Living a Life of Purity - Part 2 - Mental and Spiritual Purity

 

{so far...}

So far in our series about Living a Life of Purity, we have talked about physical purity, and what it  means to be a virgin. We talked about how the world defines 'purity' (not having sex) and how God does (set apart, a heart attitude). If you want to read post 1 again (or read it for the first time before reading this) please click HERE.  

And so now, we are going to move on to Spiritual and Mental purity. Curious about how that works? Keep reading. :) And please remember to comment at the end of it all - I'd love to hear your thoughts!

{definition of purity}

 In the dictionary, the word ‘purity’ is described as being…
•  undiluted or unmixed with extraneous material
•  the state of being unsullied by sin or moral wrong; lacking a knowledge of evil
•  honour; virtue or chastity
Oswald Chambers defined purity in this way…
“…purity is something that has been tested and tried and has triumphed, something that has character at the back of it, that can overcome and has overcome.”
Elizabeth Elliot described purity as…
“… freedom from contamination, from anything that would spoil the taste or the pleasure…It means cleanness, clearness—no additives, nothing artificial—in other words, “all natural” in the sense in which the Original Designer designed it to be.”

{mental purity}

I think this is the aspect of purity that most people would find the hardest to keep. This type of purity is relating to what we think, imagine, do with our eyes and mind. So, it could include thinking about doing something inappropriate with someone else, or someone else wearing something inappropriate. Pretty much, it's about how we think about and view other people. 

If purity is 'unsullied by sin', we are contaminating our minds when we think about other in the wrong ways. That is the simple truth of it. Or when we view images that we know are wrong, and still look, we are corrupting our eyes and bringing unGodly influences into our minds. 

I don't know about you, but I don't want my imagination controlling me. If that was the thing that directed how I live, my life would be in shambles. If I was forever imagining that I was a princess, locked in a tower, waiting for my prince, there would be SO many things that I would miss out on in life. 

Instead of letting my imagination go, I need to bring it into captivity and let my Spirit control my thoughts... Check out what the Bible has to say about this... 

2 Corinthians 10:5

We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.

To me, this verse is talking about two things. Let's have a look at them both...
The first one is: DEMOLISHING. Knocking down. Little kids love to do it, but I think it something that most people try to grow out of - they change from being destroyers to trying to fix everything and build everything back up. While that's a good idea, I think we need to knock down before we build up. We first need to destroy, get rid of all of the things in our mind which are against the will of God before we can begin to fill ourselves with the Truth.
So, how do we do this? It's really simple - ask God. :) Ask Him to clear your mind of those things and to bring your heart into line with His. Ask Him to take over control of your life and your thoughts and then move on to step 2, which is...
BEGIN TO LIVE. Start to fill your life with Godly influences. Ask a trusted adult or friend to keep you accountable. Share your struggle with someone and get them to check up on you often, to see how you are going. Replace the bad stuff you were feeding on before with Godly influences and spend that time you used to sin in reading God's Word and studying the Bible. It's the best thing you can ever do for you faith.
And don't forget to pray. Bring your struggle before God daily and seek Him to change your heart desires and motives, so that they are pure and holy like Him. I promise that He is faithful and will bring His power into your life when you truly seek Him will all of your heart.

{spiritual purity}
This is a bit of an unusual one, and I don't know if I've ever heard anyone else particularly talk about it. But hey, I'll give it a go!
So, we have defined purity as being uncorrupted by extraneous material. What does this mean? It pretty much means that the thing which is pure has not been made unpure by having other strange substances added to it. 
To me, it's very simple. This means that my Spirituality should not be corrupted by influences which are not from God. I need to be active in protecting my soul from being marked by things of the world or the devil, and let my life only be changed and influenced by God's Word and things of Him.

{in conclusion...}

2 Corinthians 6:4-10

Rather, as servants of God we commend ourselves in every way: in great endurance; in troubles, hardships and distresses; in beatings, imprisonments and riots; in hard work, sleepless nights and hunger; in purity, understanding, patience and kindness; in the Holy Spirit and in sincere love; in truthful speech and in the power of God; with weapons of righteousness in the right hand and in the left; through glory and dishonor, bad report and good report; genuine, yet regarded as impostors; known, yet regarded as unknown; dying, and yet we live on; beaten, and yet not killed; sorrowful, yet always rejoicing; poor, yet making many rich; having nothing, and yet possessing everything.  

We are God's children. We have chosen to serve Him no matter what. And, as this passage reminds us, that means we have chosen to serve Him in purity. It means that no matter what the world says, or does to us, we will stand strong and protect ourselves from the evil influences which bombard us keep our hearts solely set apart for the good works of God. 

{a sneak peak into part 3}
In part 3, we are going to answer any questions you have. So, please, ask away! :) Post a comment. :) I'd want to get as many questions as I can, and I will post all reasonable questions I receive, so, ask away! :)

God bless you this week!

