Reflective Bible Study

In our last episode, we started looking at the event where Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead. In that episode, we focused in on what happened when Jesus learned that Lazarus was sick and how Jesus promised that His sickness would not end in death, but that God and His Son would be glorified through this event. However, Jesus stayed where He was for two more days, before announcing to the disciples that Lazarus had died, and that it was now time to travel to Bethany.

While I don’t know how far of a journey it is between where Jesus was at and Bethany where Lazarus was sick, from the way this event is framed, Jesus likely would have not made it in time since He waited two days before beginning to travel to Bethany. And as we will soon see, when Jesus arrived in Bethany, Lazarus had been dead for more than two days.

Let’s read what happened and discover some things we can learn from the amazing miracle that was about to take place. Our passage is found in John’s gospel, chapter 11, and we will read it using the God’s Word translation. Starting in verse 16, John tells us that:

¹⁷ When Jesus arrived, he found that Lazarus had been in the tomb for four days. ¹⁸ (Bethany was near Jerusalem, not quite two miles away.) ¹⁹ Many Jews had come to Martha and Mary to comfort them about their brother.

²⁰ When Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she went to meet him. Mary stayed at home. ²¹ Martha told Jesus, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died. ²² But even now I know that God will give you whatever you ask him.”

²³ Jesus told Martha, “Your brother will come back to life.”

²⁴ Martha answered Jesus, “I know that he’ll come back to life on the last day, when everyone will come back to life.”

²⁵ Jesus said to her, “I am the one who brings people back to life, and I am life itself. Those who believe in me will live even if they die. ²⁶ Everyone who lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe that?”

²⁷ Martha said to him, “Yes, Lord, I believe that you are the Messiah, the Son of God, the one who was expected to come into the world.”

²⁸ After Martha had said this, she went back home and whispered to her sister Mary, “The teacher is here, and he is calling for you.”

²⁹ When Mary heard this, she got up quickly and went to Jesus. ³⁰ (Jesus had not yet come into the village but was still where Martha had met him.) ³¹ The Jews who were comforting Mary in the house saw her get up quickly and leave. So they followed her. They thought that she was going to the tomb to cry. ³² When Mary arrived where Jesus was and saw him, she knelt at his feet and said, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.”

³³ When Jesus saw her crying, and the Jews who were crying with her, he was deeply moved and troubled.

Let’s pause briefly here, because I want to draw out an interesting contrast. From how John frames each sister’s discussion with Jesus, we might conclude that Mary was about to have the same discussion with Jesus that Martha had. However, a detail is present at the beginning of Mary’s conversation that is not present in Martha’s. From how John frame’s Mary’s arrival to Jesus, we get the picture that Mary was very emotional, upset, and in tears – and not just Mary, but the group of mourners with her.

In a way, while Jesus’ earlier visit to Bethany paints Martha in a negative light for being upset with Mary for wanting to sit listening to Jesus rather than help her sister, this event reverses these sisters’ roles. While Mary appears to be too emotional for a conversation to take place, Martha had moved passed her emotions to understand that it was possible Jesus spoke from a bigger perspective. Martha began with the same declaration as Mary, but Martha added a key idea in verse 22: “But even now I know that God will give you whatever you ask him.”

Martha’s declaration about Jesus implies a powerful faith in Jesus, and in Jesus’ resurrecting ability, even if Martha has accepted the possible truth that Lazarus won’t live again during their lifetimes, but will be raised up on the last day. Martha has moved past being blinded emotionally, while Mary is still deep in sorrow, unable to have much of a rational conversation.

Let’s continue reading. Rereading verse 33 and continuing forward:

³³ When Jesus saw her crying, and the Jews who were crying with her, he was deeply moved and troubled.

³⁴ So Jesus asked, “Where did you put Lazarus?”

They answered him, “Lord, come and see.”

³⁵ Jesus cried. ³⁶ The Jews said, “See how much Jesus loved him.” ³⁷ But some of the Jews asked, “Couldn’t this man who gave a blind man sight keep Lazarus from dying?”

