“Anyone who comes to Me must be willing to share My cross and experience it as his own, or he cannot be considered to be My disciple. So don’t follow Me without considering what it will cost you. For who would construct a house before first sitting down to count the cost to complete it? Otherwise he may lay the foundation and not be able to finish.’” ~ Luke 14:27-28, TPT
“Jesus had His disciples and the crowd gather around Him. And He said to them: “If you truly want to follow Me, you should at once completely disown your own life. And you must be willing to share My cross and experience it as your own, as you continually surrender to My ways. For if you let your life go for My sake and for the sake of the gospel, you will continually experience true life. But if you choose to keep your life for yourself, you will forfeit what you try to keep. For what use is it to gain all the wealth and power of this world, with everything it could offer you, at the cost of your own life?” ~ Mark 8:34-36, TPT
The Cost of Discipleship
Lord, You take me by the right hand and lead me in paths of righteousness. I find joy in following You, trying to place my feet in the footprints of my Father. I know there is a cost to discipleship. I’ll count the cost Lord, but when the cost is too great, I struggle.
That’s where spirit meets flesh and the battle begins. My spirit doesn’t fear counting the cost of discipleship, but my flesh most certainly does.
Counting the cost makes it real. Dying to self makes it real, and makes it so hard.
And yet, I know that the great reward in dying to self is You — You are my exceedingly great reward.
And You want to be Lord of my life.
I’ll count the cost Lord — the cost of discipleship that commands I die to self daily. But only if You’ll help me. It will require a huge amount of grace. But I want to honor You with my life. I want to glorify Your Name.
Help me put aside all selfish ambitions to follow You wherever You may lead. Help me learn to die to self — so see things through eternity’s lens. I want to run this race well, to hear You say, “Well done, my good and faithful servant. Well done.”
I’ll Count the Cost Lord
Fill me up to overflowing with Your love — love that impacts this hurting world. I identify with Your cross, for Your cross set me free. It is an honor to carry my own cross so that others may be set free, as well.
Wow! What a concept: I’ll carry my own cross so that others may be set free as well. May others see Jesus in me. Thank You, Lord.
In the Name of Jesus I pray,
Amen
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Please don’t carry your burdens alone. I would be honored to pray for you. You may contact me directly at nan@nanjones.com
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Thank you so much for stopping by. I would love for you to share what’s on your heart in the comments below. Scroll a little farther down and you’ll see where you can leave your comments. Together, we can find the nearness of God in our darkest moments.
Sweet blessings to you,
