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?”