21 “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. 22 Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name and in your name drive out demons and in your name perform many miracles?’ 23 Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’ Matthew 7:21-23

My wife and I enjoy watching the cooking show “Chopped.” On the show, each of the contestants has a set amount of time to utilize each of the items in a mystery basket and quickly prepare a great dish. Throughout the show, the camera pans to a previously recorded interview with each contestant. In this interview, each person shares their motive for being on the show and winning the $10,000 prize. Some want to boost their own business, while others hope to support a family member. Still others hope to make a difference in the community. Outwardly, it looks like they are all doing the same thing as they cook, but inwardly, their motives vary widely.

In Jesus’ teaching here at the end of the Sermon on the Mount, he is contrasting two lives. As we saw yesterday, we are all building a life. The decisions we make and the character we develop begins to form the foundation of our “house.” On the outside, it may look like all religious people are doing the same good things. Many are prophesying, driving out demons, and performing miracles in Jesus’ name. What could be wrong with that? Why would Jesus speak so harshly and say to them, “I never knew you!”? So what makes the difference?

At our core, Jesus desires a relationship with us. As we build a life, we must build our lives on him through faith. Jesus desires that we do the will of God from a place of relationship, rather than performance. There is great danger in fixating only on our outward duty and actions. We may think we can be “good enough” on our own strength. We may do many religious things for God such as giving to the poor, serving in our communities, tithing regularly, etc . But in doing so, we may miss the point. The true question is: do we truly know Jesus? God is much more interested in our relationship with Him than our performance for Him. When we begin to understand this, we experience a renewed freedom as we experience intimacy with Christ. Our hearts begin to align with His.

Today, read through John 15. What would it look like for you to abide in Christ? To rest in His love and to enter more fully into a deep, intimate relationship with Him? Take some time to write down a few things you are learning about the personality of God from this passage.

By Billy Berglund

²⁷ “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall not commit adultery.’ ²⁸ But I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lustful intent has already committed adultery with her in his heart. ²⁹ If your right eye causes you to sin, tear it out and throw it away. For it is better that you lose one of your members than that your whole body be thrown into hell. 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. Matthew 5:27-30

Fifteen years old and full of youthful fire, I had just heard a talk on purity and this was the last time. I would never again look with lust at a woman or ever look at pornography. I had stumbled across some explicit web pages through my iPod at the time, and I knew it was wrong. So one afternoon which I remember vividly, I took a giant wooden walking stick and smashed my iPod to pieces. With every strike, I promised myself it was done. I was going to try really really hard. I would never look again….Until I did.

The feeling of guilt and shame overwhelmed me. What was wrong with me? I grew up in church and I knew the passage of Matthew 5:27-30. By physically smashing my iPod, I thought I was accomplishing Jesus’ metaphorical command to tear out my eye and cut off my hand that causes me to sin. But I missed the fact that the eye and hand do not cause sin. The heart does. And I had a heart issue. My curiosity and lust went deeper than a mere physical attraction. I was searching for intimacy, for connection, for satisfaction in all the wrong places. Every time I would give in to temptation, the immediate rush would soon give way to emptiness, dissatisfaction, and sadness.

By God’s grace, I have found freedom from this fierce struggle I experienced throughout High School. This freedom began as I realized this desire for lust is something deeper within all of us. As Michael John Cusick outlines in his book titled Surfing for God, which I highly recommend, our struggle with lust and pornography is really a search for a true passion. A desire to be truly satisfied. This satisfaction can only be found in a deep, abiding, and intimate relationship with Jesus Christ. Our deepest desire is to be known and loved. We only find that fully and completely in Christ. When we are satisfied in him, we trade our temporary pleasure for a lasting peace.

That being said, we must also be proactive. But we know that we are not “trying hard” in our own strength. We are pressing into God’s work in and through us. It is much easier to talk about finding intimacy with the Lord rather than actually experiencing it. The first step in overcoming lust is being aware of our problem. We can’t ignore or diminish the issue. We must first come daily to the Lord, relying on His strength at work in us. Next, we must flee from lust. I highly recommend practical resources such as Internet filtering software on computers and smart phones. Covenant Eyes provides a great platform, which will block certain sites and send a list of sites visited to an accountability partner. Even today, knowing my own weaknesses I have to be intentional to utilize these resources and think carefully about the movies and TV shows I watch, in addition to my cell phone, computer, and Internet use.

Group support can also be an excellent resource in this arena. Celebrate Recovery at South Fellowship is a wonderful group that helps provide freedom in Christ and recovery from life’s hurts, habits, and hang-ups. It takes true strength to address our weaknesses. This side of heaven, we will always experience temptation so we must not give the devil a foothold. If we fall short, we must cling to the grace and forgiveness found in Christ.

Today, take some time to reflect. Perhaps ask the questions, what is my motivation behind my lust? What’s behind why I’m doing this? What am I truly seeking? Consider taking a proactive step utilizing one of these resources, while remembering and addressing the real heart issue at hand. Saint Augustine, a man who wrestled with deep sexual struggles in his own life, once wrote in his Confessions, “You have made us for yourself, and our hearts are restless, until they can find rest in you.”

By Billy Berglund 

²¹ “You have heard that it was said to the people long ago, ‘You shall not murder, and anyone who murders will be subject to judgment.’ ²² But I tell you that anyone who is angry with a brother or sister will be subject to judgment. Again, anyone who says to a brother or sister, ‘Raca,’ is answerable to the court. And anyone who says, ‘You fool!’ will be in danger of the fire of hell. Matthew 5:21-22

I don’t know about you, but I really don’t like traffic. It seems the days when I’m in the biggest hurry, the traffic is heaviest. As I sit in the long line of cars inching forward, I’ve often found my blood boiling. Anger can rise in me as cars honk, swerve, and cut me off. I feel frustrated when I miss the light or realize I’ll be late to my appointment. The anger that arises often spills over into other parts of my day as well.

If we’re honest with ourselves, we all get angry at times. We all have to deal with our anger. Perhaps for you it is daily traffic, a certain individual, a difficult work situation, or a trying time of life. But have you ever stopped to think about where that anger comes from? What do we do with it? Is it okay to ever be angry? I’ve often wondered these questions myself. In reality, there’s a big difference between righteous anger and anger we try to justify. Righteous anger can come from being outraged at injustice in the world, while justified anger stems from our own issues and insecurities. In the latter, we try to justify our poor behavior through explaining it away or blaming someone else.

In order to overcome misplaced anger in our lives, we first must be aware of it. Over the course of this week, we will be looking at being aware of anger, addressing anger, and arriving at freedom. Today, reflect on the times you regularly get angry and then notice when others were angry with you. What is at the root of your anger? What causes you to get so angry with that person?

Awareness is a crucial step in finding freedom from anger. Consider what it would look like for you to obey Paul’s words “In your anger, do not sin (Eph. 4:26).” Have you committed to bringing your anger to the Lord? Could you pray for that person instead of lashing out in anger? I know these questions really cause me to think and are convicting. Today, we have the opportunity to take one step towards dealing with the anger in our lives.

By Billy Berglund