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Mark 9:42-50 NIV
Causing to Stumble
42 “If anyone causes one of these little ones—those who believe in me—to stumble, it would be better for them if a large millstone were hung around their neck and they were thrown into the sea. 43 If your hand causes you to stumble, cut it off. It is better for you to enter life maimed than with two hands to go into hell, where the fire never goes out. [44] 45 And if your foot causes you to stumble, cut it off. It is better for you to enter life crippled than to have two feet and be thrown into hell. [46] 47 And if your eye causes you to stumble, pluck it out. It is better for you to enter the kingdom of God with one eye than to have two eyes and be thrown into hell, 48 where “‘the worms that eat them do not die, and the fire is not quenched.’ 49 Everyone will be salted with fire. 50 “Salt is good, but if it loses its saltiness, how can you make it salty again? Have salt among yourselves, and be at peace with each other.”
— Short of amputating body parts, what do you need to cut out of your life in order to avoid sin?
Holy Father, thank You for Your grace and Your gift of salvation through the cross. There is nothing that I can do to make You love me less and nothing I need to do to make You love me more. But there are many stumbling blocks in life that can hinder my faith in You. It could be events, practices, attitudes, pet causes, habits, a relationship, or a career. It could be belonging to an unreligious group, reading books or watching programs that promote sin, attending an unbelieving school, or having close friends who are unbelievers. If I am tolerating sin, tolerating relative prayerlessness, tolerating a lack of urgency over lost souls, it is an indicator that something is wrong. If I notice a diminishing of my healthy fear of You or the loss of a sense of Your holiness, it is the time to take action. Lord, I plead with You to restore my heart. It is better to believe in You by having cut out things that detract from my faith than to keep those things that separate me from You. I ask You to prune faithless behaviors off of me and replace them with eyes that see those in need of help, hands willing to serve, and feet to run and tell someone the good news of Your salvation. Amen