Mt. 16:26 For what profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world, and Have you ever wondered what a soul is worth? Not to you, or anyone down here on our planet, not the devil, but God? I do, it is something that I've thought about off and on quite a bit... I hope the above scripture from the bible, which are the words of Jesus Christ answers this question, or at least sheds some light on how much we are worth to God. Before we examine what God has to say about our “souls” worth; let us first look at what our body is worth in and of itself...

Ask me, and I'll give you a price that only a few people could afford to pay me for my body, really! Bill Gates comes to mind, or the world renown investment tycoon, Warren Buffet – they just might be able to pay me what I think I'm worth... lol. But, getting serious, if we are to truly be objective; let us look at what experts in these kind of things have to say about what a human body is worth in today's economy.

* When we total the monetary value of the elements in our bodies and the value of the average person's skin, we arrive at a net worth of $4.50!
This value is, however, subject to change, due to stock market fluctuations. Since the studies leading to this conclusion were conducted by the U.S. and by Japan respectively, it might be wise to consult the New York Stock Exchange and the Nikkei Index before deciding when to sell!
The U.S. Bureau of Chemistry and Soils invested many a hard-earned tax dollar in calculating the chemical and mineral composition of the human body, which breaks down as follows: 65% Oxygen , 8% Carbon , 10% Hydrogen , 3% Nitrogen , 1.5% Calcium, 1% Phosphorous, 0.35% Potassium , 0.25% Sulfur , 0.15% Sodium, Additionally, it was discovered that our bodies contain trace quantities of fluorine, silicon, manganese, zinc, copper, aluminum, and arsenic. Together, all of the above amounts to less than one dollar!

Our most valuable asset is our skin, which the Japanese invested their time and money in measuring. The method the Imperial State Institute for Nutrition at Tokyo developed for measuring the amount of a person's skin is to take a naked person, and to apply a strong, thin paper to every surface of his body. After the paper dries, they carefully remove it, cut it into small pieces, and painstakingly total the person's measurements. Cut and dried, the average person is the proud owner of fourteen to eighteen square feet of skin, with the variables in this figure being height, weight, and breast size. Basing the skin's value on the selling price of cowhide, which is approximately $.25 per square foot, the value of an average person's skin is about $3.50.

To be perfectly honest, only God really knows the answer to that... really. But, having said that, there are some clear indica- tions from the scriptures as to what a "soul" is worth. We know that as a collective, that meaning as the entire human race is concerned, God thought we (at least as a whole), were worth sending His' beloved son, Jesus to die for us. And, not just die, we are talking about the most horrific and gruesome of deaths imaginable to be sure. That is quite clear from to many scriptures for me to list in this short email. Perhaps the most quoted and beloved of all the bible is this familiar passage which reminds us all of what we are worth in God's estimation:

John 3:16 For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.

Rom.8:31-32 What, then, shall we say in response to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? 32.He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all—how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things?

Also, we find in the Old Testament that God derives no pleasure in the death of the wicked - He has done everything in His' power to prevent the lost from going to hell...

Ezekiel 33:11 Say to them: ‘As I live,’ says the Lord GOD, ‘I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but that the wicked turn from his way and live. Turn, turn from your evil ways! For why should you die, O house of Israel?’

The above passages from the scriptures, reveal an obvious truth: We were worth having the Father send His' own son, Jesus – to die the most horrible and cruel death imaginable. And if there were any other way of atoning for our sins, for paying the price to redeem mankind – other than Jesus having to go to the cross – it would have happened. MT.26: 39 Going a little farther, he fell with his face to the ground and prayed, “My Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me. Yet not as I will, but as you will.”

                                           JESUS - REVEALS OUR WORTH...

Matthew 16:25-26   For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it. 26 For what profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul? (emphasis mine)

Here lies the "key" to understanding what Jesus considers our soul to be worth, or at least a good idea for us to grasp. Jesus is talking about "saving our soul" - or in His' words "finding it". Interesting way of putting it, is it not? Have you ever found yourself in trouble? Or in a bad way? Or have you found yourself in need of a Savior? That is what He is talking about here friends...
Now, Jesus goes on to tell us further in explaining what our "life" or soul is worth, that even if we were to gain the entire world(that is beyond our human capacity to fathom), what would it really matter if in the end you were to find yourself in hell - and without God or hope of any kind for all eternity?

