From John Collins Ministries:
"You have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not commit adultery.’ But I say to you that whoever looks at a woman to lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart.” Matthew 5:27-28 (NKJV).
Jesus gave us an interpretation of the law that is
imperative that we understand. Prior to Him speaking about these things, it was
the focus of the law to look at the actions of a person. Do not kill, steal,
lie, or commit adultery and so on. Yet, with the words of
our Lord,
we learned that it is in our hearts that the sin begins. Before we
will commit
adultery we will lust, before we murder we
usually hate.
That is why Jesus said
that what comes out of a man is what defiles a man.
Although we may feel that
we understand this and we may even have given some
thought to this, how often are we monitoring our
emotions that will lead us to sin? We are filled with the propensity to be selfish and evil
beings. That is a fact. We have to make the effort to allow Jesus to
help us overcome ourselves.
The most basic negative emotions,
if left unchecked,
will be the downfall of our souls.
We get depressed, angry, sad, resentful, bitter, and are
full of fears and frustrations that may seem overwhelming to us. We must
be diligent in our relationship with Jesus so
that we allow Him to manage the purifying of our hearts for us. With His love leading us we are able to let go of the
negative seeds in our hearts and to plant the positive and
water them well. That is what being the branch to His vine is. That is where we
will bear much fruit.
Do not let negativity rob you of the joy of Jesus.
Do not allow bad emotions to build inside of you until they consume
you. Pay attention to not only your actions, but to your feelings. That is
where it begins.
“If your right eye causes you to sin, pluck it out and cast it from you; for it is more profitable for you that one of your members perish, than for your whole body to be cast into hell.” Matthew 5:29 (NKJV).
LOVE THAT CROSS, PASTOR JOHN COLLINS
Pastor John Collins and John Collins Ministries are
determined to change the face of Christianity and redeem the truth of the
Gospel and the word of God.
