Matthew 4:20–22 (ASV)
20And they straightway left the nets, and followed him. 21And going on from thence he saw two other brethren, James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother, in the boat with Zebedee their father, mending their nets; and he called them. 22And they straightway left the boat and their father, and followed him.
Matthew 16:24–25 (ASV)
24Then said Jesus unto his disciples, If any man would come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me. 25For whosoever would save his life shall lose it: and whosoever shall lose his life for my sake shall find it.
Mark 1:19–20 (ASV)
19And going on a little further, he saw James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother, who also were in the boat mending the nets. 20And straightway he called them: and they left their father Zebedee in the boat with the hired servants, and went after him.
Mark 8:31–38 (ASV)
31And he began to teach them, that the Son of man must suffer many things, and be rejected by the elders, and the chief priests, and the scribes, and be killed, and after three days rise again. 32And he spake the saying openly. And Peter took him, and began to rebuke him. 33But he turning about, and seeing his disciples, rebuked Peter, and saith, Get thee behind me, Satan; for thou mindest not the things of God, but the things of men. 34And he called unto him the multitude with his disciples, and said unto them, If any man would come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me. 35For whosoever would save his life shall lose it; and whosoever shall ...
Mark 10:28 (ASV)
28Peter began to say unto him, Lo, we have left all, and have followed thee.
Luke 9:23–27 (ASV)
23And he said unto all, If any man would come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me. 24For whosoever would save his life shall lose it; but whosoever shall lose his life for my sake, the same shall save it. 25For what is a man profited, if he gain the whole world, and lose or forfeit his own self? 26For whosoever shall be ashamed of me and of my words, of him shall the Son of man be ashamed, when he cometh in his own glory, and the glory of the Father, and of the holy angels. 27 Luke 9:57–62 (ASV)
57And as they went on the way, a certain man said unto him, I will follow thee whithersoever thou goest. 58And Jesus said unto him, The foxes have holes, and the birds of the heaven have nests; but the Son of man hath not where to lay his head. 59And he said unto another, Follow me. But he said, Lord, suffer me first to go and bury my father. 60But he said unto him, Leave the dead to bury their own dead; but go thou and publish abroad the kingdom of God. 61And another also said, I will follow thee, Lord; but first suffer me to bid farewell to them that are at my ...
Luke 14:25–35 (ASV)
25Now there went with him great multitudes: and he turned, and said unto them, 26If any man cometh unto me, and hateth not his own father, and mother, and wife, and children, and brethren, and sisters, yea, and his own life also, he cannot be my disciple. 27Whosoever doth not bear his own cross, and come after me, cannot be my disciple. 28For which of you, desiring to build a tower, doth not first sit down and count the cost, whether he have wherewith to complete it? 29Lest haply, when he hath laid a foundation, and is not abl...
Miss Dora was already traveling for post graduate studies in the West from China when God instructed that she return to China to preach His gospel. Not minding the great cost for obedience over the matter, Dora obeyed her Lord. Her story continues to inspire many, like it did to He-ping.
Wong Kiu taik was willing to forego his family for the sake of Christ.
A woman bears witness to the trueness of the faith of a poor widow from her village. She forsook idolatry, loved the Lord and didn't mind going hungry, or even starving to death for the sake of her Lord.
Wong Kiu-taik's conversion to Christianity unsettled his mother deeply, using every tool at her disposal; from blackmail, to scolding and outright threats, she tried her best to shake his determination. But Wong, having our his hands on the plough, did not look back and throughout the time she disowned him, he clung resolutely to his God.
When Chu Sao-ngan was told the one condition upon which he would be allowed to inherit his father's and uncle's estate—which if given will make him wealthy—Chu simply declared, "The property may go: I believe in Jesus, and shall worship Him all the days of my life."
When Jane shared her newfound Christian faith to the people of her village her parents were persecuted and threatened to be ostracized for such a faith.
The wealthy and cultured Hermann Ball chose to abandon his worldly advantages and pursue missionary work in Poland amongst the Jews. Prior to this, George Müller had begun to drift away from God's calling on his life, pursuing a young woman instead. Mr. Ball's bold decision helped George Müller give up the girl and return to his true calling.
Sixteen year old Abukari was sent away from his home and left to fend for himself because he became a Christian. But supported by a church, Abukari not only stayed true to his newfound faith, but had his temporal needs supplied.
The Goforth's eighteen month old child was very sick, and all attempts to save the toddler from dysentery seemed futile. Death was imminent. But, as the Goforths knelt down together to commit the child's soul to his Maker, the child was healed of the disease.
Hudson Taylor was robbed and abandoned by his own servant on his way to Ningpo to get medical supplies. But in spite of this and the resulting weariness and hunger, he was more concerned about preaching Christ Jesus to the unbelievers around.
Zhang Rongliang, a member of the Chinese Communist Party, was arrested for attending a Christian meeting. Although he was offered freedom if he would deny Christ, he prayed and received the grace and courage to stand for Christ. In the face of inevitable suffering, he experienced the joy that comes from doing the right thing.
John Paton was offered a promotion and an opportunity for retraining at no cost, with the condition that he commits to stay for 7 years at the company or refuse the offer and lose his job altogether. But having planned to leave the job at an earlier time so he can focus on preaching the gospel, Mr. Paton was bold enough to decline the offer and was thus rendered unemployed.
A believer is declared wanted after he miraculously escapes from prison where he was greatly tortured and maltreated. But this brother, stirred by love for his brethren, ignored the risks of getting re-arrested and returned to the same prison to visit and encourage them and was successful for God performed another miracle - he blinded the adversaries.
Rev. T. E. Riddle who translated Sadhu Sundar Singh's books writes powerfully about the Sadhu's many struggles with health-related problems and of his joy and undiminished sense of duty to His Lord through it all.
Mr. Kim suffered in the hands of his father for wanting to become a Christian, from emotional blackmail to outright beating. But Kim was helped by God to stand firm and yet pray for his father until the old man changed his position.
An Ethiopian believer was asked by his parents, to choose between them and Jesus. His bold choice rendered him homeless for months!
