Our paragraph topic is: (The doctrine of the cross) Part 6.
Christ spoke to his disciples in no uncertain terms. He wanted them to know the truth. He wanted them to understand the rules. He enlightened them on the ultimate value that they possessed and that all men possessed in their souls. What would it profit a man to gain all there is in the world and then to loose the most valuable thing on earth. There is nothing more valuable that a man can give other than his soul. And this is the very thing that Satan wants to posses. For Satan minds the things of man and the things of this world. Christ is from the father and minds the things of God.
So Christ came to give man instructions. Christ came to show man how to live. Christ came to be an example. And Christ came to be the sacrifice to satisfy the judgement placed upon man, a judgement made by God before man sinned. And God told Adam, do not eat of the fruit in the middle of the garden least you shall die.
And so it was that Christ knew his fate, he knew his destiny, and he knew the hardship of the road that he had taken. He knew that his father loved him, provided for him, and would keep him in the final hour. But death had to be overcome. The price had to be paid before the sentence was removed. And the disciples feared death. The disciples knew not what lie beyond death. So Christ told them that some would see him in his kingdom before they would pass through the doors of death. He gave them the faith to know that he would be waiting for them on the other side of death. He said to them: "Amen I say to you, there are some of those standing here
who will not taste death,
till they have seen the Son of Man coming in his
kingdom."
The blessed vision that some would have. The blessed experience that some would be able to stand in both realms, heaven and earth, and live by both experiences. To see Christ coming in his own kingdom, to have the experience of knowing that Christ lives in his glorious majesty and splendor before facing death is an experience to
die for. For who would not want to be with him in heaven? Who would not want to taste the glory and the majesty and experience the truth of God's love in heaven? Who, after having that experience, would want to live in this world anymore?
But Christ gave us hope. He gave us the faith to continue to live in this realm even though we know that our home is in heaven with him. For those who know, blessed are they in Christ. For those who do not know, lost are they in this world. And yet it is the knowledge and the truth of who we are in Christ that allows us to experience this life with love. For God is love. He did not demand, or force, or punish us to bring us into compliance with his will. Instead he gave us free choice to choose if we wanted to live with him or live without him. He gave man free will to decide if he wanted to have eternal life with Christ or to not have eternal life. And this is the truth of the battle.
God loves us so much that he created us in his image and likeness and gave us free choice. And then Satan wants us to choose him or not to choose our heavenly Father and Christ Jesus. Some will be blessed enough to experience the touch of God's love. Some will be blessed enough to experience his mercy. Some will be blessed enough to experience the truth of his wisdom and the forgiveness of his compassion for us. And some will have the blessed vision of Christ coming in his kingdom, either in life or before death comes. The experiences are yours, waiting for you.
What does it take to know them? Only your willingness to search for them, only your willingness to believe that they exist, only your desire to know that he is real and his words are truth. Come! Seek the treasure that is yours; know the truth of who you are in Christ. I sought! I found! I believed! And now I know! Christ has given me a gift to give to you, a path, a trail, a tried and tested method that works. It is all laid out for you to follow. And I will walk with you. Christ loves you and so do I! The Holy Spirit awaits you and greets you.
Read the sign of the times! Read the Highlighted New Testament Bible and lift the scales from your eyes that you may see, that you may know, that you may find the truth of who you are in Christ. Read it as though you would read a good book, from cover to cover, and see for yourself. Do not study it in parts reading one passage and then skipping to another, but read it for understanding. Read it for knowledge. Read it for faith. Read it that your eyes may be opened, that your ears may hear, that your heart may be filled with the light of Christ. The Holy Spirit awaits you. Christ seeks to know you. Open the door and let him in!
Our paragraph topic is: (The doctrine of the cross) Part 5.
Christ continues to teach his disciples and the crowd about the value of the soul. He told Peter, who was possessed of Satan, to get behind him. He told the crowds to take up their crosses and to follow him. He posed the ultimate question of the value of the soul. And he reminded them of the day of judgement. What do we choose? The decision belongs to us, as humans. Do we seek the riches of the world and give up the most valuable thing that we possess? Or do we follow Christ and take up our cross so that we may have life eternal with him? The choice is ours.
