JUNE 15 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 15  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, You Lord are the Man of Sorrows, the Suffering Servant, 

You were innocent but was 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 from the very cross they put You on —

 “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 Life and 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 Jesus Christ,

 let me never utter another complaint and may I always be mindful 

of the “spiritual needs” of others. 

Lord give me the strength to understand the 

Kingdom Truth 

of what is meant by 

“take up your cross daily”.             

AMEN

THE JESUS QUESTIONS

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 

(Reality 1) We have a “soul” which is “spiritual” 

and will be separated from our “physical” body at the point of death 

(Reality 2) there is the distinct possibility we can lose our “soul” 

(Reality 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/control

 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 still 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 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, our “soul” came from God 

and through His Son our “soul” will return to God!

JUNE 14 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 14  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, all Praise, all Glory, and all Honor to the Son that was willing

 to Sacrifice Himself that all who call on His Name might be Saved

 from the curse and slavery of sin which entered the world 

because of an act of disobedience that has been repeated

 in each individual’s personal life as we continue to live for ourselves

 and ignore the “Gift” of True Freedom that God 

has so generously offered everyone that will but “receive”

 the Grace extended to all.

 Lord Jesus, even when we have accepted the “gift” 

we need daily reminders that we must guard against slipping back 

into the sin of disobedience when we take 

the shadowy path of self gratification 

and turn from the Light 

and drift away from the True Path to the Narrow Gate, 

a Path that never goes through the Valley of Self, 

but remains day-by-day clearly marked by the 

Beacon of God’s Truth.     

AMEN

THE JESUS QUESTIONS

Jesus never lets any circumstance in our lives degrade into us losing ground

 to the enemy and therefore it is clearly 

God’s “Intent” that we see His Truth and use God’s Truth 

so that we can guard against attacks from the deceiver!  

JQ#19 is an excellent example of the depth that God will go 

to Teach us that we must be on guard against these attacks from the enemy 

that the enemy launches by infecting us with a “virus” 

attached to our “good intentions”!!!  

Though we “intend to do good” the “enemies’s virus” will actually create

 a distance between ourselves and God and in turn becomes

 a major victory for the enemy. 

Jesus is Teaching in JQ#19 the

 “eternal value of the soul” 

which is an eternal unique gift from God. 

We must continually be aware that if the enemy can cause us 

to not appreciate “God’s gift” then we are in effect

 not receiving the “gift” in a manner 

that “honors” the “Gift-Giver”. 

The enemy knows how much 

God desires for us to accept His “Gift” 

and to use it to defend against the attacks from the enemy —

 but this is a sad thing, that instead of using the “Gift”

 to defend ourselves from the enemy, we disrespect the “Gift” 

and end up aiding the enemy in his desire to keep us from God. 

This is a very fine point but if we do not “understand” its significance 

then we will suffer defeat from within and fall victim 

to the sin of disobedience and self-destruction. 

Jesus had commanded us when Teaching us about sharing 

the Love of the Father that we must pay close attention 

to not go the way of the world but to follow the example

 of Jesus and the Father as Jesus said:

 

“Therefore you shall be perfect, 

just as your Father in heaven is perfect.” (Matthew 5:48) 

And lest we overlook the fine print, remember that 

Jesus was Teaching us that by being obedient to the Father

 that we would be on the True Path 

and “…that [we] may be sons [and daughters]

 of [our] Father in heaven…” (Matthew 5:45). 

If we fail to read the “fine print” we will lose all the benefits 

of being “heirs to the kingdom” if we like Esau will sell our “birthright”

 for a bowl of stew to satisfy a worldly hunger. 

Selling our “spiritual birthright to the kingdom” is what we are doing 

if we do not keep on guard for the attack of the enemy from within ourselves 

as we think with all honorable intentions that God needs 

our limited finite abilities to work out a “Spiritual” problem for Him!?!?. 

This is why Jesus calls our attention to the fact that He 

“must … suffer many things … be killed …

 and be raised the third day …” (Matthew 16:21) 

and then why He reacted the way He did when Peter 

(with all good intentions succumbed to an

 attack from the enemy from within) as Peter

 “took [Jesus] aside and began to rebuke Him saying, 

‘far be it from You, Lord; this shall not happen to You!” 

(Matthew 16:22)

 Peter had been the one to whom God had revealed that 

Jesus is “the Christ, the Son of the living God.” (Matthew 16:16)  

and now here is Peter telling Jesus that the things 

that Jesus said “must” happen, “… shall not happen …” ?!? 

Definitely this is an attack from within and Jesus calls out the enemy post haste:

 “But [Jesus] turned and said to Peter,

 ‘Get behind Me, Satan! You are an offense to Me, 

for you are not mindful of the things of God, 

but the things of men.” (Matthew 16:23) 

Jesus makes it very clear in these three verses that we 

“MUST” be on guard from these internal attacks from the enemy

 that uses our “good intentions” as Trojan Horses

 to hurt our relationship with God. 

Do you not see that

 when we think we can “take control” of God’s Plan 

that we become an “offense” to God 

and can’t you hear the enemy laughing out loud at us 

and pointing his crooked little finger saying,

 “Don’t look at me, you did it to yourself” ?!?!? 

The Good News here is that Jesus won’t let that happen 

because He cannot be fooled by Satan like we can, 

and remember Jesus promised: 

“… and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” 

(Matthew 28:20)