The Greatest Investment in the World Today's Three-minute Bible Study Print, Study and Apply Title: The Greatest Investment in the World-------------------------------- Date: 10/13/2000 Keyword: "gain" "loss" Welcome to eXXit, the web site designed to help you stand strong in the face of sexual temptation. Passage: Philippians 3:7-11* 7. [The apostle Paul says] "But whatever things were gain to me, those things I have counted as loss for the sake of Christ. 8. More than that, I count all things to be loss in view of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them but rubbish in order that I may gain Christ, 9. and may be found in Him, not having a righteousness of my own derived from the Law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which comes from God on the basis of faith, 10. that I may know Him, and the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death; 11. in order that I may attain to the resurrection from the dead." Questions 1. What are you worth financially?   2. What has been the cost of your education up to now? How much money can you command from the education you have thus far received?   3. If you are in high school, how much education do you plan to obtain and how much money do you plan to make per year when you are finished?   4. What is the value of your connections with people in the right places?   5. In what ways would you be a different person if you replaced your "assets" you listed above with just knowing Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior?   Practical help Paul gave up his status in the Jewish synagogue to follow Jesus Christ. He replaced his daily conversations with the most interesting and learned men of his day to be a tentmaker among the dregs of society. He was considered a fool and sometimes suffered physical brutality because of his claim to be the friend and follower of a dead rabbi, whose followers claimed had risen bodily from the grave. Everything Paul once knew for sure and relied on as important to living the "good" life was swept away in a flash. In the process of this transformation he, who thought himself to be one of the best of men, discovered instead that he was the chief of sinners. Was Paul a nut — or was he on to something? True Christianity is not a change in attitude or style. It’s not a leather bible you carry around or a cheap bumper sticker for your car. True Christianity is total transformation — whether you like the idea or not. Isn’t this true? Perhaps you gave your life to God at an emotional moment. But in the back of your mind you thought, "If this God-thing doesn’t work out, I will throw Him out of my heart and return to my old ways." Eventually the newness of your relationship with God did indeed wear away and you began to long for those "good old days." So you returned to the old places, or old friends or old habits (like porn) that were a part of your previous life. And you expected God to be offended and leave. Right? But He didn’t, did He? Instead, you discovered that the old ways were more empty than you remembered them to be. Your problem, if you are a Christian, is not with pornography; it’s with a God who loves you so much, you can’t shake Him. No matter what you do or where you go, He will not leave you alone. As long as you run and hide from Jesus Christ; as long as you play games with porn; and as long as you try to be master of your own life, you will be miserable. Count on it. You can cover up your fears, guilt and shame for a little while with money, sex, drugs, work, play, etc., but it will not sustain you. In the end you know your knee will bow to the One who is truly good and truly right. If your life is a mess, why don’t you do what Paul did? Acknowledge that all you are and all you have are rubbish compared to knowing Jesus Christ as your closest friend and ally. Take everything you think is important to life and give it to your Lord in exchange for a peace beyond understanding. It’s the best investment advice you will ever get! Guaranteed! eXXit homepage Index of three-minute studies Copyright 2000 by eXXit *"Scripture taken from the NEW AMERICAN STANDARD BIBLE®, © Copyright The Lockman Foundation 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995. Used by permission."