Good morning! In a society where sin is being normalized, it is sometimes difficult to write truth out of fear that someone will be offended (asking the Lord, should I skip a few verses?), but as I continue to share the truth – the Word of God, my greatest fear is not obeying the Lord, not sharing the fullness of His Word and bearing the repercussions or knowing the truth and not sharing it with a lost world. Today, we will continue with the Sermon on the Mount.

BIBLE VERSE – Matthew 5:27-30 NLT
“²⁷ “You have heard the commandment that says, ‘You must not commit adultery.’ [Exodus 20:14 and Deuteronomy 5:18] 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. ³⁰ And if your hand—even your stronger hand—causes you to sin, cut it off 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.“

REFLECTION
Jesus, continued to preach about inward qualities. He knew the Pharisees were focused on the outward sin – the act of adultery, but Jesus included the inward sin of the heart because it would lead to adultery. While the scripture reads to cut off the hand or gauge out the eye that causes lust, the idea is to cut out/off whatever influences sin in your life (e.g., secret relationships, pornography, etc.).

Satan’s goal is to destroy the family. Don’t let him win. Invest in your marriage:

• pray for your spouse
• pray for whatever is lacking in your marriage
• pray over your marriage bed
• pray for your spouse when they leave for work
• pray for yourself so that the enemy won’t lure you into adultery
• pray for inward attitudes, qualities and the condition of your heart toward one another 
• ask the Lord to work on you while he is working on your spouse and your marriage. 

Let’s Take Deeper
While we all fall short of sin, the Lord in his grace offers us an opportunity to repent, turn away from sin(s) in our lives and he is faithful to forgive. Romans 3:21-26 (NIV) reads, “But now apart from the law the righteousness of God has been made known, to which the Law and the Prophets testify. ²² This righteousness is given through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference between Jew and Gentile, ²³ for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, ²⁴ and all are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus. ²⁵ God presented Christ as a sacrifice of atonement, through the shedding of his blood—to be received by faith. He did this to demonstrate his righteousness, because in his forbearance he had left the sins committed beforehand unpunished— ²⁶ he did it to demonstrate his righteousness at the present time, so as to be just and the one who justifies those who have faith in Jesus.” 

PRAYER
Lord God, thank you for forgiveness of sin. Lord, your word is always true. It is always faithful and it doesn’t return void. Lord, you know our hearts and our minds. You know the sins we struggle with and we ask you to help us break away from sin(s) in our lives. Lord, equip us with your power to stand on your word and turn away from sin. Lord, we pray for all marriages impacted by adultery. Lord, we know you are a healer and we ask that you heal broken hearts. Lord, we ask that you will restore marriages and make them better than new. Lord, wherever forgiveness is needed, Lord may the adulterer seek you for forgiveness and turn away from their sin completely. Lord, strengthen marriage bonds. Lord, increase healthy communication and love for one another. Lord, change all of us – single, married, divorced, widowed to fully understand what you desire of us, give us a heart of repentance and power to walk away from sin so that we can truly be reconciled to you. In Jesus name, amen.

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