Daily Devotional
By Pastor Jerry Teboe
A Closer Walk with Christ in 2026
A Walk with the Master Series
Dealing with Sin
Mar 9:38-41
And whosoever shall offend one of these little ones that believe in me, it is better for him that a millstone were hanged about his neck, and he were cast into the sea. Mar 9:43 And if thy hand offend thee, cut it off: it is better for thee to enter into life maimed, than having two hands to go into hell, into the fire that never shall be quenched: Mar 9:44 Where their worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched. Mar 9:45 And if thy foot offend thee, cut it off: it is better for thee to enter halt into life, than having two feet to be cast into hell, into the fire that never shall be quenched: Mar 9:46 Where their worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched. Mar 9:47 And if thine eye offend thee, pluck it out: it is better for thee to enter into the kingdom of God with one eye, than having two eyes to be cast into hell fire: Mar 9:48 Where their worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched. Mar 9:49 For every one shall be salted with fire, and every sacrifice shall be salted with salt. Mar 9:50 Salt is good: but if the salt have lost his saltness, wherewith will ye season it? Have salt in yourselves, and have peace one with another.
Here we see some harsh language which the Lord used as a warning against sin. This comes following the statement about the little children in yesterday's message. John and James also used some strong language against those who were not following the teachings of Jesus. The Lord had spoken of the children as a picture of innocence and the danger of leading them astray. The following is one theologian’s way of demonstrating how dangerous sin is.
Jesus did not treat John’s statement lightly; in fact, He went on to explain the danger of causing others to stumble and therefore stop serving the Lord (Mar_9:42-50). “These little ones” refers to all God’s children who follow Christ and seek to serve Him. The way believers treat others in the family of God is a serious thing, and God wants us to “have peace one with another” (Mar_9:50). The disciples did not get along with each other, nor did they get along with other believers!
This solemn message about hell carries a warning to all of us to deal drastically with sin. Whatever in our lives makes us stumble, and therefore causes others to stumble, must be removed as if by surgery. The hand, foot, and eye would be considered valuable parts of the body, yet they must be removed if they are causing sin. Of course, the Lord is not commanding literal physical surgery, since He had already made it clear that sin comes from the heart (Mar_7:20-23). What He is teaching is that sin is to the inner person what a cancerous tumor is to the body, and it must be dealt with drastically.
Sin must be dealt with because it is so wicked. It was sin that nailed Jesus to the cross. John later, after learning the heart of the Lord, wrote in first John the following. My little children, these things write I unto you, that ye sin not. And if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous: And he is the propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world (1 John 2:1-2). Jesus wanted to warn the lost men and women of the world of the danger of sin. Someone said that Jesus preached on hell 18 times and on heaven only twice. He definitely did not want anyone to miss heaven, so they had to know the real danger of not dealing with sin.
As believers, we must keep short tabs on sin in our own lives. This is why 1 John 1:9 is so important. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. And every time it’s possible, we should lead the unsaved to Christ, so they won’t have to go to hell.
Bible Reading for the Year
April 25th, 2 Samuel 15-16; Luke 20:27-47
April 26th, 2 Samuel 17-18; Luke 21:1-19
Prayer Needs
Please pray for Carolyn Tyson’s niece and her husband Pam and Joe Wobbleton. Joe had open heart surgery Friday morning because of a heart attack. The surgery went well, and he is recovering in the hospital. Pam has had several mini-strokes and will need surgery at Chapel Hill.
Please pray for Judith Tyson, Carolyn’s sister, who has lung problems from smoke inhalation caused by her furnace.
Praise the Lord that Dr. Joe Jordan had a successful coronary artery bypass surgery. He was able to go home on Thursday afternoon! Please continue to pray for his complete recovery.
Praise the Lord! Thank you for praying for Jennifer Teboe Buchamer. She had a CT scan on Friday, April 17th. All of the tumors had shrunk except for 2 that remained stable. The doctors were greatly surprised. Please continue to pray for complete healing.
Please pray for Kat Radkins’ husband, Joe. He will have a total hip replacement on May 11th. Please continue to pray for a remote work job for Kat as they really need this.
Please pray for Robbie Harvey, who has MAC lung disease. He fell and broke several ribs. He is now home from the hospital but in a lot of pain. He has started a new medication for his lung disease.
Please continue to pray for Carter Crandell (Corey’s Dad). He is home from the hospital, but he still has infection and two kidney stones. Once the infection clears up, he will go back to have the stones removed.
Please pray for Peggy Warren. She is in a lot of pain from a partially crushed disc in her lower back. However, surgery is not recommended.
Please pray for Phil Corey in his continual dialysis treatments. Please pray for Michelle and for Doris too. Doris is having problems with her blood pressure.
Please continue to pray for Beth Buchta that her hip will completely heal. Her recovery can take up to a year.
Please pray for Madison Bowers Millwee. She is now at 34 weeks and is doing well. Everything is relatively stable at this point. She will continue modified bedrest until she delivers.
Please continue to pray for Marvin Silverthorne for his eyesight to improve.
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Pray for our Missionaries!
Sue Singleton and the mission in Cambodia
Dr. Joe Jordan and the CBM (Cross and Bible Ministries)
Travis and Caroline Fennessy – IBM missionaries to Southeast Asia