The Cost

But the Lord said to him, “Go, for he is a chosen instrument of mine to carry my name before the Gentiles and kings and the children of Israel.¹⁶ For I will show him how much he must suffer for the sake of my name.” 

Acts 9:15-16

When we tell someone that God has a wonderful plan for their life and that they need to trust in Him for their salvation, we need to understand that wonderful plan may mean they give up their life for Him. From the first recorded Christian martyr, Stephen, to the countless since then, men and women have given their very lives for the cause of Christ.

Saul, the Pharisee, was on his way to Damascus when Jesus knocked the persecutor of Christians off of his horse. It was at that moment that Jesus called Saul to be His. Saul, who became Paul, would have to suffer much for the name of Christ. This should make all of us take a moment to ponder if we have counted the cost to follow Christ.

It will cost you something to follow Christ. It may not be imprisonment, beatings, or death but it may cost you family, friends, and it will cost you your desire to please self. Each of us should live this life with anticipation of what God has in store for us. Your shepherd, Pastor Mark

Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ ⁹ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith— ¹⁰ that I may know him and the power of his resurrection, and may share his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, ¹¹ that by any means possible I may attain the resurrection from the dead.  

Philippians 3:8-11

Your Shepherd,

Pastor Mark