Pausing again, I am amazed at the focus of most everyone in this event. Martha, Mary, and the Jews who were present all were focusing on the detail that Jesus had come too late. All of Jesus’ earlier resurrecting miracles happened much closer to the time of death. In Lazarus’ case, they had already had a funeral, and had buried him. The other resurrection miracles had happened within hours, or perhaps a day of the death. In contrast, Lazarus had been in the tomb for four days, which meant that he likely had died four or maybe even five days before Jesus’ arrival.

All the focus in this event was directed towards Jesus not being able to keep Lazarus from dying, and I suspect this is what bothered Jesus. Continuing in verse 38:

³⁸ Deeply moved again, Jesus went to the tomb. It was a cave with a stone covering the entrance. ³⁹ Jesus said, “Take the stone away.”

Martha, the dead man’s sister, told Jesus, “Lord, there must already be a stench. He’s been dead for four days.”

⁴⁰ Jesus said to her, “Didn’t I tell you that if you believe, you would see God’s glory?” ⁴¹ So the stone was moved away from the entrance of the tomb.

Jesus looked up and said, “Father, I thank you for hearing me. ⁴² I’ve known that you always hear me. However, I’ve said this so that the crowd standing around me will believe that you sent me.” ⁴³ After Jesus had said this, he shouted as loudly as he could, “Lazarus, come out!”

⁴⁴ The dead man came out. Strips of cloth were wound around his feet and hands, and his face was wrapped with a handkerchief. Jesus told them, “Free Lazarus, and let him go.”

In this event, one powerful truth we discover is within Jesus’ seemingly unnecessary prayer. This prayer both sounds unnecessary, but when compared with Jesus’ words to Martha in verse 25, it really seems unnecessary. In Jesus’ conversation with Martha, in verse 25, Jesus tells Martha, “I am the one who brings people back to life, and I am life itself.”

Then when we read Jesus’ prayer in verses 41 and 42, Jesus prayed, “Father, I thank you for hearing me. I’ve known that you always hear me. However, I’ve said this so that the crowd standing around me will believe that you sent me.” It’s amazing in my mind that nothing in Jesus’ prayer even hints at God raising Lazarus back to life. Looking at Jesus’ words to Martha, and at what is not included in Jesus’ prayer, we must conclude that Jesus used His divinity to raise Lazarus to life.

However, it is also worth noting that if God the Father had not wanted this miracle to happen, there would have been no way for Jesus to have done it. In the seemingly unnecessary prayer, we find a different focus. Instead of focusing on God raising Lazarus from the dead, which is what we might expect to see included in this prayer, we discover Jesus emphasized His connection with the Father, and set the stage for this miracle to emphasize this connection as the basis for our belief in Him.

While throughout this entire event, including the verses we looked at in our last episode, we discover from the very beginning Jesus wanted this event to bring God glory and give those present one more reason to place their faith in Him. While Mary, Martha, and the crowd believed Jesus was too late, the powerful truth we discover in this event is that with Jesus, God is never too late, and regardless of how long we have been in the grave, when Jesus calls to us at the end of time, we will be resurrected just like Lazarus was.

When Jesus calls, those who are dead hear His voice and return to life! For God’s people, death is nothing more than a sleep waiting for the end of sin and the final resurrection into a brand new life with God!

As we come to the end of another podcast episode, here are the challenges I will leave you with:

As I always challenge you to do, intentionally seek God first in your life and choose to place your faith, your hope, your trust, and your belief in Jesus. If death scares you, know it is nothing more than a sleep for those who have placed their faith in Jesus, and death is something Jesus not only resurrected Lazarus from, but something He conquered personally as well. Death is something that is not to be feared by followers of Jesus because it simply means the next thing we hear will be Jesus calling us from the grave.

Also, pray and study the Bible for yourself to learn and grow closer to God each and every day. Choose to focus your studying on learning more about God and don’t take anyone else’s word for what the Bible teaches. Instead, choose to study the Bible’s truth for yourself, especially on topics as important as death to discover what the Bible teaches rather than what culture wants you to believe. You may be surprised to learn what the Bible teaches us about death and resurrection.

