Greetings saints and friends of PFC. I wanted to share an article with you that I read regarding sacrifice and losing to win. I have divided the article up into two sections, below is part two. The article uses an athlete’s example to talk about the sacrifice that Yeshua made that whosoever will, could receive eternal life. The athlete in the article is Lionel Messi, a famous Argentine professional soccer player, who is considered by many to be the greatest or one of the greatest soccer players of all time. As you read reflect upon your life in terms of what a sacrificial life for Christ looks like on you. 

~Bishop AZ Jones, Jr.

Yeshua provided us with a perfect example of losing to win. The man who claimed to be God descended into our world. Born into a barn, raised among an occupied people group. During his ministry years, he had no home and surrendered every right and privilege he could have rightfully claimed. He got on his knees and took the place of a servant. Eventually, he lost his life.

But notice how far Jesus took it. Messi's parents poured themselves out for their own son. Jesus poured himself out for strangers — for outcasts and enemies, even — who could never pay him back.

Our culture teaches us to be self-reliant. To focus on our own lives and what we need. It might seem like safety and security, but it’s actually isolating. If we never risk anything for those around us, our relationships stay shallow and untested. The ‘self’ we spend our whole lives preserving turns out to be fragile. A person who never gives anything away never finds out what they're made for. We weren't built to be hoarded, we were built to be spent.

Jesus invites us into that way of living. He
says that the path to flourishing is actually the one marked by loss and focus on others. Love always asks us to give something of ourselves—our time, attention, comfort, preferences, pride, freedom, or even our lives.

“For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will find it." Matthew 16:25

Love requires loss. It costs something, and that cost reveals its value. There is no hack for real love. Who and what and where are you willing to lose so that others can benefit? Where can you sacrifice so that love and beauty can grow?

"Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one's life for one's friends." John 15:13

Easier said than done, but the good news is that we don't have to do it on our own. What if Jesus could strengthen us and has already led the way?

Did anything here shift how you think about Jesus?

Lord, please remind our children that they find their worth in you alone. Help them remember that they are works of Your hand, and ignore who the world tries to say they are. Guard their hearts and keep their eyes on You. Remind them that they can call on You in every situation.
In Jesus’ name. Amen.

The 1st Commandment reads, You shall have no other gods before me. (Exod. 20:3). It declares that Yahweh is the ultimate God. There's no rival. No equal. So offer your allegiance to him. This one may sound obvious, but it’s not. Because we all tend to make other things our gods.

Everyone has higher ideals: success, security, a polished résumé, a strong portfolio, a good government. These are helpful gifts but they can easily slide from gifts to gods. They can become higher powers we believe will finally make us OK, so we end up giving our allegiance to them. You’ve felt it: If I just reach that milestone, then I’ll have peace. Finish the degree. Meet the quota. Get the family settled. Get out the vote! So we pour ourselves into those goals. We serve them as if they have real power.

The problem is that those things may be sources of goodness, but they aren’t the source of true life. They support life but can’t provide it. And serving anything that’s not the source of life will eventually dehumanize and destroy us. Remember the Eden story, where Adam and Eve tried to follow the instructions of both God and a serpent? The snake promised a better life, and by trusting it instead of God alone, their humanity ends up corrupted and dying (Gen. 3:1-19).

So the first command sets people free from this most ancient, deadly deception. Rather than scattering our trust across a horde of lifeless gods, we rely on the life-giver. “No one can serve two masters,” Jesus says, adding that attempts to do so always produce needless worry (Matt. 6:24-26). So work hard, and love your family well. Invest wisely. Vote for good leaders. But do so with your first allegiance to God, never believing that lesser things can bring freedom. As a human being, you’re already loved by the unrivaled God who sets humanity free. Choosing to pledge allegiance to God alone is probably the best choice ever.

Reflection Question: Think of a situation when you felt that reaching a milestone would bring happiness but were mistaken. What did you learn, and how does that experience point to God as the source of true peace?

Source: bible.com/reading-plans/72440/day/2?segment=0

24Now to Him who is able to keep you from stumbling, And to present you faultless Before the presence of His glory with exceeding joy, 25To God our Savior, Who alone is wise, Be glory and majesty, Dominion and power, Both now and forever. Amen. Jude 1:24-25

Scripture is filled with many wonderful promises from the Lord, but we often struggle to accept them as true in our own life. God wants us to believe that He’s willing and able to do what He has said He will accomplish.

God assures us we don’t have to give in to sin (1 Corinthians 10:13). Jesus experienced this truth when the Holy Spirit led Him into the wilderness for an encounter with Satan (Matt. 4:1-11). Our Savior successfully resisted the Devil’s enticements by recalling who the Father is and what He had promised.

The world we live in has a lot of traps, and they can be hard to detect. For example, Peter had a conversation with a servant girl and ended up denying that he knew Jesus Christ (Matthew 26:69-74). Like the disciple, we sometimes have trouble recognizing a situation’s potential danger, but our heavenly Father understands what is involved—and He knows just how we should respond.

When you face temptation or encounter an unexpected difficulty, the approach needs to be the same. Turn your attention to the Lord, and keep it there until your mind is filled with the knowledge of Him. Allow the Scriptures to guide your prayers, and stand firm until the promised help comes.

Source: intouch.org

Tossing and turning in bed, I fretted over my list of weekly tasks. Family, friends, and even people I barely knew de-REST pended on me. For the fourth night in a row, I watched the clock change to three a.m. before I fell asleep. The alarm I'd set for six a.m. shocked me into starting my day. I snapped at my husband. Barking orders at my son, I rushed him into the car. I don't remember driving to his school. But I'll never forget watching his teacher close the classroom door before | headed outside and collapsed from exhaustion onto the playground.

A friend drove me home and promised to care for my son until my husband returned from work. My neighbor prayed over me and stay close by until | woke up...eight hours later.

God knows His children worry, fear, and sometimes try to do too much. He also knows how desperately we need down time to rejuvenate physically, emotionally, mentally, and spiritually.

In Psalm 62, David says his "soul finds rest in God" (V. 1). For this wholistic revitalization, David needed to be silent and still as he leaned into God's proven trustworthiness as all-sufficient hope-giver, deliverer, and protector (V. 5-7). Urging others to trust in God "at all times" by approaching Him with honest trust in God and His power (W. 8-12).

God didn't design us to be weighed down by worry or the need to meet everyone's needs. He does, however, prove His dependability. When we trust His constant presence and His power, we can worship Him by resting. What a priceless gift from God! ~ Xochitl 

Source: orb.org