What Is Your Soul Worth?

 

 

 

 

We know the value of our stuff, it is called assets. If it is valuable stuff, we get it insured. Cars, houses, clothes, expensive jewelry; these we know the worth of. So we can replace them, if need be.

We know the value of our life. Insurance companies sell us insurance for it. Not to keep our lives, but to live on it after we retire or it allows our families to pay for our burial. If you can get life insurance, that only tells you the value of your life to that insurance carrier.

Where love lives in your life, you are valuable as an asset to the family. Son, daughter; brother, sister; father, mother; husband, wife; grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins; in-laws. Your relationship within your family circle, depending on the strength of that circle, determines your value in the family in which you live. Sometimes circles appear elongated because we add our friends to our family because we get closer to them than we do the family into which we were placed or born.

But what about your soul? How do you place a value on your soul (mind/intellect/decision-maker, will, emotions)? How do we place a value on something we cannot see? That which we cannot see many tend to believe does not exist. What is not visible to the naked eye is presumed either too small or too large and requires technology to see it, if one believes that that which cannot be seen is really there. For example, the human cell needs to be seen with a microscope, while the stars and even the planets within our own solar system need to be seen with a telescope. Up close and personal stars do not twinkle.

Not everyone believes in the existence of GOD. Because they cannot see Him, with or without technological devices, they believe in the non-existence of GOD. (Side-note here: there is no such thing as a god-particle. God's creations are everywhere, but the created is not the Creator) Therefore, if God does not exist, how can the soul exist? Since there is no God in their life, there is no aspect of life after death either: no hell, no heaven; only this life. They have no hope. To me that is the worst life, regardless of how much money they have or how famous/popular they are. Therefore, after death the soul does not go anywhere, because there is nothing out there.

Some believe there is more than one god and that these gods control their destiny, leaving the souls to wander the earth if they are not received into the afterlife. Some believe killing people here guarantees them eternal gratitude from their god. Some believe their soul lives on in other people if a baby is born when a loved one dies. Some believe hell is a metaphor for where the wicked go when they die; that good people get into heaven. All of these beliefs, and many more, exist because the people who created these religions did not want to obey GOD. This does not exclude them from God's judgment; unless they repent, though, it will exclude them from God's eternal presence. Because they all have souls.

What you believe in this life determines where you will go after this life is ended.

What is your soul worth to you?

Day 6 of 35-The Meditation of My Heart

Let the words of my mouth, and the meditation of my heart, be acceptable in Thy sight, O Lord, my strength and my Redeemer. Psalm 19:14

In these six frames are six Bible verses as stated consecutively from Psalm 6 through Psalm 31, which frame a small prayers. Knowing that the only way God can hear our prayers is if we are first born again into Kingdom of God, the first frame declares that we acknowledge that God has heard our prayer. So, the first frame is FAITH.
The second frame is HOPE. Hope that The Lord will receive the thoughts of my heart and the words I have spoken. Hope that my heart is right with God and that I am praying in His will and not in my own will; unselfishly, instead of selfishly; humbly, instead of prideful.
The third frame is WORSHIP. To no other would I surrender my soul, but GOD.
The fourth frame is SURRENDER. A desire to have God seek out every part of me and remove that which is not acceptable in His sight. But in that newly cleaned out section of me, I remind God...
of The fifth frame, which is AUDIENCE with GOD. Wherever God has been in my heart and in my body, God will have more room for Himself. When they built the tabernacle in the Old Testament, the glory of The Lord filled it so much, that there was no room for anyone else to be in there with Him. That is how I want God to fill me: filling me up completely and perfectly, that there is no room for anything else in my heart or my thoughts. My primary focus in life is to be fully focused on God. He will direct my heart and my mind, for He holds my reins.
The sixth frame is COMMITMENT. Fully committed to this relationship which we have partnered in. No longer is it one-sided on His part; now we will work together in the God's Kingdom. He has redeemed me from all my sins and brought me into the way of Truth. As The Holy Spirit leads and guides me in with love, so too will He do the same for you.

Day 5 of 35 Inclination of Heart

Psalm 119:112
I have inclined my heart to perform Thy statutes always, even unto the end.

