“When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, ‘Let’s go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about.’” –Luke 2:15, emphasis added
“Jesus replied, ‘Let us go somewhere else—to the nearby villages—so I can preach there also. That is why I have come.’” –Mark 1:38, emphasis added
“One day Jesus said to his disciples, ‘Let us go over to the other side of the lake.’ So they got into a boat and set out.” –Luke 8:22, emphasis added
Let us go into 2026 with the expectation of an invitation that Jesus is looking at you and saying, “Let us go!” We have people, nations, and people groups assigned to us this year that Jesus needs us to get to. It’s going to take faith and courage and the authority of Christ in you to accomplish what He has prepared for you. But will you dare to go, to get in the boat, to go to the nearby villages? Would we dare to forsake fear and comfort and ease for the call of Jesus?
The shepherds said, “‘Let’s go’” to the place where Jesus is. Before Jesus could perform one miracle or speak one word of truth, He was worth pursuing. Yes, the Son of God, the One and Only, had come. Who He was provoked an invitation to nearness and intimacy and worship. As He grew, His life echoed the facets of our worship as the fullness of His grace and truth was made manifest. We had something to hold on to, something to anchor the truth of His love in the reality of His life. There was a curiosity in the shepherds that we still need today because we are living from the testimony of those who walked with Him, written in God’s Word, yet our lives bear our own need for encounter. We cannot only relish in what the shepherds or the disciples saw. We need and long for our own Jesus encounters as He reveals His love and gentleness and forgiveness and victory and healing and power (to name a few things) to us.
Let’s go and see Jesus this year in all the places He traversed with all the people He interacted with. But let’s also go to His throne of grace and see Him for ourselves. We need our own experiences, testimonies, and words from Him. We need His embrace and His commissioning. It belonged to His disciples, and it belongs to us today. This year, let’s commit in our hearts to go and see Jesus and spend time with Him that He may reveal new depths of who He is to you and to me. There are treasures to unearth this year.
Jesus invites us to go to where the people are.
I love the passion Jesus had to go where the people were. He had to get to them because He loved them so deeply. He longed for them to know Him and experience His gentleness and goodness and power. He longed to heal them and set them free. So he told His disciples, “‘Let us go … .’” He invited them to go with Him so that one day, when He was gone, they would know how to go, too. He set the pace and precedent for our lives—go to the people and bring them Jesus.
It’s from this place of discovery that we take Jesus to the people. When we have experienced a facet of the life of Christ, we are compelled to take it to others. They, too, need to hear.
Last month, I stood before an audience of more than 13,800 people in South Asia, and I looked into the eyes of those who sat closest to me. I felt such a deep love for them. How I longed for them to know this Savior of mine. Many had traveled hours to get there in very cold temperatures. I saw their precious faces, hungry for hope. I pray they saw the eyes of the love of Christ when they saw mine. As we preached the gift of salvation found in Christ, the Spirit opened hearts and minds. Nearly 12,000 responded in faith and gave their lives to Jesus. It was a powerful night that I am still trying to comprehend. When I tell you God is moving across the Earth as I have never seen, I mean that with my whole heart. And He’s inviting us into the greatest harvest ever told!
Jesus, I pray for the eager expectation that the shepherds had to encounter You. May that rest on us this year. And as we spend time intimately with You, I pray that we would hear Your invitation to go wherever You send us, to whomever You send us, to take the hope and love of Christ. There are people in chains like the demon-possessed man on the other side of the lake. You hear their cries, and You send us to set them free in the power and authority of Christ in us. No more excuses for why we can’t go! Jesus, remove the fear and the excuses. Set us free so we can set others free. In Jesus’ name, amen!
This is our year in the Gospels, encountering the life of Jesus at deeper depths. Will you invite others to join you? Take them to Jesus with you! And then God will open doors for you to take Jesus to those waiting for your arrival!
Join the Arise Movement
Women who are equipped to live boldly for the gospel are a key to unlocking movements of the gospel in the world’s spiritually darkest places. Through Arise, East-West helps women take action and follow the Holy Spirit to be bold and reach the lost. Understand your role in the Great Commission and be equipped to boldly bring the world an encounter with Jesus.
