Hi Friends!
I’m going to jump straight into something that’s been sticking out to me. What do you think of when you hear the word pure? Do you think of Jesus? Yourself or how you might be impure but want to be pure? The world we live in? Purity may not be the way the world lives but we get to be cleansed, made whole, and restored to pureness because the Lord is SO good and merciful that He shows His love through the blood He shed to cleanse us. The Merriam Webster definition of pure means free from dust, dirt, or taint.
Matthew 8:5 NKJV
Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.
Defilement
The opposite of being being pure means to be… impure… which also means to be defiled.
Matthew 15:11, 17-20
11 It’s not what goes into the mouth of a man that makes him unclean and defiled, but what comes out of the mouth; this makes a man unclean and defiles [him]. 17 Do you not see and understand that whatever goes into the mouth passes the abdomen and so passes on into the place where discharges are deposited. 18 But whatever comes out of the mouth comes from the heart, and this is what makes a man unclean and defiles [him]. 19 For out of the heart comes evil thoughts (reasonings, disputings, designs) such as murder, adultery, sexual vice, theft, false witnessing, slander, and irreverent speech. 20 These are what make a man unclean and defile [him]; but eating with unwashed hands does not make him unclean or defile him.
What you put inside of you and then comes out of you is what makes you unclean. If you take a pile of white clothes and then drop a few red socks into your washer you’re going to get a pile of light pink pile and your clothes won’t be white. It wasn’t the pile of white clothes that made it pink but it was the red sock. The word says that the little foxes spoil the vines. The little things you surround yourself rub off on you, it gets into your mind, seeps into your heart, and then comes out of your mouth. The problem is that if those things are listening to songs about drugs, alcohol, sex, etc or watching movies that are full of pornographic images and scenes, that’s what you are opening your spirit up to.
When I was a kid we would sing “Oh be careful little eyes what you see. Oh be careful little eyes what you see, for the Father up above is looking down with love. So be careful little eyes what you see.” And proceed to sing about our ears too and what we hear. Your ears, mouth, and eyes are gates to your spirit and soul. When you fill yourself and surround yourself with what is impure it won’t take long until you answer to sin knocking on your door. Then it’s coming out of you and it’s not always about alcohol, drugs, and etc but it’s heart attitudes. That means a rebellious heart, a haughty spirit, pride, being a gossip, and so on and so forth. Those are things that are just as bad. They always say you become who you surround yourself but you also become WHAT you surround yourself with too. If you listen and see what’s impure it won’t be long until it’s something you say or continue to see in your mind and act on.
This is not the way to live life and you don’t have to live this way if you’ve been defiled! The blood of Jesus has come to cleanse every single one of us We’re all born into sin and then when we pray and make Jesus the Lord of our lives we get to become a new creation and with that comes baptism and being filled with the Holy Ghost. This enables us to become pure and empowers to LIVE pure.
Purity
Now go reread Matthew 5:8. What a blessing for the pure! But what does that mean to most? Well now that we’ve gone over what the word pure means and have gone over defilement let’s talk about how to BE the pure in heart. I’m sure we’d like to all see God and that’s the blessing for the pure in heart. The most important step to accomplish that is to accept Jesus into your heart. After that you fill your heart with the Word of God! David talks about in Psalm 119:11 how he’s hidden the word of God in his heart that he might not sin against Him. David was a man who was close to the Lord and had a life where he had done things to defile himself but when he acknowledged those things he would pray for the Lord to come and create a clean heart in him. His attitude to the Lord was repentant and pure. When you’re full of the word it’s hard to walk in the flesh and if your flesh were to fail you the Lord is there to restore you. That doesn’t mean you should live by constantly sinning and then repenting. That’s how you harden your heart to what is sinful. Filling your heart with the word fills your spirit up. Being full of the word means you are renewing your mind, you are speaking it out, and you let it purify you. The word at the end of it all becomes what’s coming out of you and what’s going inside of you and it’s a healthy cycle.
The word says to guard our hearts with diligence because the issues of life come from it (Proverbs 4:23). Guard your heart to keep it right before the Lord. That means you are mindful of the friends you surround yourself with, the preachers you listen to, the songs you hear and sing, the shows and movies you watch. If you start your day off praying and worshiping the Lord the odds of you having a moment of blowing up and yelling at people is unlikely. It’s because what you started your day off with and filled yourself with was what your heart was full of. If you listened to a song that fed your not so happy mood in the morning then you are more likely to be snappy and rude. I Corinthians 15:33 says that good company corrupts good morals. Keep yourself in the company of the word and presence of God. Purity is a part of our new nature and we need to protect those things. Your purity is like a glass box you walk around with. Don’t let people touch it or make you stumble to drop it.
Empowered to Be Pure
Philippians 4:8
And now, dear brothers and sisters, one final thing. Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise.
Renew your mind and think on the things of above. The Holy Spirit empowers you to do so but you have to allow the Spirit to do so. You can’t let your flesh win. If you’re someone who has lived a pure life I truly commend you and urge you to keep protecting your purity. That means emotionally, physically, and spiritually. Don’t allow people or things to rob you. Now if you’re someone who has lived impure that does not have to be the end of your story. The Lord is a restorer and wants to restore you. Let Him in and let Him touch your heart and wipe away everything. I invite you to pray this and be made new.
Dear Jesus,
Come into my heart and be the Lord of my life.
Create in me a clean heart and renew my spirit.
I believe you died on the cross for my sins and on the third day you rose.
I believe you’re coming back for me.
Fill me with your Holy Spirit.
Give me a passion for your people
And for that which is true, honorable, right, pure, lovely, and admirable.
Keep sin and iniquity far from me.
Thank you for dying for me.
Thank you for making me new.
Thank you for restoring my purity.
Welcome to your new life in Jesus whether you just recommitted or committed your life to the Lord for the first time.
Sincerely,
Kez