He goes on to tell ask us this simple yet profound question that really reveals the true worth of our "soul" or life in the eyes of God: WHAT WILL A PERSON GIVE IN EXCHANGE FOR THEIR' SOUL? Put in a way we can all understand, Jesus is asking this question, "What will a person be able to give God to keep them out of hell?" or put still another way: WHAT CAN WE POSSIBLY GIVE GOD THAT WILL CONVINCE HIM TO LET US INTO HEAVEN WITHOUT JESUS? the answer: NOTHING!

FINAL THOUGHTS... The devil thinks a soul is worth fighting for. He will do almost anything to take one soul to hell... that is his' game. God thinks a soul is worth enough to send His' very own son to die for us - you and me. That is beyond anything I can understand , but I believe it is so. What do you think a soul is worth? That person you work next to everyday? That person you despise because they rub you the wrong way? Remember, every soul is precious to God, and when you look at a human being created in God's image, just remember how valuable he or she is to God. That will serve you well in all your' relationships. I close with the following story:

                                                       GOD'S GLORY REVEALED

A man died and went to heaven. He was escorted through the corridors of heaven, and was shown the glory and splendor of heaven and was speechless. He finally turned to the angel showing him around and said, "Will you show me the glory of God?" The angel smiled, and said, "Surely, follow me". As they walked along, the man saw the heavenly city and the mansions and the streets of gold, and he turned to the angel and asked, "Is this God's glory". The angel just smiled and continued on. The man then saw thousands upon thousands of angels singing and praising God with shouts of joy and loud hallelujahs. Again, the man asked the angel, "Is this God's glory?". The angel seemed to ignore the man, and just walked on. Finally, after a short journey, they stopped - There in front of the man was a sea of people, men and women, boys and girls all dressed in white robes as far as the eye could see... He could see smiling faces filled with joy, and he saw them singing and with hands raised singing: Blessing, and honor, and glory and power be to Him who sits upon the throne and to the Lamb Who was slain before the foundation of the earth. (Rev. 5:13)

The angel stopped, and looked at the man, who was now staring in utter amazement and wonder at the sight of this sea of humanity before him, and said, “Dear soul, this you see before you, THIS IS THE GLORY OF GOD.”

Of all God's riches, possessions - His' glory - nothing is more valuable to him than you and I. That should cause you and me to stop, and thank God for the unspeakable gift of His son, Jesus to all of us.

EPH. 1: 11-12 In Him also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestined according to the purpose of Him who works all things according to the counsel of His will, 12 that we who first trusted in Christ should be to the praise of His glory.


                                            THE END

This short story, is just one of many stories God allowed me to share with readers in my first book, PEARLS of WISDOM.   I hope you enjoyed the small pearl of wisdom contained in this amusing, yet inspiring story.

You may read more of these stories, and other things God gave me to write about by simply going to Amazon.com. The book is available in paperback or in a Kindle format...

                                                   A man obsessed with the truth,

                                                                scribe4god

             You may find my books at most online bookstores... just click the links.

                        OUT OF THE DARKNESS - https://books2read.com/u/br9oLz
                        PEARLS of WISDOM - https://books2read.com/u/bw9odv
                        THE CHRISTIAN FAITH - https://books2read.com/u/mdYMZR

 Through the centuries, many renown artists such as Michelangelo, Leonardo DaVinci, and Rembrandt, just to name a few have attempted to paint how Jesus might have looked... soft features and long flowing hair, often with delicate features, others depicting Jesus as a rough, rugged carpenter from the town of Nazareth.

Every culture has a picture or image that seems to shape and conform "their image" of Jesus to their race, culture, and ethnic background - a black Jesus, a white Jesus, Chinese, Indian, Hispanic; almost every conceivable portrait or image of Jesus imaginable. It is only fitting and reasonable to understand how everyone wants to "paint Jesus" through the lens of their own culture, race, background, as well as their own preferences and interpretation of how Jesus probably looked.

I say probably, because as any bible scholar well knows, the bible has very little to say about "how Jesus really looked"; at least not in terms that an artist or sculptor could use as a blue- print or schematic for drawing or painting Jesus with any degree of accuracy or certainty. What color were Jesus' eyes? Hair? Was He a big man, or was He thin and of sleight build? These questions, and thousands of others like it are not found in the pages of scripture; in fact; the silence is deafening!

