Peniel Pentecostal Holiness Church

3239 Rosebud Road Walnut Cove NC 27052
Pastor: Dr. Tim Nelson -  Church Office 336-591-36112
A Place To Encounter God Face To Face. Gen. 32:3

A Word From The Pastor Archives 2026
January 2026
 

"I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you;  I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh."  Ezekiel 36:26

We have entered a brand-new year, and you may have made some resolutions about those things you know you have to do or need to do.  The problem with resolutions is that while we resolve to do certain things, our resolve soon fades because we really don't have the power to keep them.  And it doesn't have to do with our will power, but rather because circumstances beyond our control happened.

And so, as we enter this New Year, it is an opportunity for a new beginning, which starts with a new or renewed heart and spirit.  We read the promise from the passage above, how the Lord said, "I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you;  I will take the heart of stone out of your flesh and give you a heart of flesh.  I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes, and you will keep My judgments and do them."  (Ezekiel 36:26-27)

The Lord is talking about a sppiritual heart transplant, because He knows we need a "new heart" or a renewed heart.  Having such a new heart will give us the wondrous awareness that somebody else is inside us - Jesus, the Christ.  So let's begin this year by asking God to do some spiritual cardio-vascular surgery to get our hearts pumping once again with that life giving and life saving blood of Jesus Christ that makes new and renews.

But beyond a new heart, God also wants to put a new spirit inside of us.  God gives us the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of power, the very breath of God.  He gives us a new spirit - a new breath of life to assist us in our time of need.

So if 2025 has left your heart a bit cold and hardened and your breath seems a bit short, this can change  We can change!  But we cannot change on our own.  Change comes from within.  And so, as we start this New Year, let's do so by asking God to give to us a heart that is new or renewed, a heart that has been cleansed through confession and forgiveness, and then ask the Lord for a renewed spirit through a genuine Holy Spirit revival in our lives and in the life of the church for this New Year.

Adapted from:  https://www.christiangrandfather.org/2025/01/01/a-new-years-devotional-a-new-beginning/

"Rejoicing in hope; patient in tribulation; continuing instant in prayer."  Romans 12:12

To be constant in prayer is to recognize that prayer is one of the chief weapons of the spiritual warfare in which all Christians are engaged.  As saints of God we should all be instant in prayer, constantly lifting our hearts and voice to the Lord in prayers of thanks and praise and intercession and requests, and laying them before the throne of God's grace in the name of JESUS - knowing that greater is He that is in us than he that is in the world.

PRAYER:  Lord, please help me to rejoice in hope, endure in tribulation, and persevere in prayer, as I press on to the goal of my calling.  In Jesus' name I pray, AMEN.

Adapted from:  https://dailyverse.knowing-jesus.com/romans-12-12

"For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many."  Mark 10:45

It is an unfortunate truth that people are often self-centered and form habits that serve themselves, sometimes even at the cost of others.  This is due to our sinful nature that convinces us that serving ourselves is what is best and will make us happiest.  However, as Christians, we are called to live differently, not like the rest of the world.  Instead of looking to serve ourselves, we should look to serve Jesus Chris foremost as well as others.

Jesus is the perfect example of service towards others.  He came to the world and rather than be served by others he himself served others with kindness and humility.  From healing those who were sick or possessed and washing the disciple's feet to dying a gruesome death on the cross, Jesus shows us what real love and the heart of a servant truly looks like.

Adapted from:  https://www.gcu.edu/blog/spiritual-life/weekly-devotional-serving-god-serving-others