 

As a bride takes her vows, so too does the Christian. Before Christ ever walked this earth in the flesh, King David made this promise to The Lord God.

Throughout The Book of Psalms we see every emotion we go through expressed by David and a few others, who contributed to the writing of this Book.

Especially where we promise, vow, to stay with God.

It is a vow made from a heart of love,

expressed with calm joy, and perhaps a smile,

like the one I am wearing even now.

 

I have inclined my heart. I have turned my heart towards God.

to perform Thy statutes. To do Your laws, commandments, ways.

Always. For ever.

Even unto the end. Regardless of what or who may come against me.

 

In verse 108, just prior to this, he states that the words he speaks are 'free will offerings' from his mouth; no one forced him to speak these words. Nobody twisted his arm, no one made him say such.

 

I have inclined my heart. I did this. I chose to turn my heart towards The God Who Loves Me.

I choose to be with, for all eternity, The God Who Loves Me Always.

His heart is inclined to mine. And now, my heart is inclined to His.

We are one. As the Bride inclines her heart to The Groom,

The Head of The Church. For The Church is The Body of Christ.

And where the Head goes, does not the Body go also?

When Christ speaks to the Bride, it is with Words of Love and Tenderness,

Come, Follow Me. Let us go into the fields and into the valleys..

There is much work to do and very little time to do it.

Guard your heart and your mind, that the thief does not steal you away.

Set your heart on things above, place your treasures in heaven.

Give thanks in all things. Rejoice always.

Whatever you ask in My Name, you will receive.

Come, My Love; Come with Me......

 

I have inclined my heart unto The Lord.

Have you? You, after all, are my treasure. If I could place you in heaven myself, I would,

for then I would have full knowledge of where you are and never lose you.

But this decision must be yours. Only you can choose where your heart rests.

 

Be Thou My Vision by Alison Krauss

 

Day 4 of 35-Sound Heart

Psalm 119:80
Let my heart be sound in Thy statutes; that I be not ashamed.

 Sound. Perfect. Without guile, undeceitful, straightforward.
A spoken desire that The Lord God would keep me in His Word and keep His Word in me. A desire to be faithf...ul in The Lord at all times, and that when He sees me, I will not be ashamed.

A prayer that my heart would be in line with God's statutes, God's ways; not led astray by falsehoods and deceits. A commitment to stay focused and on board with God's commandments. Not using The Word of God to deceive, but letting The Word of God use me. Letting it, allowing Him, to change me from who I think I am to who He says I am.

Day 2 of 35- Uprightness of Heart

Psalm 119:7

I will praise Thee with uprightness

of heart, when I have respect

unto all Thy commandments.

When my heart is right with God, I can praise Him. When the heart is not right with God, it is more difficult and truly impossible to praise God. To direct your worship to God you must first know God, not just know ABOUT Him or know OF Him, but KNOW GOD.

Do you have a special love in your life? Would you love this person if you did not know them personally? I know that there are many people who disassociate themselves with our current president. This is because they only know ABOUT him or know OF him. They do not know him personally. And so judgment towards this man is based on his actions and his words. The same is true in the opposite: those who support his ideas base their support on his words/actions. None of us know him personally.

But what about your mate? How did you feel about him/her when you first heard their name or knew something about that person? Did you love them then? No. Probably not. Because your attitude towards them was based on secondhand knowledge. It is in this same way that many people sing God's praises but do not know Him personally.

When the heart is not right within, then the words of our mouths and the actions we perform are just that: a performance for an audience, not a love song to a lover. Uprightness of heart requires a commitment of heart, also. See where I am going with this? The Word of God directs us to Jesus Christ, for He is The Word of God. We must know Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior of our souls in order for our hearts to be considered Upright. We must believe that Jesus Christ is Lord and accept His death and resurrection as truth. That Jesus, as The Lamb of God That Takes Away The Sins of The World, died on the cross in our place; for the weight of the sins of the world from the beginning of time until the end of time, were laid upon Him, causing Him to be removed from God's presence: for our GOD is holy and sin cannot exist where GOD IS.

