JUNE 06 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 06  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 of all creation, Giver of Life, You Lord are Victorious over “death and the grave” and Your expressed “Purpose” was “not to condemn the world”, but through Your Sacrifice the world would be saved from our sins, sins which of our own volition curse our eternity resulting in our eternal separation from God ——— but because the Son was Obedient to the Will of the Father and endured the Cross for the sake of the sins of the world, we now have the HOPE and ASSURANCE based on the Promise of God that turning from our sin and seeking God’s Forgiveness, we are FORGIVEN because of the Great Sacrifice of Jesus! Thank You, Praise You, and Glory to God for we have heard the Words of Victory shouted out from that Cross, “It is FINISHED!!!”          AMEN

THE JESUS QUESTIONS

Jesus is always using His last Question and our current circumstances to take us “deeper still” into the knowledge and understanding of God and His Kingdom and along the “Way” Jesus “motivates” us to look expectantly with Great Hope to our “Future” with Him in the Kingdom. JQ#18 was asked to get us thinking about “who” Jesus is “in Spirit and in Truth” for Jesus wants us to be assured that when we face God at the “Final Judgement” we will have the “correct answer” to give to God. Jesus very clearly stated this as He was discussing this “Final Judgement” and making sure we know what to say and do when we find ourselves in God’s Presence and how to prepare with our day-to-day existence to “meet our maker” when Jesus said to the woman seeking Truth about God: “But the hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for the Father is seeking such to worship Him. God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.” (John 4:23-24) Now in JQ#19 Jesus asks the next Question which moves us from the “spiritual” realm into the the “physical” world and Jesus locks His Divine Laser beam on the main problem man faces on a day-to-day basis — and that issue is “profit”! Let us stop and consider the world we live in and see if there is any basis to this “theory” that everything is “profit driven” — the first thing that comes to my mind when I think about “profit” is the Super Bowl! Now before you get off on a tangent about your favorite team, please consider this in terms of the phrase “…what profit is it to man…” and I will submit these facts from Super Bowl 50 in 2016 : A “30 second advertising spot” sold between $4,600,000.00 to 5,000,000.00 and the 50 year total on advertising alone is officially at $5,900,000,000.00. This is for “advertising” only and is only the “reported” numbers used for “tax” purposes. To make the point clear we must consider that the $5,900,000,000.00 (unreported expenses could easily be the same amount) represents an “investment” by the business and can you guess why so much money was “invested”? Business must make a “profit” from their “investments” or they cannot remain in business so it is safe to say that if a business is willing to invest such large sums of money, and they do it for 50 years, it is because there is a “lucrative” reward from their financial “investment” in the form of “profit” and in order to remain in business the “profit” must exceed the “investment”. So if Jesus asks about “profit” well over 2000 years before the first Super Bowl then we must admit that Jesus obviously knows something about the future “ways” of the world and so it would be wise for us to listen to Him and consider how much time we spend in our day-to-day lives seeking “profit” and how much time we spend in our day-to-day lives seeking “divine purpose”?  If Jesus “invested” His time into us, we should be seeking to understand what kind of “profit” Jesus is telling us is appropriate for our “soul”! Jesus keeps asking Questions and we should keep thinking not only about answering His Questions honestly, but we should also consider what He is trying to accomplish and for JQ#18 and JQ#19 the comparison between the “physical” (our body) and the “spiritual” (our soul) keeps coming to my mind. In Psalm 139, King David whom God described as a “man after My own heart…” wrote: “Search me, O God, and know my heart; try me, and know my anxieties; and see if there is any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.” (Psalm 139:23-24)  This verse seems to me to be a prayer that Jesus is answering in our daily lives by making us search our own heart to see if any wicked way such as “seeking physical profit instead of spiritual purpose”  exists in us and that the reward for our effort is that if we follow Jesus we will find the “way everlasting”! One other verse was placed before me as a thought to consider about the upcoming “Final Judgement” for those that seek “spiritual purpose” ——— “There is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day — and not only to me, but also to all who have longed for His appearing.” (2 Timothy 4:8) When was the last time you went to take a “final exam” and didn’t study the material you knew would be on the test? I can tell you from experience that the results of such “foolish” behavior is “Failure” with a Capitol “F” !?!?!?! Jesus is preparing us to meet God and God has already spoken: “This is My Son in whom I am well pleased. Listen to Him!” (Luke 9:35) 

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)

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?”  

