Pastor Randy Hoskins
Senior Pastor - First Congregational, Ashland, NE |
July 19, 2024 A few weeks back I talked about the book Radical by David Platt. Platt talked about the things that Jesus said, and how most of us are very uncomfortable with His words. We like to tone them down into something that feels more like what we are willing to do for our God and Savior. I want to throw some more words from Jesus at you today. In Luke 9:23-24, Jesus was quoted as saying: "Then he said to them all: “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me. For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will save it." Discipleship is at the center of being a Christian. To be a disciple means to be a learner. It means following after Jesus, and patterning our lives after his. Here Jesus tells us that the starting point of following Him is to deny ourselves. Denying ourselves means putting Jesus' desires above our own. Anybody starting to get uncomfortable yet? Discipleship is not something we do once or twice, or just on Sundays. It is a lifestyle that must be lived out every day. We must spend our entire lives becoming more like Jesus. A really uncomfortable realization is that Jesus suffered for doing good, and He didn't do things that were enticing in the moment but would have ultimately kept Him from God. Now the good news is that if we are willing to do this, give up this life for Jesus' sake, we receive an eternal life in return. When we hold on too tightly to this life, we won't get to experience the abundant life that has been promised to believers. I want you to take some time considering how you're living your life. Are you living a life of discipleship? Take an inventory of your life and see in what ways you are denying yourself and living for Christ vs. the ways you are selfishly living for your own pleasure and gain. Commit to doing a better job following Jesus, no matter how hard it may seem. Pray for strength and endurance to follow Him. Pastor Randy 402-450-4447 |
After serving as part-time pastor, Pastor Randy was called to full-time ministry in February of 2020.
He and Velvet now live in Ashland.
He and Velvet now live in Ashland.