Tag Archives: new year faith

What Weights Have You Been Carrying That God Never Intended for You?

You woke up today in a brand new year. The calendar reset. The possibilities feel endless. But here is the question that matters most: are you running the race God has set before you, or are you still carrying weights that were never yours to bear? Hebrews 12 offers a vision so powerful it can reshape your entire 2026. You are not running alone. You are surrounded. You are called. And the finish line is closer than you think.

I’ve written a warm and encouraging biblical reflection for New Year’s Day 2026. The reflection:

– Opens with pastoral warmth, acknowledging the significance of this first day and first reflection of the year

– Unpacks the Hebrews passage with spiritual depth, exploring the “cloud of witnesses,” the call to lay aside weights and sin, and the central focus on Jesus

– Offers practical and encouraging application for readers facing the new year

– Maintains a tone that is both reverent and accessible

– Ends with a blessing and commissioning for the year ahead

Happy New Year, and may our Rise & Inspire ministry continue to bless many in 2026!​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​

Daily Biblical Reflection – 

Verse for Today (1st January 2026) is forwarded this morning by His Excellency, Rt. Rev. Dr. Selvister Ponnumuthan, upon whom Johnbritto Kurusumuthu wrote reflections.

“Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight and the sin that clings so closely, and let us run with perseverance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith.”

Hebrews 12:1-2

HAPPY NEW YEAR, LAUDETUR JESUS CHRISTUS

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

As we stand at the threshold of 2026, the Word of God greets us not with empty wishes but with a powerful vision for the journey ahead. This is the first reflection of Rise and Inspire for this year, and what better way to begin than by lifting our eyes to the race set before us.

The opening of this new year is not merely the turning of a calendar page. It is an invitation from God himself to run with purpose, to live with intention, and to press forward with holy perseverance. The author of Hebrews paints for us a magnificent picture: we are not running alone. A great cloud of witnesses surrounds us, the saints who have gone before us, the faithful men and women whose lives testified to God’s grace and whose examples inspire us still.

Think for a moment about what this means. Abraham, who stepped out in faith not knowing where he was going. Moses, who led God’s people through the wilderness. Ruth, who chose loyalty and love over convenience. David, who danced before the Lord with all his might. Mary, who said yes to God’s impossible plan. The apostles, the martyrs, the missionaries, the humble servants whose names are known only to God. They are all cheering us on, reminding us that the race can be run, that faith can endure, that victory is possible through Christ.

But this new year also requires something of us. We must lay aside every weight and the sin that clings so closely. As we enter 2026, each of us knows what those weights are. Perhaps it is worry that has grown heavy on our shoulders. Perhaps it is bitterness we have carried too long. Perhaps it is habits that drain our spiritual strength or relationships that pull us away from God’s best for us. Perhaps it is simply the clutter of distractions that keeps us from what truly matters.

The new year is God’s gracious opportunity for us to lay these things down. Not through our own strength alone, but by looking to Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of our faith. He has gone before us. He has blazed the trail. He knows every obstacle we will face because he faced them first. And he did not merely start the race; he perfected it, completing it all the way to the cross and beyond to the resurrection.

This is where our eyes must remain fixed in 2026: on Jesus. When the year brings uncertainties, we look to Jesus who is our certainty. When challenges arise, we look to Jesus who is our strength. When we grow weary, we look to Jesus who is our rest. When we lose direction, we look to Jesus who is the way, the truth, and the life.

To run with perseverance means we do not expect to sprint through this year and collapse at the finish line in exhaustion. Rather, we pace ourselves with wisdom, we remain steady in prayer, we draw strength from the sacraments, we encourage one another in community, and we keep our focus on the eternal prize that awaits us.

Dear friends, as you read this first reflection of Rise and Inspire for 2026, receive this as more than a meditation. Receive it as a commissioning. You have been called to run this year’s race. You have been surrounded by witnesses who prove it can be done. You have been permitted to lay down what weighs you down. And most importantly, you have been given Jesus, who will run with you every step of the way.

