Mark 8:35-36   For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake and the gospel's will save it.  For what does it profit a man to gain the whole world and forfeit his soul?

What are you living for?  Your own comfort and security on earth, or Christ's plan for your life on earth?  It your goal is you, you will lose.  But if your goal is living for Jesus, you will gain your life here and forever.  The choice is yours.  Will you lose your life in Jesus?  He is worth everything you can give!

“The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest.”  
 – Matt. 9:37b-38

Do you pray for workers to share Jesus?  Will you pray, and will you also be a worker in God's kingdom?  You just might be the answer to someone else's prayer.

1 Peter 2:4-5   As you come to him, a living stone rejected by men but in the sight of God chosen and precious, you yourselves like living stones are being built up as a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. 

1 Peter 2:9-10   But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.  Once you were not a people, but now you are God's people; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.

God has chosen to make us His very own holy people.  His desire is that we will be built up together in holiness.  It comes down to this question:  Will you and I choose to live and grow together as His holy children?  We can choose to be people who let sin determine who we are, or we can live in the holiness of God.

​Who will you be?

Revelation 21:22-25   And I saw no temple in the city, for its temple is the Lord God the Almighty and the Lamb.  And the city has no need of sun or moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gives it light, and its lamp is the Lamb.  By its light will the nations walk, and the kings of the earth will bring their glory into it, and its gates will never be shut by day—and there will be no night there.

If we live for Jesus, we will live in God's glory forever.  But we can also know His glory today.  Ask the Holy Spirit to fill you.  As the glory of God once filled the temple, He will fill you with Himself.  You will never be the same!

Matthew 16:16-18   He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” 16 Simon Peter replied, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” 17 And Jesus answered him, “Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father who is in heaven. 18 And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.”

Jesus said He would build His Church on the bedrock of His people.  He has never stopped building His Church.  But He needs His people to be involved in building with Him.  What is our place in building His Church with Him?
 
1 Peter 2:4-5   As you come to him, a living stone rejected by men but in the sight of God chosen and precious, 5 you yourselves like living stones are being built up as a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. 
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We are His workers, and we are also the Church that Jesus is building.  And as we become more and more like Jesus, we work to build His Church with the joy that He gives us.

1 Corinthians 3:16-17   Do you not know that you are God's temple and that God's Spirit dwells in you? 17 If anyone destroys God's temple, God will destroy him. For God's temple is holy, and you are that temple.

We are to live as people who are literally God’s house.
 
2 Corinthians 6:16, 19-20   What agreement has the temple of God with idols? For we are the temple of the living God; as God said, “I will make my dwelling among them and walk among them, and I will be their God, and they shall be my people.
Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body.

Do we glorify God in our lives?  Do we really want God to make His home with us?  Do you want Him to “walk among” us?  That sounds like an amazing life.  Let's honor and glorify God in all we do.

Isaiah 9:2   The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; those who dwelt in a land of deep darkness, on them has light shone.

Isaiah talked about joy, of breaking the yoke and the rod of oppression.  Isaiah’s days were very dark, but a great light was coming.  God was going to break through by bringing a Messiah, a Savior, One who would save not only the nation of Israel from her enemies, but He would save all who would come to Him from their greatest enemy.  The power of sin would be broken.  The light would break forth.  And His government would never end.   What does that mean for you and me?

 1 Peter 2:9  But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.

He chose us, He made us His royal children, and He will make us holy!

Isaiah 54:8  “’But with everlasting kindness I will have compassion on you,’ says the Lord your redeemer.”

Jeremiah 31:3  “I have loved you with an everlasting love.”

Your Father has everlasting kindness towards you.  He will always have compassion on you, because He loves you with an everlasting love!

​How will you respond to His love?  Will you choose to love Him, too?

Hebrews 4: 15  For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin.

We can understand a God who respects our strengths, and wants to use them for His glory, but it’s hard to get head around a God who sympathizes with my weaknesses, and even uses them for His glory.  But Jesus does.  When you are going through a deep issue and  someone tells you, “I understand what you’re going through”, your reaction is “no you don’t¸ how could you?”

But our God does.  He knows your situation, your heart, your mind, your weaknesses.  And He gives you strength, encouragement, and wise counsel.

As Paul said in 2 Corinthians 12:10,  For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong.

Isaiah 9:2, 6-7  The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; those who dwelt in a land of deep darkness, on them has light shone.

For to us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government
shall be upon his shoulder, and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.  Of the increase of his government and of peace there will be no end, on the throne of David and over his kingdom, to establish it and to uphold it with justice and with righteousness from this time forth and forevermore.  The zeal of the Lord of hosts will do this.

A child was born.  That is Jesus as a human, born to the virgin Mary.  But that’s not all.  A son was given.  That is Jesus as the Son of God, fully divine.  He is a child born human, AND a son born holy.

Do you know Him as the man who died in your place?
​Do you know Him as God, who saved you?