And as I end every set of challenges by saying in one way or another, never stop short of, back away from, chicken out of, or deviate away from where God wants to lead you to in your life with Him!

As we continue through Mark’s gospel, we come to what is likely the least politically correct challenge Jesus faced, and a topic that is one of the most divisive topics that our culture has at this point in history. However, Jesus never shied away from difficult situations, nor did He avoid responding to challenges that came His way. Like most of the events where the religious leaders challenged Jesus on certain topics, Jesus’ response shifted the focus onto a higher perspective than those bringing the challenge had been looking at the challenge.

Before jumping in to read this passage, I will put out the disclaimer here that what Jesus shares might be offensive to some people, but Jesus is sharing God’s original ideal. Jesus is very clear that where humanity is currently is not anywhere near God’s ideal, and it is likely that the majority of those who would claim to be offended at what Jesus shares in this event have rejected God, and in this case, rejecting God also means rejecting His ideals.

Our passage is found in Mark’s gospel, chapter 10, and we will read it from the New Century Version of the Bible. Starting in verse 1, Mark tells us:

¹ Then Jesus left that place and went into the area of Judea and across the Jordan River. Again, crowds came to him, and he taught them as he usually did.

² Some Pharisees came to Jesus and tried to trick him. They asked, “Is it right for a man to divorce his wife?”

³ Jesus answered, “What did Moses command you to do?”

⁴ They said, “Moses allowed a man to write out divorce papers and send her away.”

⁵ Jesus said, “Moses wrote that command for you because you were stubborn. ⁶ But when God made the world, ‘he made them male and female.’ ⁷ ‘So a man will leave his father and mother and be united with his wife, ⁸ and the two will become one body.’ So there are not two, but one. ⁹ God has joined the two together, so no one should separate them.”

¹⁰ Later, in the house, his followers asked Jesus again about the question of divorce. ¹¹ He answered, “Anyone who divorces his wife and marries another woman is guilty of adultery against her. ¹² And the woman who divorces her husband and marries another man is also guilty of adultery.”

Before continuing our passage, I want to pause and emphasize something that is easily missed when reading this event. Within Jesus’ response, Jesus quickly shifts the focus away from the current state of the world in sin, and into a different perspective. The majority of Jesus’ public response is from God’s perspective. Jesus tells the crowd that “when God made the world, ‘he made them male and female’”.

This not only quotes from the creation account in Genesis, but it also affirms God’s direct hand in creating the human race. God is the Author of life, and He created male and female. When marriage unites two people, Jesus tells us that God sees these two people as one, not as two. When God joins a couple together in marriage, His ideal is for them to remain united.

It is only in Jesus’ private response that we see Jesus challenging the disciples with the truth that divorce and remarriage equals adultery in God’s eyes. It is true that adultery is a much broader term than the two situations Jesus describes, but Jesus pulls these two edge cases into this broad term when most people would be inclined to exclude them.

From how Jesus shares His response, as followers of Jesus, we should publicly support honoring our marriage commitments, and place the greatest emphasis on living our lives as examples for others to see what God’s ideal is like. Marriage is a personal commitment to your spouse in the eyes of God, and it is an agreement between both spouses and God. If you are not a spouse in a marriage agreement, what goes on in this marriage agreement is in almost every case none of your business.

In Jesus’ private reply, we see the redefinition of adultery to include divorce and remarriage. This suggests to me that we only privately talk to individuals about this, and then sparingly at best. A conversation like this should be framed with lots of prayer, lots of listening, and lots of God’s love and forgiveness present. It also is best done with a pastor, counselor, or spiritual leader present. Adultery is a significant sin, but it is nowhere near unforgivable. The Bible has many examples of adultery being forgiven, and God doesn’t condemn this sin anymore than any other sin that He wants to forgive.

