Who's side are you on?

    These chapters in Mark are so jam packed it is difficult to know what to share in the blog, without it turning into a book.

Chapter 9

The Transfiguration (1-10)
Question about Elijah (11-13)
Jesus casting out a demon that the disciples couldn't (14-29)
Jesus' death and resurrection (30-32)
Servitude (33-35)
Receiving Children (36-37)
How Christians are treated by others (41-42)
Nothing is worth going to hell over (43-48)
Fire and Salt (49-50)

    I could write many words on any one of these subjects, but the one that stood out to me in Chapter 9 was verses 38-40. These verses have always helped me keep a proper balance in my approach to other Christian groups. If they are not against us, they are on our side.
    Now let me quickly say that Jesus did not say that the truth doesn't matter and we should just lay down all our doctrinal differences and all be one. We have so many other scriptures that teach us that we are to stand for truth, that we know that is not what Jesus had in mind.
    However, what does it mean to stand for the truth. That you isolate yourself of in a little corner of the world and hold the fort till Jesus comes. That you rebuke those who claim the same Jesus (there are religious groups that don't have the same Jesus we do) and forbid them from doing anything for God?
    You see there are going to be a whole lot of people in heaven that were led to salvation by someone with whom we might have several scriptural differences. I would say that there are going to be some men and women that will be greatly rewarded for their faithful service to the Lord, with whom we would not have been completely comfortable going to their church.
    So should we just line up and act like our differences do not exist? No way! But if we are viewing these people as being on the opposing team, we are making a mistake. You see there is a world full of people that don't care what your church, or any other church for that matter, believes, and they are not going to care until someone reaches them with the message of salvation.