When a heart that is filled with sin stands before God, it will be only briefly; for God will judge each person by the blood of His Son. If a person does not have that blood applied to their sins, then the soul of that person will go to hell, eventually being condemned to the lake of fire as so stated in The Book of Revelation in The Bible.

But, when a heart that is filled with The Word of God stands before God, its works will be judged but the blood of Christ will have been applied to that heart, and God will see His Son Jesus. That soul, having been given to Jesus Christ in life, will also be with Him in death, never actually dying, but living for ever more in the presence of God.

It is only on this side of eternity, while you breathe and have life in your body, that you can make a decision for Christ. Today is the day of salvation; tomorrow is not promised.

If you want God to hear your worship and your praises, you need to get right with Him. Without an upright heart, not only will God NOT HEAR YOU praise Him, He cannot hear you at all. All of our praise, our thanksgiving, our prayers must be made with an Upright Heart; a heart that KNOWS JESUS CHRIST IS LORD.

The Application of Sin And The Application of The Blood

 

Jesus is the friend of sinners. But aren't sinners what most people avoid going anywhere near? After all, I'm not a sinner. None of my friends are sinners. There are no sinners in church; church is for religious nuts and Bible-thumpers. Sinners are people who disobey the law and get sent to jail once caught, right? Um, no. Well, then, what is a sinner?

Sin has such a stronghold on the one committing the sin, that the sinner is usually unaware that what they are doing or saying is sin. God's Word says that the one who knows the right thing to do, and doesn't do it, is a sinner. Sin is revealed in the unveiling of the Ten Commandments written by God. But the veil of sin which covers a person's heart hides what sins are lying in it. It is the deception perpetuated by the deceiver of deceivers: Satan, the devil, Lucifer.

Ultimately, sin will destroy the sinner, if the sins are not dealt with accordingly, as stated in God's Word. Sin is disobedience to God; it is rebellion against God. Atheists, for one, disbelieve God's existence; this is sin. Calling He Who Is as if He were not is to deny God's authority and might. Tantamount to calling God a liar, atheism and agnosticism promote themselves over God. This is what Lucifer did in God's heaven. The angelic creation which God designated Lucifer dared to put himself above God; he took his eyes, his focus, off of God and put his sights on himself. Seeing the beauty with which God had covered him, he declared himself to be the one who should rule instead of God. There was war in heaven; Lucifer lost and was thrown to the earth. Eventually, his destination is hell. There, too, will they go who deny God in life; for there are no second chances, no opportunities after death, to change your mind on this matter.

Breaking one commandment requires a person to break all of them. You cannot keep one commandment and break all the rest and expect to be found not guilty. You cannot keep all but one commandment and hope nobody notices. God's Word is pure and holy: all of it. You cannot change what God has said just to make yourselves look good. If you are going to apply The Word of God to your life, not only do you have to do so on this side of the grave, but you have to apply the WHOLE Word of God to your life.

For The Word of God is Jesus Christ. By choosing Jesus Christ as Lord, we apply Him to our hearts, where He washes away our sin with His blood and covers us completely with Himself. We apply The Holy Spirit to our thoughts and our minds, where He begins to do a new work in us, transforming this body of flesh into a body that has surrendered to the Lordship of Jesus Christ. We have the mind of Christ; we are sane and in our right mind. We have the heart of God: to see all mankind saved from the destruction of rebellion and sin. We have knees that bend; in prayer when we seek out God to speak with Him and hear Him speak to us. We have hands that serve the needs of the body of Christ. We have beautiful feet which carry the gospel of salvation through Jesus Christ into the world around us.

Repentance is a 180-degree turn from sin. It is more than remorse, it is a desire to stop giving sin control in your heart and your mind and your life. Repentance of sin is more than a casual "I'm Sorry" or a sincere "I truly apologize". It is a breaking of the heart, allowing unrighteousness and wickedness an escape into the blood of Jesus Christ, which has been applied to your hearts when you accept Him into it and say out loud that you believe that Jesus Christ is Lord. It is the beginning of your new life in Christ. Without repentance of sin, there is no forgiveness for sin. You must repent of your sins in order to be forgiven for committing the sins you have done. It is The Holy Spirit who will reveal sin to you through The Word of God, both by the reading of His Word and by the believing of His Word. Then you will know what is sin in your life.

