Thoughts from daily Bible reading for today – July 19, 2014
I made a covenant with my eyes not to look lustfully at a girl. Job 31:1
Pure eyes are a priority for a disciple of Jesus Christ. Eyes are highly regarded because they can be an evangelist for good or bad. When locked onto lust, they are relentless in their pursuit of sin. Like a heat-seeking missile, they will accelerate their course until they reach their destination of destruction. Eyes are like missiles, needing guidance from God, not from a hot heart. Misguided eyes can easily choose the path of pornography and become married to their emotional impulses. Misguided eyes can lead a person to be so preoccupied with destructive behavior that he or she becomes an embarrassment to themselves and a disgrace to others.
God takes seriously the stewardship of sight, but like any of His great blessings, eyes are meant for good. It is good to gaze at God’s creation in all of its splendor and glory. How beautiful is the rush of a crystal clear waterfall as it rushes over moss-covered rocks into a quiet reflecting pool at the bottom of its crashing course. This is a magnificent expression for our eyesight. Eyes are meant to enjoy beauty,not exploit it.
If you have an eye for art and interior design, you are blessed indeed. God has given you perspective and creativity that most lack. Do not expose your eyes to everything. Of course, they cannot be sheltered from all sin. Eyes are not designed to be reclusive, purposefully blind to the outside world. However, eyes are meant to be respectful of their Creator. Eyes are avenues for good or bad. Jesus said, “The eye is the lamp of the body. If your eyes are good, your whole body will be full of light” (Matthew 6:22).
When you covenant with your eyes, you covenant with your Creator. Your Creator, God, longs to guide your eyes, so trust as you follow God with your eyes. He is a guide who leads with caution and adventure. He will guide you toward love instead of lust. He will guide you into contentment instead of discontent. When you see the material stuff of others, you will thank God on their behalf, not coveting with your eyes. He will guide you into generosity instead of greed. The more you have, the more you will give. When you see the needs of others, you will respond generously, whether you have God-blessed abundance or modest means.
You are sometimes totally blind to bad choices that lurk ahead. But because you have made a covenant with your eyes, your Creator will see you through vulnerable times. Moreover, He takes your contractual agreement with your eyes to heart. Your responsibility in this binding contract is to make wise choices. Avoid exposing your eyes to enticing and erotic images. Your covenant requires you to inform others of your propensities for temptation. Do not traffic alone in your vulnerable places. God’s covenants have restrictions and requirements, but all for your good.
Having a covenant with your eyes liberates you from lust and any other addictive eye candy. Make a contract with your eyes, then trust God to guide you away from gullibility into goodness, so you are not blind to the ways of the Lord. Understand and apply the terms of your eyes’ covenant. God’s terms provide boundaries with radical freedom. Keep eye contact with God and you will be free indeed.
Post/Tweet today: Eyes are like missiles needing guidance from God, not from a lust filled heart. #wisdomhunters
Taken from the July 19th reading in Boyd’s 365-day devotional book, “Seeking Daily the Heart of God vol. 1” … http://bit.ly/Tv6y9a
Additional Resource: Online accountability and filtering: http://www.covenanteyes.com
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© 2014 by Boyd Bailey. All rights reserved. www.wisdomhunters.com
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Hi Boyd: ….. Just an FYI….
Your Devo today is powerful but confusing in one sense.
The word covenant and contract are not inter-changeable in this context you bring up here. (actually I don’t know when they ever would from a Christian perspective.
Either we have a covenant with our eyes or we don’t….the idea of a contract is really how to get out of something if you don’t do what you’ve been contracted to do. A covenant is about dieing to our own will and following the Lord’s example of dieing to it.
Our culture is a contract thinking culture…God’s is all about covenant, and dieing.
Our culture is looking for the loop holes, which is contract thinking.
Be careful about buying into the lie the enemy is trying to infuse permanently into the body of Christ, about there not being a difference.
In His Grip
Jim Speer
Thank you so much”
Dear Elaine~
Thank you for taking the time to reach out to us and let us know you were blessed by the devotional, “Covenant Eyes”. We appreciate your encouraging words and look forward to hearing from you again in the future. Blessings to you and yours.
Believing and trusting~
Gwynne
“Be still and know that I am God;
I will be exalted among the nations,
I will be exalted in the earth.”
Psalm 46:10
Dear Jim~
Thank you for reaching out to Wisdom Hunters regarding the devotional, “Covenant Eyes”. We always enjoy hearing from our fellow wisdom hunters and appreciate their insightful comments. Your statements about the difference between convenants and contracts were very thought-provoking.
We appreciate your warning about “buying into the lies of the enemy” regarding the difference.
We are so thankful that you are a fellow wisdom hunter and we look forward to hearing from you again in the future.
Believing and trusting~
Gwynne
“Look to the Lord and His Strength;
seek His Face always.”
Psalm 105:4