"Protecting Purity"
Jeremiah 2:31- 4:18
Colossians 1:1-19
Psalm 76:1-12
Proverbs 24:21-22
There are many "subtle killers" out there. Carbon Monoxide is one. You don't see it, you don't smell it, and yet if you work with a gas powered engine in an enclosed area, it will overtake you. Hypothermia is considered another subtle killer. When you're trapped in the cold it lulls you to sleep and takes your life.
Probably the most dangerous of them all is this: Spiritual compromise is a subtle killer. Minor steps of disobedience at the onset seem like no big deal, but they numb the conscience ever so gradually, that an individual begins to feel that involvement in sin is nothing more than a matter of priorities that need adjustment, or just a minor offense. In the same way a mountain climber might just want to "take a short rest" in the snow, the compromising believer will take his eyes off the path of purity only to look around and find the spiritual fire has gone out.
In Jeremiah we see how God feels about this. God views our relationship with him as a marriage. He desires that we are intimately committed to Him. So what does that say about our little compromises or indulgences? "Is there a single spot in all the land where you haven't been defiled by your adulteries - your worshiping these other gods? You sit like a prostitute beside the road waiting for a client!" Jer 3:2
In verse 9 the Lord says, "She treated it all so lightly - to her it was nothing at all that she should worship idols made of wood and stone. And so the land was greatly polluted and defiled."
The marriage relationship is something to be protected and guarded. The intensity with which we guard it depends on how valuable we think it is. In other words, if we understand how important purity is in our marriage relationship, we will make every effort to intensely protect it. If we don't value it, how hard do we work to protect it?
How valuable is your relationship to God? How intensely do you protect it? Too often we treat it casually, and approach God saying, "'O Father, you have always been my Friend; surely you won't be angry about such a little thing! Surely you will just forget it?' So you talk, and keep right on doing all the evil that you can." (Jer. 3:4-5)
This is a Big Deal! If you can imagine the pain of adultery and a broken marriage, that is how God views our lack of faithfulness to him. In the same way God wants our earthly marriages to be pure so it can be a testimony to the world, He wants our pure relationship with him to be a sign to the world. Jeremiah 4:1-2 says, "O Israel, if you will truly return to me and absolutely discard your idols, and if you will swear by me alone, the living God, and begin to live good, honest, clean lives, then you will be a testimony to the nations of the World and they will come to me and glorify my name."
Put your every effort into living a life of purity. Put your efforts and energy into the value of your relationship with Christ. If you will value it, you will lock the doors of your heart to anything that would compromise the purity the Lord desires. Protect your purity!
Through the Power of the Spirit,
Live the DREAM!
P Greg
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