Let us run, then, not with fear but with faith. Not with hesitation but with hope. Not looking back at what was, but looking forward to what God will do. This is your year to rise. This is your year to be inspired. This is your year to run the race set before you with perseverance and joy.

May the Lord bless you and keep you. May his face shine upon you and be gracious to you. May he look upon you with favour and give you peace, now and throughout this blessed year of 2026.

In Christ’s love and service,

Johnbritto Kurusumuthu

(Reflections written in honour of His Excellency, Rt. Rev. Dr. Selvister Ponnumuthan)

Biography of Rt. Rev. Dr. Selvister Ponnumuthan

Most Rev. Dr. Selvister Ponnumuthan is the current Bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Punalur in Kerala, India.

  • Born: August 10, 1956, in Uchakada village, Thiruvananthapuram district, Kerala, India. He was the fourth son of N. Ponnumuthan Nadar and Thankamma, a Catholic family with roots in the Nadar community. 
  • Early Education and Vocation: After completing his schooling, he entered St. Vincent’s Minor Seminary in Thiruvananthapuram in 1972. He pursued higher studies, including college education at St. Xavier’s College, Thumba.
  • Priestly Ordination: Ordained a priest on December 19, 1981.
  • Advanced Studies: He earned a doctorate from the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome. 
  • Academic and Administrative Roles: Upon returning to India, he served as a faculty member at St. Joseph Pontifical Seminary in Aluva (also known as Carmelgiri Seminary in some contexts). He held positions including Animator, Dean of Theology, Vice Rector (from 1998), and Rector (from 2008).
  • Episcopal Appointment: Appointed as the third Bishop of Punalur on May 8, 2009, and consecrated/ordained on June 28, 2009, by Archbishop Maria Calistis Soosai Pakiam (with co-consecrators including Bishop Joseph Kariyil and Bishop Vincent Samuel). 
  • Current Role and Contributions: As Bishop of Punalur (a diocese established in 1985, covering parts of Kollam and Pathanamthitta districts), he has been active in pastoral work, seminary formation, and evangelization. He serves as Chairman of the Commission for Basic Ecclesial Communities in the Conference of Catholic Bishops of India (CCBI). He is known for promoting methods like the “Seven Step Method of Gospel Sharing” and has appeared in devotional programs on channels like Goodness TV. He speaks Malayalam, English, and Tamil.
  • Other Notes: Bishop Ponnumuthan is also an author of spiritual books and continues to inspire through daily Scripture verses shared for reflections (as seen in ministries like Rise & Inspire). In 2025, he met Pope Francis during a general audience in Rome.

He resides at the Bishop’s House in Punalur, Kerala, and remains actively involved in the Kerala Catholic Bishops’ Council (KCBC) and broader Indian Catholic Church activities.

© 2025 Johnbritto Kurusumuthu | Rise & Inspire Devotional Series

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What Does God’s Command to Joshua Teach Us About Facing 2026?

You are standing at the edge of a new year, and the path ahead is unclear. The familiar is behind you. The future feels uncertain. In this exact moment, God has something to say to you, and it is not what you might expect. He does not offer you comfort. He offers you a command. Be strong and very courageous. But here is what makes this different from every other motivational message you will hear this week: He is not asking you to find courage within yourself. He is calling you to receive it from Him.

I’ve written a pastoral reflection on Joshua 1:7 the closing day of 2025. The reflection integratestogether:

– The context of Joshua’s moment of transition, mirroring readers’ own threshold into a new year

– Deep spiritual insights about courage rooted in obedience rather than self-confidence

– Practical wisdom about staying true to God’s Word amid life’s pressures

– Pastoral warmth and encouragement for facing the unknown future

– A hopeful, grace-filled welcome to the new year

Daily Biblical Reflection – Verse for Today (31 December 2025)

Forwarded by Rt. Rev. Dr. Selvister Ponnumuthan | Reflection by Johnbritto Kurusumuthu.

