Lose Your Life?
In Luke 9: 23 - 26 we read,
"And he said to them all, 'If any man will come after Me, let him deny
himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me. For whoever will save his life shall lose it: but whoever will lose
his life for My sake, the same shall save it. For what is a man advantaged, if he gain the whole world, and lose
himself, or be cast away? For whoever shall be ashamed of Me and of My words, of him shall the
Son of man be ashamed, when He shall come in His own glory,
and in His Father's, and of the holy angels.' "
What does it mean to 'lose your life' ?
It means give up, surrender, 'relinquish' control of your life to God
Almighty! Seek to do His will, not your own!
Stop
chasing after all your selfish wants and desires in this life apart
from God. As you spend time worshiping God, in prayer, and
getting to know Him intimately, you are 'releasing control' to
Him. In fact, you will learn HIS control in your life, which
is a
'better control' or 'handle' on your life. This is what Jesus
meant when you truly lose your life, you will actually 'gain' or 'save'
it.
As you 'abide' or spend time with God, you will bear more and
more good fruit. This includes love, joy, peace, patience, kindness,
goodness, faith, etc. Now, isn't that what living should be
all
about? Focus on seeking God and what He wants you to do!
True
happiness can only be obtained from within, by seeking the Kingdom of
God first, which is in you. You cannot get it through material gain or
anything outside of yourself. Do not fall in love with this
present world and be covetous (greedy) for the things of this
life! When we chase after the things of this life and forget God,
we
disconnect ourselves from the source of all life. This is how
we get into stress and all kinds of health problems, physical and
psychological!
Get
a picture of what God will do as you spend time seeking Him and
worshiping Him. Picture yourself in your prayer closet,
hands
lifted up, surrendering to God, and as you do, He pours out life to you
from within. As you spend time with God, He pours out to you more and
more life! Do you see the importance of seeking Him daily?
Romans 12: 1 - 2 says,
"
I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you
present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God,
which is your reasonable service.
And
be not conformed to this world: but be transformed by the renewing of
your mind, that you may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and
perfect will of God. "
John 7: 37 - 38 says,
"In
the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried,
saying, 'If any man thirst, let him come unto Me, and drink.
He
that believes on Me, as the scripture has said, out of his belly shall
flow rivers of living water.' "
Colossians 3: 1 - 3 says,
"If
you then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above, where
Christ sits on the right hand of God. Set
your affection on things above, not on things on the earth.
For
you are dead, and your life is hidden with Christ in God."
I John 2: 15 - 16 says,
"Love
not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man
love the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For
all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the
eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world. And
the world will pass away, and the lust thereof: but he that does the
will of God abides forever."
As
you spend time with God, seeking Him, seeking to do His perfect will in
your life, He will teach you how to be truly happy and content, apart
from 'exterior' things or the material things in life. Life
to
you will take on a new vibrancy and it will all flow from within,
independent of things from the 'outside'. You will look no more to others or material things to truly fulfill you, because they can't
anyways. Only the things of the Kingdom of God can truly
fulfill.
God
will teach you how to stop and enjoy even the smallest things in life
that you would normally overlook and deem as unimportant. The major
lesson He wants you to learn is how to live in the 'NOW' instead of the
past or looking to the future for better things. You will realize what
it means to 'stop and smell the flowers'. This will reduce
stress
and keep you healthy and happy!
***Cup of
Coffee***
A
group of alumni, all highly established in their respective careers,
got together for a visit with their old university professor. The
conversation soon turned to complaints about the endless stress of work
and life in general...
Offering his guests coffee, the professor
went into the kitchen and soon returned with a large pot of coffee and
an eclectic assortment of cups: porcelain, plastic, glass, crystal -
some plain, some expensive, some quite exquisite. Quietly he told them
to help themselves to some fresh coffee..
When each of his
former students had a cup of coffee in hand, the old professor quietly
cleared his throat and began to patiently address the small
gathering... ''You may have noticed that all of the nicer looking cups
were taken up first, leaving behind the plainer and cheaper
ones.
While it is only natural for you to want only the best for yourselves
that is actually the source of much of your stress-related problems."
He
continued...''Be assured that the cup itself adds no quality to the
coffee. In fact, the cup merely disguises or dresses up what we
drink. What each of you really wanted was coffee, not a cup,
but
you instinctively went for the best cups... Then you began eying each
others cups....''
''Now consider this: Life is coffee. Jobs,
money, and position in society are merely cups. They are just tools to
shape and contain Life, and the type of cup we have does not truly
define nor change the quality of the Life we live. Often, by
concentrating only on the cup, we fail to enjoy the coffee that God has
provided us... God brews the coffee, but He does not supply the cups.
Enjoy your coffee!''
The happiest people don't have the best
of everything, they just make the best of everything... So please
remember: Live Simply. Love Generously. Care Deeply. Speak
Kindly. Leave the Rest to GOD.
And remember - the richest person is not the one who has the most, but
the one who needs the least.
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