Killing Lust In The Heart

REFERENCE: Matt. 5:27-29 You have heard the commandment that says, "You must not commit adultery". 28 But I say, anyone who even looks at a woman with lust has already committed adultery with her in his heart. 29 So if your eye - even your good eye - causes you to lust, gouge it out and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to be thrown into hell.

Observation: Jesus here extends the prohibition against adultery to looking at a woman with lust. He is making it clear that sin is in the heart and mind and not just in the actions. Jesus then gives us the only way that we can live up to this standard; by being willing to cut off whatever stands in our way. This is the single greatest reason that people fail in their attempts to overcome temptation--they are not willing to get out of their lives everything that can cause a fall. If we do that when we are feeling strong, then it will be much easier to say no to temptation when it arrives. For example, if a man rids his home of pornography when he is feeling full of spiritual strength, it will be that much easier to resist the invitation to lustful thinking the next time it comes around.

Application/Confession:  I need to make sure that anything that can cause me to fall (the wrong kind of movies, making sure I have a filter on the internet, junk food or trashy reading material for example) that God has put His on finger, I remove. I must learn to put down the tendency in me to want to rebel and decide for myself what I want give up instead of simply submitting to God.

PRAYER: Lord, I want to be right. Point out to me anything I need to "cut off" in order to stay right before you. I know how sin seperates me from you God and I don't want that to happen. Teach me to do everything I can and then depend on your grace to live free from sin.