JUNE 16 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)

JUNE 16  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, Your Glory is Forever, but Lord I pray that You open my “spiritual” eyes and burn the Truth into my heart that Your Glory is also “NOW”, Your Glory has always been so I pray as did the thief on the cross that You “remember me” (Luke 23:42) for You have come into Your Kingdom and are in it “NOW” sitting at the Right Hand of God making intercession for me! Lord, You have paid the “ultimate price” to purchase back that which I sold so cheaply to sin — forgive me, Lord Jesus and “return to me the joy of Thy salvation” (Psalm 51:12). Lord, as I seek Your Truth let me go forth with confidence that You will both show me the “Way” to Your Truth and that You will “equip” me with Your Strength that I will “share” Your Truth with others that need to be bathed in Your Spiritual Light, “the life of men” (John 1:4,9) that only comes from the True Light!              AMEN

THE JESUS QUESTIONS

Jesus, my “soul” is stirred today with the thought of the “Great Price” that You have already “paid” for my sin and I can answer the Jesus Question JQ#19, “Or what will man give in exchange for his soul?”(Matthew 16:26b)  by truthfully declaring that I possess nothing of any value to God except my soul which I had sold to the world, therefore I can only turn to the “One” that Suffered and Died for my sin that my “soul” could be Redeemed, my “Pardon” is not “Purchased” by anything of earthly value but by Heaven’s Priceless Grace! The Holy Spirit reminds us occasionally that the Final Destination holds “joys unimaginable” so therefore we must “Stay-the-Course” — “He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To him who overcomes I will give to eat from the tree of life, which is in the midst of the Paradise of God.” (Revelation 2:7) This “tree of life” is the same as the one that “The Lord God planted a garden eastward in Eden, and there He put the man whom He had formed. And out of the ground the LORD God made every tree grow that is pleasant to the sight and good for food. The tree of life was also in the midst of the garden…” (Genesis 2:8-9) So we see what is meant from the Psalmist “… even from Everlasting to Everlasting, You are God!” (Psalm 90:2) for “In the beginning” God Created us, God placed us in a garden that He Himself planted, God placed us in this “Paradise of God” along with the “tree of life”, then when we forfeited the “Paradise of God” for our selfish desires, God provided an Atonement for our sin and sent His Only Begotten Son to become flesh, to suffer and die, and to “Purchase” our ticket back to “Paradise” so that at the “end times” we can again partake of the “tree of life”.  In JQ#19 Jesus asks us to consider what we can give in “Exchange for our soul” (Matthew 16:26b) and we are so caught up in ourselves that we are blinded to the “Truth” that Jesus has already given us the answer before asking the Question — just prior to asking JQ#19:  “Jesus said to His disciples, ‘If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross and follow Me.” (Matthew  16:24) then Jesus continued with more details about the price we must pay for this “exchange” as He tells the disciples, “For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it.” (Matthew 16:25) So once again, Jesus gives us the answer and then asks the question which makes more sense why God said, “This is my beloved Son in whom I am well pleased. Listen to Him.” (Luke 9:35) for here Jesus is telling us what to do to “overcome” that we may partake of the “tree of life” that awaits us in the “Paradise of God”! The real question now is “What ‘life’ is it that we must ‘lose for His sake’ and what ‘life’ will we ‘find’?” Could it be that Jesus is Teaching us another detail of the Truth of God that our body contains “physical” life which we defile, but our “spiritual” life is of God who offers “Eternal Life” which is undefiled because it is from God Himself?