Tag: Soul

Beyond Purchase

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For what can a man give in return for his soul?

Mark 8:37 (ESV)

The questions Jesus asks throughout the gospels deeply penetrate the center and core of our being. His questions, even the seemingly simple ones, like the one in Mark 8:37 are meant to give us pause and cause us to truly evaluate what we are hearing him say. This question relates to verse 34, where Jesus laid out the parameters of what it costs to follow him. To be his disciple we must deny ourselves and take up our cross. As Jesus further explains what this means, he presents this question for his hearers and us to consider. “What can man give in return for his soul?” It is a profound question that I should regularly engage with at a heart level. It calls me to examine my heart and review my actions each day to see where I am lost in idolatry. I need to give deep consideration to where I am placing anything above Jesus.

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Holy Sharing

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Journal Entry // May 5. 2021

I pour out my complaint before him; I tell my trouble before him.

Psalm 142:2 ESV

I need to spend more time meditating over this entire Psalm as it speaks directly into how I am feeling at the moment. There is such a simple and honest truth about the words and picture that David uses in this psalm that convey his feelings and emotions. You can feel his desperation, his anxiousness, his fear as he works through his soul.

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Longing with Hunger

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Journal Entry // April 7, 2021

For he satisfies the longing soul, and the hungry soul he fills with good things.

Psalm 107:9 ESV

A longing and hungry soul. I don’t really understand what it means to have a longing soul. If my soul is indicative of that essence of who I truly am, then this deep longing is more than just my heart being in tune with the Lord as a representative of my desires and passions. My soul, being the essence of who I am in my inner most being, should long for and thirst after the Lord.

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House in Ruins

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Journal Entry // December 24, 2021

You looked for much, and behold, it came to little. And when you brought it home, I blew it away. Why? declares the LORD of hosts. Because of my house that lies in ruins, while each of you busies himself with his own house.

Haggai 1:9 ESV

Wrong priorities… This is the subject brought to mind during my reading of Haggai this morning. This word from the Lord to the people of Israel is just as relevant to me today as it was for them. I am struck deeply by the conviction of how easily I let the worries of caring for my own house (my life and my priorities) overshadow the ruining of my spiritual house (loving God with all my heart, soul, mind, strength).

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Soul Anchor

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Journal Entry // November 2, 2021

so that by two unchangeable things, in which it is impossible for God to lie, we who have fled for refuge might have strong encouragement to hold fast to the hope set before us. [19] We have this as a sure and steadfast anchor of the soul, a hope that enters into the inner place behind the curtain,

Hebrews 6:18-19 ESV

A sure and steadfast anchor of the soul… Hope. When I think of the word hope, I don’t immediately think about the surety of the thing hoped for. I use this word more casually and with no assurance. I hope it doesn’t rain today. I hope my favorite team wins the game. I hope I pass the test. This is not the hope offered here in this passage. It is not a wishful expectation to have my desire fulfilled. This hope from God is sure and steadfast. So much so that we are to anchor our soul to this hope.

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Bow My Soul

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My soul continually remembers it and is bowed down within me. But this I call to mind, and therefore I have hope.

Lamentations 3:20-21 ESV

His soul continually remembers his affliction and wanderings. But calls to mind all the goodness of God… The steadfast love of the Lord.

This is the secret to sanctification. I am not to wipe from my mind the affliction that I went through or may be going through at the moment, nor am I to forget and ignore my wanderings. My wandering away from the perfect peace of Christ and my loving Father. These will rightly bow my soul within me. Humility… It is good to remember in humbleness my weakness and dependence upon the Lord.

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