JUNE 04 THE JESUS QUESTIONS JQ#18 “But who do you say that I am?” (Matthew 16:15)

JUNE 04  THE JESUS QUESTIONS  JQ#18  “But who do you say that I am?” (Matthew 16:15)

LIVING FOR JESUS  Daily Prayer    

JESUS, I come before You today with a thankful heart that I can come before You today — Lord, I know that I take it for granted that any time I decide to pray to You that You will hear my prayer but Lord today it is evident to me that You being there any time I pray is another reason that we should give You Praise and Glory and Honor. In God’s Great Plan for the world He has ordained that Salvation and Prayer will be as free and abundant as air and water and through Jesus we will have our “daily bread” and “living water” and the “blessed assurance” of eternal life! Praise the Father who has Promised to NEVER leave us nor forsake us and who gave us PRAYER that we may confidently approach the throne of Grace. Thank You Father that we can know that Jesus has finished the work You gave Him to do so that we have “Blessed Assurance” that You will hear our prayers as soon as they are lifted. Also we give thanks that Your Spirit  inhabits our Praise — So Lord Jesus, I lift my Prayer of Thanksgiving and give You Praise that You have chosen to be our God — may we never lose sight of the great Freedom that Your Grace imparts to all men.     AMEN

THE JESUS QUESTIONS

Jesus never leaves us hanging once He asks a Question. Jesus asked His disciples “who do men say…I am” (Matthew 16:13) and then made His Lesson clear as He immediately responded to their answer of who men were saying that Jesus was by asking the really important Question “…but who do you say that I am?” (Matthew 16:15) thereby Teaching the disciples that what they have witnessed Jesus doing and have heard Him declaring about Himself IS TRUTH and that we should Trust what God Himself reveals to us and not depend on the doctrines of men. Jesus then responded to Peter when Peter answered the “who-do-you-say-I-am-Question” by declaring that Jesus is “…the Christ, the Son of the living God” (Matthew 16:16). Jesus then acknowledged that our understanding of God comes directly from God Himself! Jesus confirmed TWELVE TRUTHS OF GOD through these Questions and His immediate explanations — here are TWELVE TRUTHS OF GOD as they were revealed through these two “simple” Questions found in Matthew 16:13,15: 

(Truth 1) What men say about God does not change the Truth of who God is. 

(Truth 2) God expects us to form our own personal opinion of who He is. 

(Truth 3) Jesus is the Christ. 

(Truth 4) Jesus is the Son of the living God. 

(Truth 5) God is not dead, He is living and is concerned about our eternal Salvation. 

(Truth 6) God will reveal His Truth to us. 

(Truth 7) God desires to be our “Father” which reveals His desire that we be His Sons and Daughters and 

(Truth 8) He has Promised to Provide for us if we but Trust Him, and believe in the “the Work of God” Jesus was sent to accomplish — the atonement of our sin that we may be clothed in the “Righteousness” of Jesus and can approach the Throne of Grace with great confidence that our “Father” desires us to come to Him with our every need and concern. 

(Truth 9) Jesus declared that on the revealed Truth from God He will build His Church. 

(Truth 10) Flesh and blood cannot reveal Truth but Truth will come by the Spirit of God to those that seek Him. 