Though not everyone suffers from the same sin strongholds, everyone can receive forgiveness for any and all sins, when the person repents of that sin and surrenders that now empty place in the heart and mind to God. And though some people choose to set level values on what sin is worse or less, no one sin is worse than the other. All are sin in God's eyes and all sinners will be judged for their sins, regardless of their status.

Our souls are eternal; the seat of our emotions, our will and our thoughts will live forever; this body will turn to dust and fade away, but our souls will survive. Where our souls survive depends solely on our choice to #1: declare Jesus Christ is Lord or #2: turn away from Jesus Christ. Don't turn away; I beg you: this is the day of your salvation. We love you so much that we cannot see you turn Him away, and so we pray for your salvation. We pray to God and intercede with Him on your behalf that salvation would be yours, that your heart would be tender towards receiving The Word of God on your ears and in your hearts. We pray daily and sometimes throughout the night, as The Spirit of God leads, for your ultimate healing: the salvation of your souls.

You are the reason God is refraining Himself from destroying this earth with fire. You are in God's heart, but you are not in His Word; and so, He waits. Eventually, the time will come when He can wait no longer. For the blood of the saints, who have been slain for His name, cries out to Him. And He will answer; even if you are not ready for His return.

 

Light in the Dark

     What a gloomy day outside and probably in. Rained all night long, hard and heavy. So, of course, I was drawn to the Psalms again, to take me out of this gloomy day, which is also hard on me physically. Having OA and Fibro is not fun; nor this mystery disease which causes my body to jerk and spasm unexpectedly. Like the other night when my whole body lifted off the bed while I was trying to fall asleep, twice. I jerked, like a seizure, from head to foot which lifted me off the bed and scared the bejeebers out of me, causing my heart to race, so I had to wait until that settled before I could drift off again. Just another day in paradise. That is what this place is, right? The 'golden years' are not golden: they're steel. Steel rusts and falls apart. The real golden years are when you are able to do anything without pain being attached to it.

    Walking is barely tolerable, while running, especially on the track, is out of the question. I cannot even lift my feet up off the ground, so jumping rope is out of the question, too. While I was never much into weight lifting, it wouldn't have done me any good now, because a gallon of milk is sometimes too hard to lift. There are days I just tilt it over the shelf in the fridge to pout it into my waiting glass, which is sometimes held in a shaky hand. I am 53. But my body behaves as if it were 103. What's up with that?

    Well, as I understand it, God has allowed these illnesses into my life that He may be able to fulfill His purpose for me through it. When I first got sick, I couldn't walk. My knee and my hip prevented me from walking without pain or support. That was the OA. Nothing led up to it; it just happened. Granted, I had been falling down quite a bit since May of that year (2007), but not hard enough to get hurt. I was just getting dizzy and falling down. Even walking up some stairs. The boys and I had walked to the local museum to just hang out together and as I grabbed hold of the hand rail to climb the stairs, I got dizzy and slammed into them, face first. I was just shaken up a bit and a little embarrassed to have my kids see me fall like that. But I just brushed it off and continued climbing. We were able to enjoy the rest of our time at the museum.

     But while we were there, it began to really pour, so we could not leave the building and enjoy the rest of the harborfront the way we had intended to; Steve, my husband, came and picked us up for the ride home. I never went to the doctor for the dizzy spells until after I couldn't walk. But no doctor in any field could help me. Even the neurologists I ended up seeing could not help with the dizziness or shaking or spasms that were, and still are, happening to me.  But God is gracious. Because of the diagnosis Mystery Disease and the diagnosis from SS's own shrink that I was depressed, got me onto SSD within six months after I applied. God still had His hand on my life even then and was watching out for me.

     Even in my darkest hours, whether gloomy of weather or gloomy of thought, GOD is right there with me, next to me, around me, under me and above me. GOD is my Defence: He protects me from the onslaughts of the enemy without. GOD is my Refuge: He is my hiding place and my shelter. He is my happy place. He is my Light and my driving force that keeps me going regardless of what comes against me. And why does so much keep coming against me? To drive me away from His side; to cause me to doubt what I believe is real and truth. The devil's only weapon is deception. His statements are lies and illusions. To believe the devil's words are to doubt GOD's Words. I believe GOD.