“Only be strong and very courageous, being careful to act in accordance with all the law that my servant Moses commanded you; do not turn from it to the right hand or to the left, so that you may be successful wherever you go.”

Joshua 1:7

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

As we stand on the threshold between years, at this sacred moment when one chapter closes and another awaits to be written, God speaks to us through the words He once spoke to Joshua. How fitting that on this final day of 2025, we receive not a gentle whisper but a clarion call to courage.

Joshua stood where you stand now, facing an unknown future. Moses, his mentor and guide, had died. The familiar was behind him; the unfamiliar stretched ahead. The Promised Land lay before him, not as a gift wrapped and ready, but as a journey requiring every ounce of faith he could muster. In that moment of transition, God did not say, “Take it easy, Joshua” or “Don’t worry, it will all work out.” Instead, He said, “Be strong and very courageous.”

Notice the emphasis: not just strong, but very courageous. God knew that what lay ahead would demand more than Joshua thought he had. And beloved, as you prepare to step into 2026, God knows what lies ahead for you too. He knows the challenges that will test your resolve, the decisions that will require wisdom beyond your own, the moments when you will want to turn aside, to compromise, to take the easier path.

But here is the beautiful truth woven into this command: God never calls us to courage without providing the strength to sustain it. The courage God asks of us is not a reckless bravado or a denial of our fears. It is a settled confidence that He who calls us will also equip us. It is the courage to obey when obedience is costly, to remain faithful when faithfulness feels foolish, to keep walking the narrow path when wider roads beckon.

“Being careful to act in accordance with all the law that my servant Moses commanded you” – this is not legalism but love. God was reminding Joshua that true success, lasting success, comes not from clever strategies or impressive strength, but from staying aligned with His Word. In a world that constantly offers us shortcuts and alternative paths, God’s instruction remains the same: do not turn from it to the right hand or to the left.

How easily we are tempted to veer off course. Sometimes it is a dramatic departure, but more often it is a subtle drift, a small compromise here, a little accommodation there. We tell ourselves we are being practical, realistic, and compassionate. But God knows that every degree we turn away from His truth eventually takes us to a destination we never intended to reach.

As this year draws to a close, take a moment to examine your path. Have you stayed true to God’s Word, or have you drifted? Have you allowed the pressures of the world, the opinions of others, or the desires of your own heart to pull you away from the course God set before you? There is no condemnation in this honest assessment, only the opportunity for course correction. The new year offers us a fresh start, but not a blank slate. We carry forward the lessons learned, the character forged, and the grace received.

The promise attached to this command is profound: “so that you may be successful wherever you go.” God defines success differently than the world does. His success is measured not in achievements that impress others, but in a life that honours Him. It is faithfulness in small things, integrity when no one is watching, love when it costs us something, joy despite circumstances, and peace that passes understanding. This is the success that lasts, the only success that matters when we stand before Him.

As you prepare to welcome 2026, let me offer you this pastoral encouragement: You do not step into this new year alone. The same God who commanded Joshua to be strong and courageous is with you. He has not brought you this far to abandon you now. Every fear you carry, every uncertainty that weighs on your heart, every challenge you anticipate – He knows them all, and He is sufficient for them all.

Make this your resolution: to stay close to His Word, to walk in obedience regardless of the cost, to be strong and very courageous even when you feel weak and afraid. The strength you need is not something you manufacture; it is something you receive as you remain in Him.

To all our dear readers of Rise and Inspire, we extend our warmest greetings for the new year. May 2026 be a year of deeper faith, greater courage, and unwavering commitment to following Christ wherever He leads. May you not turn to the right or to the left, but walk steadily in the path He has set before you. And may you discover that in His presence, you have everything you need to face whatever lies ahead.

