Excised

6/29/2020

Matthew 5:30 “And if thy right hand offended thee, cut it off 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.”

Wow, very strong words; cut away the offending appendage. So, do we take this literally? I would say that whatever it is that is the offending act, thought, or motive that pulls me away from God’s will is what needs to be excised. Anything that promotes sin in my life needs to be expunged, even if that is a person. People may support or encourage me in an area if they do not see it as an issue, but I must remember that I should hold my standard to what God would have me do. Chambers writes, “When God alters a man by regeneration, the characteristic of the life to being with is that it is maimed.” I undergo a transformation the moment I yield to the call of Jesus. If my life is not changed, I must ask myself why, and I MUST let my old ways perish. If I am altered in my spirit and my life becomes clearly different others may not understand, but hopefully they will be interested in the why. This curiosity may open the door for sharing the gospel. I am NOT called, however, to try drag anyone into transformation through judgement. I am only called to go through the conversion myself, and then ask God every day to help me be my very best for Him.