, “Don’t do anything yet—until you are clothed with power from on high.”

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When God Kept His Promise

Then Acts tells us:

“When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place… and all of them were filled with the Holy Spirit.”

And everything changed.

Not because they became smarter.

Not because they were more disciplined.

Not because they finally had the right plan.

Everything changed because God kept His promise.

The same people who had been hiding stepped forward with courage.

The same voices that once denied Jesus now spoke with conviction.

The same fearful hearts were strengthened.

They were still ordinary people—but now they were empowered by God.

And Jerusalem was never the same.

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The Church That Was Formed

What followed wasn’t confusion or disorder. Scripture tells us the church took on a beautiful, grounded shape.

Acts 2:42 says:

“They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer.”

They were devoted to Scripture.

They were devoted to prayer.

They shared meals.

They shared life.

They cared for one another.

They gathered regularly.

They met needs as they arose.

And God was clearly at work among them.

People noticed.

Lives were changed.

Hearts were softened.

Hope spread.

This wasn’t about performance or personality.

It wasn’t about talent or strategy.

It was about a community centered on Jesus and dependent on the Holy Spirit.

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A Loving Concern for the Church Today

As we reflect on this, I want to share something honestly from my heart.

My desire—for us as a church, for our gatherings, for our homes, and for our workplaces—is that people would truly experience the presence of God.

Not just attend church.

Not just hear sound doctrine—though doctrine matters deeply.

Not just appreciate good music or meaningful community.

But experience a real, unmistakable encounter with God.

If I’m honest, one of my concerns for the church today—including us—is that we can learn how to do church really well. We can be organized. We can be theologically sound. We can say the right things.

And still miss the kind of encounter where it’s undeniable that God is with us.

The kind of presence that:

   •   brings peace in the middle of storms

   •   breaks patterns that have held people for years

   •   softens hardened hearts

   •   restores hope

   •   brings healing

   •   sets people free

Not emotional pressure.

Not hype.

But the quiet, powerful work of the Holy Spirit.

In Acts, when Peter spoke, Scripture says people were cut to the heart. That wasn’t clever preaching—it was God doing something deep within people.

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A Vision for 2026

As we step into 2026, I want to be clear about my own heart.

More than losing weight.

More than getting organized.

More than improving habits.

My deepest desire is this:

That Living Water Vineyard would be shaped by the life of the Acts church.

A church devoted to prayer.

A church grounded in Scripture.

A church marked by humility and love.

A church aware of God’s presence.

I long for gatherings where people don’t just leave encouraged—but can honestly say, “I encountered God.”

And I long for lives so shaped by Jesus that as we go into our neighborhoods, workplaces, and homes, people notice something different—not because of us, but because of Him.

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An Invitation for the Year Ahead

Jesus once invited His disciples to step into a boat and go to the other side. They didn’t know what the journey would hold. They didn’t know what storms they might face.

But they went—with Him.

As we enter this new year, I want to invite you to do the same.

To step into the boat.

To trust where God may be leading us.

To remain devoted to prayer, Scripture, and life together.

To depend on the Holy Spirit—not our own strength.

And to see what God might do.

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Reflection Questions

1. Where might God be inviting me to rely more fully on Him this year?

2. What would it look like for me to make space for genuine encounter with God in my daily life?

3. How can we, together, remain devoted to prayer, Scripture, and love as a church in 2026?

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Closing Prayer

Holy Spirit,

We thank You for Your faithfulness.

As we step into this new year, guide us and shape us.

Keep us rooted in truth and open to Your work.

Form us into the likeness of Christ.

May our lives reflect Your grace and presence.

In Jesus’ name, amen.