The future is unknown to us, but it is not unknown to God. Step forward with confidence, not in yourself, but in the One who goes before you, who walks beside you, and who will never leave you nor forsake you.

Be strong and very courageous, beloved. Your God is with you wherever you go.

In Christ’s love and service,

Johnbritto Kurusumuthu

Rise and Inspire

December 31, 2025

Stepping Forward with God: A Catholic Devotional Reflection on Joshua 1

“Be strong and courageous… for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.” (Joshua 1:9)

Transitions are holy ground.

The Book of Joshua opens at a moment of profound loss and uncertainty. Moses—the great lawgiver, intercessor, and shepherd of Israel—is gone. A generation shaped by wandering, testing, and waiting now stands at the edge of promise. Joshua 1 invites us into this sacred threshold, where grief meets hope, and where fear is gently but firmly met by God’s promise: “I will be with you.”

For Israel, the crossing of the Jordan is not merely geographical; it is spiritual. It marks the passage from promise remembered to promise fulfilled, from wandering to inheritance. In our own lives, we too stand at such Jordans—after loss, during change, or at moments when God asks us to step forward without full certainty.

God’s Faithfulness Does Not End with a Chapter

The death of Moses does not signal the end of God’s plan. Instead, it reveals a deeper truth: God’s covenant faithfulness transcends individual leaders. The same Lord who spoke from the burning bush now speaks to Joshua with reassurance and clarity.

In Catholic life, this continuity echoes through Sacred Tradition. God’s saving work unfolds across generations—through patriarchs and prophets, apostles and saints—yet always with the same fidelity. What God promises, He fulfils, though often through new servants and new seasons.

Joshua’s commissioning reminds us that God does not abandon His people between chapters. When one voice falls silent, another is raised—not by human ambition, but by divine calling.


Joshua succeeded Moses as leader:

Courage Rooted in Obedience, Not Self-Confidence

Four times in this chapter Joshua is told: “Be strong and courageous.” This repetition reveals that courage is not assumed; it is commanded and cultivated.

Notably, God does not ground Joshua’s courage in military skill or personal resolve. Instead, courage flows from obedience to the Law—from meditating on God’s Word “day and night.” Strength, in the biblical sense, is born from fidelity.

For Catholics, these points us toward a life anchored in Scripture, prayer, and the sacraments. True courage arises not when we trust ourselves more, but when we conform our lives to God’s Word, allowing it to shape our decisions, desires, and direction.

“I Will Be With You”: The Promise of Divine Presence

At the heart of Joshua 1 is a promise that reverberates throughout salvation history:

“As I was with Moses, so I will be with you.”

This assurance anticipates the fullness of Emmanuel—God with us—revealed in Christ and sacramentally present in the Eucharist. The same God who walked with Israel now walks with His Church, especially when the path ahead feels uncertain.

In moments of fear or discouragement, Joshua 1 teaches us to listen again to this promise. God does not merely send us forward; He goes with us.

Inheritance, Rest, and the Journey of Faith

The promised land represents rest after long wandering, yet Scripture reminds us that this rest is not final. As the Letter to the Hebrews later reflects, the true and lasting rest is found in God Himself.

Joshua’s journey becomes a signpost for our own pilgrimage. Each step of obedience draws us closer to the fullness of life God desires for us—a rest not defined by ease, but by communion with Him.

A Prayerful Invitation

Joshua 1 is not only a historical account; it is a living word addressed to every believer standing at the edge of change.

When we face transitions, may we hear God’s voice anew.

When we feel unworthy or afraid, may we remember that courage is a gift, not a requirement.

When the way forward feels unclear, may we trust the promise that never fails:

“Be strong and courageous… for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.”

FAQs on Joshua Chapter 1 (Catholic Perspective)

1. Why is Joshua 1 important in salvation history?

Joshua 1 marks the transition from Moses to Joshua and from wilderness wandering to the fulfilment of God’s promise. It shows that God’s plan continues even when human leaders change, emphasising divine fidelity rather than human achievement.

