Share this men’s devotional with others as Vance K. Jackson leads readers in this timely message. Lust reveals a deeper heart issue. In fact, lust starts in the heart. Lust begins privately before it manifests publicly. Just because you have not acted upon the physical act does not mean that you have not committed adultery. Let God lead you as you read this powerful message.
Vance K. Jackson
Day 1
Scriptures: Matthew 5:28, Proverbs 6:26-27
Lust in His Heart
“But I say unto you, That whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery with her already in his heart.” Matthew 5:28 KJV
Lust reveals a deeper heart issue. In fact, according to Matthew 5:28 KJV, lust starts in the heart. Before lust manifests, it first starts within the borders your heart. Jesus declares, in Matthew 5:28 KJV, “That whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery with her already in his heart.” The spirit of lust extends beyond a physical act.
Lust begins privately before it manifests publicly. Just because you have not acted upon the physical act does not mean that you have not committed adultery. Adultery starts within the borders of your heart. Adultery goes beyond physical connectivity and sex.
Adultery can be committed emotionally. Adultery can be committed spiritually. Adultery can be committed mentally. You can be emotionally tied to someone who has caught a hold of your heart. Your soul can be tied to someone who has intellectually stimulated and grasped a hold of your heart.
Who has your heart? What do you crave? Who do you crave? What void are you trying to fill? Who has caught your eye? Who has caught your heart? Who has caught your ear? Choose to keep your hands clean and your heart pure. Choose to focus on Christ.
Men, it’s not okay to look. Proverbs 6:27 AMPC declares, “Can a man take fire in his bosom and his clothes not be burned?” Lust lures. Lust burns. Lust is deceitful. Lust is never satisfied. Proverbs 6:26 KJV declares, “For by means of a whorish woman a man is brought to a piece of bread: and the adulteress will hunt for the precious life.”
Lust is expensive and will cost you everything. Proverbs 6:26 NLT puts it this way: “For a prostitute will bring you to poverty, but sleeping with another man’s wife will cost you your life.”
Day 2
Scriptures: Proverbs 6:24-25, Proverbs 5:15, Job 31:1, Proverbs 5:3-5
The Strange Woman
“Lust not after her beauty in thine heart; neither let her take thee with her eyelids.” Proverbs 6:25 KJV
According to Strong’s Concordance, the Hebrew word for lust is ”chamad” (H2530) and it means, “To covet, to desire, to take pleasure in, to delight in.” Lust not after the strange woman. Don’t covet her beauty. Lust not after her talent, skills, and abilities. For the strange woman lures and manipulates. Proverbs 6:25 KJV declares, “Lust not after her beauty in thine heart; neither let her take thee with her eyelids.” Lust not after her seducing words. Seduction kills.
Proverbs 6:24 KJV puts it this way: “To keep thee from the evil woman, from the flattery of the tongue of a strange woman.” In other words, lust not after her flattery—it’s a trap.
Proverbs 5:15 KJV declares, “Drink waters out of thine own cistern, and running waters out of thine own well.” Stay in your own garden. Drink out of your own well. Don’t chase the water of another well. The strange woman kills destiny and destroys legacy.
Proverbs 6:25 NLT declares. “Don’t lust for her beauty. Don’t let her coy glances seduce you.” Keep your eyes focused on your own home. Focus on Christ. Job puts it best when he said, “I made a covenant with mine eyes; why then should I think upon a maid?” Job 31:1 KJV.
Make a covenant with God that you’ll keep your eyes pure and your hands clean. Tie your heart to His Word. Let not your heart be drawn to the lustful things of this world. Tie your heart to Christ.
Lust will keep you stagnant. Lust will imprison your destiny. Lust will keep your heart in bondage. Lust will keep you entangled. Lust will keep you wandering in the wilderness for generations. Lust lures and will keep you wandering in cycles.