Christ made his choice. He came that man would have a choice. He came that man would have the opportunity to have life. He came that man would no longer have the judgement of death over our heads. For Satan had tricked Adam and Eve into thinking that they would not die if they disobeyed God and eat the forbidden fruit. And God pronounced judgement upon man. But the decision was theirs to make. And so death entered into the world and mankind lost their souls and with it, eternal life. But Christ came to satisfy the judgement and pay the penalty for man's transgressions. Christ came that man would have life if he wanted it. And Christ came to right the wrong brought by Satan.
What does it profit a man to gain the whole world and loose his soul? What do we gain if we do not have life? We gain death, eternal death. For the day will come when all mankind will be judged and all mankind will have their decisions weighed by God. The truth will come forth and all mankind will know the truth of their decisions. Christ told his disciples and the crowds that the day of judgement will come. "For the Son of Man is to
come
with his angels in the glory of his
Father, and then he will render to everyone
according to his conduct.
And so we wait. And so we live. And so we die, each day, having made the decisions as to how we live in this world. We are driven by the lusts of this world and the passions that it offers us. We live on autopilot in a world that does not offer us a choice. Our daily lives are filled with the choices that help us to loose our souls. We seek repentance one day of the week in our efforts to put to right all the things that we do the other 6 days of the week. And we believe that we are happy. We believe that we have life. We enjoy the choices that are given to us not knowing or believing that we have a choice.
Seven days a week, 24 hours a day we have the choice to be who we are. But that choice goes against what the world offers us. Think what the world would be if we did not have entertainment that thrilled our hearts with sex and violence and action. Think of what the world would be like if we did not have gossip and scandal. Think of what the world would be like if we did not have porn and adultery and lust. Think of what the world would be like if we did not have murder and rape and violence. But this is not the world we live in. And those are not the choices that we are offered. What choices do we have? We have the choice to be who we are. We have the choice to become the persons that we were created to be. We have the choice to live the life that was given us by God. We have a choice. The question is will we choose that choice.
To sleep the sleep of drunkenness. To sleep the sleep of denial. To sleep the sleep of the choices we are offered in the world, is not to sleep but to refuse to awake. We have the choice to know ourselves as we are known by Christ. We have the choice of living in him daily, knowing the truth of who we are. We have the choice of seeing ourselves, now, as we will be seen in heaven. We have the choice of knowing the consolation of the Holy Spirit, that will be our guide, our protector, our provider here in this world. And we have the choice of knowing that death is no obstacle for us but only a door, opening to our meeting with our Lord Jesus Christ and our father, God, our creator. Seek the treasure that is yours in heaven and discard the worthless trinkets that are offered in this world. The door is open. Walk through and receive the knowledge of who you are in Christ. The Holy Spirit awaits your coming. Rejoice!
Read the sign of the times! Read the Highlighted New Testament Bible and lift the scales from your eyes that you may see, that you may know, that you may find the truth of who you are in Christ. Read it as though you would read a good book, from cover to cover, and see for yourself. Do not study it in parts reading one passage and then skipping to another, but read it for understanding. Read it for knowledge. Read it for faith. Read it that your eyes may be opened, that your ears may hear, that your heart may be filled with the light of Christ. The Holy Spirit awaits you. Christ seeks to know you. Open the door and let him in!
Our paragraph topic is: (The doctrine of the cross) Part 4.
Christ continues to address his disciples and the crowd on the value of the soul. For Satan has attempted to turn Christ around through the fears of Simon Peter. Through fear Peter took Christ aside. Through fear Peter spoke to Christ about the coming sacrifice. And it was through fear that Satan entered into Peter to move him to speak to Christ in an attempt to persuade him to change. But Christ saw the fear in Peter and he saw Satan acting through Peter in an attempt to prevent the sacrifice that was necessary to save mankind. For without the sacrifice mankind could not be justified. Without the sacrifice man could not be saved. Without the sacrifice man would remain dead, without spiritual life, without a soul. And Satan wanted man to continue in death, without justification, without sanctification, without life.
