I hate to
be dirty. There’s nothing like a long,
hot shower at the end of a long sweaty day.
Others are more comfortable with their dirty state, but not me. I love to feel clean. I love to take a long hot bath for stress
relief even when I am already clean.
God
invites us to the wonder of purity even in our fallen state. Honestly, do I really want to be pure? Obviously, the church is having a problem
with longing for the purity of God’s standards above the impure culture’s
standards. I see this strongly in the
number of Christians who openly live together before getting married. Sometimes their Christian parents encourage
them to live together so they can be sure before they make a marital
commitment. What? Purity is very low on our lists of what we
are willing to do as Christians. We look
at God’s basic guides for purity as irrelevant in today’s culture. Yet purity remains important to God even
after we became impure sinners in the Garden of Eden.
God knows
me. He knows that I don’t want to be a
sinner. He knows that I don’t want to be
impure. I just can’t shake it. The more intimate I become with God, the more
of a sinner I realize that I am. I may
stop the obvious sins like living with my boyfriend before marriage (It’s easy
for me to stand in judgment on that one because that is something that I have
not done.), but don’t take me to task on my personal purity of thought. Honestly, I hate my enemies. It takes a lot of conviction from the Holy
Spirit to align me with God’s focus. I
can be very hateful in my mind about people who I think do not drive
considerately. Obviously, I can become very judgmental (as in the opinions
offered above). That’s sin. That’s impure.
So, when
I read from 1 John 3:6: “No
one who lives in him keeps on sinning. No one who continues to sin
has either seen him or known him,” it makes me think! Wow, I’ve claimed to have known Jesus since I
was seven years old and I have really grown a lot regarding my personal
sinning. Honestly, I don’t even know the
sins I have sinned today to make an accurate accounting of my sins. As I read the Bible, I understand that God’s
purity causes Him to see a depth to my sin I cannot even conceive (Jeremiah
17:9).
Rather
than a proclamation that I do not know Jesus, I believe John is revealing the
depth of reality that has happened to me because I have put my faith in Jesus
Christ. He is explaining what is true
because I do not attempt to take care of my sin problem in any other way. Because God accepts my faith in Jesus Christ,
I will not live eternally in sin; when I see Him and know Him, I will be
sinless as Jesus is sinless.
Until
then, I want to keep in touch with God’s Word and the Spirit’s power. I love the idea of the purity that God wants
for me. It’s a purity that He knows will
heal me from everything that plagues me now.
My hatred for my enemies is only destroying me. He doesn’t want that. He knows how to give me back the purity in
which He created me to live. It is
impossible for me to stop sinning enough.
It is not impossible for me through the power of the Holy Spirit to sin
less while realizing my sinful state more.
The best chance I have at purity while living here on earth is to focus
my heart on Jesus each day. I do that through prayer and reading His Word. I reorient myself to God’s plan, purpose and
instructions for me on a daily or hourly basis.
What
excites me most is that being in Christ means that eventually I will not keep
on sinning. I will be relieved of my sin
and see Him and know Him. During my
pilgrimage on earth, I will remain aware of my heart’s longing for purity from
sin. I love the purity that a hot shower
gives me as a precursor to the love of purity that my soul longs to receive
from Christ alone.
Copyright © 2017. Deborah R Newman teatimeforyoursoul.com All Rights Reserved.
My Devotion for Advent is Available
Now on Amazon:
Soul
Transformation through Advent: daily devotions from Advent through Epiphany
Paperback – September 23, 2017
by
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Paperback, September 23, 2017
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$8.00
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A daily
devotion for Advent and Christmastide. Advent reveals the truth about who we
are and why we are here. As our souls open to Advent, a reality that transcends
the traditional warmth of the season comes into focus. The message of Christmas
is to receive God's gift of His Son. As you count down to Christmas through the
time-honored tradition of lighting a candle during each week of Advent, you
will find guidance for getting off the Christmas-Pleasing Merry-Go-Round and
discover the true hope love, joy and peace that Christmas brings
I would love it if you could do a review of the book for
others!
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