What Others Do
Today's Three-minute Bible Study
Print, Study and Apply
Title: What Others Do ------------------- Date: 6/15/2003
Keywords:
"competition" "pride"
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Passage: Mark 9:38-41*
38. Now John answered Him, saying, "Teacher, we saw someone who does not follow us casting out demons in Your name, and we forbade him because he does not follow us."
39. But Jesus said, "Do not forbid him, for no one who works a miracle in My name can soon afterward speak evil of Me.
40. For he who is not against us is on our side.
41. For whoever gives you a cup of water to drink in My name, because you belong to Christ, assuredly, I say to you, he will by no means lose his reward.
Questions
1. Who really bugs you? Why?
2. How does pride affect your relationship with God?.
Practical help
Sometimes we try to cover up our weaknesses by comparing ourselves with others. We look for things we think we are good at or do right and then compare these things with the behaviors of others. A good clue that this is going on in our lives is the feeling of pride.
If Jesus had been motivated by pride, perhaps he would have agreed with John that those others who were casting out demons in Jesus' name needed to be stopped. Study the passage above carefully and you might agree with me that what made John most unhappy was the fact that those others were not getting in line behind the disciples. John said, "...we saw someone who does not follow us, not …we saw someone who does not follow you, Jesus." He even said it a second time in the same sentence, "…we forbade him because he does not follow us."
As you follow Jesus day by day, loosen your grip on demanding spiritual compliance from others. It doesn't matter how they might express themselves spiritually. Instead of critiquing their behavior, begin to thank God on their behalf for the good things they are doing. Ask him to help us all to live in ways that please him. This includes pornography. Just because you might have a problem in this area doesn't mean you shouldn't be praying on behalf of other strugglers as well. After all, this problem is not just about you.
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*Scripture taken from the New King James Version (NKJV), © Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc.
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