If anyone wants to come after Me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily, and follow Me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake, this is the one who will save it.
Luke 9:23-24
It should not be a surprise to anyone reading this blog that in order to know and please God, we must have faith in Him and be obedient to Him. While it is true that the Living God is invisible (Colossians 1:15 and 1 Timothy 1:17), we can clearly understand that He is real and powerful by the testimony of creation itself and mindful consideration of His mercies in our life circumstances. However, it is not until we become born again/saved and filled with God’s Spirit that we can truly understand and apply God’s Word correctly. I truly hope that you do possess eternal life by faith in Christ as you read this, and if not, that you press on seeking the Lord until you find salvation. Without Christ in our life, we by default live a natural life of always thinking and doing what is best for ourselves alone. Once we know the Lord through faith in Christ, we should begin to seek God’s best for all our relationships and how we conduct ourselves as the love of God is poured into our souls. Love is sacrifice and doing what is best for another, and the greatest commandments are to love God first and foremost, and then to love our neighbor (Matthew 22:37-39). According to the above verse in Luke, if we want to please and honor the Lord, we must learn to put His interests above our own in our daily life and relationships; this will require us to deny our natural desire for self-rule and self-interest and take up our cross/burdens as God leads. We are to be followers of His will as the scriptures and Holy Spirit are revealed to us; the eternal consequences are great in how we respond to this call to action as disciples. No one who lives a life of self-rule will hear “well done good and faithful servant” but rather something far more distressing on judgment day. As we wind down in 2025 and look to 2026, may we all surrender to God’s love and leadership in our life and be the people of faith who put God’s will first in our priorities, carry faithfully whatever He intends for us and follow/obey Him diligently. I hope everyone has a merry Christmas and a blessed New Year!
Love in Christ,
Pastor Gary Houdek