DO NOT CAUSE A BELIEVER TO SIN

Proclamation:

“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.”  Mark 9:42 (NIV)

Explanation:

These words were written under the influence of The Holy Spirit of God by Mark who was not one of the apostles.  This is part of the gospel as he received it from the apostle Peter.  After presenting the transfiguration of Jesus on the mountain, (Mark 9: 2-9) and the healing of the possessed deaf and mute boy, (Mark 9:17-29) Mark records that Jesus predicts His own death. (Mark 9:31)  Then Jesus warns them not to cause a believer to stumble and fall into sin.  Jesus also warned His disciples not to stumble and fall into sin themselves. (Mark 9:43-50)  Here Mark records Jesus talking about people going to hell for their sins. (Mark 9: 43, 45, and 47) 

Application:

It is not good for us to lead a believer astray and cause them to sin.  It would be better for a person to be drowned by being thrown into the sea with a heavy weight tied around their neck, than the punishment they will face from The Lord for causing one of His believers to fall into sin.  The Lord God will avenge His own and it would be better to suffer anything else than to suffer His anger.  It is not good for anyone to sin, but it is much worse for a person to pull someone else, especially a believer, down into sin with them.  Don't be a stumbling block.

PRAY AND PRAISE THE LORD GOD SEVEN TIMES A DAY

Proclamation:

“Seven times a day I praise You for Your righteous laws.  Great peace have those who love Your law, and nothing can make them stumble.”  Psalm 119:164-165 (NIV)

Explanation:

The words of this psalm were written by King David under the influence of The Holy Spirit of God.  This is the twenty-first part, Shin, of this twenty-two part psalm.  David continues to tell The Lord God how much he loves His laws.  He states that he praises Him seven times each day because of His laws.  Seven times may be a literal translation or it may mean very often each day. 

Application:

I believe that most believers pray several times each day.  Most of us pray in the morning when we wake up, in the evening before we go to sleep, and before we eat each meal.  That would be four to five times each day but not seven times.  The Bible says that we ought to always pray, (Luke 18:1 and 21:36) and His praise should continually be in our mouth. (Psalm 34:1)  In order to pray seven times in a day, we would have to pray at least two or three times more than the traditional or habitual prayer times.  There are those who say that they pray when they get in their cars before they drive on these dangerous streets and freeways.  I would suggest that we also pray before we engage anyone in a conversation, before we answer a question, and before we make a decision.  Before we do or say anything, we ought to pray and ask for God’s help and guidance.  If we did that, maybe we would have great peace in our lives, and maybe we would not stumble into sin as often as we do.