It Would be Better

It Would be Better
Words of Faith 1-29-2024
Dr. Jeffrey D. Hoy © 2024
Jeff.Hoy@faithfellowshipweb.com
Faith Fellowship Church - Melbourne, FL
www.faithfellowshipweb.com
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Mark 9
[42] "And if anyone causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him to be thrown into the sea with a large millstone tied around his neck.

We often apply this text to those evil people who cause "one of these little ones to sin." There is a deep and dark place for the predators of this world. Jesus made that clear.

But before moving on, do we sometimes take our sins too lightly? It is easy to point to the heinous predator and fail to look at our own sin and how it affects others. It does not take long in the Christian life to realize that forgiveness is offered even when we sin again... and again... and again. We can become callous to our sins. We may even think that our sin is something that "God understands." Does He? Really??
One of the problems with all sin is that it never occurs or exists in a vacuum. We are organically connected to others. We are connected to family. We are connected to our church. We are connected to the larger body of Christ. Sin is never a private matter.
Sin hurts other people. Our example may directly cause others to fall. Our blindness to the needs of others, caused by our sin, may keep us from helping another. The pain in our own lives is felt in those around us. Our preoccupation with our sin or covering up our sin results in our neglecting the people we love the most. Our sin may even open the door of spiritual attack to those who thought they were under our covering of prayer.
Bottom line? The sin we coddle is never a private concern. We hurt ourselves. We hurt others. We hurt the Lord. The devastation of such sin is so grievous to the Lord that He uses the most extreme images to describe the consequences. To be thrown into the sea with a millstone around the neck was to be tossed to the depths of utter darkness. Such a fate would be a better end than the grievous separation that comes when we allow our own sin to invade the lives of others intentionally or unintentionally.
So, is there some victory? Yes, but it is not easy. Confess your sin without gentle names or excuses. Pray for a spirit of genuine repentance. Allow the Lord to reveal to you the pain caused by your sin. Ask the Lord to crucify once and for all your sinful nature. Commit to a relationship of spiritual accountability with a trusted friend. Do whatever it takes to avoid wearing a millstone.

Lord, reveal in my life the sin that has become comfortable. Guide me as I confess the sin that hurts others and myself. Set me free from the sin that has long entangled me. I want to be free. In Jesus' Name, Amen.

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© Jeffrey D. Hoy 2024
Dr. Jeffrey D. Hoy - Faith Fellowship Church (EFCA)
2820 Business Center Blvd.
Melbourne, Florida 32940 (321)-259-7200
Jeff.Hoy@faithfellowshipweb.com
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The Words of Faith devotion is published five days a week by E-mail, excluding Federal holidays. Please feel free to forward this devotion to a friend who might be blessed by this devotion. Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture is quoted from the New International Version (R) of The Holy Bible. Copyright (c) 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan Publishing House. All rights reserved. Words of Faith (c) 1997, 2024 Jeffrey D. Hoy. All rights reserved. Permission is granted to forward this copyrighted material or use portions of it with appropriate notation of the source for non-profit purposes.