Daily Reading for Personal Growth, 40 Days with God

You Must First Plan

²⁵ Large crowds were traveling with Jesus. He turned and said to them, ²⁶ “If anyone comes to me but loves his father, mother, wife, children, brothers, or sisters more than he loves me, then he cannot be my follower. A person must love me more than he loves himself! ²⁷ If anyone is not willing to die on a cross when he follows me, then he cannot be my follower. ²⁸ If you wanted to build a tower, you would first sit down and decide how much it would cost. You must see if you have enough money to finish the job. ²⁹ If you don’t do that, you might begin the work, but you would not be able to finish. And if you could not finish it, then all who would see it would laugh at you. ³⁰ They would say, ‘This man began to build but was not able to finish!’

³¹ “If a king is going to fight against another king, first he will sit down and plan. If the king has only 10,000 men, he will plan to see if he is able to defeat the other king who has 20,000 men. ³² If he cannot defeat the other king, then he will send some men to speak to the other king and ask for peace. ³³ In the same way, you must give up everything you have to follow me. If you don’t, you cannot be my follower!

Don’t Lose Your Influence

³⁴ “Salt is a good thing. But if the salt loses its salty taste, then it is worth nothing. You cannot make it salty again. ³⁵ It is no good for the soil or for manure. People throw it away.

“Let those with ears use them and listen!”