The first summer we had the hot tub was a good year. Our friends came over to play with their kids, our neighbours came for a dip in the evenings, and Michael and I spent plenty of nights in the warm water looking up at the stars.

It sounds good on the surface, but here’s the problem I had with all of this– I didn’t count the cost before we stepped in.

I didn’t think about shoveling snow in December or testing the water on cold winter days. I didn’t think about the kids losing interest and me sitting alone. I didn’t think about pumps breaking down and the hassle of upkeep. I just didn’t count the cost of owning a hot tub.

The Bible warns us about counting the cost. It tells us to think before we step out and do. In Luke 14:28-33, Jesus gives us two examples that illustrate the importance of counting the cost.

He doesn’t tempt them to follow with half-truths. And do you know why? Because we don’t need to be serving a watered-down message. Following Christ is the greatest decision we’ll ever make. We don’t have to apologize when it comes to our faith–we just need to shine. The message of repentance isn’t something we shirk away from, or hide from our friends it’s the Good News of Salvation through Christ.

Jesus is blunt in this chapter, saying “Whosoever doth not bear his cross, and come after me, cannot be my disciple.” But do you know what happens in the first verse of the very next chapter? The tax collectors and the sinners were drawn closer to Him. That’s the power of the life-saving gospel, right there!

---

Subscribe so you don’t miss a post:

---

Tilling the Soil

Read Luke Chapter 14, and also peek ahead at Chapter 15:1.

Planting Hope

In the same way, those of you who do not give up everything you have cannot be my disciples. (Luke 14:33, NIV)

---

Your donations help to support this ministry as we share the gospel with over 500,000 women around the world. Click here to donate.

---

Darlene Schacht and her husband Michael live in Manitoba Canada where the summers are beautiful and the winters are cold. Together they’ve come to learn that relationships aren’t always easy, but that marriage, the way God intended it to be, is a treasure worth fighting for.

She began her publishing journey about twelve years ago when she pioneered one of the first online magazines for Christian women, known at the time as “Christian Women Online Magazine.” After three years, Darlene left CWO to blog as a solo author at Time-Warp Wife Ministries.

It was also during this transition that she worked alongside actress Candace Cameron Bure to write the NYT Best-Selling book, Reshaping it All: Motivation for Spiritual and Physical Fitness. Reshaping it All was the winner of both the 2011 USA Best Book Awards and the 2012 Christian Reading Retailers Choice Awards.

Author of more than 15 books, Darlene continues to write and to minister to her readers through her blog at TimeWarpWife.com.

Connect with Darlene:

Facebook: @timewarpwife
Instagram: @timewarpwife
Pinterest: @timewarpwife
Twitter: @timewarpwife

You are loved by an almighty God,

Darlene Schacht
The Time-Warp Wife