Dear readers, following Jesus closely does not in itself mean knowing His will rightly. The disciples saw Jesus’ glory and many mighty works, yet they disputed who was the greater and sought high places. They believed Jesus to be the Christ, yet they did not understand the word that He must suffer and die and then rise again. This book leads us to see the way of the Christ and of the disciple according to the Word of God, not according to human expectation.

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Mark chapter 9 begins with the event in which Jesus took Peter, James, and John up on a high mountain and was transfigured in glorious form. Moses and Elijah appeared and talked with Jesus, and out of the cloud came the voice saying, “This is My beloved Son. Hear Him!” (Mark 9:7). Coming down from the mountain, Jesus met a child seized by a mute spirit, whom the disciples could not heal. When the child’s father pleaded with Him to help his lacking faith, Jesus cast out the spirit and raised the child up. Then Jesus spoke again of how He would be delivered into the hands of men, be killed, and rise from the dead in three days, but the disciples did not understand what He meant. When the disciples argued over who was the greatest, Jesus taught that whoever desires to be first must become last of all and a servant, and He received a little child. He also said not to forbid a man who did not follow them from casting out demons in His name, and He sternly warned against causing one little one to stumble. At the end, He told them to cut off sin decisively, to have salt in themselves, and to have peace with one another. This chapter shows that the glorious Son of God walks the path of suffering, death, and resurrection, and that the disciple who follows Him must pursue faith, prayer, humble service, holiness, and peace with one another.

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Mark chapter 9 begins with the glory of Jesus revealed on the Mount of Transfiguration and continues into the path of faith and service that a disciple must walk. On the mountain, the form of Jesus was changed, His clothes shone dazzlingly, and Moses and Elijah appeared. But the voice from heaven commanded, “This is My beloved Son. Hear Him!” The promises of the Law and the Prophets point to Jesus Christ, the Son of God, and salvation begins not with human tradition or religious zeal but with hearing and believing His words.

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The summer weather is very hot. Even in this heat, every department is working hard. One team may seem better off than another, but if we put ourselves in each other’s place, everyone is equally worn and hard-pressed. Even so, we cannot but prepare for and carry out the work of God. We work knowing that just to be alive and not dead is something to be thankful for, and that even to breathe like this is something to be thankful for.

https://www.bjnewlife.org/
https://youtube.com/@TheNewLifeMission
https://www.facebook.com/shin.john.35

The summer weather is very hot. Even in this heat, every department is working hard. One team may seem better off than another, but if we put ourselves in each other’s place, everyone is equally worn and hard-pressed. Even so, we cannot but prepare for and carry out the work of God. We work knowing that just to be alive and not dead is something to be thankful for, and that even to breathe like this is something to be thankful for.

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https://youtube.com/@TheNewLifeMission
https://www.facebook.com/shin.john.35

Mark chapter 9 shows the scene in which Elijah and Moses appeared and talked together with Jesus. This event is recorded in three of the four Gospels: Matthew, Mark, and Luke. In Mark chapter 8, the Lord said that He had come to this earth, would accomplish all His ministry, and would rise again three days after dying; and when Peter said this could never be, the Lord rebuked him. Then He closed chapter 8 by saying, “Whoever is ashamed of Me and My words in this adulterous and sinful generation, of him the Son of Man also will be ashamed when He comes in the glory of His Father with the holy angels” (Mark 8:38).

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Today I would like us to think together about a few things within the words of Mark 9:38–42. First, let us look at verses 38 and 39: “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.’ But Jesus said, ‘Do not forbid him, for no one who works a miracle in My name can soon afterward speak evil of Me’” (Mark 9:38–39).

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Dear fellow believers, since receiving the remission of sin, how many battles between the spirit and the flesh have we fought to come this far? As we lead our life of faith before God, from the moment we open our eyes in the morning, two kinds of thoughts come and go. The thoughts of the flesh rise up and the thoughts of the Spirit rise up, and these two always collide. So we look at those two kinds of thoughts, decide which one to follow, lay down the thoughts of the flesh, and follow the thoughts of the Spirit. It is by choosing and following the side in which God delights that our life of faith is maintained.

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