Purity isn’t something that’s reserved for our teens. It’s a virtue that we can, and must, exercise long after we say, “I do.”
Simply defined, purity is to be free from anything that contaminates our God-given purpose. A pure wife doesn’t entertain thoughts or activities that draw her away from the Lord or interfere in her marriage.
She may have days where she’s tempted, distracted, or struggles to stay true to her faith, but she looks to Lord to find strength for the journey.
Choosing to follow your sin puts you in a dangerous place where Satan has a foothold in your marriage. If we allow resentment to grow, it will grow, and if we allow our hearts to harden toward the one that we love it will become calloused over time.
Most importantly, the goal of each and every one of us should be that of bringing glory to God both today and every day of our lives.
As long as we’re in this world Satan is lurking around every corner hoping to draw us away from our faith and destroy our marriage in the process. He’s cunning, which is why scripture warns us to guard our heart with all diligence (Proverbs 4:23). The lust of our heart is deceitful. It makes us think that we need things we don’t. It blinds us from the dangers of temptation and beckons us toward sin.
How do we safe guard our heart? We take our thoughts captive, “Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ.” – 2 Corinthians 10:5
Looking to that verse we see the word, “imaginations.” I went to the Strong’s concordance for that one because I think it’s important that we look closely at this. Here’s what we find:
Imaginations: logismos - a reckoning, computation. And the root word: logisomai - to reckon, count, compute, calculate, count over.
In English we call this “logic.” Logical arguments are convincing–they make sense in the moment. Anyone who has been tempted to go off a diet will tell you that a logical argument took place in their mind before they fell off the wagon. Too often what we think is logical at the time is detrimental to our plan.
Satan used logic to tempt Eve in the garden; he used logic to tempt Jesus in the wilderness. In fact he used scripture. Taking Jesus to the temple roof he said, “If thou be the Son of God, cast thyself down: for it is written, He shall give his angels charge concerning thee: and in their hands they shall bear thee up, lest at any time thou dash thy foot against a stone.” – Matthew 4:6
Without entertaining the thought, Jesus rebuked satan with scripture and sent him away.
Resist the devil and he will flee from you. (James 4:7)
If we hope to live a pure life, have a strong marriage, and walk blameless before the Lord, we need to stand up to temptation. We need a backbone if we hope to live a victorious life.
I’m going to be frank here and in doing so I know that I’m going to touch on a few nerves…
Here’s the reality: If you’re walking in obedience to God there’s a very good chance that someone in your life isn’t going to like it. A man? A friend? A family member?
A reader once told me that faith is more like walking on glass than sitting in a comfy recliner. Ain’t that the truth? Not only do we feel the sting of our choices, our family and friends often will too do.
No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it. – Hebrews 12:11, NIV
Safeguard your marriage. Safeguard your faith.
You are loved by an almighty God,
Darlene
Keep your thoughts in check this week by asking yourself: is this pleasing to God? If not, then practice changing those thought patterns immediately and flee from those things that are dragging you down.
The post There’s a Good Chance that Someone
Isn’t Going to Like This appeared first on Time-Warp Wife.
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