Monday, February 24, 2014

Proverbs 13:20 NLT

Walk with the wise and become wise, associate with fools and get in trouble.

Your choice of friends is crucial, because friends play a huge part in the kind of person you are and will become. There is a saying “Show me your friends and I’ll show you my future.” Most of us don’t really think of the influence of friends. This devotion isn’t to tell you to get rid of all of your friends; but it is to help you see that your friends play a big part in your life, SO CHOOSE THEM WISELY.

Because friends make such an impact on your life, it’s extremely important to choose them wisely. Let’s ask a few questions about our friendships:

Do your friends bring you up or pull you down?

What do you like and dislike about your friendships?

What can you do to ensure you have quality friends?

Do you have friends who will help you live a life of pursuing God?

You might ask “What’s so important about my friends anyway?” In his book “The Purity Code” author Jim Burns had a young man ask him this same question. He replied to the young man “You tell me”. The young man pulled out a piece of paper and wrote the following impressions:

My Friends influence me on:

what I think about myself

what language I use

what I think of my parents

what I wear

what’s in and what’s not in

what I think about my teachers

how I act

what parties I attend

whether studying is important

whether or not to drink or smoke

what is right or wrong

whether I should keep going to church

how I should spend my money

what I want to do when I graduate from high school

Are your friends helping you on your pursuit for purity? Only you can answer that question honestly. My hope is you won’t underestimate the influence of your friends and peer pressure.

Romans 12:2 NLT

2Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect.

Saturday, February 22, 2014

Charles Spurgeon once said, “Beware of no man more than of yourself; we carry our worst enemies with us.” 

Most times we give into temptation because we dwell on it so much. We camp there, and so we give into it.

“We can’t control much in life, and for a few fleeting seconds we can’t always control what comes into our view. But, Jesus has given us control over what we dwell on. And in the end what we dwell on is what we become. Where we camp, is where we live and die” -Louie Giglio

Philippians 4:8 NLT

8And now, dear brothers and sisters, one final thing. Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise.

One of the tactics of the enemy is making a lie seem like truth. In order to dwell on what is true we need to identify the lies that he tells us.

God’s Word is absolute truth. If your thoughts about yourself, or your circumstance are in contradiction to God’s Word, then you will be more likely to give into temptation.

God, I admit that my thoughts are not always based on the truth of Your Word.  I am easily swayed by the culture around me and the lies of the enemy.  Help me to keep my mind focused on your truth, rather than dwelling on the areas where I am tempted.  Keep my thoughts pure and fixed on You.  Thank you that You will not allow me to be tempted beyond what I can bear. 

Thursday, February 20, 2014

How do we overcome temptation when we are bombarded by it everyday? Some might think the only way to overcome it would be to lock ourselves in our rooms and never come out. That’s not going to happen. So what can we do? 

The first thing we can do to overcome temptation is to RECOGNIZE IT.

Genesis 3:1-7 NLT

1The serpent was the shrewdest of all the wild animals the Lord God had made. One day he asked the woman, “Did God really say you must not eat the fruit from any of the trees in the garden?”

2“Of course we may eat fruit from the trees in the garden,” the woman replied. 3“It’s only the fruit from the tree in the middle of the garden that we are not allowed to eat. God said, ‘You must not eat it or even touch it; if you do, you will die.’”

4“You won’t die!” the serpent replied to the woman. 5“God knows that your eyes will be opened as soon as you eat it, and you will be like God, knowing both good and evil.”

6The woman was convinced. She saw that the tree was beautiful and its fruit looked delicious, and she wanted the wisdom it would give her. So she took some of the fruit and ate it. Then she gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it, too. 7At that moment their eyes were opened, and they suddenly felt shame at their nakedness. So they sewed fig leaves together to cover themselves.

Eve was having dialog with Satan in the Garden of Eden.  Eve’s destiny changed when she responded to the serpent. The enemy can and will say anything he wants, but we don’t have to engage in conversing with him. Satan doesn’t always lie outright, but distorts partial truths. Our best strategy is to never engage in conversation with the enemy.

Satan raised questions about God’s motives and said that God’s warning was not true. Adam and Eve believed the lie. As a result they gave in and sinned against God.

God’s Word is absolute Truth, and the enemy will try and destroy our faith in God and His Word by raising doubts about who He is. What lies have you believed?

