"The God Pause Daily Devotional" from The Luther Seminary in Saint Paul, Minnesota, United States for Thursday, 1 September 2016 with Scripture: Luke 14:25-33

"The God Pause Daily Devotional" from The Luther Seminary in Saint Paul, Minnesota, United States for Thursday, 1 September 2016
with Scripture: Luke 14:25-33
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Luke 14:25 Large crowds were traveling along with Yeshua. Turning, he said to them, 26 “If anyone comes to me and does not hate his father, his mother, his wife, his children, his brothers and his sisters, yes, and his own life besides, he cannot be my talmid. 27 Whoever does not carry his own execution-stake and come after me cannot be my talmid.
28 “Suppose one of you wants to build a tower. Don’t you sit down and estimate the cost, to see if you have enough capital to complete it? 29 If you don’t, then when you have laid the foundation but can’t finish, all the onlookers start making fun of you 30 and say, ‘This is the man who began to build, but couldn’t finish!’
31 “Or again, suppose one king is going out to wage war with another king. Doesn’t he first sit down and consider whether he, with his ten thousand troops, has enough strength to meet the other one, who is coming against him with twenty thousand? 32 If he hasn’t, then while the other is still far away, he sends a delegation to inquire about terms for peace.
33 “So every one of you who doesn’t renounce all that he has cannot be my talmid.[Complete Jewish Bible] 
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"Pick up your cross and follow me..." How many of us have done this lately? In his book, The Cost of Discipleship, Dietrich Bonhoeffer said, "When Christ calls a man, he bids him come and die." Are we living a life in which we truly push the threshold of doing God's work in a way that forces others to question us and put us on trial? I suppose the answer is "No". I suppose that most of us today have no intentions of being martyrs for the sake of some cause. But perhaps like you I too have found myself asking what difference I am making in the lives around me. Martin Luther King, Jr. was another man of faith who died so young for something so great. Today, we might ask ourselves what the cross means in our own faith journeys--we might ask what it would cost to truly call ourselves "Christians."
God of life, we ask you to center our thoughts and actions on your son, our savior and Lord. For many of us, life has become monotonous and repetitive—life has become pointless activity. Give us courage today to become someone different. Give us courage to live our lives for others, rather than for ourselves. Amen.
Craig Wexler, '10
Pastor, Lutheran Memorial Church, Pierre, SD 
Luke 14:25 Now large crowds were traveling with him; and he turned and said to them,
26 "Whoever comes to me and does not hate father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, yes, and even life itself, cannot be my disciple.
27 Whoever does not carry the cross and follow me cannot be my disciple.
28 For which of you, intending to build a tower, does not first sit down and estimate the cost, to see whether he has enough to complete it?
29 Otherwise, when he has laid a foundation and is not able to finish, all who see it will begin to ridicule him,
30 saying, "This fellow began to build and was not able to finish.'
31 Or what king, going out to wage war against another king, will not sit down first and consider whether he is able with ten thousand to oppose the one who comes against him with twenty thousand?
32 If he cannot, then, while the other is still far away, he sends a delegation and asks for the terms of peace.
33 So therefore, none of you can become my disciple if you do not give up all your possessions.[New Revised Standard Version]
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