The glaring absence of detail concerning the outward appear- ance of Jesus Christ throughout the bible should cause any serious student of the bible, any Christian for that matter to ask the obvious question: Why is the bible silent on the details of how Jesus looked? Why did the apostles, Peter, James, and John; who knew Christ so intimately not mention the way Jesus looked? Why is the bible silent on such an obvious matter as to "how Jesus looked"?
There may be more than one reason(there usually is), but if we believe the bible is the "inspired word of God"; than we may rightly conclude that whatever the reason - it was by design, and no accident.

Could it be that our Heavenly Father in His' sublime wisdom knew that it was in our best interests, to keep the details and specifics surrounding Jesus' outward appearance out of the Bible? Knowing that God is the true author of the Holy Bible, we may answer in the affirmative; but that still doesn't answer the real question of "why God deliberately chose to leave Christ's physical appearance as a mystery and enigma for those of us who would eventually read and study the works and life of Christ through the pages of the Bible.

Adding to this riddle concerning Jesus appearance is the fact that no secular or historical records exist which would shed light on how Christ really looked... mere coincidence? I think not. How is it that the most influential and written about person of all time could leave so little evidence or clues as to what He looked like? Surely, if God had desired, we would know exactly how Jesus looked, in minute detail - down to His' height, weight, and shoe size.

Clearly, God thought such particulars were not necessary for us to be privy to; and again we must ask ourselves the obvious Why did God leave the details of “what Jesus looked like” out of the scriptures - out of the archives and pages of recorded history?
I offer you the reader, the following explanation as to "why" God would leave us to wonder and try to "imagine" what Jesus looked like... keep in mind, this is only my opinion; but I think it makes sense - and will let you the reader decide.

Simply stated, I believe that had God left us with a vivid, description of how Jesus really looked; from His' classic Jewish features(the nose, olive skin, etc), to His' hair color and length; along with a myriad of other human characteristics; the inevitable would follow:
As surely as day follows night: the rush to "look like" Jesus would sweep through the Church faster than you can say, " I want to be like Jesus".

Yes, dear friends we are that carnal, that quick to take the path of least resistance... hey, "looking like Jesus" has got to be easier than "acting like Jesus"... right? And while many denominations and churches today have tried to figure out "how" Jesus would dress and look today(man's idea of holiness); the results are just another example of "modern day Pharisism". As silly as it may sound, if we knew what Jesus looked like, many of us would do anything and everything to look just like Him!

Can't you just see thousands, no - millions of Christians running to and fro like clones or mirror images of the King... Yes, looking like Jesus would replace the goal of "being and acting like Jesus"!

Most would agree that acting like Christ, being gentle, kind, loving, compassionate,etc; is far more important than trying to look like Jesus, even if we did know what He really looked like (which we don't). So it is no small wonder that God in His' loving providence saw fit to spare us the problems we humans would be faced with if given the choice between looking like Jesus, or acting like Him.

God chose to give us a picture of Himself through the person of Christ that demonstrated His holy divine attributes and char- acter... but, disallowed the details of how He looked while here as a man among men. God's deliberate portrayal of Jesus in terms of His' divine nature and holy character, while leaving us few clues as to how He looked after the flesh was for our own good.

                           The way Jesus acted was the picture God left us with...

God wants us to act holy, and to be holy, to be like Him in every way... to be conformed to His very image. Looking like God is an impossibility, a foolish and unobtainable thing for any of us to achieve; ah - but acting or being like Him, well God has made that possible. We may never truly know this side of Heaven what God actually looks like, until we see Jesus face to face in glory, but we can "see" God through the eyes of faith, and see Him in our brothers and sisters in Christ! Hallelujah... Amen. The greatest compliment you can pay another Christian is to tell them that you "see Jesus in them". Let us remember the words of Paul the apostle to the   

To them God willed to make known what are the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles: which is Christ in you, the hope of glory. Colossians 1:27

Something to consider...

One day while I was driving in my truck, I noticed a bumper sticker on the vehicle directly in front of me; I pulled up close so I could read the message - it had these words: I don't have a problem with Christianity, it's Christians I can't stand!

It hit me like a ton of bricks... I had to admit that there was a lot of truth to that simple, yet biting message about Christians. I have often said that, "A bad testimony is worse than no testimony!" The painful truth is that many of us who claim to be Christians, really shouldn't be carrying that Jesus banner so high, if our walk is so low... we're not talking about perfection here friends - I'm just saying Christians should "walk the talk", and live our lives above reproach.
There is another bumper sticker that reads: I'm not perfect, just forgiven! I agree wholeheartedly... but, that is no excuse for those who refuse to live holy lives, who live "like the devil", and yet claim to be Christians. There is something wrong with that picture friends, and there isn't a bumper sticker or slogan in the world that can justify or defend such ungodly behavior.

