Wednesday, August 3
“And if thy right eye offend thee, pluck it out, and cast it from thee: for it is profitable for thee that one of thy members should perish, and not that thy whole body should be cast into hell.” Matthew 5:29
Dwell on the words of Jesus in the above verse. Would you call His words radical? If so, why?
Radical action is necessary not because God has made the Christian life difficult, but because we and our culture have drifted so far away from God’s plans for us. People often wake up and wonder to themselves, “How could I have gone so far away from God?” The answer is always the same: just one step at a time.
Read Matthew 5:29, 30. Jesus is speaking in the context of sexual sin. However, the underlying principles apply to dealing with other sin, as well. Indeed, the principles can apply to our growth in Christ in general.
What crucial point is Jesus telling us with His words in Matthew 5:29, 30? Are we really called literally to maim ourselves?
Jesus isn’t calling us to harm our bodies physically — not at all! Rather, He is calling us to control our minds and therefore our bodies, no matter the cost. Notice that the verses do not say that we should pray and that God will instantly remove the sinful tendencies from our lives.
Sometimes God may graciously do this for us, but often He calls us to make a radical commitment to give up something, or start doing something, that we may not feel like doing at all. What a crucible that can be! The more often we make the right choices, the stronger we will become, and the weaker the power of temptation in our lives.
God sometimes uses crucibles to catch our attention when there are so many noisy distractions around us. It is in the crucible that we realize how far we have drifted from God. The crucible may be God’s call for us to make a radical decision to return to our Father’s plan for us.
Thursday, August 4
Read the story of Jacob’s wrestling with God (Genesis 32). What does this story say to us about perseverance, even amid great discouragement? (Keep the whole context of Jacob’s situation in mind before you answer.)
We can know what is right and exercise our wills to do the right thing; but when we are under pressure, it can be very difficult to keep holding on to God and His promises. That’s because we are weak and fearful. Therefore, one of the important strengths of the Christian is perseverance, the ability to keep going despite wanting to give up.
One of the greatest examples of perseverance in the Bible is Jacob. Many years before, Jacob had tricked his brother, Esau, and his father into giving him the birthright (Genesis 27), and ever since, he had been running in fear of Esau’s desire to kill him. Even though he had been given wonderful promises of God’s guidance and blessing in his dream of a ladder reaching to heaven (Genesis 28), he was still scared. Jacob was desperate for God’s assurance that he was accepted and that the promises made to him many years before were still true. As he fought someone who was actually Jesus, Jacob had his hip dislocated. From that point on, it could not have been possible to fight, as the pain would have been too excruciating. There must have been a subtle shift from fighting to hanging on. Jacob is hanging on to Jesus through unbearable pain until he receives an assurance of his blessing. So Jesus says to him, “Let me go, for the day breaketh” (Genesis 32:26).
Jacob’s blessing came because he held on through the pain. So it is with us. God may also dislocate our “hip” and then call us to hang on to Him through our pain. Indeed, God allowed the painful scars to continue — Jacob was still limping when he met his brother. To outside appearances it was a weakness, but for Jacob it was an indication of his strength.
What are some practical choices you can make (associations, lifestyle, reading material, health habits, spiritual life) that will help you better persevere with the Lord amid discouragement and temptation?
