{"id":37144,"date":"2025-08-28T22:00:54","date_gmt":"2025-08-29T05:00:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/?p=37144"},"modified":"2025-08-19T17:19:29","modified_gmt":"2025-08-20T00:19:29","slug":"mark_9_42-50","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/mark_9_42-50\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Live Today With Eternity in Mind"},"content":{"rendered":"

Mark 9:42-50 \u00a0 (CLICK HERE FOR\u00a0BIBLE VERSES)<\/a><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Hi GAMErs,<\/p>\n

Today\u2019s passage is Mark 9:42-50.\u00a0 With an open mind and a humble heart, read this passage and see what sticks out to you in this passage.\u00a0 Is there a verse, a phrase, or a lesson you think the Holy Spirit may be highlighting for you in this passage?\u00a0 After you\u2019ve thought about the passage yourself a bit, read the GAME sharing below.\u00a0 Let\u2019s go!<\/p>\n

\n
Mark 9:42-48 (NIV)<\/strong>
\n42\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0“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.
\n43\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0If your hand causes you to sin, 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.
\n45\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0And if your foot causes you to sin, cut it off. It is better for you to enter life crippled than to have two feet and be thrown into hell.
\n47\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0And if your eye causes you to sin, 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,
\n48\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0where “‘their worm does not die, and the fire is not quenched.’<\/em>On verses 42-48:\u00a0 Jesus\u2019 words here show us a number of things:<\/p>\n

1. Here Jesus shows us how holy God is, how nothing with sin can stand in His presence.\u00a0\u00a0If it weren\u2019t for Jesus Christ dying on the cross to pay for our sinfulness, none of us would stand a chance of going to heaven.<\/strong>\u00a0 As Psalm 130:3-4 says, \u201cIf you, O\u00a0LORD, kept a record of sins, O Lord, who could stand?\u00a0 But with you there is forgiveness; therefore you are feared.\u201d\u00a0 May we never take God\u2019s incredible holiness or His equally incredible mercy for granted.<\/p>\n

2. Here Jesus shows us that heaven and hell are real places that we should take seriously.<\/p>\n

Mark 9:49 (NIV)<\/strong>
\n49<\/sup>\u00a0 Everyone will be salted with fire.<\/em><\/p>\n

On verse 49:\u00a0 What does \u201ceveryone will be salted with fire\u201d mean?\u00a0 While scholars differ in their interpretation, I believe the best interpretation is that everyone will be subject to God\u2019s judgment (see 2 Corinthians 5:10).\u00a0\u00a0Those who do not have Christ will be subject to eternal judgment.\u00a0\u00a0Those who have Christ will be saved for eternity, although what kind of reward they will receive in heaven on top of being saved will depend on how faithful they were with what God gave them.<\/p>\n

As Paul says in 1 Corinthians 3:12-15:
\n12\u00a0<\/sup><\/em>\u00a0If any man builds on this foundation using gold, silver, costly stones, wood, hay or straw,
\n13\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0his work will be shown for what it is, because the Day will bring it to light. It will be revealed with fire, and the fire will test the quality of each man’s work.
\n14\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0If what he has built survives, he will receive his reward.
\n15\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0If it is burned up, he will suffer loss; he himself will be saved, but only as one escaping through the flames.<\/em><\/p>\n

Mark 9:50 (NIV)<\/strong>
\n50\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0“Salt is good, but if it loses its saltiness, how can you make it salty again? Have salt in yourselves, and be at peace with each other.”<\/em><\/p>\n

On verse 50:\u00a0 What does salt represent here?\u00a0 Again, while scholars have varying interpretations, I believe the best way to interpret this verse is that, just as salt brings flavour and preservation to whatever it touches, so as Christ followers we are to bring flavour and life to the people around us. Whether it’s through our deeds (Matthew 5:13-16) or through our words (Colossians 4:6), may people taste the positive difference Jesus makes in our lives.<\/p>\n

Keep in mind that Jesus spoke these words in response to a dispute that his disciples were having with others (see Mark 9:38).\u00a0 Jesus uses that dispute to remind the disciples to have eternity in mind when they\u2019re living day to day, to value unity, holiness and living in peace with others.<\/p>\n

So how do we live with eternity in mind?\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

(1) Remember that God is holy.<\/strong><\/p>\n

(2) Remember that only through God\u2019s mercy expressed through Jesus Christ do we have any chance of heaven.<\/strong><\/p>\n

(3) Remember that heaven and hell are real places that we need to take seriously.<\/strong><\/p>\n

(4) Remember that all people including Christians will be judged and\/or rewarded for how we lived on this earth.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

(5) Like salt, live each day to flavour and preserve life for the people around you.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Jesus, thank You for reminding me to have eternity in mind when living day to day so that I would live for what\u2019s most important.\u00a0 In Jesus\u2019 name, AMEN!<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

copyright \u00a9 2022 Justin Lim. All rights reserved.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/section><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Hi GAMErs,<\/p>\n

Today\u2019s passage is Mark 9:42-50.\u00a0 With an open mind and a humble heart, read this passage and see what sticks out to you in this passage.\u00a0 Is there a verse, a phrase, or a lesson you think the Holy Spirit may be highlighting for you in this passage?\u00a0 After you\u2019ve thought about the passage yourself a bit, read the GAME sharing below.\u00a0 Let\u2019s go!<\/p>\n

Mark 9:42-48 (NIV)
\n42\u00a0\u00a0“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.
\n43\u00a0\u00a0If your hand causes you to sin, 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.<\/p>\n

On verses 42-48:\u00a0 Jesus\u2019 words here show us a number of things:<\/p>\n

1. Here Jesus shows us how holy God is, how nothing with sin can stand in His presence.\u00a0\u00a0If it weren\u2019t for Jesus Christ dying on the cross to pay for our sinfulness, none of us would stand a chance of going to heaven.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":37146,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[28],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-37144","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-gametime-sharing"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/37144","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=37144"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/37144\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":37147,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/37144\/revisions\/37147"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/37146"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=37144"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=37144"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=37144"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}