"Reasoning!" - Too

 "Behold, this have I found, saith the preacher, counting one by one, to find out the account:" (Ecclesiastes 7:27 KJV)

  ""If you want to be my disciple, you must hate everyone else by comparison - your father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters - yes, even your own life. Otherwise, you cannot be my disciple. And if you do not carry your own cross and follow me, you cannot be my disciple. But don't begin until you count the cost. For who would begin construction of a building without first calculating the cost to see if there is enough money to finish it? Otherwise, you might complete only the foundation before running out of money, and then everyone would laugh at you. They would say, 'There's the person who started that building and couldn't afford to finish it!' Or what king would go to war against another king without first sitting down with his counselors to discuss whether his army of 10,000 could defeat the 20,000 soldiers marching against him? And if he can't, he will send a delegation to discuss terms of peace while the enemy is still far away. So you cannot become my disciple without giving up everything you own."" (Luke 14:26-33 NLT) 

 Maybe you have thought about this before, realizing that the cost is great; but the benefits of giving up everything to follow Jesus, is so much greater than anything else. And then you start counting the cost, placing things in certain categories, with variable priorities, thinking of responsibilities and commitments or the people you care for and feel responsible to watch over. 

 And then you just come to the realization that you should just make peace! Do what you can to serve the Lord, but keep your life in order, is what you decide to do; it just seems like the most logical thing, given the life that is all around you. Does that sound familiar to anyone? 

 You cannot believe the stories you can hear from those who have given it all away to let God take full control; most of which will tell you, "Life can exist in a vacuum!" The world will tell you that it does not work; but with God, everything is possible! This is why I have such a deep belief that Mark, John Mark, the writer of the Gospel of Mark, was that "Rich Young Ruler." 

 I am not alone on this, even Dr. Chuck Missler believed it was so, as well as other Scholars that have determined to investigate the matter on their own. What makes a man give up everything, to pick up his cross, and follow Jesus? Was there really a concern in his heart for eternal life? According to his account, there really was! Jesus knew what He needed to do, because Jesus already knew what he was going to do; that is, once he started reasoning the issue.

 Just in case you didn't know this, Mark ended up being somewhat of a Ruler again; except this time, he was planting churches all over Asia! God tends to use people's talents for His good...

"This is what the LORD says: "You will be in Babylon for seventy years. But then I will come and do for you all the good things I have promised, and I will bring you home again. For I know the plans I have for you," says the LORD. "They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope. In those days when you pray, I will listen. If you look for me wholeheartedly, you will find me. I will be found by you," says the LORD."I will end your captivity and restore your fortunes. I will gather you out of the nations where I sent you and will bring you home again to your own land."" (Jeremiah 29:10-14