MEMORISE:
The light of the body is the eye: if therefore thine eye be single, thy whole body shall be full of light. Matthew 6:22
READ: Matthew 5:27-29
27 Ye have heard that it was said by them of old time, Thou shalt not commit adultery:
28 But I say unto you, That whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery with her already in his heart.
29 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.
MESSAGE
It is unfortunate that in the Church today, we underestimate the evil effects of nudity and exhibitionism. It has gotten so bad that in some quarters semi-nudity has become a norm. We pretend as if we don’t know or understand the motives behind suggestive dressing and what it triggers in the minds of the opposite sex. It seems a good number of people have lost understanding of the difference between private and public body parts. Today’s memory verse says that the light of the body is the eye and that our eyes should be single. In other words, our eyes should not carry the abominable weights of sinful sights into our hearts. The question is how can the eye be single when it is exposed to what should be covered by men and womenfolk alike. Some women expose their contours and we pretend as if we are blind to it or that our body has suddenly become dead wood. Some men, including some pastors, put on trousers that are fitted to the point of being too tight. The reason why many men are caught in the web of extra-marital wanderings is that their “eye” is double or triple. In other words, they carry many satanic images of the opposite sex in their sub-consciousness. What is the consequence of our eyes not being single? The Lord said the whole body will be full of darkness. No wonder such people grope in darkness towards eventual destruction and experience a bitter ending after the “honey” they were after turns sour.
Pornographic websites have dealt deadly blows to the gentle soul of several people. As saints unto the Lord, we must not engage in viewing such sites, because it is what you see that you desire. If something has not come into your sub-consciousness, particularly through your eyes, you may not crave it. It was after Eve saw the forbidden fruit that she fell in love with it. You will be wise to adopt Job’s principle in Job 31:1, wherein he said:
“I made a covenant with mine eyes; why then should I think upon a maid"?
Our sisters should make a covenant with their bodies that they would not allow it become a stumbling block to others, knowing that causing the fall of a saint is grievous in the sight of the Lord. They should also remember that Beersheba‘s nudity was what ignited David’s woes; he saw it and his eye ceased from being single (2 Samuel 11:2). Our brothers should also learn when not to look or stare. Most importantly, they should mortify the deeds of the body because there will always be daughters of Jezebel around to entice them. Romans 8:13 says:
“For if ye live after the flesh, ye shall die: but if ye through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live”.
ACTION POINT:
Make a covenant with your eyes today that you will not look upon iniquitous sights any more.
BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: Ecclesiastes 1-3 Mark 10:13-34
AUTHOR: PASTOR E. A. ADEBOYE
HYMN 9: THE OLD RUGGED CROSS
1. On a hill far away stood an old rugged cross,
The emblem of suff’ring and shame;
And I love that old cross where the Dearest and Best
For a world of lost sinners was slain.
o Refrain:
So I’ll cherish the old rugged cross,
Till my trophies at last I lay down;
I will cling to the old rugged cross,
And exchange it someday for a crown.
2. Oh, that old rugged cross, so despised by the world,
Has a wondrous attraction for me;
For the dear Lamb of God left His glory above
To bear it to dark Calvary.
3. In that old rugged cross, stained with blood so divine,
A wondrous beauty I see,
For ’twas on that old cross Jesus suffered and died,
To pardon and sanctify me.
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