the cost of discipleship‏

Luke 14:25-33

²⁵ Now great crowds accompanied him, and he turned and said to them, ²⁶ “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.²⁷ Whoever does not bear his own cross and come after me cannot be my disciple.²⁸ 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? ²⁹ Otherwise, when he has laid a foundation and is not able to finish, all who see it begin to mock him,³⁰ saying, ‘This man began to build and was not able to finish.’ ³¹ Or what king, going out to encounter another king in war, will not sit down first and deliberate whether he is able with ten thousand to meet him who comes against him with twenty thousand?³² And if not, while the other is yet a great way off, he sends a delegation and asks for terms of peace.³³ So therefore, any one of you who does not renounce all that he has cannot be my disciple.

This move to Cedar Falls costs a lot: friends, family, church, job, house, chiropractor, coop and comfort.

But it is worth it.

This move to Cedar Falls requires much deliberation: FSBO, linkedin, resume’, staging, loans, attorneys, moving, etc…

But it is worth it.

It’s not that we have not thought it through or considered how difficult it might be.

We are not now surprised by the trials associated with this decision.

Rather, we are surprised at how weak our faith is to endure that we imagined ahead of time.

We never outgrow our need to be reassured.

If we think we do, we are in the perfect place to be tipped over.

Following Jesus is worth everything.

Knowing this compels us to cast aside these current comforts and take on discomforts.

Discomfort is still discomfort though and we need prayer, friends and fellowship to get through it.

We need to be confident, convicted, confessional, committed and most of all covered in Christ continually.

(yeah, I just one-up’d your 3C’s and went for broke with one a solid half doz. plus one)

 

Hebrews 10:35-39

 

³⁵ Therefore do not throw away your confidence, which has a great reward.³⁶ For you have need of endurance, so that when you have done the will of God you may receive what is promised.³⁷ For,

“Yet a little while,
and the coming one will come and will not delay;
³⁸ but my righteous one shall live by faith,
and if he shrinks back,
my soul has no pleasure in him.”

³⁹ But we are not of those who shrink back and are destroyed, but of those who have faith and preserve their souls.

Please pray for us to remain rooted and rested in Christ, our Sabbath, as we plow forward.

No one is beyond the need for prayer and protection.

perfected by flesh?

Galatians 3:3

Are you so foolish? Having begun by the Spirit, are you now being perfected by the flesh?

We find our rest in Jesus for salvation.

It is in the random rest of it that we often fail to find release.

Relax.

Frankie said so.

But I digress…

It was not then your sweetness that saved.
It is not now your sweat that sanctifies.

but with God...

Matthew 19:25-26

²⁵ When the disciples heard this, they were greatly astonished, saying, “Who then can be saved?” ²⁶ But Jesus looked at them and said, “With man this is impossible,but with God all things are possible.”

I love a little Q&A.

So let’s have at it:

Q: Who can be saved?

Great question disciples.

A: No one.

------

Q: Who is worthy enough to deserve it?
Q: Who is capable enough to achieve it?
Q: How can I have it?

Again, great question disciples.

A: No one and you can’t.

Shucky darn!

It is impossible for a man to save himself, let alone another man.
It is impossible for a man to be worthy of being saved, let alone grant that worth to another.
It is impossible for a man to wrestle salvation to the ground by sheer will power, let alone corral enough to share with another.

With man this is impossible,

Shall I continue beating this dead horse or do we got it?
Good.

I thought I was going to have to get all Dostoevsky on your punk butt.

Speaking of but’s.
(that segue rivals weird al’s)

but with God…

(that is a beautiful big ol’ but by the by, isn’t it?)

God CAN.
He is capable of any and every thing.
He makes worthy those unworthy.
He gives by gift what could not be earned by grit.
He DID.

but with God all things are possible.

That is Good News!

John 19:30

When Jesus had received the sour wine, he said,“It is finished,”and he bowed his head and gave up his spirit.

wordsmithin': obeisance‏

Extra! Extra! Read all about it HERE.

 

o·bei·sance n.

 

1. A gesture or movement of the body, such as a curtsy, that expresses deference or homage.

2. An attitude of deference or homage

 

I first came across this word while reading my trusty, rusty RSV. When God first found me, He also lit my little head on fire with desire to read His Word. I had an RSV sitting around from my past connection to the RCA so I began reading.

 

According to BibleGateway, it first appears (if reading cover to cover) in the RSV in,

 

Genesis 43:28

 

They said, “Your servant our father is well, he is still alive.” And they bowed their heads and made obeisance.

 

It makes sense as a word since it has the sound “obey” as part of its pronunciation. So it sounds like what it is: obeying or showing that you are willing to obey the commands of the one to whom you are showing obeisance.

