Have You Counted the Cost To Become a Disciple of Jesus? Is He worth it?

 

I've had a lot of time to reflect on the consequences of the assassination of Charlie Kirk. God has really challenged me to discern what I believe about some of Christ's discourse in the Bible. Add to that, I am amazed at the questions that have emerged in my spirit regarding the effects Charlie's life and death have had on Believers, skeptics,  and the Church. And as I look at the world today, and the growing animosity towards Christians and our faith, I am certain that it is more important today, than ever, that we are firmly committed to our discipleship.

First of all, let's establish what it means to be a disciple of Jesus. In the Greek language, the word used is Mathētēs, "a learner", from the root word math, indicating "thought accompanied by endeavor". I want you to remember that phrase. I'm going to return to it later. We can apply the following descriptors to Jesus's twelve Disciples in the New Testament. If we look at their example, they were described as "abiding" [staying] in His Word. They believed upon Him and confessed Him. They were not only pupils, but adherents [supporters, defenders, devotees]. And perhaps, most importantly, they were spoken of as imitators of their teacher. 

We know of the twelve disciples within His inner circle, but remember that Jesus also  appointed and sent out 72 [or 70, depending on which version of the Bible you are reading] to go before Him to spread His teachings that the Kingdom of God was near. We know that by the end of His ministry, only the original twelve [minus Judas] were still with Him. The rest had deserted Him. Many had avowed their allegiance to Him, but only a dozen were willing to pay the cost. He promised long, lonely days on the road, with no place to call home; they had to be willing to leave obligations to family and loved ones if they were to imitate Him. The cost was steep, and self-denial and suffering was to be their lot. 

In Luke 9:23, Jesus says, "If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow Me". I want to make sure you understand the seriousness of that statement. When Jesus used the terminology of "taking up one's cross", He didn't mean our twenty-first century interpretation of suffering from some lightweight burden such as a bad relationship with your parents or spouse; a job you hate; high blood pressure, or some other annoying difficulty in your life. To the people He was addressing, "the cross" meant one thing: death by crucifixion. It was the maximum amount of shame, humiliation, and torture that the Roman government could devise. Victims would literally carry the instrument of their own torture and death.

Jesus made it very clear that any one who does not renounce all that he has [family, home, money, reputation, pride] cannot be His disciple [Luke 14:33]. All of that belongs to this world. Among what He offers His true disciples is tribulation, because He suffered tribulation. BUT, He also offers us [perfect] peace in Him. We can expect tribulation, distress, and suffering in this world. But He reminds us that He has overcome the world! Hallelujah! And so shall we if we can remain confidant, undaunted, and filled with the joy of His promise of everlasting life in His Father's Heavenly Kingdom! So, I ask you ... If you call yourself a disciple of Christ, have you counted the cost? Is He worth it?  

Let me, once again, share the story of a man who counted the cost and was willing to pay the price. I have returned time and again to the story of Dietrich Bonhoeffer, a Lutheran pastor during the rise of the Nazi regime in WW2 Germany. He became alarmed as he witnessed the German State Church acquiescing to Hitler's anti-Jewish propaganda, demanding that Jews not be allowed to worship in Christian churches. He increasingly saw the Church compromising the Bible's demands of obedience to Jesus in favor of meeting the requirements of German society and the Third Reich. His spirit was in turmoil as he began to witness the cheapening of the power of the Gospel message, while obedience to the Living Christ was being buried and lost to religious formulas and rituals. 

In fact, one of the most defining quotes of Bonhoeffer is in regards to the distinction he makes between "cheap" and "costly" grace. According to Dietrich, "cheap grace is the preaching of forgiveness without requiring repentance, baptism without church discipline, communion without confession. Cheap grace is grace without discipleship, grace without the cross, grace without Jesus Christ, living and incarnate."  In today's world, do Western Christians give discipleship any of this thought, at all? Do they contemplate the cost, or even realize that there should be a cost for something so valuable?

Well, we are told by our Savior that it is the lot of a true Disciple! "If the world hates you, know that it has hated Me before it hated you. If you were of the world, the world would love you as its own; but because you are not of the world, I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you. Remember the word that I said to you: 'A servant is not greater than his master'. If they persecuted me, they will also persecute you. If they kept My Word, they will also keep yours. But all these things they will do to you on account of My Name, because they do not know Him who sent Me...".

