Count the Cost

If you have had a house project, or even a school project there are things you must do.

- make a plan

- evaluate the cost

- gather tools/resources

- execute your plan

 Many people though, skip step two. Which is why so many people do not complete projects because they have no idea to what they have really committed to.

But what does it mean to count the cost? When it comes to our faith, to following Jesus, He told us Himself:

Luke 14:25-34 (NIV) - The Cost of Being a Disciple

25 Large crowds were traveling with Jesus, and turning to them he said: 26 “If anyone comes to me and does not hate father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters—yes, even their own life—such a person cannot be my disciple. 27 And whoever does not carry their cross and follow me cannot be my disciple.

28 “Suppose one of you wants to build a tower. Won’t you first sit down and estimate the cost to see if you have enough money to complete it? 29 For if you lay the foundation and are not able to finish it, everyone who sees it will ridicule you, 30 saying, ‘This person began to build and wasn’t able to finish.’

31 “Or suppose a king is about to go to war against another king. Won’t he first sit down and consider whether he is able with ten thousand men to oppose the one coming against him with twenty thousand? 32 If he is not able, he will send a delegation while the other is still a long way off and will ask for terms of peace. 33 In the same way, those of you who do not give up everything you have cannot be my disciples.

34 “Salt is good, but if it loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again?

The parable of the seed reminds me of the 4 types of "Christians." I was raised, I was taught, that the parable of the seed is about all the earth, all the people of the earth. But after more study, instead of just accepting what I was taught, I realized that the parable is about the church, not the Church as in the Body of Christ. But when you look at a gathering of believers, usually in a "church" building - just because someone is there does not mean that they are truly following Jesus. Only 1 of the 4 (but do not think it is an even 25%) truly counted the cost and decided following JESUS was worth EVERYTHING.

What is the cost of following Jesus?

• You will be hated, mocked, and ignored.
• You could lose your home, your job, your family.
• You will be hunted.
• You will hate the things of the world.
• Your heart will hurt for the lost.
• The things that break God's heart will break yours.
• You will commit to knowing God's word, and obeying It.
• You will live with anticipation that His return is eminent. 
• You will hate your past but anticipate the future with Christ as your LORD.
• You will go/do where and what He says for you to do to spread the Gospel.

****At the end of this post find scriptures to back this up.****

How does this look in our lives? How does counting the cost and living for Christ look with your family, your work, your social media presence?

The past 18 months have been a whirlwind on a global level. Politics are divisive, more so than ever. The United States is divided and without God there will be no unification. Was this last election won fair and square, was there collusion, was the election stolen from the people. Only God knows, I am not sure we will know this side of heaven one way or the other.

Than there is the "V" - please note, I will not say the name of the "illness", nor will I say other "v" word associated with it (I will go with jab). I refuse to use either of those words so in order to not be censored at this time. And that is where I am going with my post.

I am of the belief that the "V" was man made, and purposely released by the Red Dragon country to destroy the USA, disrupt the good work that Donald Trump was doing ( I believe God was using him to move the world closer to the Rapture), and to push the globe into a population control scenario.

I believe the jab is not what we have been told. And many, many, many others are of the same mindset of me. Some are more vocal about it than others. But the fact is, the jab does not prevent you from getting the "V" nor does it prevent you from spreading it. So what is the point?

I know many who with in days, within weeks of getting the 2nd part they developed severe medical issues. Then there are the women who with healthy pregnancies miscarry for no reason. Or the women who are past menopause all of a sudden having cycles again. I do not judge anyone who received the jab, and I do not hold it against anyone who is holding out. We all have to do what we believe is right for us and for our families. 

My spirit is not well with what is going on in the world. This place is not my home, and what is going on is causing my heart to yearn for heaven even more. 

I saw the image to the side a few days ago and it stuck with me. Censorship is unchecked now. You speak out against the "V", the jab, the LGBTQ movement and "Pride" month, or against the current administration and you censored, put in FB jail, or your social media presence is erased. The party that calls the other side Nazi's for our beliefs is using all the tactics that Hitler put into place to rise to power. Ironical, to say the least. 

I don't want to be lukewarm. 

