Real Purity
I've been completely consumed with Smart Love, which I based on Philippians 1:9. Yesterday I went beyond it to understand the Effect of Smart Love, based on Philippians 1:10.
Today I came across a translation of that second verse that I just have to share with you!
Here's the NIV:
"so that you may be able to discern what is best and may be pure and blameless until the day of Christ."
But the Amplified Bible, a very insightful translation, helps me understand what the Greek words mean without needing to drag out my 20-pound concordance:
"so that you may surely learn to sense what is vital, and approve and prize what is excellent and of real value [recognizing the highest and best, and distinguishing the moral differences], and that you may be untainted and pure and unerring and blameless [so that with hearts sincere and certain and unsullied, you may approach] the day of Christ [not stumbling nor causing others to stumble.]"
FLOORED.
Did you see all those gorgeous, rich words?
Untainted.
Pure.
Unerring.
Blameless.
Sincere.
Certain.
Unsullied.
Hallelujah. This is what we can be when we have Smart Love.
I WANT SO BADLY FOR YOU TO BE THESE THINGS.
I asked you yesterday: do you want to be pure? Please let me give you the answer: YES.
Because purity is not just something you work on until marriage.
Purity is a way of thinking.
Purity is an issue of the heart.
Purity is a way of living.
And you are working NOW on being pure not just so you can be pure on your wedding day but so that you can be pure for the rest of your life.
Here are some of the Greek words for pure:
In Matthew 5:8 ("blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God") the word is defined "clean, pure, clear of responsibility, innocent."
In Philippians 2:15 ("so that you may be blameless and pure, children of God who are faultless in a crooked and perverted generation") it means, "innocent, pure, not mixed with evil."
In James 1:2 ("consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you experience trials...") the word means "all, everything, everyone, whole, always."
Only ONE WORD in the Greek means "virgin." And it's used only one time.
I'm not belittling virginity. Not by any means. I'm saying that purity is so much more than that. Purity is in your mind, in your heart, and in your mouth.
Virginity is a by-product of purity.
In fact, you can be a virgin and not be pure. Because virginity for the sake of virginity is not what God wants. It might be what your parents want :) But God wants your purity to be so much more than your virginity.
And there are two extremes here: Girls who worship the concept of virginity and obey it more than anything else. They make their virginity an idol, even going so far as to marry a guy so that they can have sex within marriage so not to be impure. But they never took the time to be really pure the way God desired. And the marriage doesn't feel right, doesn't work right, doesn't seem to be right....
The other extreme simply disregards the relationship between the heart and the body and feels okay with being impure sexually, knowing God is loving and forgiving and they think "when I get done with this stage of life I'll get back right with God." You're missing the gospel.
IT ALL STARTS IN YOUR MIND. (Please read Titus 1:15-16.) You believe God according to His Word, you have Smart Love, and you believe what He says. YOU CHOOSE TO START PURSUING PURITY with your brain.
THEN IT GOES TO YOUR HEART. You begin to ask God to cleanse everything inside you that is not pure and allow Him the right to show you the nastiness you've been harboring and you let Him clean it out.
YOUR MOUTH STARTS TO GO ALONG WITH THIS PURITY STUFF, and you find yourself changing not only the words you say but the intent behind them and the lasting effects of your speech. You think more about what Jesus would have you say than what you want to say. Even if she deserves it :)
THEN YOUR BODY REFLECTS THAT PURITY. It starts on the inside and moves outward. It can't go the other way.
Whether you were physically pure before or not, GOD CAN PURIFY YOU. Not just maintaining your virginity or giving you the opportunity to be a secondary virgin. But a purity that starts inside.
This is the only way it works.
You're only clean if you let Jesus do the cleaning. And He makes you pure, not just by cleaning out the heart you have but by creating in you a new heart. (PLEASE read all of Psalm 51.)
Smart Love allows you to be pure.
Purity starts inside and works its way out.
Only Jesus makes you pure.
Purity is a life-long pursuit.
This is my prayer: that you know what God means by purity. That you believe you can be pure. Really pure. And "...that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight, so that you may be able to discern what is best and may be pure and blameless until the day of Christ," (Philippians 1:9-10).