“Deception is only effective as long as it’s undetected. The first step to being changed is to define the lie.” -Steven Furtick

-It is important to recognize how the enemy will tempt us. If we don’t, we will continue to struggle with giving in to temptation. What is a situation you often find yourself in when giving into temptation, and how can you avoid it?

We are most vulnerable when we are tired and worn out both physically and spiritually. What are some things you can do to protect yourself when you are tired?

Saturday, February 8th, 2014

"Finally, dear brothers and sisters,[a] we urge you in the name of the Lord Jesus to live in a way that pleases God, as we have taught you. You live this way already, and we encourage you to do so even more. 2 For you remember what we taught you by the authority of the Lord Jesus.

3 God’s will is for you to be holy, so stay away from all sexual sin. 4 Then each of you will control his own body[b]and live in holiness and honor— 5 not in lustful passion like the pagans who do not know God and his ways.6 Never harm or cheat a Christian brother in this matter by violating his wife,[c] for the Lord avenges all such sins, as we have solemnly warned you before. 7 God has called us to live holy lives, not impure lives."

1 Thessalonians 4:1-7

Today I have picked up my living room about eleventybillion times.  Shortly after I vacuumed the floor, one of the littles dumped popcorn all over it.  There are socks, toys, books, little strings from the couch pillows, crayons, coins and a plethora of other things that make their way onto my clean floor without fail, no matter how many times I pick them up.  Drives. Me. Crazy.

It's hard to keep things clean.  It takes effort.  But if I don't make an effort to keep my house picked up, the stuff and dust and dirt would accumulate and the task would increase exponentially .  Do I enjoy cleaning the same area over and over again?  Not hardly.  But I don't want to break my neck tripping over My Little Ponies and toy cars, so I pick them up.

Purity in our lives isn't an easy task.  Our nature is sinful, and we are constantly making messes of things.  Keeping our minds and hearts pure takes effort.  Sometimes it is tempting to sit back and let a little dirt gather, telling ourselves we will clean it up later.  But before we know it, we are knee-deep in muck and filth and the idea of ever getting clean again seems overwhelming and out of reach.

Jesus offers us the opportunity to be made clean, pure, and whole daily.  Although we are far from deserving, He graciously covers our sin with His sacrifice and chooses to forgive us and give us a fresh start over and over and over....you get the idea.

But the fact that we are covered by grace and mercy isn't a license to live recklessly.  Choosing actions and attitudes that are impure can be forgiven, but we are still left to live with the consequence of what we've done.  And let's be honest- the results of sin are never pretty.  They are hard, painful, discouraging, and leave us feeling guilty and ashamed.  Jesus wants us to not only walk in His forgiveness, but to also walk in freedom from a life of sin.  When we do, we experience the fullness of the life that He died to give us.

So how does the living room of your heart look today?  Are there areas that need to be picked up and better maintained?  Are you letting your guard down and getting lazy about purity?

Jesus, help me to take an honest look at my life and see where my actions and attitudes may be allowing impure things into my life.  Help me to make purity a priority in my life.  Thank you that you don't call me to do this alone, but your grace and mercy cover me and make me clean when I feel unworthy and ashamed.  I want to live a life that is free from the consequences of sin.  Make me clean, Lord.

Friday, February 7th, 2014

Psalm 51:1-12

"Have mercy on me, O God,
    because of your unfailing love.
Because of your great compassion,
    blot out the stain of my sins.
2 Wash me clean from my guilt.
    Purify me from my sin.
3 For I recognize my rebellion;
    it haunts me day and night.
4 Against you, and you alone, have I sinned;
    I have done what is evil in your sight.
You will be proved right in what you say,
    and your judgment against me is just.[a]
5 For I was born a sinner—
    yes, from the moment my mother conceived me.
6 But you desire honesty from the womb,[b]
    teaching me wisdom even there.

7 Purify me from my sins,[c] and I will be clean;
    wash me, and I will be whiter than snow.
8 Oh, give me back my joy again;
    you have broken me—
    now let me rejoice.
9 Don’t keep looking at my sins.
    Remove the stain of my guilt.
10 Create in me a clean heart, O God.
    Renew a loyal spirit within me.
11 Do not banish me from your presence,
    and don’t take your Holy Spirit[d] from me.

