Asia 2013: Counting The Cost

Hello dear friends,

Most of you know that last week I had the opportunity to travel to SE Asia for a short missions trip.  As every trip before, this one was so incredibly touching and life changing.  Throughout the whole trip, God was speaking to my heart and revealing so much to me.  Many things that I had known before and needed to have reiterated; other things that were new and fresh and insightful.  I decided to share the things that were most on my heart with my few faithful readers.

Count the Cost:

“If anyone wants to become my follower, he must deny himself, take up his cross daily, and follow me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will save it. For what does it benefit a person if he gains the whole world but loses or forfeits himself? For whoever is ashamed of me and my words, the Son of Man will be ashamed of that person when he comes in his glory and in the glory of the Father and of the holy angels." Luke 9:23-27

Whether it was the Saturday sermon, our own private quiet times, daily devotionals, conversations within the team, our Bible studies or the testimonies of our hosts, the idea of counting the cost was consistently the theme of this trip.  You see, here in America, we very rarely get a real idea of what it means to take up our cross.  Our provisions and abundant blessings have caused us to become hardened towards the call of dying to self daily.  Instead we practice "closed-hand Christianity." Our hand was once open and Christ blessed us; through our jobs, our property, our opportunities; being born in this country is a blessing we none of us can deserve.  However, over time as we became accustomed to these comforts, our hands closed.  We don't see our jobs, our homes, or possessions as blessings from our good God, but instead they are OUR things that WE have earned and are subject to OUR decisions.  Our life is our own and we will cho0se where we go, what we do and when we will use our money and our things to help others.  Oh, how foolish we have become! Our clinched fists hurt us so much more than we realize.  We hold on so tightly to the things of this world and don't realize that when we have closed our hands, although we think it keeps God from taking these worthless treasures from us, in reality we have shut Him out from blessing us further.    Without being open to what God has in store for us, which is better than anything we could ever hope for or imagine, we cannot learn to rely on Him when He takes that which we do not need.  We cannot be used to further His kingdom and to bring others to faith in Christ Jesus.  We cannot receive the blessings the father wants to lavish on us because of His great love. What a waste a life is that is spent pursuing the things of this temporary world: our desires, our causes, our hopes and dreams, our ambitions, our fortune, our careers, our emotional desires, our pleasures.  Every day we are given the chance to do things that will have an ETERNAL difference; and yet we choose to focus on this life? "...But whoever loses his life for my sake will save it."  Brothers and sisters do you understand that verse!? We have the power to save our life from being a waste.  We are able to draw a line in the sand today and say that no longer do my desires rule my life, but instead I will open my hand and allow my Redeemer and Savior to take my life and use it for His glory and for eternity's benefit.  

"It makes no sense to attempt to save our lives on earth only to lose everything when out lives quickly and inevitably pass away.  The wise course is to invest our earthly resources-- our TIME, TALENTS and WEALTH-- in what is eternal.  Even if we lose our lives for Jesus' sake, that investment will produce return for all eternity." (Nelson Study Bible editors)

I listened to a sermon recently that has been consistently resonating within my heart. We know that we are saved by no goodness of our own, but solely by the grace and mercy of our Lord Jesus.  We have been saved for good works which our Lord planned for us before hand-- before He called us and revealed His goodness and compelled us to realize our hopeless state and receive the forgiveness offered by Jesus' finished work on the cross.  Before we were redeemed, He had good works prepared for us.  And those accomplished good works (which we chose to be used for or not) bring us rewards in heaven.  These rewards are for no glory of our own, but for us to turn around and offer to our king as an offering of thanksgiving; as a token of praise to our reigning King.  Woe to the wretch who has nothing to offer their King! Woe to the one who experienced forgiveness and redemption and then decided that their way was a better use of their short time on earth.  Woe to the forgiven who didn't fulfill the good works specially prepared for them because they were too busy with their own things.  Woe to the child of God who will have a stack of diplomas, a top ranking position, a cause conquered, an ideal, safe, controlled life; woe to them as they will watch all these things burn up and be left with nothing but ashes to present as a gift from their life.  When I see my Savior face to face I don't want to feel my heart sink to my belly as He says, "Well, you did what you thought was good-- but look what you missed." Oh, no. I want to feel my heart soar as the creator of my life and of my plans sees me, and I want him to say to those in heaven, "She has done what she could" (Mark 14:8). I don't think it is prideful for me to say these things.  After all, we are told "Delight yourself [i]n the Lord, and He shall give you the desires of your heart."  This does not mean that He will give you whatever you want, but that he will take a heart that has put her own desires to death and He will fill her with the desires he has for her. My desire is to please my Savior and to live my life for Him alone.  Friends, it is never too late with Jesus.  Just as it is never too late to come to faith in our Lord while you are on earth, it is never too late to count the cost and find that He is better and He is worth any sacrifice that we could face.  This was clearly on display last week.  People who had been cast aside by their friends, cast out by their families and even the simplest decencies denied them could stand proudly in the church, tears of joy streaming down their face as they lifted high the name of Jesus.  The name of the one who made them alive although they were dead in their trespasses and sins. When you come to Christ with your hand open, willing for your earthly prizes to be taken and ready for blessings to come from heaven-- ready to be a disciple-- you will not find a Savior who will pile you with guilt and complain that you have waited too long.  No, friend, you will meet your Beloved who will say, "Welcome.  I've missed you.  Now let's get to work."