Pursuing Purity

"How can a young man keep his way pure? By guarding it according to your word. With my whole heart I seek you; let me not wander from your commandments." ~Psalm 119:9-10

We've all been told how to pursue purity: wearing a purity ring, signing the commitment card, drawing the line on how far is too far, not developing relationships with boys, and I recently heard how a group of young girls each received a tiny box that they wrapped ribbon around and sealed with a bow. The girls were told this is their purity that they have now wrapped up and will save for their future husband. Ha! That last one was my favorite. (notice my sarcasm.)

Psalm 119:9 makes it so clear for us. How do we pursue purity? By following God's commands. By being drenched in His word and being obedient. We pursue purity as we pursue Christ. As you deepen your relationship with our Creator, purity becomes the by-product. Seek Him with your whole heart. Refuse the passing pleasures of this world.

I love having a plan. I need to know every detail about what I am doing, how it will work, who is involved, what they will do, and how my plan will succeed. I think that many of us think we need a plan when it comes to purity. We need it written out in easy step by step instructions. We need to know where I should draw the line and what is ok. Simply saying purity is the byproduct of a right relationship can be difficult for a planner to understand. You think "What does that mean??"

Well, I love how in Psalm 119:9 it makes it so clear. It gives us a plan and a simple one. "How do I pursue purity?" Read your Bible daily, follow God's commands, worship Him, pray fervently, be in fellowship through church, serve at your church, and focus your life on furthering the Kingdom of God.

Pursue Christ, pursue Purity

Resisting Temptation

This world is full of fleshly desires and temptations, and we are all faced with them each and every day. If you are not watchful or you are not on guard, it will be easy to give into the temptation you are faced with. But temptation can be endured and you are completely capable of not giving in to it. Here are some of the temptations we are faced with. We are tempted to:

Date a non-Christian
Lie
Cheat
Steal
Covet
Lose too much weight
Drink Alcohol
Do drugs
Lust
Have sex
Worship other idols…etc

There are so many other forms of temptations; however these are some of the biggest temptations we are faced with, and most of these we are faced with every day. Satan’s most effective way to pull you down is by the deadly pull of compromise. Compromising by having just one drink, taking one hit, missing one day of meals, going on one date with a non-Christian, etc… Satan will try to get you to compromise just a little. These are temptations, and giving into them will result in destruction. Here are six reasons why not to give in:

1. It will break the Lord’s heart.
2. It will hinder your relationship with the Lord.
3. It can ruin the greater plan the Lord wants to bless you with.
4. It will destroy your witness.
5. It will lead to sin.
6. It will rob all of your joy.

I pray that you would choose to not give in to the temptations that come your way. Be a woman after God’s own heart and follow Him, not your fleshly desires. Choose what you know is right, not what is easy. I promise it is never worth giving into temptation. James 1:12 says, “Blessed is the man who endures temptation...” You will be blessed because the rest of the verse says, “…for when he has been approved, he will receive the crown of life which the Lord has promised to those who love Him.” Temptation can be endured and the reward is greater than you know! It has been said, “Christians are a lot like tea bags. You don’t know what they are made of until you put them in hot water.” Will you give in to the temptation or will you endure it?

Truth About Purity

In everything we do, we show that we are true ministers of God … we prove ourselves by our purity.—2 Corinthians 6:4, 6 NLT

Purity simply means being righteous in the sight of God; when He looks at you, He sees you as pure. However, we cannot be made righteous by our own strength or will. We are filthy and sinful. Righteousness for us can only come through the cleansing power and covering of Jesus' blood. God promises believers, "Though your sins are like scarlet, I will make them as whiteas snow. Though they are red like crimson, I will make them as white as wool" (Isaiah 1:18 NLT).
Jesus' blood can make us pure; His cleansing makes us white as snow. It doesn't matter who you are or where you have been. The Bible explains that "as by one man's disobedience many were made sinners, so also by one Man's obedience many will be made righteous" (Romans 5:19).When Adam sinned against the Lord, we were all made sinners; but when Jesus went to the cross, His blood made us righteous and pure in His sight."

So basically I can do whatever I want and as long as I believe that Christ died for me I will be pure?" No.Purity is a byproduct of a right-relationship with Jesus Christ. So you need to: Acknowledge that you are a sinner in need of a Savior, believe that Jesus Christ died on the cross for your sin, surrender to Him, turn from your sin, dig into His Word (the Bible), pray without ceasing, worship Christ for what He has done for you, and purity will be a by-product!