Today’s Podcast
Today’s Bible reading plan:
Read it in a year – Psalms 3-5
see the whole year’s plan [here](http://www.bible-reading.com/bible-plan.pdf)
Today’s Devotional
Matthew 5:27-30
Jesus: As you know, long ago God forbade His people to commit adultery. You may think you have abided by this Commandment, walked the straight and narrow, but I tell you this: any man who looks at a woman with lust has already committed adultery in his heart. If your right eye leads you into sin, gouge it out and throw it in the garbage—for better you lose one part of your body than march your entire body through the gates of sin and into hell. And if your right hand leads you into sin, cut it off and throw it away—for better you lose one part of your body than march your entire body through the gates of sin and into hell.
What do Jesus’ words mean for us today?
We don’t like these words today. A lot of us would just as soon skip over this part of the Sermon on the Mount and pretend Jesus never said these things. But He did. So what do we do about them? Barna Group surveys show that adultery in the church happens about as often as adultery outside the church. The media says it’s okay. In fact, our culture seems to encourage sexual experimentation before marriage and out of marital relationships.
Our culture wants us to believe it’s okay, to engage in pre-marital and extra-marital affairs. No harm done to any parties involved. Or so they say. Look around at our society and it’s easy to see the damage, though. Broken homes, damaged and castaway children. Emotional wreckage along the pathway of life because we think it’s okay to disregard Jesus’ words.
And just like with His discourse about murder, Jesus starts with a behavior that we know will disrupt the fabric of a healthy and wholesome society and reminds us that behavior doesn’t come from pure instinct within the framework of the human creation. We have a choice in our behavior, our actions spring from thought, not pure base instinct as in other animals. We can decide to act differently. We can choose behavior that glorifies God and keeps the norms of society on a higher plane.
So the act of adultery doesn’t just happen. One must decide to engage in adulterous behavior. But the thought generates from lust long before the full blown thought of sexual engagement with another, just like the act and thought of murder simmers and grows from the germ of separateness and envy and anger.
And what is the germ of lust? Wanting something you don’t have. It’s that selfish motive that says, I want something that doesn’t belong to me…no matter the consequences. It gets back to the same motive Adam and Eve had in the Garden of Eden. They decided they knew better than God. Lust is the same way. I disregard what God knows is best and decide I know what is best for my life. I want to satisfy my desires the way I want them satisfied despite the consequences.
The consequences always show up. Sooner or later, you reap what you sow. Remember the story of king David and Bathsheba? He saw her bathing from his rooftop and decided he would take her even though he knew it was wrong. She got pregnant. David tried to get Uriah home from the war to pass the child off as his. But Uriah didn’t go home. The stakes get worse. David’s lust leads to murder as he sends Uriah into the heart of the battle and has Joab abandon him. Then David tries to cover his sin by doing an honorable thing…marrying the poor hero’s widow to make sure she is taken care of the rest of her life.
The people bought the ploy. God didn’t. Bathsheba’s child died. David’s son raped his half-sister. Then his daughter’s brother, killed his half-brother in revenge. His avenging son tries to take the throne and is killed in battle against David’s army. But David’s family is a disaster. The throne is in jeapordy. The nation is a mess. The loyalties of the people are torn between two factions. And it all started with David’s selfish desire for something that wasn’t his – lust! It’s a deadly game we play when we let our thoughts run away with us.
Jesus knows us better than we know ourselves. He knows how what seems like innocent thoughts can turn into disasterous actions with long range results , just like they did for David. “If your right eye leads you into sin, gouge it out and throw it in the garbage—for better you lose one part of your body than march your entire body through the gates of sin and into hell. And if your right hand leads you into sin, cut it off and throw it away—for better you lose one part of your body than march your entire body through the gates of sin and into hell.” Good advice from the One who knows us best!
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