Counting the costs of following Jesus in Myanmar

In Luke 14:33, Jesus says, "In the same way, therefore, every one of you who does not say good-bye to all his possessions cannot be My disciple."

Jesus was talking about counting the costs of following Him. People will hate you and persecute you. Are we willing to follow Him no matter the costs? Martha and I saw this scripture played out yesterday here in Yangon, Myanmar.

I had the honor of preaching and teaching yesterday to a small gathering of 15 people at Bro. Solomon's house. He is the first indigenous pastor LIA has sponsored monthly in Myanmar. He graduated from Grace Theological College here in Yangon. LIA partners with GTC to spread the Gospel of Jesus Christ throughout Myanmar.

Bro. Solomon has done a great job planting God's Word in the hearts of people and he saw a harvest  of seven precious souls reaped yesterday as they made decisions to follow Jesus. Myanmar is a country filled with Buddhism. Some making decisions yesterday were of the Buddhist faith, but they are now following Jesus. I will have the great honor of baptizing them on Sunday. Praise God!

Most of those at our gathering yesterday sat on the floor. Some took notes, and all were soaking up the Word of God. I had no time limit. They wanted to hear about Jesus. After those decided to follow Jesus, we all ate lunch together. Then they wanted to hear more. I talked about the importance of church and how we are the Body of Christ and Jesus wants us to be united and work together and help each other out.

Then I opened it up for questions and answers. This is when the reality of following Christ in a country that is mostly unreached become clear. I wish everyone could have heard the questions,  including one woman who could be thrown out of her house and cut off from her family for following Jesus. Talk about a serious decision and commitment.

She lives with her son, who is a very devout and powerful Buddhist leader. She said she could have some serious trouble because of her decision to follow Jesus, but she is going to follow Him anyway. Wow. I think of how often those of us in the U.S. take our faith for granted. Lord, please forgive us. If we lived under true persecution like this woman, how many of us in America would truly call ourselves followers of Christ?

After she shared, another new Christian, who was also Buddhist until yesterday, immediately encouraged her. It was so beautiful. After a lengthy discussion of the Bible, I asked if there were any more questions. One gentleman said, "No. We believe."

Glory to God. Please keep our Myanmar brothers and sisters in your prayers. They are precious people, and Martha and I already love them tremendously. They have hard lives here, and the threat of persecution for their belief in Jesus is real. Let's pray and support them. That's what the Body of Christ is suppose to do.