Lose..

Lose...

by David Brenneman 

"For a day in Your courts is better than a thousand outside. I would rather stand at the threshold of the house of my God Than dwell in the tents of wickedness. For the Lord God is a sun and shield; The Lord gives grace and glory; No good thing does He withhold from those who walk uprightly. O Lord of hosts, How blessed is the man who trusts in You!" Psalms 84:10-12.

"Then Jesus said to His disciples, “If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross and follow Me. For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it; but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it. For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul? For the Son of Man is going to come in the glory of His Father with His angels, and will then repay every man according to his deeds." Matthew 16:24-27.

Lose My Soul

by TobyMac

(C) 2007 

Father God, I am clay in your hands

Help me to stay that way through all life's demands

'Cause they chip and they nag and they pull at me

And every little thing I make up my mind to be

Like I'm gonna be a daddy whose in the mix

And I'm gonna be a husband who stays legit

And I pray that I'm an artist who rises above the road that is wide and filled with self love

Everything that I see draws me

Though its only in You that I can truly see that its a feast for the eyes - a low blow to purpose

And I'm a little kid at a three ring circus

I don't want to gain the whole world and lose my soul

Don't wanna walk away let me hear the people say

I don't want to gain the whole world and lose my soul

Don't wanna walk away let me hear the people say

The paparazzi flashes and that they think that it’s you

But they don’t know that who you are is not what you do

True, we get it twisted when we peak at the charts

Yo before we part from the start where’s your heart?

You’re a pimp, hustler?

Tell me what’s your title

America has no more stars now we call them idols

You sit idle

While we teach prosperity

The first thing to prosper should be inside of me

We’re free …

Not because of 22’s the a range

But Christ came in range we said yes now we changed

Not the same even though I made a fall

Since I got that call no more Saul now I’m Paul

How do I sense the tide that's rising?

De-sensitizing me from living in light of eternity

How do I sense the tide that's rising?

It's hypnotizing me from living in light of eternity

Our world is filled with attractions. Every little thing is a big form of entrapment. From sports to entertainment to fantasy to drama shows to extreme hobbies. 

Everything that is on the plate isn't meant for you to eat. A strange way to put it but it's reality.  

Giving in to temptations isn't going to glorify God. Redefining what really amounts to worshipping things of this world is never going to glorify God. 

When we live for self first God's testimony in our lives loses.  

We are tempted the most, probably, at trying to create successes that we can live with that we think will bring us peace.  

"For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it; but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it. For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul?" - Jesus. 

Our striving for such things...our attempts at finding gratification in those things for personal betterment and such...take a comparison look at this passage to what you just read Jesus saying.

"Then He said to them, “Beware, and be on your guard against every form of greed; for not even when one has an abundance does his life consist of his possessions.” And He told them a parable, saying, “The land of a rich man was very productive. And he began reasoning to himself, saying, ‘What shall I do, since I have no place to store my crops?’ Then he said, ‘This is what I will do: I will tear down my barns and build larger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods. And I will say to my soul, “Soul, you have many goods laid up for many years to come; take your ease, eat, drink and be merry.” ’ But God said to him, ‘You fool! This very night your soul is required of you; and now who will own what you have prepared?’ So is the man who stores up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God.” And He said to His disciples, “For this reason I say to you, do not worry about your life, as to what you will eat; nor for your body, as to what you will put on. For life is more than food, and the body more than clothing. Consider the ravens, for they neither sow nor reap; they have no storeroom nor barn, and yet God feeds them; how much more valuable you are than the birds! And which of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life’s span? If then you cannot do even a very little thing, why do you worry about other matters?" Luke 12:15-26.

Will living for self get you anywhere? Will your drive and your desires that are for yourself really impact your life in Christ if it's not Kingdom oriented?

Souls are what's at stake. Souls of people are the treasures of Heaven. We, humanity, was what was worth it to God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ and the Spirit of God for Jesus to come, live a sinless life, and be judged guilty by the world. To die on a cross for the sins of who? Humanity. To raise up 3 days later for who? Humanity.  

Living For Jesus a life that is true. Striving to please Him in all that I do. This is from a hymn. A hymn with words to point the heart towards right priorities. 

The world says that if you strive hard enough that you can have it all. Be whomever you want to be.  

Jesus says to deny ourselves, take up our own cross and follow Him. 

What's it really going to gain you to get everything you think you ever wanted...if in the end your soul ends up in Hell?  

Say you're among the saved...what's it going to be like for you when your life's work is examined by fire...and there's nothing left to give back to Jesus because you spent everything on you?

The world would have everyone think they have time. Time to live their lives in their own ways and then give to Jesus something at the end of it.  

As Jesus pointed out in Luke...those who live lives in such ways are fools.  

A Biblical principle is that whatever you hold too tightly to you will lose. It will turn to ashes. Unless that which you're holding onto is your life in Christ and are living a life of purpose in Christ.

You...my Dear Reader...you must choose to get real with yourself. 

Look at what you lift up and hold high in your life. Is it something from this world or is it Jesus? Look at your clothes. Are you modesty dressed? Are you promoting things of this world that in truth you're idolizing? Are you trying to be rich towards yourself and are in fact poor towards God?

"For a day in Your courts is better than a thousand outside. I would rather stand at the threshold of the house of my God Than dwell in the tents of wickedness. For the Lord God is a sun and shield; The Lord gives grace and glory; No good thing does He withhold from those who walk uprightly. O Lord of hosts, How blessed is the man who trusts in You!"

I don't want gain the whole world and lose my soul...do you? Don't expect the world to get it or to understand why.  

All NASB 1995 and NASB Scripture Excerpts used by permission. (C) Lockman Foundation.