As Christians we are called to follow Christ, to be Christlike; and while we may stumble and even fall at times in our journey, we are always to be striving and pressing toward the mark - that is to be like Jesus in every way. Perhaps the greatest compliment we can ever receive, is simply having someone tell us, "I see Jesus in you"...

For the world "looking like Christ" is not about how we look on the outside, our hair length, or what Bible translation we may use(the Church debates these issues); but rather how we act towards them, our love, compassion, kindness - in a word: our "character". In the end, the most important question we as Christians should be asking is not " Do I look like Jesus”, but rather this: “Do people see Jesus in me?”

When the world looks at the Church, at Christians - they should see Jesus, which only makes sense when you think about it... after all, we are His' body.

                                                              THE END

This short story, is just one of many stories God allowed me to share with readers in my first book, PEARLS of WISDOM.   I hope you enjoyed the small pearl of wisdom contained in this amusing, yet inspiring story. You may read more of these stories, and other things God gave me to write about by simply going to:   https://books2read.com/u/bw9odv​
 Blessings to all / scribe4god                                                  

                                               A man obsessed with the truth,

                                                                scribe4god

             You may find my books at most online bookstores... just click the links.

                        OUT OF THE DARKNESS - https://books2read.com/u/br9oLz
                        PEARLS of WISDOM - https://books2read.com/u/bw9odv
                        THE CHRISTIAN FAITH - https://books2read.com/u/mdYMZR

A Professor of Philosophy, at a small town Midwest community college; put forth the following assignment to his students just prior to their start of Spring break. "Class, in 1500 words or less, please answer the following question: "What is the worst thing that can happen to a person? "

He went on to say, " Please defend your position with credible examples,and a reasonable defense to support your thesis." The students, were expected to have the assignment finished, and on the professor's desk upon their return from Spring break.

After returning from Spring break, the professor began the lengthy and arduous task of reading and grading the student's papers. The professor was amused, astonished, and in a few cases aghast at the horrible and unspeakable stories presented by his students. As one might expect, he read of ghastly accounts of torture(being skinned alive, electrocuted and beaten to death, raped(every possible scenario), and other loathsome descriptions of various human suffering that each student felt was in their minds: The "worst" possible thing that could happen to a person.

Having to watch your family murdered right before your very eyes, being forced to destroy a whole bus full of people by blowing it up, and one student's gory depiction of being eaten alive by insects , with only your head being exposed above the hot desert sand... On and on, the professor read with disgust and ever growing disdain, the detailed and gruesome stories of "worst case" scenarios. The professor was looking forward to the end of this assignment, it was turning out to be a very unpleasant task... and thankfully, he was almost finished . He only had three papers left to review.

The professor waded through the first two papers, and breathed a deep sigh of relief as he eyed the last paper he would have to read... he winced as he noticed the name at the top of the paper; Mary Harding, the one student the professor truly disliked. Mary was a devout, uncompromising Christian, who openly challenged the professor, whenever he began to promote his "atheistic" and "humanistic" beliefs in the classroom. What really irked the professor, is that Mary was a true intellectual, and was more than a match for his intimidating assaults on religion, but especially - Christianity. On more than one occasion, he had been embarrassed by Mary's forceful display of history, religion, and philosophy; he had to admit - Mary was probably the smartest student he had ever seen... this only made him disdain her all the more.

To say the professor was curious as to how Mary would answer this question, would be a gross understatement - he hesitated for a brief time, and then quickly turned the cover page to read the following ...

There in the middle of the page were these words in large bold type:


                                                       “TO DIE IN YOUR SINS”

The professor was flooded with a sea of emotions... anger, amazement, bewilderment - how dare Mary make such a radical assertion! Of all the answers the professor had read, he was not prepared for this. Cursing aloud, and jumping to his feet, the professor tossed Mary's paper into the air, and screamed, "Mary - this time you've crossed the line!!!"

The professor refused to read Mary's paper any further, his seething anger now a boiling rage; he sat at his desk and just stared at the wall mumbling: "How dare she... how dare she... how dare she..."

