But
if you cause one of these little ones who trusts in me to fall into sin, it
would be better for you to have a large millstone tied around your neck and be
drowned in the depths of the sea. "What sorrow awaits the world, because
it tempts people to sin. Temptations are inevitable, but what sorrow awaits the
person who does the tempting. Matthew
18:6-7
Millstone at an Israeli heritage museum.
Don't let a millstone be tied around your neck!
But
if you cause one of these little ones who trusts in me to fall into sin, it
would be better for you to be thrown into the sea with a large millstone hung
around your neck. Mark
9:42
One
day Jesus said to his disciples, "There will always be temptations to sin,
but what sorrow awaits the person who does the tempting! It would be better to
be thrown into the sea with a millstone hung around your neck than to cause one
of these little ones to fall into sin. Luke 17:1-2
Meditate.
Consider God’s love and protection of others—especially children.
Jesus
said…What sorrow awaits the world, because it tempts people to sin.
Temptations are inevitable, but what sorrow awaits the person who does the
tempting. Temptation is inevitable. We can’t escape it. It hovers like a
dark cloud waiting for a moment to pounce upon you—pulling you into its grasp
and haughtily laughing in your face. It forces a wedge between you and others…a
wall between you and God as you disobey His commands. No! May it never be…but
as a human, it is unavoidable. No! You can avoid the evil grasp.
Trust in the LORD with all your
heart; do not depend on your own understanding. Seek his will in all you do,
and he will show you which path to take. Don't be impressed with your own
wisdom. Instead, fear the LORD and turn away from evil. Proverbs 3:5-7
Turn away from evil and do good.
Search for peace, and work to maintain it. Psalm 34:14 and 1 Peter 3:11
Work to
maintain peace with no evil—don’t be tempted. Remember what Jesus taught His disciples
in what we call the Lord’s Prayer.
And don't let us yield to
temptation, but rescue us from the evil one. Matthew 6:13
There is
an Old Testament story that describes this very action of the fact that God
does battle against evil for His people.
As all the men of Judah stood
before the LORD with their little ones, wives, and children, the Spirit of the
LORD came upon one of the men standing there. His name was Jahaziel son of
Zechariah, son of Benaiah, son of Jeiel, son of Mattaniah, a Levite who was a
descendant of Asaph. He said, "Listen, all you people of Judah and
Jerusalem! Listen, King Jehoshaphat! This is what the LORD says: Do not be
afraid! Don't be discouraged by this mighty army, for the battle is not yours,
but God's. 2
Chronicles 20:13-15
There is
a spiritual battle going on, and it is over all that we do…all that we are, but
the battle then and now is God’s. Trust Him. Be courageous—don’t tempt others
or give in to temptation. Pray.
What do we learn about Jesus from these
Scripture passages?
Prayer
– Lord Jesus, help us to be courageous and intentionally focused on You and on Your
word, so that we will apply it to our lives. Do battle for us—for You are mighty and
powerful. Thank You.
Verse
of Salvation ~ For the kind of sorrow God wants us to experience leads us away
from sin and results in salvation. There's no regret for that kind of sorrow.
But worldly sorrow, which lacks repentance, results in spiritual death. 2 Corinthians 7:10
© 2026 Text, photos, and illustrations by Mickey M. Hunacek. All
rights reserved.
All scripture quoted from the New Living Translation (NLT) unless
otherwise noted.
New Living Translation copyright © 1996, 2004, 2007 by Tyndale
House Foundation.
Used
by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188.
All rights reserved.
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