“And if your hand causes you to sin, cut it off. It is better for you to enter life crippled than with two hands to go to hell, to the unquenchable fire.” – Mark 9:43

Since all sin flows out of our hearts and minds, your hand can’t literally cause you to sin. So, put down the knife and listen to the deadly serious point Jesus is making here! If there’s ANYTHING in your life that routinely tempts you to sin in a way you can’t handle, you need to simply get rid of that thing. Holiness is too important to Jesus to keep that thing around.

Think carefully about those times you fall into sin – whatever that sin may be. What’s the common thread? Is it a thing like a smartphone, app, or computer? Is it a place? Is it an activity you’re doing? Particular people you’re with? A particular time of day or night?

Whatever it is, Jesus says to cut it out of your life. Don’t mess with it at all. Take whatever extreme steps you need to take to eliminate that source of temptation. It’s better to go through life without that activity, person, place, or thing than to continue to be defeated by the temptation that comes with it. You were redeemed from your sin by the sacrifice of Jesus. He didn’t die for you to keep flirting with sin and losing your battle with temptation. He died to give you victory!

Sometimes that victory means wisely knowing how to avoid a battle you’re likely to lose. What are those battles? How can you avoid them? What are you willing to do to maintain your holiness for the glory of God? #FollowJesus

“O Lord, I love the habitation of your house
and the place where your glory dwells.”
– Psalm 26:8

When King David wrote this verse, he was speaking of the extraordinary portable sanctuary called the Tabernacle. Built in the time of Moses, this tent was the place where God’s presence and glory visibly dwelt on earth among His people. A generation later, the place where God’s glory dwelt was the spectacular temple built by David’s son Solomon. It would be easy to fall in love with these magnificent structures and places so intimately associated with God’s presence and glory. They had beauty and majesty. They couldn’t disappoint.

Today, however, God’s presence and glory dwells in something very different! He dwells in every follower of Jesus. God lives in you and in all your Christian brothers and sisters. Do you love them with the kind of zeal David had for a tent??? Jesus was very, very explicit – His followers are required to love each other as proof to the world that they are actually Christians. His commandment to love one another the way He loves us isn’t a suggestion. It’s truly a commandment.

But people are messy. They’re complicated. They’re challenging. They’re frustrating. They’re imperfect. It doesn’t matter…. Love them anyway! Just like Jesus loves you when you’re messy, complicated, challenging, frustrating, and imperfect. Do you love your fellow Christians because they’re temples of God’s Spirit and presence on earth? Do you love your fellow church members because they house the Holy Spirit? Do you choose to love them even when they’re unlovable?

Love for fellow believers isn’t meant to be blind. But it must imitate the sacrificial love Jesus has for His imperfect followers. Choose to obey Jesus. Choose to love the people in which God’s Spirit and glory dwells. Love them actively and intentionally. Love them in the messy reality and not just the abstract imaginary. Love your brothers and sisters in Christ. #FollowJesus

“When Moses came down from Mount Sinai, with the two tablets of the testimony in his hand as he came down from the mountain, Moses did not know that the skin of his face shone because he had been talking with God.” – Exodus 34:29

After spending time in God’s presence, Moses’ face glowed with the reflected glory of God. This shining was terrifying to the Israelites because even this fading reflection of God’s awesome presence and holiness reminded them of their profound unholiness as fallen human beings. The people of Israel were afraid of the presence of God, always seeking to keep it at a distance. To calm their nerves, Moses would wear a veil over his face whenever he was around others. He would, however, remove the veil whenever he met with God.

As Christians, we no longer need, or have, a separation between us and God. Jesus removed the need for a veil on the cross. When we trust in Jesus as our Savior, our sins are forgiven, we’re made new creation, and God’s Spirit begins to live within us. We’re able to enjoy God’s presence rather than fear it. And yet, we often still shy away from God’s presence. 2 Corinthians 3:18 describes the freedom we have to look on God’s glory with unveiled faces. In Christ, we’re able to enjoy God’s presence rather than fear it. And yet, we’re often still afraid to really spend time in God’s presence. Are you?

As Christians, we can distract ourselves with good works and religious activities to avoid the discipline (and joy) of stilling ourselves before God, asking to experience His presence, and truly worshipping Him without a veil. Do you actively desire and seek God’s presence? In prayer and worship? In silence and solitude? Don’t shy away from God – seek more of Him. He will reward all who seek Him by revealing Himself in ways large and small. Don’t fear God’s presence and don’t live a veiled life. #FollowJesus

“Lead me in your truth and teach me,
for you are the God of my salvation;
for you I wait all the day long.”
– Psalm 25:5

Do you want God to do this for you??? He loves to answer this prayer but make sure you understand what you’re actually asking for! Are you ready to live with the conditions of this prayer?

Are you truly willing and ready for God to lead you? Wherever He may take you??? God often takes us places we never would have imagined. He does it for our good and His glory but it can be unfamiliar, uncomfortable, and visibly unrewarding at times. Do you actually want God to lead you? Are you willing to follow?

Are you ready for God to lead you in truth and teach you? If so, you need to be marinating in His truth! You need to be listening to or reading the Bible for yourself every day. You don’t have to be a great scholar – God’s Spirit in you will lead and teach you. But you must commit to being in His Word regularly. Don’t settle for reading about His word in devotions like this. Make time to read a paragraph, a chapter, or a few chapters of the Bible every day so that God’s truth can soak into your mind and heart. Then, He will teach you.

Are you willing to wait on God? He is eternal, seeing and experiencing time in a very different way than you do. What feels like half of forever to you is like an instant for Him. What feels like an unstoppable flood of events feels like centuries to Him. The point is, He will answer your prayer, lead you, and teach you, but He’ll do it on His timetable, not yours. He may well use a “long delay” to strengthen your prayer life, shape your character, and refine your faith.

Are you ready for these conditions? Are you ready to live by God leadership, God’s truth, and God’s timing? If so, awesome! Submit your life to Him, make this the prayer of your heart, and #FollowJesus

“The iniquities of the wicked ensnare him,
and he is held fast in the cords of his sin.
He dies for lack of discipline,
and because of his great folly he is led astray.”
– Proverbs 5:22-23

Our culture tells us that we’re most free whenever we’re indulging whatever gives us pleasure in the moment. It declares sin to be virtue and celebrates it, promotes it, and encourages us to go ever deeper into it. Our culture dismisses or denigrates those who advise against it.

Our culture is wrong! God was right 3,000 years ago!!! Indulging sin only leads us deeper into sin. Sin claims to set us free while dragging us into ever worsening slavery. Addiction fuels addiction. Perversion fuels perversion. Self-obsession fuels self-loathing. Whatever your sin of choice may be, whether anger, lust, pride, greed, idolatry, substance abuse, sexual immorality, adultery, jealousy, etc. it’s a trap! The more you practice sin, the more you want to practice it, the more you feel like you need to practice it, the more you believe it defines you, the further you get from God and the more degraded you become!

While sin tempts us all, we must commit to fight sin. We must endeavor to crucify it in the power of the Holy Spirit. Not somebody else’s sin – our sin! We must not indulge, ignore, or celebrate our sin. Sin kills us – spiritually, relationally, emotionally, financially, and often physically. Our attraction to sin and eager defense of it reflects foolishness rather than wisdom. Indulging sin isn’t freedom, it’s slavery. Indulging sin isn’t you doing you, its you destroying you. #FollowJesus