(Truth 11) The foundation of the Church is the “rock” that is Jesus and the Truth that Jesus is the Christ and the TRUTH that

(Truth 12) Jesus IS the Son of the living God and has been given “authority” by the “Father” and therefore, we should believe that Father God sent His Son Jesus as God’s Plan for our Salvation, as Jesus has declared, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” (John 14:6) Only JESUS, the Master Teacher and the Son of the Living God who has chosen to reveal Himself to us could Teach us so much Truth with two simple Questions — perhaps we should stop one last time and look at  these two Questions back to back and see what additional “Truths” God will reveal: (1) “Who do men say…[Jesus is]?” (Matthew 16:13) and (2) “Who do [we ourselves] say … [Jesus is]?” (Matthew 16:15)  It’s worth a couple of extra minutes here at this point to know the TRUTH of GOD or are you really to busy in your daily life to “wait on the Lord” who has promised that “He will give you rest” and reveal His TRUTH to you while you’re waiting?!?!?

JUNE 03 THE JESUS QUESTIONS JQ#18 “But who do you say that I am?” (Matthew 16:15)

JUNE 03  THE JESUS QUESTIONS  JQ#18  “But who do you say that I am?” (Matthew 16:15)

LIVING FOR JESUS  Daily Prayer    

JESUS, Lord and Savior, our Redeemer and Friend, let us always magnify Your Holy Name. The Precious Name of Jesus, the Name we call on for comfort in times of crisis, the Name of the Author of our Salvation, the Name above all names — JESUS! Lord, teach me to praise Your Name all ways and always, that my lips may be in continuous worship towards the Prince of Peace, that my heart will embrace the Suffering Servant who died for all my iniquities, that my filthy rags the world has clothed me in can be made robes of Shining Righteousness through the Washing of the Blood of Jesus Christ ——— Divine, Holy Blood shed for ALL the sins of ALL men, ONCE and for ALL! Praise, Glory, and Honor to Jesus, Sweet JESUS! From the Alpha to the Omega, God IS!     AMEN

THE JESUS QUESTIONS

Jesus uses this Question to bring into focus a simple but everlasting TRUTH of GOD and that is that God was God before time was time, the TRUTH being that God created Time and that at the end of Time, God will be sitting on His Throne (the same throne He was sitting on when He created Time)! When we realize that our boundaries are both “Space” and “Time” and are therefore “finite”, we can appreciate the Infinitude of God who existed before He Created “Space and Time” for our existence! That being said, we are still faced with the highly personal Question and the fact that we will have to stand and answer directly to God the Father as to “who” we believe Jesus is — and we will have to accept that it is God that we have to answer to and our chances of getting away with giving the “wrong” answer will be impossible! Standing outside time, we will have to admit we are out of time, and facing God Himself we will have to concede that God is TRUTH, and that the only acceptable answer to the God of Truth is the TRUTH of who Jesus IS!!! Therefore we should search every source available while we still have “time” and make every effort within our “finite” resources to know what God Himself says about Jesus, who Jesus was as He lived among us, what was written by those that witnessed the works of Jesus as He walked the earth and performed the Task that God the Father gave Him to accomplish with His earthly ministry, and then we must search our own soul for the “understanding” that God Himself has promised to put into our hearts if we seek Him. We can read the Words that Jesus spoke of Himself and the Father,  “Most assuredly, I say to you, he who hears My word and believes in Him who sent Me has everlasting life, and shall not come into judgment, but has passed from death into life.”  (John 5:24) That seems like a pretty good answer to me, to go ahead and believe “now” and when we die (death is literally running out of “time”) we will not have to face judgement!  Then again, Jesus is always going that “extra mile” to give us the “understanding” we need so that we can indeed give the “right answer” and this case and this Question is the perfect example of Jesus making sure we KNOW the right answer as we read the answer that Peter gave Jesus immediately after Jesus asked the “Question” to His disciples: “Simon Peter answered and said, ‘You [Jesus] are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” (Matthew 16:16) Then Jesus goes that “extra mile” in confirming that Peter has given the correct answer, “Jesus answered [Peter] and said to him, ‘Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah, for flesh and blood (other men) has not revealed this [TRUTH] to you, but My Father who is in heaven.” (Matthew 16:17) So there you have the CORRECT ANSWER as given by God Himself whom Jesus Himself referred to as “My Father in heaven”, and Jesus gave Peter passing marks by declaring Peter to be “Blessed” for having learned the TRUTH from God Himself. Can you think of anything better than for the Teacher to tell you are going to be tested and then not only does the Teacher give you the “Question” but as soon as you have the “Question” then the Teacher gives you the “Answer”?!?! And also to insure your success that you have no chance to forget the correct answer, you are tested and graded immediately?  God is GOOD ALL THE TIME!!  God has PROMISED that He will never give us a “test” that He doesn’t first make sure we know the “answer”!! Now that is GOOD NEWS unless of course that you are one of those that knows of a better way to spend eternity than in fellowship with God the Creator?!?! 