 

Joseph’s brothers deferred to Pharaoh’s right-hand man.

 

Little did they know that they were fulfilling the prophecy of their kid brother from years before.

 

We will all fall at the feet of Jesus.

 

ALL.

 

Each and every either in adoration or devastation.

happy birthday Penelope!

My little girl turns 3 years old today!

Psalm 144:12

May our sons in their youth
be like plants full grown,
our daughters like corner pillars
cut for the structure of a palace

I pray that you would grow up to be beautiful and reliable, lovely and dependable, elegant and sturdy, remarkable and meek, feminine and trustworthy.

May you be like a corner pillar cut for the structure of a pallace.  May your beauty be admired and your integrity honored.

I will guard your heart as long as you let me.

May you submit to me, wear authority on your head, be kind, gentle and quiet, laugh at the days to come, and honor your father and mother by protecting your heart from the idolatry of self-reliance.

I have enjoyed getting to know you so much little girl. 

I love your spitfire little personality and your go-with-the-flow-ness.

Lord knows you did not inherit it from either your mom or me.

I am very excited as we enter the days where I have increased access to your heart.

You are developing language and charisma and I am thrilled to get to peek inside that little heart of yours in hearing its overflow speak.

May you never be satisfied in anything less than Jesus.

I pray you find heartache unto repentance in every endeavor not devoted to Him

May He in His grace forgive your sins.

May you in obedience receive His rightness.

I love you Sissy.

May you follow me as I follow Jesus.

thoughts from "Free to be Fallen" by Tullian Tchividjian‏

Check out the full post HERE.

 

The freedom to be OK with not being OK.

 

Some would say, “We go to church to give to God, to show Him that we’re serious.”

 

I understand the sermon note pointed at our consumerism.

 

It’s a good one.

 

Many of us do come to church only to get and never give the church or God anything.

 

And…

 

We will continue to do so unless we RESPOND to the fact that in Christ, God has given us everything.

 

The best fuel for maturity is NOT a rally cry for us to do good works in order to become who we always wanted to be.

 

The best fuel for maturity is a proclamation of forgiveness found in faith in what has already been done by God.

my assurance is as sure as He has secured it

Hebrews 6:17-20

¹⁷ So when God desired to show more convincingly to the heirs of the promise the unchangeable character of his purpose, he guaranteed it with an oath,¹⁸ so that by two unchangeable things, in which it is impossible for God to lie, we who have fled for refuge might have strong encouragement to hold fast to thehope set before us. ¹⁹ We have this as a sure and steadfast anchor of the soul, a hope that enters into the inner place behind the curtain,²⁰ where Jesus has gone as a forerunner on our behalf, having become a high priest forever after the order of Melchizedek.

Check out the words used in the passage above:

con·vinc·ing adj.

1. Serving to convince:

2. Believable; plausible:

un·change·a·ble adj.

Not to be altered; immutable:

guar·an·tee tr.v.guar·an·teed, guar·an·tee·ing, guar·an·tees

1. To assume responsibility for the debt, default, or miscarriage of.

2. To assume responsibility for the quality or performance of:.

3. To undertake to do, accomplish, or ensure (something) for another:.

4. To make certain:.

5. To furnish security for.

6. To express or declare with conviction:

oath n.

1.  A solemn, formal declaration or promise to fulfill a pledge, often calling on God, a god, or a sacred object as witness.

2. The words or formula of such a declaration or promise.

3. Something declared or promised.

im·pos·si·ble adj.

1. Incapable of having existence or of occurring.

2. Not capable of being accomplished

3. Unacceptable; intolerable

4. Extremely difficult to deal with or tolerate:

hold·fast v.

1. stick to firmly

hope n

1. (sometimes plural) a feeling of desire for something and confidence in the possibility of its fulfilment

2. a reasonable ground for this feeling

3. a person or thing that gives cause for hope

4. a thing, situation, or event that is desired

sure adj.sur·er, sur·est

1. Impossible to doubt or dispute; certain.

2. Not hesitating or wavering; firm:.

3. Confident, as of something awaited or expected:

4. Bound to come about or happen; inevitable:.

5. Having one's course directed; destined or bound:.

6. Certain not to miss or err; steady:.

7. Worthy of being trusted or depended on; reliable.

8. Free from or marked by freedom from doubt:.

9. Careful to do something:

10. Obsolete Free from harm or danger; safe

stead·fast adj.

1. Fixed or unchanging; steady.

2. Firmly loyal or constant; unswerving

an·chor n.

1. A source of security or stability.

------------------------------------------------------------

And all of the above, “on our behalf.”

2 Corinthians 5:18-21

¹⁸ All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation;¹⁹ that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation.²⁰ Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us.We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. ²¹ For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.