As I finish up this post, I want to return to that earlier phrase I wrote ... the root of the Greek word for "disciple", meaning "thought accompanied by endeavor". It takes some serious thought on our part to decide to become a disciple of Christ, don't you agree? We must first count the cost, and if we have decided to follow Christ, we must imitate His work and his labor in the harvest of souls. We must be willing to pay the price of death to remain in His service. Are American Christians willing to do that? Or are they counting on getting "Raptured" out of here, with no pain, self-denial, or sacrifice.

Because I will tell you that Christians around the world are in the cross hairs of those who hate our faith and our Savior! In Nigeria alone, between 2019 and 2023, nearly 17,000 Christians have been reported killed; 7,000 victims in just the first seven months of 2025. According to Intersociety, the International Society for Civil Liberties & Rule of Law (located in Eastern Nigeria), at least 52,250 have been brutally murdered over the past 14 years. This is just the tip of the iceberg. And according to Open Doors' World Watch List, more than 380 million Christians suffer very high or extreme levels of persecution. Christians have been targeted primarily in Africa, Asia, and the Middle East; but Mexico, Nicaragua, Cuba, and Columbia are now added to the Watch List. With the increase in political and ethnic rhetoric and violence in our own nation, it's not hard to see that religious persecution could easily be coming to us, as well. Jesus says it will!

But rather than live in fear, let us walk in the truth and strength of our Christian faith. Let us become true Christian disciples, drawing strength from Jesus's promises that He is with us. And we must lean on one another in community, encouraging each other as we face the persecution and trying times together. God has given us His Word as the foundation (and weapon) to face persecution with boldness and courage. Let us pray for our Christian Brothers and Sisters in Nigeria and around the world, and join with them in the Spirit, as they face their trials, even unto death. 

1 Peter 2:21     For [as a Believer] you have been called for this purpose, since Christ suffered for you, leaving you an example, so that you may follow in His footsteps.  

Christians: Wake Up! Prepare to Persevere in the Midst of Persecution!

 

As Watchmen on the Wall, my husband joins me in warning Christians to wake up to the very real possibility that we are entering into a season of Biblical persecution. Believe me, it gives me no pleasure to give these kinds of warning, but the Lord has made it clear that failing the assignment Ezekiel was given in Chapter 33 holds the same consequence for those of us who are to also fulfill that role. The Lord says in verses 7-9: "I have made you [Ezekiel] a watchman for the people of Israel; so hear the word I speak and give them a warning from Me. When I say to the wicked, 'You wicked person, you will surely die', and you do not speak out to dissuade them from their ways, that wicked person will die for their sin, and I will hold you accountable for their blood. But if you do warn the wicked person to turn from their ways and they do not do so, they will die for their sin, though you yourself will be saved." 

Just like Ezekiel, those of us whom the Lord has called to be watchmen, are held to the same standards and accountability for the consequences faced by the people. Ever since September 1, 2001, I have heard The Church pronounce 2 Chronicles 7:14 as their mantra ... "If my people, who are called by My Name, will humble themselves and pray and seek My face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land".  As is all too evident, the healing has not come, and we must be honest with ourselves. We've been good at reciting that verse, but our sin, as a nation, has only grown. Not only have we not humbled ourselves before the world, but our nation's leaders have become even more greedy, more prideful, and more corrupt. 

As a nation, we have not turned from our wicked ways. In fact, our sins have risen to new heights of wickedness. Our children are trafficked for the sexual desire of evil men; we have allowed them to get caught up in the social contagion of gender dysphoria, rejecting their God-given identity; and the level of violence and murder [for simply having a difference of opinion] is threatening to engulf this nation in the flames of terrorizing bloodshed and discord. And where has the Church been?!? The signs have been there for over 20 years! Yet too many members of Christian Leadership have chosen to put blinders on to what the Lord has been showing all of us. They didn't speak up because it might threaten their popularity and numbers of members. And let's not forget that people quit giving to the coffers of the Church if the message is too negative. They will not heed the true Word of God, and leave to go where their ears are tickled.