Christ came that man would have life and have it more abundantly. He came to sacrifice himself that the punishment of death would be lifted from mankind and man would be restored to new life in him. For his death and resurrection was the gift that demonstrated to mankind that there was a God who would overcome and restore life to all who believed. What does it profit a man to gain the whole world? What does it profit a man to save his physical life if he looses his soul? And here is the central point of what Christ was teaching, "What is the value of the soul?" He asked his disciples: "Or
what will a man give in exchange for his soul?"
Will we forsake our souls for profit? Will we kill to get ahead? Will we lie and cheat to get a promotion? Will we forgo all morals and principles to make that big deal happen, to increase our income one hundredfold? Will we steal to get the money that will give us a taste of the good life today? Will we seek revenge so that we may have justice in our hearts today or will we forgive knowing that justice belongs to God? Are we aware of the value of our souls?
The battle is before us and yet we are not aware of the impending doom. For we live in a world that teaches us, trains us, entertains us based upon the principles that would separate us from our souls. We are given examples daily of how we should live, how we can live, how we are missing out on what we should have to live, if only we accept the principles that are before us and go for it. Wouldn't you like to have more than enough money to pay your bills, keep a roof over your head, food on the table, buy nice clothes, afford a racy car, attract the women, enjoy the pleasures that life has to offer? Or wouldn't you like to make enough money that would allow you to live a life of luxury? We all would! All you have to do is accept what greed has to offer and follow in the footsteps of those who would lead you to prosperity, to luxury, to happiness, to bliss. These are the lines that fill our daily lives everywhere we look, see, hear, and they become ingrained into our subconsciousness. From cradle to grave we are led to believe that all that we are, can be, or will be, is in this world. And yet the world is dying and taking us along with it.
What is more valuable than our souls? What can a man give that is of greater value than his soul? Can we give paper money? Can we give gold or silver or some other metal that we deem precious? Or can we give diamonds and jewels that sparkle and glitter to the eye? What can we give that is of greater value? And yet we desire life and desire it more abundantly.
Our greatest desire is for peace and happiness. Our strongest passion is for love. And our physical life seeks to provide that which is not possible for it to give. We have a choice to make in life. Live in the world or live in Christ. Seek the pleasures of the world or seek the blessings of Christ. Awake from the sleep of desire or drown in the passion of death. For death will come when least expected. Death will take away all hope. Death will bring full awareness of the life of our decisions.
Life will restore faith. Life will bring joy. Life in Christ will open the heart to the peace of who you are and where you belong. Life in Christ will give new meaning to living in the world and living in heaven. For with new life comes knowledge. With new life comes awareness. With new life we awaken to the truth of who we are in Christ and gain knowledge of the spirit that he will give to us. We are aliens in this world encased in the physical house where we reside. And death is not to be feared.
Death is joy and happines, peace and love. For with it and through it we go home to our father, no longer being separated from the place that we know that we belong. So, life is now, but a journey in the love that Christ has to offer. For the Holy Spirit becomes our guide, leading us through the day to day obstacles that the world puts in our path in an attempt to turn us away from who we know that we are. Come! Follow that path set before you. I do not lead. I merely point in the direction, a voice crying in the wilderness. Christ awaits you. The Holy Spirit greets you.
Read the sign of the times! Read the Highlighted New Testament Bible and lift the scales from your eyes that you may see, that you may know, that you may find the truth of who you are in Christ. Read it as though you would read a good book, from cover to cover, and see for yourself. Do not study it in parts reading one passage and then skipping to another, but read it for understanding. Read it for knowledge. Read it for faith. Read it that your eyes may be opened, that your ears may hear, that your heart may be filled with the light of Christ. The Holy Spirit awaits you. Christ seeks to know you. Open the door and let him in!
Our paragraph topic is: (The doctrine of the cross) Part 3.
