JULY 09 JQ#19-5 “For what profit is it to man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul?” (Matthew 16:26) The Jesus Questions

LIVING FOR JESUS --- Daily Devotional

JULY 09   JQ#19-5  “For what profit is it to man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul?” (Matthew 16:26) 

365 Prayers to JESUS 

Jesus, Lord and Savior, the Lamb of God that was slain before the foundation of the earth, God very God who became flesh and dwelt among us so that You could Teach us by example how to live in this world that has been defiled and filled with the sin of disobedience. Jesus I pray that my life will no longer be wasted on self but will grow daily in Your Grace, Compassion, and Wisdom — Lord Jesus may I live like You  and Love others as You demonstrated and commanded. Lord, I know that to live like you that it means to “serve” others and to sacrifice self in obedience to the Father’s will, keep me centered in Your Will and walking in Your Light that I may know Your Way.       AMEN

The Jesus Questions

JULY 09   JQ#19-5  “For what profit is it to man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul?” (Matthew 16:26) Jesus uses JQ#19 to draw our attention inwardly to our “spiritual existence” and when He gets us to consider that we have a “soul” He brings our awareness to focus on considering the eternal battle being waged in the world to gain control of each individual “soul”! The “soul” is eternal and the “soul” is who we really are ——— this can be easily proved by us asking ourselves simple “physical” questions like “will I die if I lose an arm or a leg?” or at each birthday we celebrate (or curse) we must ask “am I a certain age?” or do we believe that our “weight” defines us, or our bank account, or the car we drive makes us who we are? No, as soon as one reflects on that universal question “who am I and what am I doing here?” we are aware that life is more than the body, or age, or any other “physical” characteristic and that is why we embrace the concept of “spirits” for we notice “spiritual” concepts in others like “attitudes” and recognize that our bodies are just a vessel that is carrying who we really are and we declare cliches like, “Don’t judge a book by its cover” and use terms like “true beauty is on the inside”. The one thing we often overlook is that is definitely “spiritual” is our “emotions”. Our body is a “physical” entity that expresses what we feel in our “spirit” as we see the same body cry, laugh, jump for joy, and in the same body we can mourn or we can rejoice — all our emotions are “inward” and are “spiritual” and are displayed “outwardly” by our “physical” body, so the same body is not defined so much by our “physical” characteristics as we are really defined by our “inward” or “spiritual characteristics” and therefore Jesus has been teaching His disciples how to “live” and the lessons all deal with our “spiritual response” to our “physical circumstances”. The fact that there is a battle for our “soul” can be seen in both “what” Jesus teaches and “how” He has lived His life while existing in the flesh. Jesus had previously taught the disciples by casting out “unclean spirits” and gave the disciples “power” to do the same: “And when [Jesus] had called His twelve disciples to Him, He gave them power over unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to heal all kinds of sickness and all kinds of disease.” (Matthew 10:1) So we must consider that there were twelve different physical bodies for the disciples so it was not the disciples physical characteristics that were going to accomplish “casting out…unclean spirits” or “to heal all kinds of sickness…”  which we recognize as “spiritual issues” being exhibited in different “physical forms” and we should also recognize that to accomplish  healing of the physical and the removal of unclean spirits that Jesus “gave them power” and that “power” was not in the form of any “physical” characteristic, it was not in any “physical” form whatsoever, but the “power” existed in “spiritual” form only and regardless of the disciples physical description, they all had the same “power” which had to exist as “spirit”. Also we must acknowledge that each of us possess a “spirit” within us that is recognizable by others and in this scripture the writer Matthew uses the term specifically calling the problem “unclean spirits” so it is reasonable that to “cast out unclean spirit” that the “power” over them must be a greater spiritual power! There is precedence in God’s creation to let us know that this “Supreme Power” is of God because we read in Genesis two verses that draw our attention to the ultimate “power” and they are: “The earth was without form and void; and darkness was on the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters.” (Genesis 1:2) The next verse is how God used His Spirit to fix the darkness, the emptiness, and the lack of purpose as we read “Then God said, ‘Let there be light’, and there was light.” (Genesis 1:3) So at the very start of everything “physical” we see creation being accomplished by the “Spirit of God” and that the solution to physical issues God brought forth “light” and please note that this was accomplished not by any physical feat but by God “speaking” and immediately it was so. Before the “sun worshippers” start giving themselves high fives we must ask, what was this “light” that God spoke and it happened? If we read the creation account we find that it was on the fourth day of creation that God made the sun and the moon so what was the “light” God spoke into existence on day one? If the sun and moon are “physical” lights then it must be reasoned that the “light” in Genesis 1:3 was created by the “Spirit of God” therefore it could be considered as a “Spiritual Light” and could this “Light” on day 1 be “understanding”?  Consider John 1:1-5