After sharing this challenging topic, Mark then shifts to something less challenging or politically incorrect, but something that was still a pretty big culture shift from how things were done in first century Judea. Continuing in verse 13, Mark then describes that:

¹³ Some people brought their little children to Jesus so he could touch them, but his followers told them to stop. ¹⁴ When Jesus saw this, he was upset and said to them, “Let the little children come to me. Don’t stop them, because the kingdom of God belongs to people who are like these children. ¹⁵ I tell you the truth, you must accept the kingdom of God as if you were a little child, or you will never enter it.” ¹⁶ Then Jesus took the children in his arms, put his hands on them, and blessed them.

In this conclusion to our passage, Jesus shifts our perspective again. While many people might think of those who are older or who are more mature spiritually to be closer to God’s kingdom, it may actually be the opposite. It’s possible that those who are older or more mature might be further away from God than small children might be.

In the context of Jesus’ challenge to the disciples to let the children come to Him, the disciples likely believed they were doing Jesus a service because they were shielding Jesus from what might be considered an insignificant task. I don’t see any hint in this passage that any of the children being brought to Jesus needed to be healed or helped. Instead, the parents simply wanted God’s blessing to be on their children.

When Jesus corrects the disciples and lets the parents bring their children to Him, we can learn that God values spending time with us. While God is at times very task-oriented, He is also very people-oriented and He values the time we spend with Him. If you haven’t spent quality time with Jesus, or if you haven’t had much time available to spend with God, it may be worth looking closer at this event.

Jesus tells us that the kingdom of God belongs to those who are like these children. Mark has described these children as “little children” and that means they are the most dependant on parental help than at any later stage of their growing up. In one sense, the more we depend on Jesus and on God for our salvation, the closer we are to entering God’s kingdom, and the more we let God into our lives and hearts, the better we will be able to represent Him in the world today!

While this passage contains some pretty significant challenges, Jesus did not come to judge people; He came to love, forgive, and redeem everyone who wants to be loved, forgiven, and redeemed.

As we come to the end of another podcast episode, here are the challenges I will leave you with:

As I always challenge you to do, intentionally seek God first and choose to align your life to God’s will. View life from God’s perspective and choose to accept God like a little child. Depend on God for your salvation and for everything you need in life. A little child is not equipped to survive on their own, and sin has made us incapable of surviving spiritually without God’s help. Let’s together depend on God for help, for our salvation, and for everything we need both today and every day moving forward.

Also, continue praying and studying the Bible for yourself to learn and grow closer to God each and every day. Choose to spend time with God in prayer and study to fall in love with Him like He has already fallen in love with You. God loves you more than you could even imagine, and Jesus came to help us realize the love God has for each of us!

And as I end every set of challenges by saying in one way or another, never stop short of, back away from, chicken out of, or abandon where God wants to lead you to in your life with Him!

As we approach the half way mark in our year moving through John’s gospel, we come to one of the longest events in John’s gospel, and, if I’m not mistaken, the miracle Jesus did that takes up the most dedicated space in any gospel record. This miracle is raising Jesus’ friend Lazarus from the dead.

However, because of its length, we will split this event into two episodes, focusing on the first part of the event in this episode, specifically when Jesus hears the news that Lazarus is sick.

Let’s read the opening to this event, and discover some amazing things in how Jesus responds to the news of His friend’s sickness. Our passage for this episode is found in John’s gospel, chapter 11, and we will read it from the Contemporary English Version of the Bible. Starting in verse 1, John tells us that:

^1-2 A man by the name of Lazarus was sick in the village of Bethany. He had two sisters, Mary and Martha. This was the same Mary who later poured perfume on the Lord’s head and wiped his feet with her hair. ³ The sisters sent a message to the Lord and told him that his good friend Lazarus was sick.

⁴ When Jesus heard this, he said, “His sickness won’t end in death. It will bring glory to God and his Son.”

⁵ Jesus loved Martha and her sister and brother. ⁶ But he stayed where he was for two more days. ⁷ Then he said to his disciples, “Now we will go back to Judea.”

⁸ “Teacher,” they said, “the people there want to stone you to death! Why do you want to go back?”