    

    

As God is my Rock, my Refuge, my Defence and The Light of my heart, I share His Light of Love and Mercy with a dark and dying world; a world without hope needs the Hope of Salvation through Jesus Christ to get them through the even darker hours that are ahead for this world. Not just my country, USA, but all nations. Jesus died for the whole world, not just the western civilizations who live in comfort for the most part.

There are hundreds of languages, including localized dialects, that have not received a Bible in their own language yet. There are thousands, if not millions, who do not believe God's Word is relevant in today's world, that it is an outdated history book, if not outright fairy tale. These people live in darkness and need the Light of  Christ to shine from us into their lives. Person to person would be nice, but most of us cannot afford to travel outside our cities, much less leave our country to make our homes in another one.

You who have the Light of Christ are the Salt of the earth. You both reveal who Jesus is and why He died to your family and friends. You are the missionary. Your job is to tell your best friend, who might not be saved or born again into God's family, about Jesus. With Love, not with hate or judgment.. Your job is to show Jesus by your actions and your attitudes. My job is the same. The Bible says they who follow Christ fully have been made ministers: we minister to the needs of the unsaved around us, that they might see Jesus in us. And want what we have: knowledge and hope. So many of our friends do not have knowledge and hope in this life, much less after they die.

It is our responsibility, our privilege, our honor and our glory to not only share the love of God with someone, but to see them accept, believe and begin to follow and grow their own seeds of faith in God through Christ. We lead people to Jesus: But JESUS SAVES.

Jesus told His disciples, 'No longer do I call you servants, but now I call you friends.' Why did He say that? Because they were now serving Him with hearts of love. They wanted to help Him accomplish His goals. They wanted to help Him serve. He knew their hearts and that they served with love. Even Judas was referred to at this time, and one other, as friend. God knows your hearts, you who serve Him faithfully, and await His return with great expectation and joy. You, He calls 'friends'. No longer am I a servant only in God's kingdom, but I am a friend. I am a friend of God. I am salt and light. I show you Jesus, that you might thirst for this Savior of mine. I share you Jesus that you might crave the light of His love, with the same enthusiasm you greet a candle or flashlight, when the power goes out or gets shut off.

There you stand in your dark room, plagued by thoughts of doubt and fear. What will you do next? I give you Jesus. What will you do with Jesus? I will love Him and share Him and make Him happy with not only my obedience, but my willingness to hear His voice speak through His Word and His Spirit, who guides me through every path on which God directs my steps. Regardless of the bumps in the road or the sharp turns or the crazy winding curves. I will follow Jesus. Come, and follow Jesus with me. Let us be friends of God together. Let us join our two lights and create a greater light to shine in the dark, thereby bringing more people into His light and His mercy.

 

Prayer Blessing

This is the prayer I have prayed over my husband, my children, my extended family members and my friends in the year passed. And I will continue to pray it until either its fulfillment or God takes me home, whichever comes first.

Wherever the pronoun 'you' is mentioned, that is where the name of the person you are praying for goes. Oh, and as always, this must be prayed out loud, even if its only a whisper.

The words we speak have the power to kill or grow, wound or heal. Be careful what you say; think before you speak. Perhaps it would be a good idea to only speak when God tells us to speak. What if we spent year 2013 doing that? The world would be a lot more peaceful, wouldn't it?

The spoken Word of God has the power to divide: it divides families. In our family, some believe while others do not. Some believe only part of it, while some don't believe it is even relevant for today. The Word of God is alive and doing quite well.

The body of Christ, The Church, is waking from her slumber of the last few hundred years or so. We are strengthening ourselves in The Word of God by reading it daily. We read, we think on these things; we pray over The Word which we have read. The more we seek God, the more God reveals Himself to us.

The opposite is also true. The less you seek out God, the thicker the veil covering your eyes, the harder your heart becomes and the less you will listen to those who truly love The Word of God, The Lord Jesus Christ, Who is the Word of God in the flesh. Leaving the glories and riches of heaven to be born in humble surroundings, to be born into a world that was dark with sin and unrighteousness. Leaving home, a place of light and love, Christ came to a place of intense darkness and wickedness in high places.

