Philippians 4:8 says, “Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.” What a refreshing thought to have a pure mind that is completely on our Savior. I watched a sermon that discussed the culture in Today’s church circling around saving ourselves for marriage as the ultimate tool of purity. While that is an important aspect of purity, it is not the face of purity, Jesus is. We should be pursuing purity as a whole and trust that when we seek the Lord in that, the rest will come.

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What do you think of when you hear the word “purity”? Maybe you think of sexual purity of the body, our thoughts, eyes. Or purity in the way we see and interact with others. A mindset that is set above. Seeking purity means we are seeking after the good that Jesus offers. Purity, for me, looks like cutting out everything that is distracting me from the main goal/reason I am on earth: To serve the Lord. Pray and ask the Lord to reveal how He wants you to seek purity in your own life. Mine looks like cutting out romantic movies and Instagram. We are all tempted in different ways, so it will look different for all of us. But the moment you realize something is holding you back from fully serving the Lord—get rid of it. Don’t sit in it or continue to over-pray about it. Sacrifice the things that hold you back from the full potential of being who God created you to be. 

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A simple step in the direction of removing things from our lives is to use the verse above. Ask yourself: Is it true, noble, right, pure, lovely, admirable, excellent, or praiseworthy? If the answer is no, then cut it out of your life. This may seem extreme because we all have our own convictions. And I agree with that statement, but we have used that excuse to keep our idols for far too long. The bible says in 1 Peter 5:8 that Satan prowls the earth. “Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.” We must always be ready, and one way we can do that is through simple disciplines in our own lives. One thing that helps me is, with each thing I remove; I replace it with something healthy. I replace TV with a Godly book or podcast/sermon. I remove the junk food and replace it with healthier foods (food is an idol too).  Everything you choose should be reflective of Christ.

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No more excuses. It is time to fully commit your life to Christ, no longer being half in and half out. Lord, I pray that whoever is reading this will be touched by You and prompted to fully commit to You, Lord. That You, Lord, would reveal things in their lives that they need to remove and replace with things that center around You, Lord, and Your purity. Go before them, as it is not easy to sacrifice the things of the world that we have clung to for so long. Christ be all around them. Amen!

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By Morgan Hays