Saturday Reading: Matthew 5 27-32
Key Verse: Matthew 5 28
28 But I say to you that whoever looks on a woman to lust after her has already committed adultery with her in his heart.
Key Verse: Matthew 5 28
28 But I say to you that whoever looks on a woman to lust after her has already committed adultery with her in his heart.
Devotion:
I think it is sad that we live in a world where advertisements can depict adultery as being part of life. The very thing that we would hate to happen to us is being let freely into our lives through the media. It has, to all intents and purposes, become part of our lives; and yet the warning is as clear now as it has always been – lusting after someone is as good as committing adultery with that person. How quickly people forget the simple instructions from God’s Word when those instructions will stop them from having what they consider to be fun!
I think it is sad that we live in a world where advertisements can depict adultery as being part of life. The very thing that we would hate to happen to us is being let freely into our lives through the media. It has, to all intents and purposes, become part of our lives; and yet the warning is as clear now as it has always been – lusting after someone is as good as committing adultery with that person. How quickly people forget the simple instructions from God’s Word when those instructions will stop them from having what they consider to be fun!
Christ did not go to the cross so that we can wallow in our sins but rather that He can save us from our sins. He does not want us to forget the simple instructions in His Word but to remember them and keep them in our hearts. Those simple words may well take huge effort on our part to make sure that we can uphold them – but the longer that we are able to uphold them, the stronger we will become and the easier it will be. If we are all willing to sit down and think about those things in our lives that allow us to fall into transgression, then we should all be able to avoid those things thus allowing us to avoid those transgressions as well. But the truth is that those things are some of the things that we may well hold dear in our lives.
On the other hand, it may be that we do things, say things or dress in particular ways that will lead some into sin – we then become the guilty party because it is us that have lead them to fall. We may be the ones being lazy, idle and leading ourselves to fall. Whichever way we look at it, we do need to try to strengthen our resolve by asking Christ to be there with us in battle against those sins. Adultery is not the only sin that will eat at our souls. It is not the only sin that will break us down spiritually. But, like many others, we allow those sins into our lives because we think it is easier to do so than to try and fight the flood!
Points to Ponder:
Do you find it hard to live against the tide?
How often do you request strength from The Almighty?
Do you find it hard to live against the tide?
How often do you request strength from The Almighty?