As is the case with human curiosity, it got the best of the professor, and within days he decided he would quickly skim through Mary's paper - if for no other reason than to ridicule and discredit her "religious fanaticism" - make no mistake, this is one paper that the professor intended to fill with red ink . Mary's paper would receive the full wrath of the professor, and she would pay for her obvious desire to once again push her religious dogma on the world - her  fate was all but certain.

Turning his attention once again to Mary's paper, the professor was surprised to find that there wert only a few paragraphs for him to read... and much to his displeasure - they weren't even Mary's words, they were "scriptures" from the bible. There below the bold type: TO DIE IN ONE'S SINS, were three passages that the professor slowly began to read aloud:

JOHN 8:23-24/Jesus speaking - And He said to them, " You are from beneath; I am from above, You are of this world; I am not of this world. Therefore I said to you that you will die in your sins; for if you do not believe that I am He, you will die in your sins. " (NKJ)

JOHN 3:13-18/Jesus speaking - No one has ascended to heaven but He who came down from heaven. And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whosoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life. For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved.

REV 20:11-14/John the Apostle speaking - Then I saw a great white throne and Him who sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away. And there was found no place for them. And I saw the dead, small and great, standing before God, and books were opened. And another book was opened, which is the Book of Life. And the dead were judged according to their works, by the things which were written in the books. The sea gave up the dead who were in it, and Death and Hades deliver- ed up the dead who were in them. And they were judged, each one according to his works. Then Death and Hades were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. And anyone not found written in the Book of Life was cast into the lake of fire.

Then the professor lowered his eyes slowly and began to read Mary's closing statement: "It is clearly evident from the words of Jesus Christ, and other Bible passages, that the worst thing that can happen to a person is - to die in their sins! " Any person who rejects God's free gift of eternal life, offered to all who will put their trust in Jesus Christ as their Savior - is doomed to an eternity in Hell - banished forever from the presence of God. And while it is true, there are a myriad of various torments and suffering that human beings can experience while here on earth... they simply cannot compare with the unspeakable horrors and anguish that await those who reject the Gospel of Jesus Christ, and choose rather to die in their sins. Really, what could be worse than that?

The professor was speechless, numb, and just sat at his desk staring down at Mary's paper - stone faced - showing no emotion... The professor disagreed with every facet of Mary's thesis, but was left with no other choice than to do what his conscience was telling him he must do. With great reluctance, the professor slowly reached for his black pen, paused for what seemed like an eternity - and put an A in the upper right hand corner of Mary's paper. This was one paper that he would never forget.


                               the end
                                                       
                                                   A man obsessed with the truth,

                                                                    scribe4god

​        You may find my books at most online bookstores... just click the links.

                        OUT OF THE DARKNESS - https://books2read.com/u/br9oLz
                        PEARLS of WISDOM - https://books2read.com/u/bw9odv
                        THE CHRISTIAN FAITH - https://books2read.com/u/mdYMZR

Proverbs 20:24
A person’s steps are directed by the Lord. How then can anyone understand their own way?


​

AN ASSIGNMENT FROM GOD IN WALMART - Do you believe God orders our steps? That nothing in our lives as disciples of Christ is really "accidental" ?    I do.

A few days ago, my wife and I were at Walmart in line about to check out. I struck up a conversation with the man in front of me, and soon we mentioned our ministry as chaplains at the jail in Genesee county. A man named "Chip" gave us the name of a friend in jail named Maurice......

Yesterday, we met with this man and told him about how God had arranged our appointment with him that day. He smiled and looked off and thought about that! We shared the gospel of salvation with him and listened to his story of how he ended up in jail. Maurice took our hands and bowed his head and prayed for Jesus Christ to forgive him of his sins, and we left knowing that another soul was snatched out of the hands of the devil... Out of the hundreds of men and women locked up(and we can only see a very small number on our visits) GOD ORDAINED THAT VISIT with Maurice !!

Now don't tell us we don't serve an awesome God, or that serving God is boring or predictable. Serving Jesus Christ is sometimes a zany, wild, and bizarre journey to the end of that particular assignment!  Amen

Thanks to everyone praying for and supporting our ministry to those behind bars. In Jesus Name/Michael & Deb D'Aigle/Light in the Dark Ministries
​ p.s. please pray for Maurice as he is awaiting a hearing on what may happen to him.

                                                                       Proverbs 3:6
                   In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He shall direct your paths.