JUNE 02 THE JESUS QUESTIONS JQ#18 “But who do you say that I am?” (Matthew 16:15)

JUNE 02  THE JESUS QUESTIONS  JQ#18  “But who do you say that I am?” (Matthew 16:15)

LIVING FOR JESUS  Daily Prayer   

JESUS, each day that I read from the original “365 Prayers” that the Holy Spirit led me to pen in 2004, I am amazed at Your Great Spirit that leads us in “Prayers” that address our daily needs but then here many years later I can read those same  “Prayers” inspired by the Holy Spirit and I can recall how they have helped me since 2004. Now these many years later I read the same prayer and I can also see a completely new “understanding” that is possible only because after these years of “experiencing Jesus” Your Spirit reveals to me another “deeper still” application of the same “2004 prayer” but relative to where Your Spirit has led me thus far. Your Word is “Timeless” and truly we cannot “fathom” Your Understanding but Lord Jesus I can “understand” that only You and the Holy Spirit can accomplish the miracle of “Teaching” such deep “Truths of God” with Your Word and Lord, I praise You for being “The Word” and bringing to us Your Life Eternal! Lord, I was dead in my sin and You have raised me to a New Life in Christ ——— Praise God!!!     AMEN

THE JESUS QUESTIONS

Jesus has made this Question highly personal to each and every individual and each of us, either in this life or in the eternity that follows our death, will have to face both God and Jesus in the Presence of the Holy Spirit that is TRUTH, and answer this ONE Question and we must be aware that our eternity is decided by our answer!!! If we get the wrong answer to who God Himself has declared Jesus to be as witnessed by the Holy Spirit and the Holy Scriptures, then the “Penalty” for our “unbelief” will be fairly and justly administered!!! God has declared by His Own Words such things as when Jesus was baptized by John the Baptist who had declared as John beheld Jesus coming toward him in the Jordan,  “Behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world” (John 1:29)  and that when Jesus “came up immediately from the water; and behold, the heavens were opened to Him, and [John] saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting upon Him. And suddenly a voice came from heaven, saying, ‘This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.” (Matthew 3:16-17) and then God had also said of Jesus when Jesus had taken Peter, James, and John onto the mountain and Jesus “was transfigured before them. His face shone like the sun, and His clothes became as white as the light…and behold, Moses and Elijah appeared to them, talking with [Jesus]…while [Peter] was still speaking, behold a bright cloud overshadowed them; and suddenly a voice come out of the cloud, saying ‘This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. Listen to Him!” (Matthew 17:1-5) So now we have a list of witnesses that include John the Baptist, Moses, Elijah, and God Himself that have declared Jesus as the Son of God and His Purpose was to “take away the sins of the world” so it will be very hard to stand in front of God and when God Himself asks the simple Question “Who do you”  ______________ (insert your name in the blank) “say that My beloved Son is?” and standing facing the Creator God of Everything simply shrug your shoulders and utter the phrase that our fallen generation uses for our ultimate “cop out” ——— “U h h h, I don’t know!?!?!” We read the Apostle Paul also adding, “we have so great a cloud of witnesses” and then there is the Truth of God that being God, He knows all things and He IS the TRUTH so I am going out on a limb here and saying that “Lying to God at the Judgement will be impossible”!!!!  Or do you believe that whatever cleaver excuse that you will make up standing in front of God Almighty will be cleaver enough to “trick God” and get you into Heaven?!?! Our answer to God when He asks us “Who do we think His Only Begotten Son IS” must be “THE” correct answer that God has so clearly revealed to us in His Holy Scriptures, written in RED, and by the example of His Only Begotten Son, becoming flesh and dwelling among us, declaring Himself as the Son of God and performing those things Only the Power of God can accomplish in our lives, in addition we have the “personal” witness of billions of sinners-saved-by-Grace so there will be NO EXCUSE anyone can give except, “I chose not to believe” and thereby with our own words we will be justly self-condemned to an eternity separated from God!!! ——— Or with the RIGHT answer that JESUS IS the SON of GOD sent to Take Away our sins, then we may step forward into eternity and unbroken fellowship with God Almighty!!!