No one knew what came after death. There was no certainty. The Jews believed that they were God's chosen people and that he had prepared a special place for them. But no one knew for certain what they would encounter after death. Everyone wanted to live. Everyone wanted to have life. Everyone did not want to face the consequences of what would happen after they died. And yet here was Christ preaching to his disciples the outcome of his journey to Jerusalem. Here was the Messiah telling his disciples that he would go and face persecution, torture, and death. And nothing but fear came upon them.
They knew not what to expect. They knew not what was to happen. They knew not the why and wherefore of these actions. But Christ instructed them to follow. Take up your cross and follow me if you want to come after me, he told them. Face the evil in the world and fear not, he told them. For whoever would work to save his life in this realm will loose it and whoever would loose his life in this physical realm, for his sake, would save it in the spiritual realm and save it for eternity. Where is it that we place our value? Is it in the physical realm? Or is it in the spiritual realm that we value ourselves. Christ told his disciples: "For what does it profit a
man, if he gain the whole world, but suffer the loss of his own soul?"
We are told and we believe that we have a soul. We hear it in church. We read about it in the Bible. We see it in our entertainment media. And we believe it in ourselves. But of what value is it? How does it profit us to have a soul? What can we do with it? How does it help us or hinder us as we live, grow, and prosper in this world? Those of us who are youthful do not consider this value. Those of who are older think about its value. Those of us who are declining in age know of its value as we look forward to what comes after death. For we believe that the soul exists. Yet Christ posed a meaningful question to his disciples and to members of the church today: "What does it profit a man to gain the whole world and loose his soul?"
And it is this meaningful question that weighs in the balance each and everyday of our lives. Do our actions, our thoughts, and our beliefs gain us the world or gains us our souls? Do we act as if we want to gain everything in the world or do we want to keep our souls? Do we want our souls to profit or do we want our passions for the world to profit? Do we attempt to sit on the fence and fish from both sides or are we certain that we know on which side we want to jump into? The world wants us to live in it and to prosper in it. The world would have us loose ourselves and our souls in it that we may prosper in worldly things. The world would have us addicted to our passions and criticize us if we are not fully engaged in them.
To laugh, to enjoy, to be hopeful, to be passionate about the prospects of today and what tomorrow has to offer is how we are raised and live. Forgetting about when the thief in the night that may come to steal us away from our souls without the opportunity to repent, is not something that the world wants us to consider. We make every effort to protect ourselves from death but it comes despite all our efforts. It comes to the young. It comes to the old. It comes to the innocent. It comes to the unexpected. It comes. For it is the soul that the world is after and nothing less.
What does it profit? What do we gain? How do we value what we have, how do we value what is given us from birth? We are raised in the world with the love and are given the hopes and fears of our parents and care givers. And when we come of age we are filled with the desires and passions of the world. So we go forth seeking to gain all that it has to offer and to enjoy all the passions that it brings, not knowing or believing that we are asleep in the world. Some are awaken by the struggles that life in the world brings. Some continue to struggle in the passions that this world has to offer. And some face the question of life and decide to give up on it not knowing that they have a choice.
We are aliens in a different form and do not know who we are. Come! The opportunity is given you to know the truth of who you are. Come! Opportunity knocks at your door, bringing truth, and joy, and peace, and love with it. Your life, your soul, is valuable. Do not sell it for something less. Do not offer it for what the world offers for it is worth much more. Do not exchange it for the trinkets and treasures of this world for they are worthless. What will it profit you? You can know, now, the truth of who you are. You can see the life that is given you. You can know the light of your spirit here on earth as it was given to you. Come! Follow the path set before you and know the truth of who you are in Christ.
Read the sign of the times! Read the Highlighted New Testament Bible and lift the scales from your eyes that you may see, that you may know, that you may find the truth of who you are in Christ. Read it as though you would read a good book, from cover to cover, and see for yourself. Do not study it in parts reading one passage and then skipping to another, but read it for understanding. Read it for knowledge. Read it for faith. Read it that your eyes may be opened, that your ears may hear, that your heart may be filled with the light of Christ. The Holy Spirit awaits you. Christ seeks to know you. Open the door and let him in!