Proverbs 5:3-5 KJV declares, “For the lips of a strange woman drop as an honeycomb, and her mouth is smoother than oil: But her end is bitter as wormwood, sharp as a two-edged sword. Her feet go down to death; her steps take hold on hell.” Stay away from the strange woman. Her words are smoother than oil and she will destroy your destiny. Lust wants you to wither. Lust wants your destiny to die. Choose to let your destiny live. Choose Christ and His way of doing things.
Day 3
Scriptures: Isaiah 10:27, Isaiah 61:1, 2 Corinthians 5:17
The Anointing Breaks Yokes
“And it shall come to pass in that day, that his burden shall be taken away from off thy shoulder, and his yoke from off thy neck, and the yoke shall be destroyed because of the anointing.” Isaiah 10:27 KJV
It does not matter what generational yoke has you bound—the anointing will break every generational bondage and pattern that has you enslaved in its grip. There is no yoke, bondage, habit, addiction, or chain that’s stronger than Christ.
Christ conquered sin and every aspect of it. Christ conquered lust—just for you. Christ destroyed every stronghold—just for you. Christ conquered addiction—just for you. Christ conquered every aspect of sin—just for you. There is no form of lust that can defeat Christ. He broke every generational cycle of sin. Lust has no power or authority over Christ. Sin has no power or authority over Him.
Isaiah 61:1 KJV declares, ”The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me; because the Lord hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek; he hath sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound;” Christ came to set the captives free. And from every emotional prison that has you trapped, Christ came to set you free. There is no bondage in Him. No addiction can hold Him. No habit can bind Him. Christ is greater than your struggle. Christ is greater than your stronghold.
2 Corinthians 5:17 KJV declares, “Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.” If you are in Christ, you are a new creature. When you surrender your heart to Christ you belong to Him. When you repent and completely turn to Christ, you will be set free. Let God mold you into a new man. Let God create you into a new creature. Let God give you a new heart. Let Christ heal you from the inside out.
Day 4
Scripture: 2 Corinthians 5:17
Prayer
Father God, in the Name of Jesus, I thank You for Your Son Jesus Christ. I thank You that He died and rose just for me.
Father, I thank You that the blood of Jesus Christ washes me, cleanses me, covers me, and makes me whole. Father, I receive Your Son, Jesus Christ, as my Lord and Savior.
I repent of my sin and I turn to You. Father, I surrender every aspect of my life over to You. Father, I surrender every aspect of my heart over to You. Every habit I cast at Your feet. Every private thought I cast down. Lord, I surrender to You. I am forever Yours.
In private, I belong to You. In public, I belong to You. Father, let the aroma of my life send a sweet-smelling fragrance up to You. Lord, order my steps. Father, I choose to serve You. For there is no other god that can lead me astray from Your love.
Father, there is no addiction, struggle, or stronghold that can keep me away from You. Lord, I surrender my hands to You. Use me, Lord. Father, I surrender my mind to You. Father, I surrender my desires to You. Lord, I crave You, and You alone. Feed me Lord. Teach me Your way.
In Jesus’ Name. Amen.
Day 5
Scriptures: Ephesians 4:22, Matthew 5:6, Proverbs 11:14, Psalms 1:1
Put Off the Former
“That ye put off concerning the former conversation the old man, which is corrupt according to the deceitful lusts.” Ephesians 4:22 KJV
Put off the former man. Let God shift your environment. Let Christ change you from the inside out. Surrender to Christ and let Him change your appetite. Choose to crave Christ. Choose to hunger and thirst after His way of doing things.
Matthew 5:6 KJV declares, “Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled.” Let Christ fill you. That void that you feel can only be satisfied by Christ. There is no void that He cannot satisfy. Lust will lure you into thinking that carnal things and people can fill your void. Only Christ can fill you. Only Christ can heal you.
Put off the former things and put on Christ. Let Christ dwell in you richly. Learn to intentionally put off the old way of living and surround yourself with Christ’s way of doing things.
Surround yourself with wise counsel. Proverbs 11:14 KJV declares, “Where no counsel is, the people fall: but in the multitude of counselors there is safety.” Surround yourself with God-led mature and wise counselors.
