Purity

     We live in a society where “love” and “relationships” are worshipped, where we allow pictures of women on the front of magazines to become our standard of beauty, and where our minds are constantly bombarded by immorality all around us.  Purity has become nearly a lost virtue in today’s world, and even for many Christians it seems to have become a false reality.  Yet just because the society we live in does not honor and uphold purity does not mean that God has forgotten about it as well.  Purity is a mindset that will ultimately be reflected in our actions and decisions, from the choice to remain sexually pure all the way down to how we act and dress and the secret thoughts we have.  God has called every Christian to come out from the world and be different, and it is up to young Christians today to “set an example for the believers in . . . purity.” (1 Timothy 4:12)

     Most people use the word purity interchangeably with virginity, but in reality purity is so much more than that; virginity is only one of its many aspects.  Because teenagers are desperate to be loved and accepted, they often feel that the only way to obtain that sense of security is through a boyfriend/girlfriend relationship – which often leads to sexual activity.  One of my friends – and eighth grader at the time – once said to me, “I’m not desperate yet.  But if I don’t have a girlfriend by sophomore year, then I’ll be desperate.”  Unless a person makes a conscious choice to remain completely sexually pure until they are married, it is easy to waver back and forth in their beliefs and give into temptation when the opportunity arises.  Answers in Genesis has shown that over fifty percent of evangelical high school students believe that premarital sex is okay.  Because most Christian teenagers are hesitant about fully committing themselves to sexual purity, this can lead to a life filled with more hurt and shame than they ever imagined.  We need to realize that God will honor our commitment to sexual purity and the rewards of waiting for marriage will be so much greater than anything this world has to offer.

     The purity of our hearts is also reflected in the way we act and dress.  Our actions represent what is really inside our hearts, which means that in order for our actions to be pure, we need to have our hearts in the right place.  When we choose to act in ways that are contrary to God’s Word, this creates the impression that purity and integrity are not our highest priority in life.  The way we dress also reflects what is inside our hearts.  In The Modesty Survey, one 16-year-old young man wrote, “If a girl dresses modestly, it shows me that she is leaving it to God to choose her husband for her, so therefore there is no need to 'advertise'.  If a girl dresses immodestly, however, then that shows me that she has not given everything to God, and is trying to attract guys to her in order to find a husband that way.”  As 1 Timothy 2:9-10 says, “I . . . want women to dress modestly, with decency and propriety . . . appropriate for women who . . . worship God.”

     One aspect of purity which most people overlook is the purity of our thought life, or emotional purity.  As the author of “I Kissed Dating Goodbye”, Joshua Harris said, “Purity starts in the heart and is expressed in a lifestyle that avoids settings of temptation and compromise.”  This kind of purity is only between a person and God, and because it is not as noticeable on the outside, most people feel that it is not as important.  Yet emotional purity is at least as important as virginity, if not more, because a person’s actions are the overflow of their thoughts.  Even if a person is completely sexually pure on the outside, they can be just as guilty as someone who has had premarital sex because they have sinned in their heart by allowing lustful thoughts into their minds.  The key to staying emotionally pure is found in Psalm 119:9; “How can a young man keep his way pure?  By living according to your word.”

     In a world where purity is seen as being old-fashioned and out-of-date, it is up to young Christians to set an example for those around them by living lives of purity.  We have been called by God to be different and to live separate from this world; every person must hold himself accountable to God for their actions and thoughts.  While God does not promise that a life of purity will be easy, He does promise that He is greater than any temptation we may face in this life and that the rewards of waiting for marriage will be so much greater than the temporary pleasures of this world.

Is God There? Does He Hear Me?

Have you ever ask these questions?  Take heart - you're not alone.  Many people have felt like you do, including me.  I grew up in a good, godly, Christian home.  I had a pretty "easy" life.  Then I entered junior high and started having anxiety attacks.  For two years I struggled with this.  They got so bad I was having several anxiety attacks a day, and I remember thinking: "If this is what I'm going to have to deal with for the rest of my life, I'd rather die right now!"  I felt like God wasn't listening to me, and I couldn't see how any good could possibly come from my problems.

Looking back on it, now three years later, I can see how God used that difficult time in my life to bring Him glory.  God showed me that He had not left me; I was the one who had drifted from Him.  Once I stopped trying to overcome the anxiety by myself, admitted I couldn't fix it on my own, and turned to God for help, I was able to overcome it.

Is God there?  Certainly.  Does God hear us?  Yes.  Will He grant our requests?  Not always.  He didn't take my life like I thought I wanted Him to, but He did use difficult situation in my life to teach me some things, and He showed me He hadn't left me alone.

The key to overcoming sin and struggles in our lives is to recognize that God is there and He cares about what's happening in our lives.  All we have to do is reach for Him; if we ask for His help, He will never leave us to fix the problem on our own.  We may not understand at the time why God allows tough situations in our lives, but we can rest in the fact that He knows what He's doing and He's got a plan better than we could ever dream up for ourselves.

Modesty - What It Really Is...