Revelation 3:14-22 New American Standard Bible

Message to Laodicea

14 “To the angel of the church in Laodicea write:

The Amen, the faithful and true Witness, the Origin of the creation of God, says this:

15 ‘I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot; I wish that you were cold or hot. 16 So because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I will vomit you out of My mouth. 17 Because you say, “I am rich, and have become wealthy, and have no need of anything,” and you do not know that you are wretched, miserable, poor, blind, and naked, 18 I advise you to buy from Me gold refined by fire so that you may become rich, and white garments so that you may clothe yourself and the shame of your nakedness will not be revealed; and eye salve to apply to your eyes so that you may see. 19 Those whom I love, I rebuke and discipline; therefore be zealous and repent. 20 Behold, I stand at the door and knock; if anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and will dine with him, and he with Me. 21 The one who overcomes, I will grant to him to sit with Me on My throne, as I also overcame and sat with My Father on His throne. 22 The one who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.’”

With those of like mindedness, I have spoken my thoughts on the "V", the jab, and all the crazy political upheaval. But not too much online. A "safe" post here or there, but nothing more. And I am convicted. I am afraid of what I would lose. And for that I am ashamed. Now is not the time to worry about what I will lose. Jesus is coming

Read that again.

JESUS IS COMING!!!

The last 18 months have conditioned people for the Great Tribulation and the Mark of the Beast system that will come after the Rapture. So many took the jab to "return" to normal, and that is what they will do during the 7 year time known as the Time of Jacob's Trouble. The stage is set. We must get people to Jesus. Because if you reject Him, you will pay a great cost.

Should you die prior to the Rapture...you will go to hell.

But, if you are here after the Rapture, you could become saved, and many will, but how sure of that are you? Why would you want to go through the pouring out of the Wrath of God on humanity? Plague, death, war, disease, famine - just to start.

I am going to share Jesus with people. I am going to share the articles about the healthy people dying immediately after receiving the jab. I am going to share the studies on the number of children who have such adverse reactions, on a jab that is not FDA approved but being pushed under Emergency use. I am going to share the information that the jab is to cause sterilization.

I will not be quiet, I will not be lukewarm.

But, I will not be pushy, I will not be yelling. I will do all this in love. People are confused right now. People are hurt. And Jesus loves everyone - He wants all to be saved. So many have lost so much - they don't need to be yelled out. They need compassion. 

John 13:35 - New American Standard Bible

35 By this all people will know that you are My disciples: if you have love for one another.”

I have read God's word. I know how this all ends. And I see the signs He told would happen, in greater occurrence right prior to His return to call his Bride (that's us Church!) to Heaven to be with Him.

They can block me, they can put me in FB jail. That is fine. When you squelch truth, try to stomp it out - you give it a bigger platform. You cause more people to pay attention to it. And my God, His word does not return void.

Isaiah 55:11 New American Standard Bible

11 So will My word be which goes out of My mouth;

It will not return to Me empty,

Without accomplishing what I desire,

And without succeeding in the purpose for which I sent it.

*** Scriptures on the cost of following Jesus****

Luke 9:23 ESV And he said to all, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me.

Colossians 3:1-25 ESV If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth. For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ who is your life appears, then you also will appear with him in glory. Put to death therefore what is earthly in you: sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry. ...

Matthew 24:44 ESV Therefore you also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.

Luke 14:33 ESV So therefore, any one of you who does not renounce all that he has cannot be my disciple.

Matthew 8:18-22 ESV Now when Jesus saw a crowd around him, he gave orders to go over to the other side. And a scribe came up and said to him, “Teacher, I will follow you wherever you go.” And Jesus said to him, “Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head.” Another of the disciples said to him, “Lord, let me first go and bury my father.” And Jesus said to him, “Follow me, and leave the dead to bury their own dead.”

Luke 10:3 ESV Go your way; behold, I am sending you out as lambs in the midst of wolves.

Titus 3:5 ESV He saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit,

Acts 20:35 ESV In all things I have shown you that by working hard in this way we must help the weak and remember the words of the Lord Jesus, how he himself said, ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.’”

Galatians 2:20 ESV I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.

Matthew 10:38 ESV And whoever does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me.

2 Corinthians 5:17 ESV Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.

Luke 14:25-33 ESV 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. For which of you, desiring to build a tower, does not first sit down and count the cost, whether he has enough to complete it? Otherwise, when he has laid a foundation and is not able to finish, all who see it begin to mock him, ...

James 4:4 ESV You adulterous people! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God.

Matthew 8:20 ESV And Jesus said to him, “Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head.”

John 8:24 ESV I told you that you would die in your sins, for unless you believe that I am he you will die in your sins.”

Ruth 1:16 ESV But Ruth said, “Do not urge me to leave you or to return from following you. For where you go I will go, and where you lodge I will lodge. Your people shall be my people, and your God my God.

Deuteronomy 4:2 ESV You shall not add to the word that I command you, nor take from it, that you may keep the commandments of the Lord your God that I command you.