12 Restore to me the joy of your salvation,
    and make me willing to obey you."

I love this Psalm.  It is such an honest and genuine plea of someone who is willing to look at the reality of his own sinful heart and need for a forgiving and loving Savior.  This is the beauty of the life of purity that we seek: it is never attainable by our own good deeds, but only through the redemption of Christ.  We will always, without fail, fall utterly short of purity.  As verse 5 says, we were born sinners.  It is ingrained in us.  But that is why God sent His Son!  We aren't without hope.  

Know today that no matter what you've done, no matter where you've been, no matter how deep your sin and guilt run, Jesus' blood can purify and wash you white as snow.  God's grace can restore the joy of your salvation.  When we confess our sins, He is faithful to forgive, cleanse and make us whole again.  This is where a life of purity begins- acknowledging our sin and our need for a Savior. 

Jesus, today I confess that I need you.  I am a sinner and I need a Savior.  I cannot live a pure life on my own- I will fail every time.  I need you to "restore to me the joy of your salvation and make me willing to obey you."  Help me to lay all my sin and shortcomings at your feet.  Wash me and make my heart clean and pure in your eyes.  I release my sin to you and thank you for your grace and redemption in my life.  

Thursday, February 6th, 2014

Last night we introduced our new series about God's plan for purity.  Take a moment to read the scriptures below.

Matthew 15:1-20
Jesus Teaches about Inner Purity
"Some Pharisees and teachers of religious law now arrived from Jerusalem to see Jesus. They asked him,2 “Why do your disciples disobey our age-old tradition? For they ignore our tradition of ceremonial hand washing before they eat.”3 Jesus replied, “And why do you, by your traditions, violate the direct commandments of God? 4 For instance, God says, ‘Honor your father and mother,’[a] and ‘Anyone who speaks disrespectfully of father or mother must be put to death.’[b] 5 But you say it is all right for people to say to their parents, ‘Sorry, I can’t help you. For I have vowed to give to God what I would have given to you.’ 6 In this way, you say they don’t need to honor their parents.[c] And so you cancel the word of God for the sake of your own tradition. 7 You hypocrites! Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you, for he wrote,8 ‘These people honor me with their lips,    but their hearts are far from me.9 Their worship is a farce,    for they teach man-made ideas as commands from God.’[d]”10 Then Jesus called to the crowd to come and hear. “Listen,” he said, “and try to understand. 11 It’s not what goes into your mouth that defiles you; you are defiled by the words that come out of your mouth.”12 Then the disciples came to him and asked, “Do you realize you offended the Pharisees by what you just said?”13 Jesus replied, “Every plant not planted by my heavenly Father will be uprooted, 14 so ignore them. They are blind guides leading the blind, and if one blind person guides another, they will both fall into a ditch.”15 Then Peter said to Jesus, “Explain to us the parable that says people aren’t defiled by what they eat.”16 “Don’t you understand yet?” Jesus asked. 17 “Anything you eat passes through the stomach and then goes into the sewer. 18 But the words you speak come from the heart—that’s what defiles you. 19 For from the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, all sexual immorality, theft, lying, and slander. 20 These are what defile you. Eating with unwashed hands will never defile you.”

• Jesus' main point here is that it isn't what we do or don't do that makes us impure.  It is the state of our heart.  Impure, sinful actions are the outward sign of a heart that isn't in tune with God.

• I believe that God is really less concerned with whether or not your actions are pure and more concerned with whether or not your heart belongs completely to Him.  

• When we are genuinely making our relationship with God a priority, our heart will begin to be in tune with His will, and our actions will be an outward expression of His work within us.

If you are struggling with impure actions/thoughts, evaluate the state of your heart.  Have you surrendered your heart to God?  Are you spending time in His presence daily?  Are you allowing Him to change you and make you more like Him?  If not, spend some time in prayer and let Jesus speak to you about what things in your heart He might need to change or rearrange.

Tuesday, February 4th, 2014

Philippians 1:10

"For I want you to understand what really matters, so that you may life pure and blameless lives until the day of Christ's return."

Purity. 

It's not a word that often graces our vocabulary.  I mean, when is the last time that you heard anyone in the hallways of your school talk about purity?  Probably...never.  The idea of purity is seen in our culture as uptight, ultra-conservative, prudish, strict, straight-laced, and usually all-things boring and bland.  

As Christians, though, we have to understand that a calling to purity isn't a calling to boring.  It's not a calling to dull, lame, strict and tedious.  If we are going to embrace the life that God has for us- a life that is full of adventure and the absolute opposite of boring- we have to change our perception of purity.