And Godly Christian men and women have also been deceived by the false teachings that we could solve the sins of our nation by putting the right political leaders in office. And then there is the promise that we are on the verge of a Revival. Oh, Lord, how I hope it is true! We are seeing what seems to be a great awakening since the assassination of Charlie Kirk, and I am praying that it grows into a true Spirit of Revival. Only time will tell if it is sustainable. And I say that because there's also a spirit of Rebellion that is also in the world to counter the hope and promises that Jesus's Return is near. And part of the Watchman's assignment is to deliver the bad news that no one wants to hear. That's what the Book of Jeremiah is all about. And the warnings the prophet brought to the people of Judah are the very same ones the modern Watchmen are hearing and proclaiming. And the response is the same ... the people don't want to hear them. I advise you to read these excerpts from Jeremiah to get a sense of where we're at.

But know this ... I will continue to share the warnings I receive from the Lord and implore the people of this nation to come out of the world and see the Evil that is being prepared for us by our Enemy and his Beast System. Christians need to remove the mask they've been living behind and pay attention to what the Enemy and his proxies on earth are openly showing us. Just in the last week, there has been a greater number of voices and articles warning of attacks against American Houses of Worship. Especially alarming is the latest issue of The Islamic State 's weekly newsletter, al-Naba, which is translated "The Tidings" or "The News" in Arabic, and refers to a portion of the Koran which discusses themes related to the Day of Judgment.

Sources who have translated the content of the newsletter warn that it gives explicit language of a diverse list of attack methods "to make the hearts of the Jews, Christians, and their allies bleed". [NOTE: I will not reveal those methods in the context of this blog. My purpose in writing today is not to glorify the Evil, but to be the voice of warning for the Body of Christ to get ready to persevere through the coming persecution]. We must educate ourselves and be familiar with the hate that is being instigated by Evil and its partners. Have you been paying attention to the violence that surrounds the protests over Gaza and Palestine? We must come to understand that we are in a spiritual war and the battle encompasses politics, religious factions, and conflicting ideologies.

Can you see how the stabbings, vehicle rammings, shootings that target churches and Christian individuals, synagogues, Christian schools, and public faith-based events are becoming viable targets of Satan to thwart the Spirit of Revival? Are you able to discern the rise of Evil in these instances -- or does your normalcy bias dismiss them and keep you blinded? If you aren't seeing the increase in these kinds of demonic occurrences, then you are putting yourselves and your communities at risk. Just the other day in Texas, three suspects were arrested after shooting a Christian youth baseball coach who knelt on the field to pray with his team. And today, people died in a mass shooting attack at a Church in Grand Blanc Township in Michigan, and the Church was set on fire. 

But it's not just Christians in America that are being targeted and persecuted. The Eternal Word Television Network (EWTN) has issued a new report that states "that ethnic and religious violence in Nigeria has claimed the lives of nearly 56,000 people over the last four years". In addition, the Nigeria-based human rights Society for Civil Liberties and the Rule of Law reports that more than 7,000 Christians were killed through July of this year! And please don't look away from these alarming reports because those numbers aren't being seen in the U.S. or the West ... yet. Remember -- God is no respecter of persons. He shows no favoritism or partiality  based on a person's race, nationality, or social status. Satan's greatest persecution is targeted towards the followers of Jesus Christ. He knows his time is short; and he knows that Jesus is close to mounting up for His Return, and Satan wants to kill and destroy as many lovers of Christ as he can before Jesus brings His Judgment.

So, I do not write this to scare you. I write this because the Lord wants you to be prepared and endure what's coming for the sake of your testimony to those who still need to know your Savior for themselves; to win souls for Christ; and to defeat the Devil's plans. And I want you to know that I absolutely trust God for His Protection, but preparing for the persecution that Jesus told us would come is not a lack of faith. It is a way to love and prepare the flock so they can continue to defend the faith without fear. I encourage all Christians to pray for the persecuted and the targeted. Let us encourage each other to persevere in the midst of persecution. It is by our example that we will glorify the Lord before our enemies. May God bless us, defend us, and encourage our souls and spirits. Amen!

James 1:12     Blessed is the one who perseveres under trial because, having stood the test, that person will receive the Crown of Life that the Lord has promised to those who love Him.