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

This is a very popular passage, but we took it a different route. Yes, it is important to gauge out lust, but we talked more generally about the things we need to gauge out in our lives. Some main points of discussion were gossip and cursing. At first, I couldn’t think of anything I needed to gauge out of my life, but then it hit me. So often, I let my flesh and the enemy subtly but surely attack me with anxiety and I just let it happen. I don’t think of it as being an attack of the enemy since it seems so subtle, but it all begins to stack up after a while. This is why it is so important to be in the word; we need to throw scripture at the enemy when he comes lurking and seeking to destroy us. In Ephesians, it talks about putting on the full armor of God. This is our offense and defense when the enemy comes knocking. Know that God has already won the battle friends! We can have the courage to gauge out these things in our lives because the King of the Universe is on our side. We just have to allow Him to work in our lives, and believe me, He will. It reminds me of the saying “Jesus Christ died for you, but will you live for Him?” It can be so daunting to cut out people, habits, thoughts, and other things that pull us further away from God, but it is necessary in order to grow in Christ. I promise you that God is not expecting you to be perfect; He’s just looking for faith. Have faith that He can and will change your life and help you gauge out the things that are turning you away from the kingdom of heaven.

On Thursday, Coach Britt led the FCA devotion on being wrapped up. We focused on John 8:36, Romans 6, and Galatians 5:1. The focus is that Jesus sets us free, completely and wholly. We may get wrapped up in lies from the enemy that pull us away from God, but the good news of the Gospel is that the veil was torn when our Lord and Savior took His last breath on that wretched cross. Coach Britt posed the question “what are the things in your life that are wrapping you up?” I had to thoroughly reflect and ask myself what are the things that consume my mind daily. It’s mainly my future that I think about whether that be college, where I want to live, what I want to do, etc. That is what the enemy utilizes to steer me away from God. I get so wrapped up in what I want for the future that I ignore God and don’t give Him reign over my life. 

It doesn’t seem like it is from the enemy because it seems hopeful and exciting to plan, but things don’t have to only look doomful if they’re from the enemy. I believe that is what makes it hard to realize that we are in the wrong and need to repent. Sometimes we only see things we do as wrong when they are shoved in front of our faces and look inherently bad. This is what I was doing with my future planning; I was wrapped up thinking it was a harmless and fun thing to do, but in reality I was obsessing over things that I will not be able to control. A good friend of mine used the term “white knuckling it,” and that’s exactly what I had been doing. I am so grateful for this lesson because it opened my eyes to the danger of being wrapped up by the enemy, and I will try to lay my future at the feet of the One who is sovereign over it. 

The prayer at the end of the devotional says: God, I feel wrapped up sometimes by Satan. Thank You for reminding me that he may trip and beat me, but he has no power over me because You defeated him! Thank You for setting me free. Amen.

Thank you for reading, and remember to pick up your cross daily!