Purity is less about what you can't do and more about what you should do.  Living a pure life isn't living by a set of rigid rules and strict guidelines.  Are there boundaries that the Bible sets for a pure life?  Of course.  But real purity is about knowing the path that you should follow and how the [sometimes] hard choices you make pay off big time in the end.  

Imagine that you're an athlete, training for an upcoming competition.  You have two choices.  You can join your friends and indulge in junk food and late-night parties and reckless fun and risk the chance of getting sick/hurt/exhausted and throwing all your hard work away.  Or you can see the bigger picture, keep your eye on the prize, value your own skill and hard work, and skip the indulgence for now so that it pays off with a greater reward later.  Then after you've achieved your goal, you can enjoy life more freely and without regret because you've crossed the finish line.

Purity is much like that.  We know that God has an incredible story He is writing with all of our lives.  We can be an epic part of that story when we do our best to live in purity.  When sin isn't holding us back, there's nothing we can't do.  Sometimes we have to say no to things for right now, knowing it will pay off in the end, and the enjoyment we'll experience then will be so much more fulfilling.  

Purity is living in freedom from sin and embracing the thrill of a life completely surrendered to God's amazing adventure!

-What areas of my life might there be hidden sin that is keeping me from being pure?

-Is there something in my life (habit, relationship, hobby) that is making me struggle in being free from sin?  What can I do to eliminate that struggle?

God, more than anything I want to live a life that is full of meaning, purpose, adventure and excitement.  I want to experience all that You have planned for me.  Help me to understand that unless I am intentional about keeping my life pure, there is a good chance I will miss out on some of the things You want me to experience or do.  Show me areas of my life that I need to surrender to You and eliminate sinful habits.  Thank You for Your blood, that washes even the worst sinner and makes him clean.

Monday, February 3, 2014

Here is a video we showed yesterday at TAG. 

http://youtu.be/s8U_ewtHZdw

Philippians 3:7-11 NLT
I once thought these things were valuable, but now I consider them worthless because of what Christ has done. Yes, everything else is worthless when compared with the infinite value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have discarded everything else, counting it all as garbage, so that I could gain Christ and become one with him. I no longer count on my own righteousness through obeying the law; rather, I become righteous through faith in Christ. For God’s way of making us right with himself depends on faith. I want to know Christ and experience the mighty power that raised him from the dead. I want to suffer with him, sharing in his death, so that one way or another I will experience the resurrection from the dead!

Saturday, February 1st, 2014

We have been talking for several weeks about being intentional.  Being intentional in our relationship with God, with others, in our actions and thoughts.

As we come to the end of this series, I want to leave you with a final thought that is really the essence of this whole idea of being intentional:

Being intentional starts with simply being.

Luke 10:38-42

"As Jesus and the disciples continued on their way to Jerusalem, they came to a certain village where a woman named Martha welcomed him into her home.  Her sister, Mary, sat at the Lord's feet, listening to what he taught.  But Martha was distracted by the big dinner she was preparing. She came to Jesus and said, "Lord, doesn't it seem unfair to you that my sister just sits here while I do all the work?  Tell her to come and help me."
But the Lord said to her, "My dear Martha, you are worried and upset over all these details!  There is only one thing worth being concerned about.  Mary has discovered it, and it will not be taken away from her."

Martha was worried about the details.  About what needed to be done.  About action.  As humans, we allow physical results to determine our productivity.  But the Kingdom of God is different.  In God's eyes, the physical results mean nothing if we haven't spent time in God's presence.  Our actions are in vain if they aren't anchored in a relationship with God and motivated by the leading of His Holy Spirit.  When we do for the sake of doing, or being seen, God isn't pleased.

If we are truly going to be intentional as Christ-followers, our intentional actions must always be birthed out of a place of surrender.  We have to learn how to just BE in the presence of God, wait on Him to speak and teach and lead. After that is when our action should follow.  Being in fellowship with Jesus is the most important thing we can do, and will make all our actions, words and thoughts more intentional when they flow from a place of knowing Jesus deeply.

Make time each day just to be in God's presence.  Shut out the noise so you can hear His voice.  Learn about His character and His will through His Word.  Being with Him will result in being more intentional in every aspect of your life.

Jesus, thank you that serving you is so much easier than we make it out to be.  Help me to realize how important it is just to be in your presence.  Help me to seek you first before anything else.  I want to be like Mary, who realized the importance of putting aside action to be with you and learn from you.  Speak to me today and help me to be intentional because I have been with you.