Purity

Purity

How can a young person stay pure? By obeying your word and following its rules.

Psalm 119:9

Do we sometimes concern ourselves more with the purity of the water we drink than with the purity of our hearts? We make sure that our drinking water is clean, filtered, and sanitized. When we travel to foreign countries, we drink bottled water; we wouldn’t think of drinking water from the tap. But over the course of our lives, how protective are we about the purity of our hearts—and our children’s hearts?

Proverbs 4:23 cautions us to guard our hearts above everything else. How do we do that? God’s Word points out a safe PASS to take:

• P—Pray
• A—Ask for help
• S—Stay away from trouble
• S—Scripture

Pray—Hebrews 4:14-16 reminds us that Jesus understands our temptations because he was tempted just like we are. But he died for us, conquered sin and death, and now prays for us before God. We can boldly ask him to deliver us from temptation.

Ask for help—We should ask a female Christian friend to hold us accountable and to pray with and for us, especially when we’re struggling (Galatians 6:2).

Stay away from trouble—Stay away from situations (reading material, people, activities, immodest clothes, etc.) that might tempt us to sin (1 Timothy 6:11).

Scripture—Face temptation with Scripture, just like Jesus did when he was tempted by Satan. For example, if complaining is a temptation for us, we can memorize Philippians 2:14.

Pure drinking water is good, but pure hearts are more important. “Put everything into the care of your heart,” wrote Dallas Willard, “for it determines what your life amounts to.”

Father,

Please help us to care for our—and our children’s—hearts. Amen.