⁹ Jesus answered, “Aren’t there twelve hours in each day? If you walk during the day, you will have light from the sun, and you won’t stumble. ¹⁰ But if you walk during the night, you will stumble, because you don’t have any light.” ¹¹ Then he told them, “Our friend Lazarus is asleep, and I am going there to wake him up.”

¹² They replied, “Lord, if he is asleep, he will get better.” ¹³ Jesus really meant that Lazarus was dead, but they thought he was talking only about sleep.

¹⁴ Then Jesus told them plainly, “Lazarus is dead! ¹⁵ I am glad that I wasn’t there, because now you will have a chance to put your faith in me. Let’s go to him.”

¹⁶ Thomas, whose nickname was “Twin,” said to the other disciples, “Come on. Let’s go, so we can die with him.”

Let’s stop reading here, and save the rest of this event for our next episode.

While it is very tempting to race forward to focus in on the miracle portion of this passage, a detail in the first portion of our event is worth paying attention to, because it may explain why God doesn’t race in and act immediately when we ask.

In the first portion of our event, specifically in verse 4, after hearing the news of Lazarus’ sickness, Jesus responds that: “His sickness won’t end in death. It will bring glory to God and his Son.” All too often, when we think of the bad that happens to us or the bad that happens around us living in this sinful world, we are quick to judge God for letting it happen, or rationalize that since it happened, He must not exist.

However, in Jesus’ words, we discover two huge promises. First, the sickness will not end in death. We could expand this truth to say that sin will not conquer or defeat God’s people. Another way of saying this is that God’s people will outlive and outlast both sin and death.

The second huge promise is that this sickness will result in glory being given to God and His Son. While this sounds completely backward, what if all the bad that is happening in the world today was an opportunity to bring glory to God and His Son? While I don’t believe for an instant that God wished sin, pain, disease, or death to be present in His perfect creation, what if all the evil present gives God and His people the opportunity to help others?

If everything was perfect in our world, there would be no need for anyone to help another, there would be no reason for us to need a Savior, and we as a race would become unbelievably prideful and arrogant – significantly more extreme than we are right now. If humanity never sinned, Jesus would not have needed to come and face the cross, and Jesus alludes or suggests that the cross was where He would receive glory.

In contrast, in order for Jesus’ response when hearing the news about Lazarus’ sickness to be true, we must understand that Jesus has something bigger in mind. Jesus promised that this sickness wouldn’t end in death, and that it would give glory to God and His Son.

Without both parts of Jesus’ reply, we are left wondering about what happened next. If Jesus had only promised that Lazarus’ sickness wouldn’t end in death, there would be little reason for Jesus to go help Him. It would be similar to other miracles where Jesus promised people from a distance that their loved one would get well.

However, if we only had the second part of this reply, we might also be surprised at what happened next. If this sickness would ultimately result in God and His Son receiving glory, then it makes little sense for Jesus to stay where He was for two more days.

Looking at how Jesus responded to the messenger, and then what He did following this, I wonder if the disciples believed Jesus’ words to the messenger to be similar to Jesus’ words to the centurion, to the father of the dying child, and to other miracles where the one asking for a miracle was willing to accept Jesus’ promise of healing from a distance. On the surface, Jesus’ response sounds like a similar promise.

However, one of the biggest challenges I see being laid in this opening to this event is within Jesus’ reply. Jesus told the messenger that Lazarus’ sickness would not end in death, and then two days later, Jesus admits to His disciples that Lazarus was in fact dead.

This challenge is similar to what many people face today. We read about all the miracles and promises God gives us in the Bible, then we pray for God’s help and for a miracle in our own situation, and after praying this, often it can feel as though God ignores our request.

It is like the messenger racing back to Bethany after finding Jesus with the promise that Lazarus’ sickness wouldn’t end in death, but then less than 48 hours later, Lazarus dies. On the surface, this looks like a huge fail for Jesus and His promises. This looks like Jesus broke a promise. I suspect that Mary, Martha, and those present in Bethany had similar feelings of loss, of disappointment, and of doubt towards God when Lazarus stopped breathing.

