In my review of last month, I warned you there would be some trips down memory lane in celebrating 10 years of For the Journey Literature, and I guess that starts here…
I don’t think I’ve ever played the role of annoying little sister better than when I was writing my very first 30-Day Devotional study “Do You Believe?” I was nervous about how it would turn out and about whether I could complete it. That meant the only person who knew what I was working on pretty much until I had finished writing it was my older sister. So, she was constantly receiving updates via text messages. I would just randomly send her, “I’m up to Day 12!” or “I’m halfway there!” or “I only need to write five more!” until the day I finally got to text her, “I have 30 days!!! That means I’m finished! Well, I have to proof it and edit it and print copies and all the things, but it’s written!!!” She probably thought my enthusiasm was a bit over the top, but she was always encouraging, and it was fun (at least on my end) to share the writing journey with her.
At the time I was writing it, I needed the excitement of something new, something different, but I also needed the way it challenged me to grow in my faith, the challenge to believe without wavering.
I don’t know that I would say it’s the best of the 30-Day Devotionals I’ve written or even that it’s my favorite. But, as the first, it definitely holds a special place in my heart, and from a purely statistical standpoint, it performed the best (for what that’s worth). I’ve included an excerpt below for readers who maybe weren’t familiar with For the Journey back in May of 2020 when “Do You Believe?” was originally released. It’s actually Day 30, so the devotional I wrote right before I got to send that crazy excited “I’m sort of finished!” text to my sister.
Count the Cost
“And whosoever doth not bear his cross, and come after me, cannot be my disciple.” -Luke 14:27
Luke 14:25-33
Today’s is a somewhat difficult passage. It plainly states that if our love for God isn’t so strong it makes our love for our own family seem like hate, we can’t be a disciple of Jesus. It teaches that we have to hate our own life and also states we must bear our cross and follow Jesus. Um, besides the fact that crosses are heavy and awkward to carry, in Jesus’ day, people carried a cross to die on it… Just let that soak in for a minute.
This passage teaches that we have to be like the builder who knows he can finish the tower because he counted the cost and like the king who knows whether or not to go to war because he counted the cost. We have to count the cost before we can follow Christ. Jesus isn’t interested in disciples who aren’t prepared to finish the journey, disciples who are going to turn back when things get rough. He wants disciples who have counted the cost, who believe it’s worth the cost, and who are going to follow to the very end.
Make no mistake, following Jesus comes at a cost. It may be your future plans. It may be your hopes and dreams. It may be relationships. Someday it may even be your life. Believe it’s worth any cost and follow anyway. I promise you, when you stand before God and hear, “Enter in my good and faithful servant,” if the cost crosses your mind at all, it will only be to think that it was more than worth it.
Believe following Christ is worth the cost.
For the Journey Literature 