Cut it Off

Matthew 5:30 "And if your right-hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. For it is better that you lose one of your members than that your whole body go into hell."

I had a tree in my yard that became a big problem. Whenever I checked my patio, I noticed the same thing: There was bird poop all over my patio furniture. Aggravated, I’d clean it all up. Over time I tried everything from owl scarecrows to hanging a string over my patio to waving a plastic bag on a pole. Nothing worked.

I finally figured it out—a solution that would work. I hired a guy to cut off the parts of the tree where the birds sat. And just like that, the problem was gone.

When it comes to the sin in our lives, many of us try to manage the problem like I did but realize we can’t. The only thing that will work is to find the root of the problem and cut it off.

Jesus once said in the gospel of Matthew 5:30 that if your right hand offends you, cut it off. Jesus didn't mince words. The only way to get rid of sin is to get serious and drastic about it. Just like my tree, some things have to be cut off for our hearts to feel clean. I hope you’re ready to do some surgery. I hope you’re ready to feel clean.

Questions:

Is there a pattern of sin in your life that keeps you defeated? Are you willing to do whatever it takes to live a life of holiness?

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