Ephesians 3:14-21 ESV For this reason I bow my knees before the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth is named, that according to the riches of his glory he may grant you to be strengthened with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith—that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may have strength to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, ...

John 8:31-32 ESV So Jesus said to the Jews who had believed in him, “If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”

John 8:12 ESV Again Jesus spoke to them, saying, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”

Luke 16:13 ESV No servant can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money.”

Luke 9:57-62 ESV As they were going along the road, someone said to him, “I will follow you wherever you go.” And Jesus said to him, “Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head.” To another he said, “Follow me.” But he said, “Lord, let me first go and bury my father.” And Jesus said to him, “Leave the dead to bury their own dead. But as for you, go and proclaim the kingdom of God.” Yet another said, “I will follow you, Lord, but let me first say farewell to those at my home.” ...

Matthew 19:21 ESV Jesus said to him, “If you would be perfect, go, sell what you possess and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me.”

Matthew 10:34-37 ESV “Do not think that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I have not come to bring peace, but a sword. For I have come to set a man against his father, and a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law. And a person's enemies will be those of his own household. Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me, and whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me.

Deuteronomy 6:5 ESV You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might.

1 Peter 2:21 ESV For to this you have been called, because Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example, so that you might follow in his steps.

Titus 2:11-14 ESV For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation for all people, training us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in the present age, waiting for our blessed hope, the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ, who gave himself for us to redeem us from all lawlessness and to purify for himself a people for his own possession who are zealous for good works.

1 Timothy 4:13 ESV Until I come, devote yourself to the public reading of Scripture, to exhortation, to teaching.

Colossians 3:17 ESV And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.

Ephesians 2:10 ESV For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.

1 Corinthians 11:1 ESV Be imitators of me, as I am of Christ.

Romans 8:1 ESV There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.

Matthew 24:36 ESV “But concerning that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father only.

Matthew 11:28-30 ESV Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”

Matthew 10:37 ESV Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me, and whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me.

Matthew 8:18 ESV  Now when Jesus saw a crowd around him, he gave orders to go over to the other side.

Matthew 6:24 ESV “No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money.

2 Samuel 7:1-29 ESV Now when the king lived in his house and the Lord had given him rest from all his surrounding enemies, the king said to Nathan the prophet, “See now, I dwell in a house of cedar, but the ark of God dwells in a tent.” And Nathan said to the king, “Go, do all that is in your heart, for the Lord is with you.” But that same night the word of the Lord came to Nathan, “Go and tell my servant David, ‘Thus says the Lord: Would you build me a house to dwell in? ...

Joshua 24:15 ESV  And if it is evil in your eyes to serve the Lord, choose this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your fathers served in the region beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you dwell. But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.”

Romans 12:1-2 ESV I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.

Matthew 4:18-22 ESV While walking by the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon (who is called Peter) and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea, for they were fishermen. And he said to them, “Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.” Immediately they left their nets and followed him. And going on from there he saw two other brothers, James the son of Zebedee and John his brother, in the boat with Zebedee their father, mending their nets, and he called them. Immediately they left the boat and their father and followed him.

Deuteronomy 6:1-25 ESV  “Now this is the commandment, the statutes and the rules that the Lord your God commanded me to teach you, that you may do them in the land to which you are going over, to possess it, that you may fear the Lord your God, you and your son and your son's son, by keeping all his statutes and his commandments, which I command you, all the days of your life, and that your days may be long. Hear therefore, O Israel, and be careful to do them, that it may go well with you, and that you may multiply greatly, as the Lord, the God of your fathers, has promised you, in a land flowing with milk and honey. “Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. ...

Exodus 20:1-26 ESV And God spoke all these words, saying, “I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery. “You shall have no other gods before me. “You shall not make for yourself a carved image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth. You shall not bow down to them or serve them, for I the Lord your God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children to the third and the fourth generation of those who hate me, ...

Philippians 3:20 ESV But our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ,

Ephesians 5:25 ESV Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her,

Ephesians 5:2 ESV And walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.

Ephesians 5:1-2 ESV  Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children. And walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.

Acts 2:22 ESV “Men of Israel, hear these words: Jesus of Nazareth, a man attested to you by God with mighty works and wonders and signs that God did through him in your midst, as you yourselves know

John 3:17 ESV For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.

Luke 14:26 ESV  “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.

Luke 9:60 ESV And Jesus said to him, “Leave the dead to bury their own dead. But as for you, go and proclaim the kingdom of God.”

Matthew 4:19 ESV And he said to them, “Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.”

Proverbs 4:20-21 ESV My son, be attentive to my words; incline your ear to my sayings. Let them not escape from your sight; keep them within your heart.