Psalms 1:1 KJV declares, “Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful.” Psalms 1:1 NLT declares, “Oh, the joys of those who do not follow the advice of the wicked, or stand around with sinners, or join in with mockers.”
Don’t follow the advice of the wicked. Don’t follow the pattern of the wicked. Blaze a different path. Set a different pattern. Establish a new generational cycle. “This I say then, walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh.” Galatians 5:16 KJV
Day 6
Scriptures: Mark 4:19, Mark 4:19, Psalms 1:1-3
Unfruitful
“And the cares of this world, and the deceitfulness of riches, and the lusts of other things entering in choke the word, and it becometh unfruitful.” Mark 4:19 KJV
Lust will cause you to become unfruitful. Lust will contaminate and choke your harvest. Proverbs 4:23 KJV declares, “Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life.” Guard your heart from toxic relationships and issues that will contaminate your destiny. Guard your heart and protect it with the Word of God.
Psalm 1:1-3 AMPC declares, “BLESSED (HAPPY, fortunate, prosperous, and enviable) is the man who walks and lives not in the counsel of the ungodly [following their advice, their plans and purposes], nor stands [submissive and inactive] in the path where sinners walk, nor sits down [to relax and rest] where the scornful [and the mockers] gather. But his delight and desire are in the law of the Lord, and on His law (the precepts, the instructions, the teachings of God) he habitually meditates (ponders and studies) by day and by night. And he shall be like a tree firmly planted [and tended] by the streams of water, ready to bring forth its fruit in its season; its leaf also shall not fade or wither; and everything he does shall prosper [and come to maturity].”
Keep your heart healthy and choose to delight in the Lord. Choose to focus on His Word. Lean on His principles, precepts, instruction, and teaching. Choose to focus on Him and habitually meditate upon His Word day and night.
Those who choose to dwell in His Word and obey His commandments shall be like a tree firmly planted and tended by the consistent and steady streams of water—ready to bring forth its fruit in its season.
Lust loves to steal and choke your harvest. Choose to bring forth fruit by yielding to His Word. Don’t yield to the lust and entanglement of this world. Choose to yield to Christ. When you surrender to Christ, lust has no authority.
When you bow to Christ, lust has no power. When you yield to Christ, every addiction must flee. When Christ is your Lord, lust has no choice but to bow. When Christ occupies your life, lust has no choice but to vacate from your life.
Let Christ dwell in every space of your heart. John 10:10 AMPC declares, “The thief comes only in order to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have and enjoy life, and have it in abundance (to the full, until it overflows).” Lust kills destiny. Lust comes to kill, steal, and destroy. God’s Word came to set you free. Christ came so that you might have life. Let Christ heal you. Let Christ restore you. Let Christ set you free.
Day 7
Scriptures: James 1:8, Proverbs 27:20, Deuteronomy 30:19, Joshua 24:15
The Double-Minded Man
“A double-minded man is unstable in all his ways.” James 1:8 KJV
A double-minded man is unstable in all of his ways. A double-minded man is inconsistent in all of his ways. A double-minded man will always reap inconsistent results—in every area of his life. The man who is double-minded is void of stability and will never be satisfied. Lust will never be satisfied. Lust will never have enough. Lust is never quenched. Lust only grows.
Proverbs 27:20 KJV declares, “Hell and destruction are never full; so the eyes of man are never satisfied.” Proverbs 27:20 MSG puts it this way: “Hell has a voracious appetite, and lust just never quits.” Lust never quits. A double-minded man will surrender to God’s Word one day and then cling to the world’s way of doing things the next. Let go of the old way and choose Christ.
“I call heaven and earth to record this day against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing: therefore choose life, that both thou and thy seed may live:” Deuteronomy 30:19 KJV. Choose Christ. Choose His way of doing things.
“And if it seem evil unto you to serve the Lord, choose you this day whom ye will serve; whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the flood, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land ye dwell: but as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.” Joshua 24:15 KJV. Serve Christ with your whole heart. Serve Christ in private and in public. Let lust go and choose life. Choose Christ.