This is an amazing video about how Modesty isn't just about the length of your skirt. It is so much more! Please watch, meditate, and enjoy!
http://youtu.be/K8pQzqIDSfw 

Growing Closer to the Lord Through Your Teen Years

     As your childhood years fall behind you and you begin to merge into adulthood, it is important to stay acquainted with your changing body, your parents, but most importantly of all, your Heavenly Father.  This is the the time in your life when God is changing you on the outside and He wants to change you on the inside too.  Our hearts need to be soft so He can come in and mold us to perfection.
     Some people say that this is the most difficult time in your life.  That may be true, but it is also the most wonderful time.  God is creating in you a whole new person in you - inside and out!  You should be soaking up God's Word, listening to godly men and women, and following Christ's example.  When Jesus was around this age, it says in the Bible that He was teaching the religious leaders in the temple - at only twelve years old!
     So as you go through these wonderful, but sometimes challenging years, remember to always keep your relationship with God strong and seek to know him more.

Letting Go of Sin

When we accept Christ into our lives and become saved, God starts working in us and changing us to be more like Himself.  But often as Christians we forget that God has made us a new creation.  We like our sin so much that we just can't let go of it, and it becomes like an addiction.

Hebrews 12:1-2 says: "Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us.  Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God."

Imagine a runner preparing for the Olympics.  Athletes usually wear lightweight clothing that doesn't restrict freedom of movement.  They never carry with them anything heavy.  I mean, if you saw an Olympic athlete with a huge backpack on his back while he's running a race, you would think he's crazy!  Instead, when athletes run a race, they make sure there's nothing weighing them down or holding them back.  They put all their effort into the race and they perform their best in anticipation of the prize that awaits them at the finish line.

Now imagine that athlete portrays a Christian; the race, the Christian journey; and ultimately, the finish line is heaven.  If we as Christians run our race with a backpack (heavy sins), we're only going to be weighed down by guilt, shame and remorse.  Why do we hold onto this heavy weight?  Because we love our sin too much.  If instead we focus our attention on the prize (heaven and Jesus Christ), the heavy weight will fall from our shoulders and we'll feel the incredible freedom God offers.

"Far Above Rubies"

     When we think about how sexual and worldly women are nowadays, it is not surprising to think of a godly woman, "Her worth is far above rubies."
     When God created the world it was a perfect place.  There was no sin to be found anywhere.  But then, the woman, Eve, fell into Satan's temptation and ate the forbidden fruit.  She gave some to her husband,  Adam, and he ate some too.  From the moment Eve took the fruit, sin came into the world.
     Years later, as time went by, you can imagine that the world was not a nice place.  People had rejected God and were living only to please their own desires.  All, that was, except one righteous man named Noah, and his family.  God told Noah to build an ark that would save him and his family from the worldwide flood that He was about to send.  The flood destroyed everyone and everything except Noah and his family.
     Now, the 21st Century, we have again rejected God.  People are living only to please their own desires.  Women are immodest, unfaithful to their husbands, and worldly.  That is not like the perfect world we started out with.
     But God has made an "ark" for us.  When we take Jesus as our savior, He is our refuge in times of trouble.  When the flood of worldliness, sexuality, immodesty, and all the rest come flooding up our doorstep, we have the power in Christ to say "no" to all of it.  It's no wonder that the worth of a godly woman is far above rubies.
     Godly women such as this are needed everywhere - will you be one of them?

Making God #1 in Your Life

Hearing that Jesus had silenced the Sadducees, the Pharisees got together.  One of them, an expert in the law, tested him with this question: "Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?"  Jesus replied:  " 'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.'  This is the first and greatest commandment.  And the second is like it: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.'  All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.  
- Matthew 22:34-40

The speaker at my youth group last night talked about this passage in Matthew, and I thought it was fitting for what we're talking about on this blog.  He said that we should "love God, love ourselves, love others, and love stuff in that order."  I'm going to change the order slightly to say we should love God first, then love others, then ourselves and stuff, because when we love ourselves more than we love others, we become selfish.  The speaker went on to say that when we change the order of these things at all, it's sin.  So when we put stuff ahead of others, or others ahead of God, we are doing what's wrong in God's sight.  He challenged us to think about what in our lives we put ahead of God.  I know we all do this to some degree.  We all have something that becomes more important to us than God.

For many girls the thing that often trips them up is boys.  Crushes can become an all-consuming passion and an idol in our lives.  Take it from someone who knows!  I had a crush on a guy that became an obsession to the point where everything I thought about was him.  I was constantly analyzing everything he said or did and I became blinded by my emotions.  As a result, my relationship with God suffered and my quiet time dwindled down to almost nothing.  And when the guy finally told me he didn't like me back, I felt as if my world had collapsed around me.  Why?  Because I had put him above God.  You see, nothing in this world is certain.  People, circumstances, feelings - they all change; but there is one Person that will never change.  His name is Jesus Christ and He can bring stability to an upside world.  And unlike boys, Jesus will never leave you.  Isn't that worth so much more than chasing after guys?  Our earthly relationships might not last forever, but Jesus will.