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Living a Life of Purity - Part 1 - Physical and Emotional Purity

{Introduction}
What is purity?
In the dictionary, the word ‘purity’ is described as being…
•  undiluted or unmixed with extraneous material
•  the state of being unsullied by sin or moral wrong; lacking a knowledge of evil
•  honour; virtue or chastity
Oswald Chambers defined purity in this way…
“…purity is something that has been tested and tried and has triumphed, something that has character at the back of it, that can overcome and has overcome.”
Elizabeth Elliot described purity as…
“… freedom from contamination, from anything that would spoil the taste or the pleasure…It means cleanness, clearness—no additives, nothing artificial—in other words, “all natural” in the sense in which the Original Designer designed it to be.”
These definitions give us a pretty high expectation of what purity should be, right? When we read that (according to the dictionary) purity is not morally wrong, that it is (in Chambers’ words) ‘tested and tried’, that purity is something which, as Elizabeth Elliot said, is what ‘the Original Designer designed it to be’, it is hard to believe that we can ever live a life which reflects this.
In this series, we are going to be delving into the Bible to discover what God says purity is, and how we can live this out in our life.
So, get comfy, settle down in your chair, grab your Bible and get ready to discover more about
        Living a Life of Purity.

{today’s view of purity}
When we hear the word ‘purity’, this is probably what most people think of. It’s the save-your-virginity for marriage talk, the don’t-kiss-a-total-stranger message, and the I-hope-it’s-okay-to-hold-hands question that teen couples ask. This is the aspect of purity which you DO.
Physical purity has been thrown out the door in many a western culture today. Instead of young people being urged to wait for that ‘special someone’ who they would spend their whole life with, they are now being told ‘It’s okay to have sex. Just use a condom.’ Even Christian teens want to know, ‘How far is too far? Can we kiss? Is it all okay as long as the clothes stay on?’. Many people think as long as they maintain their physical virginity, there are no dramas. The truth is, virginity is NOT just a physical thing – it is an emotional and spiritual thing too.
When we look back and study the original Hebrew language, you will find that the word ‘virgin’ means more than just ‘someone who hasn’t had sex’. It’s true! The original Hebrew word for ‘virgin’ actually means separated, committed, not on-the-market or available. To be a virgin, in God’s eyes, means that you have set your life apart for Him and for His best. It means that you view members of the opposite sex as brothers or sisters in Christ. It means you have a spirit of virginity – a heart attitude of set-apart-ness and faithfulness to God and your future spouse.
When we put it that way, being a virgin is more than just saving sex for marriage. We see that there is a lot more involved with keeping yourself for your one life partner than just not sleeping around. So, how do we live a life which reflects the Bible’s version of purity?

{living out of a Biblical purity}
When we live a life that reflects the fact that we believe in the Bible’s version of virginity (which, remember, is about keeping yourself set apart for God), our life is going to look a lot different to the lives of those around us. When everything we do springs out of the fact that we are separated for the work of God, there are a lot of things that we are not going to do which will makes us look ‘strange’ to those around us. And do you know what? That is okay. In fact, it is a good thing! Did everyone on the earth love Jesus? No – they killed Him. As we become shaped more into the image of Christ, the world is going to like us less and less, but we are becoming more and more like our precious Saviour, and isn’t that what we want?
In my opinion, living a life of Biblical purity is harder than anything else. It requires strength and courage that most people today don’t have. To live a life of purity, TRUE purity, we need to rely 100% on God. No matter what. We have to live each and everyday in His glorious strength, no our own, and be guided by Him in every step we take and word we speak. Our life has to be His.

{practical purity}
So, what does this look like in real life?
I would say the obvious – you don’t flirt, or advertise the fact that you are single. You are not hunting for another girlfriend or boyfriend. If you do have a relationship, you don’t get all huggy-huggy, kissy-kissy.
But then there is also the less thought about: you respect every person you meet as if they were your brother or sister (and there are some things you just DON’T do with a sibling…). You are not worried about pursing a relationship with a guy or girl – instead all you pursue is a deeper, more intimate relationship with Jesus Christ. Because your life revolves around Christ, you are not worried about keeping up with the latest trends, or looking good to the world because you are becoming more like Him, and that is all that matters.

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Watch this.
click here.

This is what we are missing. 
We sit in pews and wonder why nothing is happening.
We tell someone 'I will pray for you', go home, and forget.
We watch TV. Images of starving children, Video of out-of-control bushfires, The sounds of screaming people running in midst of a war-torn country. And we sit dry eyed and say 'oh those poor people'.
Do you really think that is what God is doing?
Does He sit in heaven, and see that beautiful child He created starving to death and think 'oh dear...'.
I think not.
Imagine a parent, whose child has passed away at a young age. How much does that parent weep for the child they have lost?
We are unrighteous. God is perfect. We mourn over death of our loved ones - how much more do you think God does so?
We HAVE to catch His heart.
We cannot live and profess to be Christians and not catch His heart.
Father God, break our heart for what breaks yours. May we weep tears for those children who starve. May we weep tears for those who run from the enemy who strives to kill them. May we weep for those who have no hope. May we weep for those who don't know you. Father, but may we also get off our seat and DO something about this. We pray in your precious name, Amen.

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