Maimed, but saved

Mat 5:29 “If your right eye causes you to sin, pluck it out and cast it from you; for it is more profitable for you that one of your members perish, than for your whole body to be cast into hell.
Mat 5:30 “And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and cast it from you; for it is more profitable for you that one of your members perish, than for your whole body to be cast into hell.

Both the right hand and the right eye are extremely important in the bible. Jesus is saying you have to value your sanctification and your access into eternity with Him far more than even things that are “vital” to your natural life. I have recently bumped up the level of protection on my internet content filter from what’s called a “blacklist,” blocking what’s known to be bad but letting everything else in, to a “whitelist,” which only allows you to access the web sites that you specifically allow. I did this after I wasted a lot of time last saturday surfing the web.

Scripture references:

Right eye:

1Sa 11:2 And Nahash the Ammonite answered them, “On this [condition] I will make [a covenant] with you, that I may put out all your right eyes, and bring reproach on all Israel.”
[ Zec 11:17 "Woe to the worthless shepherd, Who leaves the flock! A sword [shall be] against his arm And against his right eye; His arm shall completely wither, And his right eye shall be totally blinded.”

Right hand:

Gen 35:18 And so it was, as her soul was departing (for she died), that she called his name Ben-Oni; but his father called him Benjamin. [Benjamin = "Son of the right hand"]
Gen 48:14 Then Israel stretched out his right hand and laid [it] on Ephraim’s head, who [was] the younger, and his left hand on Manasseh’s head, guiding his hands knowingly, for Manasseh [was] the firstborn.
Exd 15:6 “Your right hand, O LORD, has become glorious in power; Your right hand, O LORD, has dashed the enemy in pieces.
Deu 33:2 And he said: “The LORD came from Sinai, And dawned on them from Seir; He shone forth from Mount Paran, And He came with ten thousands of saints; From His right hand [Came] a fiery law for them.
1Ki 2:19 Bathsheba therefore went to King Solomon, to speak to him for Adonijah. And the king rose up to meet her and bowed down to her, and sat down on his throne and had a throne set for the king’s mother; so she sat at his right hand.
Job 40:14 Then I will also confess to you That your own right hand can save you.
Psa 16:8 I have set the LORD always before me; Because [He is] at my right hand I shall not be moved.
Psa 16:11 You will show me the path of life; In Your presence [is] fullness of joy; At Your right hand [are] pleasures forevermore.

(more verses…)

The meaning of lust

Mat 5:27 “You have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not commit adultery.‘
Mat 5:28 “But I say to you that whoever looks at a woman to lust¹⁹³⁷ for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart.

From the Strong’s Concordance:

G1937
ἐπιθυμέω
epithumeō
ep-ee-thoo-meh’-o
From G1909 and G2372; to set the heart upon, that is, long for (rightfully or otherwise): – covet, desire, would fain, lust (after).
(emphasis added)

I’ve been meditating and praying through Matthew 5, and the Lord is showing me the link between lust, adultery and idolatry. When we look at a person or an image to lust, we are worshiping that image, we’re setting our hearts upon that image or person instead of the Lord. Epithumeo comes from two greek words, epi, which means upon, and thumos, which means passion, or literally, “breathing hard.”