Hello friends! Here is a quick personal update.
Luke 14:25-27
Now great crowds accompanied him, and he turned and said to them, “If anyone comes to me and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be my disciple. Whoever does not bear his own cross and come after me cannot be my disciple.”
This passage really hit my heart this month. I’ve always known the cost to follow Jesus. He talks about it clearly. But for some reason I’ve not really taken it seriously. I currently travel the world and get to see my family and friends at least once a year. Sometimes I get to see them two or even three times. I’ve been living on mission since 2017. I know I can get on a plane tonight and be back home the same day. So my cost hasn’t felt that great. But the Lord has given me the desire to share the Good news in the Middle East. I believe in a few years I’ll be living there. So now this cost to follow Christ increases drastically. It’s not gonna be so easy to see family and friends anymore. There will be a level of danger involved in sharing the Gospe too. I may not be able to see my parents grow old. I might miss my siblings getting married and starting families of their own. This cost has been hitting me more and more as the time gets nearer. I’ve wept over these facts. There have even been times when I didn’t want this mission. It would be much easier to stay here in the states. Stay out of harm’s way. But that’s not who God has created me to be. Even though I’m gonna miss so much. God is going with me. He is my comfort. He is the only one I need. He reminds me of the promises He has given me. The promises in His Word.
“And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or children or lands, for my name’s sake, will receive a hundredfold and will inherit eternal life.” (Matt 29:19)
It’s not easy to follow Jesus. Following Him means leaving everything else behind. But He is worth it. We are all gonna live and die either way, why not do it for the King.
If you are counting the cost and struggling in it. You’re not alone. There are tons of brothers and sisters, myself included, that have to count the cost. But I can confidently say that He is worth it all.
Thank you for taking time to read this. This new mission is still a ways away. But I would love your prayers. Pray that God would open doors for me and lead me to them. That His will would be done not mine. Thank you for your support and love. May God bless you today in everyway needed in Jesus name.