JUNE 01 THE JESUS QUESTIONS JQ#18 “But who do you say that I am?” (Matthew 16:15)

JUNE 01  THE JESUS QUESTIONS  JQ#18  “But who do you say that I am?” (Matthew 16:15)

LIVING FOR JESUS  Daily Prayer    

JESUS ——— what Peace, what Comfort, to just utter the Name of Jesus and to know that there is unlimited Power in the Name of Jesus! Our “Peace” comes because the Name assures us of His Unlimited Provisions, “Comfort” comes because we know that God’s Unconditional Love is based on His Good and Perfect Character and there is nothing we need to “do” to get God’s Love but Accept the Ultimate Gift of Grace from the ONE that says to call Him “Abba Father”!!! We know there is Unlimited Power being brought into our lives from the One True God Powerful enough to SPEAK EVERYTHING INTO EXISTENCE and has given us His Unlimited Grace through His Infallible WORD!  Lord Jesus You are Worthy, for Worthy is the Lamb who was slain before the foundation of the world for that Grace and Mercy which indeed are the roots of our Peace and our Comfort, O Glorious Gifts of God!     AMEN

THE JESUS QUESTIONS

Jesus has posed another seemingly simple Question that is “loaded” with unlimited possibilities to dig into. The Question implies with it that there is great personal responsibility being placed upon us in determining where we will spend our eternity! Jesus never asked anyone a Question for His edification or general information, but each Question Jesus asks is a Beacon pointing to God’s Truth and just as there is only One True God, there is only One TRUTH, and God Himself has reserved that ONE TRUTH for His Domain and His alone!  All His Lessons declare with great certainty that “GOD IS TRUTH”. The major implication of this specifically personal Question asked by Jesus over 2000 years ago as He was completing the Teaching-of-God’s Truth-Task that the Father had given the Son to accomplish while “in the flesh”.  JQ#18 “But who do you say that I am?” (Matthew 16:15) was asked in such a way that only God could ask one simple Question yet apply His Divine Truth personally to every soul He has ever brought into existence since the dawn of time! We know that Jesus was asking the Question as the Son of God because He had asked His disciples who had been observing Him doing Kingdom Work, Works that could only be explained by the manifestation of the Power of God in the miracles that Jesus accomplished that related to the Holy Scriptures written about the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. The disciples had seen Jesus fulfilling the prophecies of those scriptures and had heard Him declare in the synagogue as He read from Isaiah, “Today this scripture is fulfilled…” (Luke 4-21 & Matthew 13:14-15) so there was no doubt that His disciples knew that Jesus was referring to Himself as the Messiah, the Son of God, the Savior   as had been proclaimed in the prophecies of Israel’s Holy Scriptures and here was Jesus leading them into this ultimate confrontation that was highly personal and of eternal consequence. There was no other way the disciples could look at the Question asked in Matthew 16:15 other than this was the One that had fulfilled the prophecies of the Holy Scripture and had just asked them face to face, “Who do men say that I, the Son of Man, am?” and as soon as they answered Him, Jesus, so that there could be no mistake what He was asking, immediately said, “But who do you say that I am?” (Matthew 16:15)!!! So Jesus in two Questions stated without doubt that (1) it is not important what “men” say about Jesus and (2) that our eternity will be determined by nothing other that what we ourselves come to “know” of the Truth of God concerning His Only Begotten Son! Jesus declared by His accomplishing the Work of the Father and by doing the Will of the Father that Jesus was by example saying to us all, “I was sent by the Father into the world, not to condemn the world, but through Me, the world will be saved” (John 3:17) and then Jesus confirms His Mission and His Father when we read Jesus saying, “He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.” (John 3:18) Jesus has asked the Question at this point and in this specific manner for the purpose of making it completely personal that each person examine the Scriptures and examine their own life and ultimately declare to Jesus face to face, not who they have heard other “men” declare Jesus to be, but we must declare to Him just exactly who we personally have come to believe Jesus is! This is really tough don’t you think since God knows our every thought and Jesus knows what’s in our hearts? Either God is God or God is a liar, what do you think?

