JUNE 05 THE JESUS QUESTIONS
JQ#19 “For what profit is it to man if he gains the whole world,
and loses his own soul?” (Matthew 16:26)
LIVING FOR JESUS Daily Prayer
JESUS, Lord and Savior, Redeemer and Friend, Praise be to the Son,
Glory to the Father, and Honor to the Holy Spirit of God
that comforts us in times of trouble.
Lord, we seek daily to know the will of the Father for our lives
as we look to Him for our daily bread.
Jesus, You have commanded
that we love one another as You Love the Church
so help us understand that in order to
“LOVE AS CHRIST LOVES”
that we must also daily take up our cross and follow Him,
knowing that our Way is narrow but the destination is eternal.
Help us realize that Jesus demonstrated His Love by suffering on His cross
that was daily before Him. Help us Holy Spirit to “understand”
that the Work of God the Father
was accomplished by the Obedience of the Son upon that Cross
and to know that our cross can only be carried
by the strength given to us by God through Jesus Christ!
AMEN
THE JESUS QUESTIONS
Jesus had just asked “who” we believe Him to be
and made us look inward at ourselves
when He took us aside personally
and asked us point blank in
JQ#18, “Who do YOU say I am?”
(Matthew 16:15)
This juxtaposition of these JQ#18 and JQ#19 is very dramatic
when one considers Jesus is first confronting us with what our inmost
and most sincere belief about Him really is
and then while we are dealing introspectively with
“what” we truly believe about Jesus,
He immediately throws in this JQ#19 Question that brings our focus
on “why” do we believe what we believe!?!
Jesus had prefaced the “who-do-you” Question
with a “what-do-men” Question
which really made it serious and personal and took away
the scapegoat-false-theology of “they say” ———
(“they say” has been a curse upon our nation
for the past several generations).
Then immediately when Jesus has us on this personal level
He goes for that “next level” of our “understanding” of God
by making us not only consider “what” do we believe about Him
but Jesus makes us consider “why” do we believe it?!?!
The big Hollywood phrase for actors when they try out for a part
is the question, “What is your motivation?”
(for this character to do the things that is written for that part)
because the producers and directors want to know if the actor
can convince the audience that their “actions” are “real”?
The producers and directors know that if the actor can
“sell” the part then the movie will be “profitable”!
How easily does God get right to the point
with each Question and Lesson
that He has laid out with such Divine Precision ———
so we can quickly see in the JQ#19 Question that God
says that if we will stop and examine “why” we “act” the way we do,
that we will gain an “understanding” of who we we are in TRUTH
and that Life is not a “play”.
God desires us to know that our physical reality
should be motivated by His Divine Spiritual Reality
as we see His Great Wisdom in this Question.
I can hear God speaking in today’s language saying something like this,
“Dude, is money all you think about?”
There is no amount of money that can buy your way into heaven,
not all the money in the world, and besides, once you are dead
your money goes to someone else.
Can’t you see that history has proven without a doubt that your body
and your money stay on the earth and will rot and decay?
Our law books are filled with laws that once your physical body
is pronounced dead, your money first is taxed and taken by the government
and what’s left goes to someone still alive and then your cold dead body
must be either burned and your ashes scattered
or you must be put into a cold dark grave!
Either you believe you have a soul that is eternal
or you are in hell already
because your soul is spiritual
and is a separate part of your physical existence!
If you haven’t provided for
your soul’s eternal existence
then it must remain in the cold dark grave with your rotting body —
not a good thought, huh?
As the commercial says, your soul is “priceless”,
therefore, if you sell your soul for any amount you have been cheated!
Let me ask you this simple question,
“If you could take all the wealth in the world with you when you die,
then where do you think you can spend it
and what do you think you can buy with it?”
Let us therefore, having brought our attention to “what” we believe about Jesus,
let us then focus that attention on “why” we believe
those things and what is our “motivation” for our actions
as we consider the next Jesus Question:
JQ#19 “For what profit is it to man if he gains the whole world,
and loses his own soul?” (Matthew 16:26)
This would be a good time to consider taking inventory
of your “Spiritual Treasures” as you ponder
“How much is my “soul” spiritually worth in God’s eyes?”