Even at His birth the local king wanted to know where He was born. Not to worship Him, as he stated, but to kill Him, that He might remove this threat to his own kingship. The wise men made themselves known to the king's court, because that was the correct act to do when visiting foreign lands. And their only question, directed at the king, was, "Where is He that is born King of the Jews?"

Herod was a sly king indeed. To reign as long as he did without being overthrown or killed outright himself, he must've had a poker face. He could say one thing and think another without giving away his secret intentions. A true politician. He demanded of the chief priests and scribes where Christ would be born and their reply was to quote the prophet Micah: "In Bethlehem of Judea: for thus it is written by the prophet (Micah 5:2) 'And thou Bethlehem, in the land of Judea, are not the least among the princes of Judea: for out of thee shall come a Governor, that shall rule My people Israel.'"

He asked the wise men the date of the star's appearing and how long they had already been searching. And sent them on their way with the instruction to bring him the location of the new King. But when the wise men did not return to the palace with the information of Jesus' location, King Herod ordered all of the baby boys 2 years old and under to be killed. But Joseph was warned in a dream to leave and flee to Egypt for safety, until Herod's reign was ended, which he did. He gathered up his young family from the place where they had been living while the baby was young and fled to Egypt, remaining there until the wicked king had died.

A dead king has about as much power to rule and make decisions as a pile of dung. He no longer has any authority or sayso about the events which take place in the kingdoms he once ruled. However, a new king was now ruling in Herod's place and he was just as wicked if not more so. For Joseph, on the words spoken by an angel of The Lord, was returning to Judea, but instead was directed to Galilee, to Nazareth; there it was that he raised his family, even the young Jesus, the Savior of His people.

Throughout His lifetime here on earth, Jesus' life was threatened. Even during His ministry, men sought to stone Him for the words He spoke. And when He was crucified, the enemies of the gospel of salvation through Jesus Christ thought they had won. But we all know that that is not true. For Jesus Christ walked out of the tomb in which He was buried, after the stone had been rolled away by the power of God. His glory was so brilliant that it took out the guards, knocked them unconscious and speechless. And I bet they were scared, too. They saw Him walk out of that grave. I think if I hadn't believed before that moment, I sure would've believed AT that moment. I sure do love my Jesus.

Words. The Power of Words spoken. The Power of The Word of God spoken. Much will happen in this year 2013. Just to say it reminds me of the sci-fi books I used to dig into. And some of the songs I used to listen to. Some will look at the last two numbers -13- and automatically believe that it will be a bad year. Because of their superstitious beliefs they will always look for the bad in every event that the media outlets speak of; not just the popular news shows, but the tabloids and the social media as well. The number 13 in a child's life is pivotal. They have left childhood behind, chronologically speaking, and entered teenhood. We are in the young teenage years of the 21st century. Truly, it is a new beginning; a year of possibilities,  a year of ideas and hopes.

Look not on the year's numerical status. Nor on its place in the timeframe of  'what if'. Today is the day of salvation. Our lives are short and our days are numbered. Only God knows the number, the date of our death. We do NOT need to know when we will meet God face to face. We DO need to know that we are READY to meet Him, though. This is the year of accepting God Is. Those who believe that Jesus Christ is the only begotten Son of God and that He died for our sins and iniquites, rose from the dead and walked out of the grave and into our hearts, will live for ever in the eternal presence of God. Those who do not believe will meet God but once and be judged.

The believer will not be judged. Why? Because we have Christ not only in us, but on us. He covers us with Himself and God cannot see us. Jesus is not only our Savior, He is our Defense, our Lawyer. Those who do not believe will not have Jesus for their defense. Having rejected Him in this life, the unbeliever will not have any opportunity after death to believe or accept. Now, Today, is the day, the date that you must believe. The Word of God says that tomorrow is not promised to any one, even the believer. Therefore, all must believe on this side of the grave, while we have breath and are alive.

 

It is currently 10:39 A.M. Today is nearly half over.

What will you do with this Jesus?