MAY 31 THE JESUS QUESTIONS JQ#18 “But who do you say that I am?” (Matthew 16:15)

MAY 31  THE JESUS QUESTIONS  JQ#18  “But who do you say that I am?” (Matthew 16:15)

LIVING FOR JESUS  Daily Prayer    

JESUS, Your Word is Eternal and Your Truth is Unchanging, Your Way is Perfect and the Only Path to Eternal Life. Lord as we struggle through the “valley” of the shadow of death, let us boldly proclaim the Guidance of Your Light as a Lamp unto our feet and a light unto our path, so that we will again come to the Peace that only the Prince of Peace can give.     AMEN

THE JESUS QUESTIONS

Jesus proclaimed Himself to be:  “[I am] the way, the truth, and the life” (John 14:6) and as we are trying to honestly give Jesus Himself an answer we must consider what we believe about Him in comparison to what He has declared about Himself ——— and what His Father has declared about Him!  This will be another short post today because my path has me at a Bible Camp with 3rd - 6th graders — short posts were elected over “no posts” because this question deserves all the attention we can give it because if Jesus is “the way, the truth, and the life” (John 14:6) and we cannot correctly answer all the Questions asked us about Jesus, then how can we know what is the right and true path to take to eternal life? There is no more important nor more critical Question that God will pose to You other than who you think Jesus is — either the Bible is God’s Word and the only Truth or we are already doomed to an eternal nothingness and our life will have no purpose! The lack of purpose is the curse of this generation that has more “free time” than any generation before them and yet with all this “free time” available to the world, the world has used that “free time” to turn to meaningless entertainment that has no substance or spiritual value and just adds to the problem of us finding purpose and meaning for our lives — if you choose to look for the meaning of life in secular philosophies then you will find that the answer is simply not there — so then you are left with only one option to find the “TRUTH” and the Bible tells us “God is Truth” — so then our problem is knowing the difference between the gods of this world and the One True God of Heaven? It will be a long, long journey to “TRUTH” if you try each god this world places before you and you make the choice to try “everything but the Bible” first you will be eternally lost because the “deceiver” has made sure to present you with so many options and distractions and yelling at you all along to “ignore the man behind the curtain” that you will never see the True Light. When you finally get around to really reading the Bible, you will come to one single “TRUTH”, “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have everlasting life. (John 3:16) Because that verse points to the TRUTH of God, the “deceiver” has done everything he can to make fun of the GPS (God’s Promise of Salvation) verse in God’s Word that points to the only path to the “TRUTH of GOD” and eternal life. The entire Bible is details of how God planned and is going to accomplish John 3:16 but it is your choice to make, and once you start down the path, you will have to answer that all-important eternal Question that Jesus asks you with His still small voice, “But who do you say that I am?” (Matthew 16:15)