I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord. Romans 8:38-39.

Lean on, trust in, and be confident in the Lord with all your heart and mind and do not rely on your own insight or understanding. Proverbs 3:5 AMP.

I realized this morning after worrying over things I have said and done, that I am afraid of myself. Not just that I will do the wrong thing or say the wrong thing, but that I am the wrong thing. And Creator God – Father, Son, Spirit, invites me to let go and trust Him for the work we will do together in me. I want to reach the end of me…so that I can begin anew with Him.

And in our chapter, Mark 9, can we see the disciples are just as messy as we are? They’re not perfect. Neither are we. Jesus has just told the disciples that some standing there will not taste death until they see the kingdom of God in power. Six days later He takes Peter, James and John with Him up a high mountain. There He was transfigured before them. His clothes became dazzling white, whiter than anyone in the world could bleach them. And there appeared before them Elijah and Moses, who were talking with Jesus…Then a cloud appeared and covered them, and a voice came from the cloud: “This is My Son, whom I love. Listen to Him!” Suddenly, when they looked around, they no longer saw anyone with them except Jesus. As they were coming down the mountain, Jesus gave them orders not to tell anyone what they had seen until the Son of Man had risen from the dead. They kept the matter to themselves, discussing what “rising from the dead” meant. v. 2-10. It must have been dizzying to experience that and then “back to normal”. And when they left the mountain they found the disciples among a crowd of people. A man had brought his son for Jesus to heal and the disciples tried. “Teacher, I brought You my son, who is possessed by a spirit that has robbed him of speech. Whenever it seizes him, it throws him to the ground. He foams at the mouth, gnashes his teeth and becomes rigid. I asked Your disciples to drive out the spirit, but they could not.”…When the spirit saw Jesus, it immediately threw the boy into a convulsion. He fell to the ground and rolled around, foaming at the mouth. Jesus asked the boy’s father, “How long has he been like this?” “From childhood,” he answered. “It has often thrown him into fire or water to kill him. But if you can do anything, take pity on us and help us.” “If You can?” said Jesus. “Everything is possible for one who believes.” Immediately the boy’s father exclaimed, “I do believe; help me overcome my unbelief!” v. 17-24. Isn’t that the cry of all of us at one point? We are so limited. It’s hard to believe! When Jesus saw that a crowd was running to the scene, He rebuked the impure spirit. “You deaf and mute spirit,” He said, “I command you, come out of him and never enter him again.” The spirit shrieked, convulsed him violently and came out. They boy looked so much like a corpse that many said, “He’s dead.” But Jesus took him by the hand and lifted him to his feet, and he stood up. v. 25-27. The crowd was so quick to say the boy was dead. And now Jesus needs time with His disciples apart from crowds of people. They left that place and passed through Galilee. Jesus did not want anyone to know where they were, because He was teaching His disciples. He said to them, “The Son of Man is going to be delivered into the hands of men. They will kill Him, and after three days He will rise.” But they did not understand what He meant and were afraid to ask Him about it. v. 30-32. There were so many things they didn’t understand that Jesus spoke, how could they understand this before it happened just as He said it would? The disciples had arguments among themselves they didn’t want Jesus to know about, but, of course, He knew. So He came out and asked them. When they didn’t tell Him, He took a little child whom He placed among them. Taking the child in His arms, He said to them, “Whoever welcomes one of these little children in My name welcomes Me; and whoever welcomes Me does not welcome Me but the One who sent Me…If anyone causes one of these little ones – those who believe in Me – to stumble, it would be better for them if a large millstone were hung around their neck and they were thrown into the sea. If your hand causes you to stumble, cut it off. It is better for you to enter life maimed than with two hands and go into hell, where the fire never goes out. And if your foot causes you to stumble, cut it off. It is better for you to enter life crippled than to have two feet and be thrown into hell. And if your eye causes you to stumble, pluck it out. It is better for you to enter the kingdom of God with one eye than to have two eyes and be thrown into hell, where ‘the worms that eat them do not die; and the fire is not quenched.’ (Isaiah 66:24). Everyone will be salted with fire. Salt is good, but if it loses its saltiness, how can you make it salty again? Have salt among yourselves, and be at peace with each other.” v. 36-37, 42-50. What the disciples had been arguing about was who was the greatest, v. 34. None of them were the greatest and neither are we. And to love Creator God and let go of our sins that are so grievous and trust Him for the work He knows we each of us need, is as painful as “cutting off our own hand or foot or eye.” And yet the greatest work that is to be done is the work within each of us by Creator God. Peter and James and John needed to see that Moses and Elijah were not the greatest – and we need to see that, and that neither are we. The cloud covered the three of them so that they were blind to everything but the truth. “This is My Son, whom I love. Listen to Him!“