JULY 15 JQ#19-11 “For what profit is it to man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul? Or what will man give in exchange for his soul?” (Matthew 16:26) The Jesus Questions

LIVING FOR JESUS --- Daily Devotional

JULY 15   JQ#19-11  “For what profit is it to man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul? Or what will man give in exchange for his soul?” (Matthew 16:26) 

365 Prayers to JESUS 

Jesus, You Lord are the Man of Sorrows, the Suffering Servant, You were innocent but arrested and beaten by Your accusers, Your own rejected You, You were scourged like no man ever and then You had to carry Your cross to a hill called Calvary where You accepted Your purpose as the Sacrificial Lamb of God, and though You could have called Legions of Angels to protect You, You endured the cross and instead of crying for the mercy of men, You prayed for them “Father forgive them for they know not what they do” — and even as You were nailed to that cross and hanging in agony while Your last drops of Innocent Blood were being poured out for the sake of others, Your last act was to bring Salvation and Forgiveness to a thief that was being crucified next to You! What a great picture of Your Purpose in life that You demonstrated with Your Death!! Lord forgive me as I sit in all my earthly comfort and pray to “be like Jesus” and fail to see the “Supreme Sacrifice and Suffering” of the Christ, let me never utter another complaint and to be mindful of the “spiritual needs” of others,  give me the strength to understand the Kingdom Truth of what is meant by “taking up my cross daily”.        AMEN

The Jesus Questions

JULY 15   JQ#19-11  “For what profit is it to man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul? Or what will man give in exchange for his soul?” (Matthew 16:26)  Jesus has really opened up a new realm of Spiritual Kingdom Realities when He asks JQ#19 and places the question before us in such a manner that we must be serious and honest with ourselves in an area that is unfamiliar and uncomfortable. If we are to answer Jesus honestly then we must consider that Jesus is telling us that in our earthly pursuit of “profit” that we must recognize that “physical/earthly” things have NO HEAVENLY VALUE and that there will come a time that we will have to face the Reality that (1) We have a “soul” which is “spiritual” and will be separated from our “physical” body at the point of death (2) there is the distinct possibility we can lose our “soul” (3) we will be required by the Creator of our “soul” to use something of acceptable Kingdom Value to “exchange” for our “soul”.  Indeed, what is of enough “Kingdom Value” to our Father in Heaven that He will accept it in “exchange” for our “soul” — the implication here is that our “soul” is not in our possession at the time of this “exchange” or no “exchange” would be necessary, and Jesus pointedly makes us aware of the  stark reality that if we had all the treasures of the earth that we would have nothing to barter with!! This lesson was taught by Jesus to Paul and Paul expressed it as: “Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own? For you were bought at a price; therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God’s.” ( 1 Corinthians 6:19-20) So Jesus is teaching that  we were “bought at a price” and we do not “own” ourselves but God does!! Here is the answer to the question of how valuable is our soul and what we may use to “exchange” for it ——— I’ll give you a clue, it has to do with the Holy Spirit and a transaction that occurred in the past involving God’s most valuable possession, His Only Begotten Son. Jesus is teaching about His Death and Resurrection on the Third Day and that He has come as a “gift” from the Father that we may have retain possession of that part of us that is eternal, our own unique “soul” ——— so it appears that Jesus has already paid “the price” and that price is no less than His Death on the Cross ——— so how are you going to convince Jesus to just give you back your “soul” that He suffered and died for because you simply do not believe in “Spiritual” things which you think are “fairy tales”?!?!? There is Good News and Bad News here: the Bad News is that Jesus and His questions are not going away and the Good News is that Jesus and His questions are not going away!! Once again, the Truth of God is ever before us, are we going to choose to Trust God for the Truth or are we going to decide for ourselves what Truth is?!?! Remember, we came from God and through His Son we will return to God!