However, Jesus’ promise still stands. Jesus saw this event in a larger way than this immediate sickness finishing Lazarus off for good. Instead, Jesus never promised that Lazarus’ sickness wouldn’t temporarily take Him through death. Instead, Jesus actually refers to the death Lazarus experienced as sleep, which makes this contrast even more evident. It is only when the disciples don’t understand Jesus’ metaphor that He spoke plainly to them about Lazarus’ death.

In a similar way, when we experience pain, loss, or even death, we might feel as though God’s promises have failed us. However, Jesus sees one or more steps past the immediate pain, because Jesus sees the step past our sleep-death and He sees the resurrection He will bring to all of His people when He returns.

While the disciples show virtually no faith in Jesus during this opening of the event, the opening of this event sets the stage for what would be seen as one of Jesus’ greatest miracles in His entire ministry, and a miracle that foreshadows the resurrection that all of God’s people can look forward to when Jesus returns!

As we come to the end of another podcast episode, here are the challenges I will leave you with:

As I always challenge you to do, seek God first in your life, and choose to place your faith, your hope, your trust, and your belief in Jesus even when our immediate circumstances don’t seem like God’s promises are coming true. God sees history with a much bigger perspective than we ever could, and the situation we are facing might be like the opening of our event in this episode. However, remember that Jesus sees one or more steps past our immediate situation, and He has promised to give God the glory for what ultimately happens.

Also, even though it is hard to do when facing trials, continue praying and studying the Bible for yourself with the goal of purposefully growing closer to God and Jesus while facing trials. Often God walks with us through the trials instead of taking the trial away, and while it is not pleasant to think about, sometimes trials are God’s way of reminding us that we need Him in our lives.

However, trials have an end, and because of this, I end every set of challenges by saying in one way or another, never stop short of, back away from, chicken out of, or give up on where God wants to lead you to in your life with Him!

As we approach the half way point in our year looking at Mark’s gospel, we come to a passage where Jesus give a very strong warning and challenge to a specific group of people. While it might be easy to skip over this warning under different circumstances, this challenge is prompted after Jesus is told about something His followers did. Of all the warnings and challenges, this one stands out as being one of the most significant and serious in my own mind. However, this challenge, while it is very serious, also contains within it a promise that is easy to miss if we are not paying attention.

This passage and challenge are found in Mark’s gospel, chapter 9, and we will read from the New American Standard Bible translation. Starting in verse 38:

³⁸ John said to Him, “Teacher, we saw someone casting out demons in Your name, and we tried to prevent him because he was not following us.” ³⁹ But Jesus said, “Do not hinder him, for there is no one who will perform a miracle in My name, and be able soon afterward to speak evil of Me. ⁴⁰ For he who is not against us is for us. ⁴¹ For whoever gives you a cup of water to drink because of your name as followers of Christ, truly I say to you, he will not lose his reward.

Let’s pause reading briefly because while Jesus has more to say, I want to emphasize some details in the first portion of this passage. First, it is worth paying attention to John’s opening and telling Jesus that he and some of the other disciples saw someone who wasn’t a part of their group casting out demons in Jesus’ name. John says that they tried to prevent him. However, Jesus pushes back with a powerful counter-intuitive truth: Christianity was never meant to be an exclusive club for sinners saved by grace. Christianity is united by people following Jesus Christ and giving Him the glory, the praise, and the credit for everything.

Jesus emphasizes this truth by telling His disciples that anyone who is not against Jesus is for them, and those who are performing miracles in the name of Jesus have God’s approval to do so. If someone cannot perform a miracle in Jesus’ name, then they are likely misusing Jesus’ name and/or they are missing a relationship with Jesus in their lives. Miracles that succeed using Jesus’ name can only happen if the one doing the miracle has the Holy Spirit in his or her life. Whoever helps someone else in Jesus’ name will not lose the reward God has promised them.

