The New Year is upon us! At this moment of the year, many take time to review their lives: what has happened, what they want to achieve in the coming year, what changes will they need to make to get there and what resources they will need to achieve their goals. As has been said many times, the first sign of madness is continuing to do the same thing expecting a different result. It is a good thing to count the cost of our intentions and to plan accordingly. In Luke 14, 28-29, Jesus said, “For which one of you, when he wants to build a tower, does not first sit down and calculate the cost to see if he has enough to complete it? Otherwise, when he has laid a foundation and is not able to finish, all who observe it begin to ridicule him.” In the context, Jesus was talking about the cost of discipleship. If we really want to make a difference for the kingdom in the coming year, it will cost us something. That is part of the package. I would encourage us all to weigh up the cost of what discipleship really means andfd plan accordingly.

God bless

Richard