Pastor’s Column 2/22/2026

PASTOR’S COLUMN​

²⁷ “Before daybreak the next morning, Jesus got up and went out  to an isolated  place to pray.”Mark 1:37, NLT

                                                                                           ​       “1^st Sunday in Lent – Finding Sacred Space”

One of the great emphases of Lent is the time-honored tradition in the Christian faith when we, the followers of Jesus Christ, devote forty-six days (inclusive of Sundays) to find a sacred space to have devotion with our Lord. This is not to say we don’t engage in such devotion at other times – but the purpose of thisintentional period is to journey with Jesus with a deeper and more intense understanding of the events in His life before His atoning death, burial, and Resurrection. After His baptism by John the Baptist, Jesus was led by the Spirit to a remote place called the Judean Wilderness. There, He fasted and communed with God the Father for forty days and nights. The Temptation and dehydration Jesus endured, only strengthened His resolve to pursue His mission forward. We  vividly see Jesus finding a sacred place; intentionally absent from others, to pray. It was after such moments that we see our Savior engaging more persistently in His ministry of transforming lives. This great example of Jesus helps us see the importance of intentional time with the Lord. The Scriptures instruct us with an understanding of the disciplines we need to attain spiritual maturity. These include prayer, fasting, engaging in the Scriptures, quiet time, and divesting ourselves of priorities, which  compromise our fellowship with the Lord. It is little wonder why Jesus emerged from His periods of solitude with a reverent resolve!  Like Jesus we are not promised that after such a period we will not face challenges. But no challenge we face will be greater than the power and resolve the Lord gives us, Spending this time helps us! It is in the presence of the Lord we are all changed. Let us not take these precious days of Lent for granted. They will pass swiftly. But with the advent of each day, if we are truly focused on the Lord, we will hear Him deep within!