However, Jesus isn’t finished sharing. Continuing the theme of helping others, Jesus turns the tables starting in verse 42, saying:

⁴² “Whoever causes one of these little ones who believe to stumble, it would be better for him if, with a heavy millstone hung around his neck, he had been cast into the sea. ⁴³ If your hand causes you to stumble, cut it off; it is better for you to enter life crippled, than, having your two hands, to go into hell, into the unquenchable fire, ⁴⁴ [where their worm does not die, and the fire is not quenched.] ⁴⁵ If your foot causes you to stumble, cut it off; it is better for you to enter life lame, than, having your two feet, to be cast into hell, ⁴⁶ [where their worm does not die, and the fire is not quenched.] ⁴⁷ If your eye causes you to stumble, throw it out; it is better for you to enter the kingdom of God with one eye, than, having two eyes, to be cast into hell, ⁴⁸ where their worm does not die, and the fire is not quenched.

⁴⁹ “For everyone will be salted with fire. ⁵⁰ Salt is good; but if the salt becomes unsalty, with what will you make it salty again? Have salt in yourselves, and be at peace with one another.”

In the last section of our passage, we come to a very challenging idea: It would be better for us to cut a part of our body off if it causes us to sin than to risk our salvation. This is a challenging part of our passage because it implies that God wants us to injure ourselves. The implication is that our body controls our head.

While some people may let their bodies and their impulses control their lives, when given the choice of hell or losing a part of your body, I would imagine most people would recoil and acknowledge that any part of their body could be brought into control. Choosing between facing hell or losing a part of your body is like choosing between two significantly bad options when a third option exists.

The third option is banishing the sin from your life and bringing whatever part of your body into control so it does not cause you to sin any more. It may be significant that Jesus uses the example of hand, foot, and eye in this graphic illustration. Our hands can symbolize what we do, our feet symbolize where we go, and our eyes symbolize what we focus on.

In each of these cases, we have the freedom to choose. We can choose to do something wrong, which some people might define using the word sin; we can choose to go somewhere that is not spiritually healthy; and we can choose to focus on things that are not beneficial for our lives. While looking at these three ideas, it’s amazing in my mind that these three ideas create a loop. However, the progression this loop takes is in reverse order of what Jesus shared. The loop looks like this: Focus leads to movement, and movement leads to action. However, action then also prompts us to focus more, leading to more movement, and more action, allowing the loop to continue.

If we are stuck in a loop of sinning, we may have to do something drastic to break this cycle. While I don’t suggest maiming yourself or cutting a part of your body off, I think that given the choice of hell or being crippled, you would look intentionally for a third option.

Our third option comes in Jesus, and in the Holy Spirit. Verse 49 tells us that “everyone will be salted with fire.” While I haven’t done much study on this verse, it is possible that one way to understand Jesus’ words here relate to experiencing the Holy Spirit. Everyone gets the option of receiving and feeling the Holy Spirit’s fire. However, depending upon who the person is, the Holy Spirit’s fire can harden their hearts against God, or it will soften their hearts to hear His message. Everyone is given the option to choose Jesus or not. It is a choice we are freely given, and one that we all must make.

While there is much more we could discuss on this angle of the subject, don’t let the skeptic inside you ask the questions about everyone who doesn’t know about Jesus, or who couldn’t have known. This passage and challenge isn’t about them. This passage and challenge is about you. “Have salt in yourselves, and be at peace with one another.”

Let the Holy Spirit into your lives and let the Holy Spirit help you become who God created you to be!

As we come to the end of another podcast episode, here are the challenges I will leave you with:

As I always challenge you to do, intentionally seek God first and let the Holy Spirit fill your life. Choose to let God help you move away from sin and intentionally control your bodies and actions in a way that builds up your life towards God’s ideal and don’t let your lives drift into a loop that feeds sin. We can choose what we will focus on, where we will go, and what we will do, and while some people have more freedom in these areas than others, we all have enough freedom to choose to sin or not to sin in any given situation.

Also, continue praying and study the Bible for yourself to learn and grow closer to God each and every day. God wants a personal relationship with you, and He wants to help you break free from the sin that is holding you back in your life.

And as I end every set of challenges by saying in one way or another, never stop short of, back away from, chicken out of, or let sin or temptation steal you away from where God wants to lead you to in your life with Him!