HAVE YOU COUNTED THE COST TO FOLLOW JESUS?

I believe there has been fairytale lullabies sung to those who give their life to Christ. A half-painted picture of what it is to authentically follow Jesus. The church has not been completely honest on what is required to be a disciple of Jesus, and how to become a disciple. There is one thing to receive Jesus as our Savior, and it is another to truly run after the ways of Jesus with everything in us. Choosing to pick up our cross and following Him as Lord of our life. It is the CHOOSING to conform to His word (Romans 12:2). It is CHOOSING to walk the narrow path (Matthew 7:13). It is the CHOOSING to become a discipline one. I believe when we fail to share there is a cost to count when giving our lives to Jesus we have done the people a disservice. There is an influx of people leaving the church and or Jesus, being overtaken by a spirit of Babylon. There are pockets of lukewarm Christians, because they cannot handle persecution nor suffering. They fear man more than they fear God. They have not been taught what it is to come up higher and go deeper with Jesus. In this regard, they choose to become neutral. Neither hot nor cold. In which, God said, He will spew them out of His mouth (Revelation 3:16). So many are overtaken by a delusion where they are serving a false jesus. A jesus not of the Bible. IN THE BEGINNING THE TRUTH SHOULD BE DISCLOSED TO THE PEOPLE SO THEY CAN STAND A CHANCE AGAINST THE ENEMY DECEPTIVE AND CUNNING WAYS. Many times those who give their life to Christ have no idea they are signing up to become a part of a spiritual army. An army with continual battles, corporately and personally. Spiritual warfare. The Lord revealed to me we are not telling the truth about how following Jesus is not easy, and that there is a cost to count to becoming a disciplined one. The dying to the flesh daily. It is not all rainbows. You have some serious thunderstorms to face and get through. Storms where you question, “Will I get to the other side?” This walk is extremely difficult at times. There are a great deal of seasons of perseverance and endurance you will face. Seasons of suffering and persecution. Seasons your faith will be tested and stretched. Seasons where you will want to quit. Seasons where you will have to wait before seeing the manifestation of your prayers answered. Some answered prayers may take years. Your prayers will not always be answered as quickly as they were when you first gave your life to the Lord. We must start telling people the truth. If they should choose to give their life to Jesus after knowing the truth, this is when it is necessary that we begin to train them to become a disciple. We should teach them about spiritual warfare, so that they may wage war against the enemy rather than being overtaken by the enemy. A disciple is a dedicated follower of Jesus. One who actively imitates both the life and teaching of Jesus according to Wikipedia. I also heard someone simply say a disciple is a disciplined one. I agree with them both. *This is a small excerpt from my newly published book, "The IDENTITY Crisis" Revised Edition. Chapter 4, "Have You Counted the Cost to Walk with Jesus?" There is so much more! You can purchase your very paperback copy on Amazon.com or carlnikahooks.com