2. Why does God repeatedly tell Joshua to “be strong and courageous”?

The command acknowledges Joshua’s fear and responsibility. In Scripture, courage is not self-confidence but trustful obedience rooted in God’s Word. God commands courage because He supplies the grace needed to live it.

3. What does “meditate on the Book of the Law day and night” mean for Catholics today?

It points to a life formed by Scripture, prayer, and obedience. For Catholics, this includes:

✔️ Reading Scripture regularly

✔️ Listening to the Word proclaimed in the liturgy

✔️ Allowing God’s Word to shape conscience and action

Meditation here is not passive reading but living attentiveness to God’s will.

4. How does Joshua 1 relate to Christ and the New Testament?

Joshua leads Israel into the Promised Land; Jesus leads humanity into eternal life. The Letter to the Hebrews teaches that the rest Joshua provided was partial, pointing toward the true rest found in Christ (Hebrews 4:8–9).

5. What does “the Promised Land” symbolise for Christians?

Beyond geography, it represents:

• God’s faithfulness

• Spiritual inheritance

• Growth in holiness

• The journey toward eternal communion with God

It reminds believers that faith involves movement, trust, and obedience.

6. Why are the tribes east of the Jordan mentioned?

Their obligation to help the other tribes highlights communal responsibility and fidelity to promises. In Catholic life, this reflects the Church’s teaching that faith is never lived in isolation—we journey together as one Body.

7. Is Joshua 1 about military conquest?

While historically involving conquest, the chapter’s theological focus is on God’s presence and obedience, not human violence. The Church reads this text spiritually, seeing it as a call to interior courage and faithfulness, not physical warfare.

8. How does Joshua 1 speak to moments of change or loss today?

Joshua 1 reassures believers that God remains present during transitions—after loss, leadership change, illness, or uncertainty. God’s promise, “I will be with you,” is stronger than fear.

9. What does this chapter teach about leadership?

Biblical leadership is grounded in:

• Obedience to God

• Humility

• Responsibility toward the community

Joshua is successful not because he replaces Moses, but because he walks faithfully with God.

10. What is the central spiritual message of Joshua 1?

God calls His people to move forward in faith, anchored in His Word, sustained by His presence, and strengthened by courage that comes from obedience—not fearlessness.

Discussion Questions for Groups or Personal Reflection

1. What “Jordan River” am I standing before right now in my life?

2. Where do I struggle most with fear when God invites me to move forward?

3. How do I currently “meditate” on God’s Word? What could deepen this practice?

4. In what ways do I rely more on my own strength than on God’s presence?

5. How does Joshua’s leadership challenge modern ideas of success and power?

6. What promises of God do I find hardest to trust during times of transition?

7. How does this chapter shape my understanding of obedience as a path to freedom?

8. Where is God asking me to be courageous—not aggressively, but faithfully?

9. How can my faith community support one another in “crossing the Jordan” together?

10. What would it mean for me to truly believe: “The Lord my God is with me wherever I go”?

Theological and Interpretive Soundness: This reflection faithfully captures the context of Joshua 1: God’s charge to Joshua after Moses’ death, emphasising courage rooted in obedience to God’s law rather than self-reliance. It draws appropriate parallels to transitioning into a new year, stresses faithfulness over worldly success, warns against subtle compromise, and ends with encouragement grounded in God’s presence. This faithfully reflects orthodox Christian interpretations of the passage.

Authorship and Source: Johnbritto Kurusumuthu is the author behind the “Rise & Inspire” devotional series (hosted at riseandinspire.co.in). His writings consistently feature daily biblical reflections inspired by verses shared (“forwarded”) by Rt. Rev. Dr. Selvister Ponnumuthan, Bishop of Punalur, Kerala.

© 2025 Johnbritto Kurusumuthu | Rise & Inspire Devotional Series

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