You know I'm here if you want to talk about this at all.
myleslienotebook@gmail.com
@leslienotebook
Today I came across a translation of that second verse that I just have to share with you!
Here's the NIV:
"so that you may be able to discern what is best and may be pure and blameless until the day of Christ."
But the Amplified Bible, a very insightful translation, helps me understand what the Greek words mean without needing to drag out my 20-pound concordance:
"so that you may surely learn to sense what is vital, and approve and prize what is excellent and of real value [recognizing the highest and best, and distinguishing the moral differences], and that you may be untainted and pure and unerring and blameless [so that with hearts sincere and certain and unsullied, you may approach] the day of Christ [not stumbling nor causing others to stumble.]"
FLOORED.
Did you see all those gorgeous, rich words?
Untainted.
Pure.
Unerring.
Blameless.
Sincere.
Certain.
Unsullied.
Hallelujah. This is what we can be when we have Smart Love.
I WANT SO BADLY FOR YOU TO BE THESE THINGS.
I asked you yesterday: do you want to be pure? Please let me give you the answer: YES.
Because purity is not just something you work on until marriage.
Purity is a way of thinking.
Purity is an issue of the heart.
Purity is a way of living.
And you are working NOW on being pure not just so you can be pure on your wedding day but so that you can be pure for the rest of your life.
Here are some of the Greek words for pure:
In Matthew 5:8 ("blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God") the word is defined "clean, pure, clear of responsibility, innocent."
In Philippians 2:15 ("so that you may be blameless and pure, children of God who are faultless in a crooked and perverted generation") it means, "innocent, pure, not mixed with evil."
In James 1:2 ("consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you experience trials...") the word means "all, everything, everyone, whole, always."
Only ONE WORD in the Greek means "virgin." And it's used only one time.
I'm not belittling virginity. Not by any means. I'm saying that purity is so much more than that. Purity is in your mind, in your heart, and in your mouth.
Virginity is a by-product of purity.
In fact, you can be a virgin and not be pure. Because virginity for the sake of virginity is not what God wants. It might be what your parents want :) But God wants your purity to be so much more than your virginity.
And there are two extremes here: Girls who worship the concept of virginity and obey it more than anything else. They make their virginity an idol, even going so far as to marry a guy so that they can have sex within marriage so not to be impure. But they never took the time to be really pure the way God desired. And the marriage doesn't feel right, doesn't work right, doesn't seem to be right....
The other extreme simply disregards the relationship between the heart and the body and feels okay with being impure sexually, knowing God is loving and forgiving and they think "when I get done with this stage of life I'll get back right with God." You're missing the gospel.
IT ALL STARTS IN YOUR MIND. (Please read Titus 1:15-16.) You believe God according to His Word, you have Smart Love, and you believe what He says. YOU CHOOSE TO START PURSUING PURITY with your brain.
THEN IT GOES TO YOUR HEART. You begin to ask God to cleanse everything inside you that is not pure and allow Him the right to show you the nastiness you've been harboring and you let Him clean it out.
YOUR MOUTH STARTS TO GO ALONG WITH THIS PURITY STUFF, and you find yourself changing not only the words you say but the intent behind them and the lasting effects of your speech. You think more about what Jesus would have you say than what you want to say. Even if she deserves it :)
THEN YOUR BODY REFLECTS THAT PURITY. It starts on the inside and moves outward. It can't go the other way.
Whether you were physically pure before or not, GOD CAN PURIFY YOU. Not just maintaining your virginity or giving you the opportunity to be a secondary virgin. But a purity that starts inside.
This is the only way it works.
You're only clean if you let Jesus do the cleaning. And He makes you pure, not just by cleaning out the heart you have but by creating in you a new heart. (PLEASE read all of Psalm 51.)
Smart Love allows you to be pure.
Purity starts inside and works its way out.
Only Jesus makes you pure.
Purity is a life-long pursuit.
This is my prayer: that you know what God means by purity. That you believe you can be pure. Really pure. And "...that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight, so that you may be able to discern what is best and may be pure and blameless until the day of Christ," (Philippians 1:9-10).
You know I'm here if you want to talk about this at all.
myleslienotebook@gmail.com
@leslienotebook
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