Grace full mama

“Today I have given you the choice between life and death, between blessing and curses. Now I call on heaven and earth to witness the choice you make. Oh, that you would choose life, so that you and your descendants might live! You can make this choice by loving the LORD your God, obeying him, and committing yourself firmly to him. This is the key to your life.” Deuteronomy 30:19-20a

When did we forget that our faith is a life or death deal? Maybe you haven’t forgotten. Maybe your lamp is filled to the brim with oil; but easy times make for lukewarm Christians sometimes. I am praying we are reminded daily that we are not of this world, we are not of this kingdom.

It can be easy to feel like evangelism looks like chasing after people who are running headlong away from Jesus. Make it sound nice. Talk to them about love. Talk to them about acceptance. I heard one young lady telling someone that her sin was “ok,” it would just hinder her freedom. We tell people about everything they will gain and talk them into praying the sinners prayer… but then what?

All of those things are basically true… but they are only a small part of the story. They are powerless without the oomph Jesus died for. Jesus goes after the sheep who wandered away, but he doesn’t chase people. He doesn’t try desperately to talk them into following him. He tells us not to chase people, too. Not everyone is going to be our friend. In fact, we are told over and over that we are going to be hated and reviled because of our love for Jesus. He tells us that if our message is not welcomed, we are to take back our blessing and shake the dust off our sandals when we leave. We are not called to throw our pearls before swine. We are not told to water down the truth to make it more palatable or politically correct; in fact, if we did that, would we be hated? No. We are truth tellers. We are not called to be polite, but to be holy.

God is love. God is acceptance. Jesus did die for our sins, all of them. These things are all wildly, beautifully true… but we need to let people know that it does cost them something. It costs them everything, actually. “If you want to be my disciple, you must, by comparison, hate everyone else- your mother and father, wife and children, brothers and sisters, yes, even your own life. Otherwise you cannot be my disciple. And if you do not carry your own cross and follow me, you cannot be my disciple. But don’t begin until you count the cost..” Luke 14:26-28a You see, if you want to be a disciple of Jesus, there is a cost involved. He is the pearl of great price, my friends. In order to have him, you need to give up everything else.

You have to give up your belief that you are a good person. You aren’t. The very crux of the gospel is that Jesus blood redeems us, because we can’t be good enough or holy enough on our own. You are not a good person. You are a redeemed person. The difference in being good, and being redeemed, is that you have no ability to brag. It is not your holiness that covers you. It is his.

You have to give up being liked, thought well of, and comfortable. This life changing faith we desire is not the run of the mill drive through faith that has no cost. “You will be hated by everyone because of me, but the one who stands firm to the end will be saved.” Matthew 10:22. You can’t chase people’s approval. If no one hates you… well… maybe you need to ask God if you have been going into your closet to pray instead of being like Daniel, and praying in plain view. We need to be okay with losing family acceptance, cultural approval, and even friends for his sake.

We are called to give up our own plan for our life. We are called to surrender absolutely everything, every plan, every treasure, our finances and businesses, our relationships… everything. We hold it in open hands and give it to him. Nothing can come before him.

We are called to give up those comfortable sins that we so easily justify. “Put to death the sinful, earthly things lurking within you.” Colossians 3:5. This means no more saying “Well, Jesus is ok with it. It just might mean I feel a little less free.” No. Jesus is not ok with it. That unforgiveness you are justifying could cost you your own forgiveness! There is no justifying sin. Gossip, pride, bitterness… all of it needs to be brought to the cross.

My friends… we need to be able to pray “Not my will, but yours be done,” and mean it. We get EVERYTHING in this trade off. We become different people, transforming constantly to become more and more like Jesus. We have hope and peace that cannot be explained. We gain JESUS. We gain ETERNITY. But it isn’t free. Jesus is not the little toy that comes in the happy meal we already ordered. No. There is a cost.

“Nevertheless, I will serve him.”

When he redirects our carefully laid out plans… “Nevertheless I will serve him.”

When we are hated for his names sake, “Nevertheless I will serve him.”

When he takes something away, doesn’t answer our prayer, and pain becomes our song, “Nevertheless I will serve him.”

That is where the power is. That is where peace that the world doesn’t understand is unleashed into our lives.

Count the cost. If you prayed a prayer that wasn’t “I give all of me, for all of you,” then do it now! Nothing worth having is cheap. This is no thrift store redemption. You’re going to have to put all your chips in. Empty yourself so that he can fill you up. And oh, the joy that bubbles up from deep within as your transformation begins!

Choose life. Heaven is your witness! It is worth the cost.