Purity Begins with a Commitment

In review of Psalm 119:9 it says, “How can [anyone] stay on the path of purity? By living according to your word” (NIV).

Today’s verse is from Psalm 119:9-11. Overall Psalm 119 reminds me that God's word is true and wonderful. I should strive to stay true to God and his word no matter how bad the world becomes. Obedience to God's laws is the only way to achieve real happiness.

The psalmist asks and then answers. How can a young person stay pure? By obeying your word. I have tried hard to find you, don't let me wander from your commands. So I have hidden your word in my heart so that I might not sin against you.

To stay pure in a contaminating environment requires something beyond my own strength. I cannot do this on my own, but must have counsel and a strength more dynamic than the tempting influences around me. I find this strength and wisdom by reading God's Word and doing what it says.

Keeping (or hiding) God's word in my heart is a deterrent to sin. This should inspire me to memorize Scripture. But memorization alone will not keep me from sin, I must also put God's Word to work in my life, making it a vital guide for everything I do.

Is it possible in today’s world to live a sexually pure life? Yes! But it has to start with a commitment. The Bible says, “How can [anyone] stay on the path of purity? By living according to your word” (Psalm 119:9 NIV). To be sexually pure in this world will require a standard to live by. I can either build my standard by myself or choose God’s standard. I must decide whether God knows more about my life than I do. He also understands the implications far better than I do. I have to decide: “God, when I don’t understand it, when I don’t like it, and when it’s not popular, I’m going to do what your Word says, regardless of what I think or what my friends think.” Until I’m willing to make that kind of commitment, I might as well close up my Bible and go back to bed. Without that commitment, I’m not ready to be pure in an impure world. I can only be pure by following God’s standard. God thought up sex. It was his idea, but he did put a few parameters around it. His standard has never changed. It’s very clear regardless of opinion polls or anything else. Sex is far more than physical. It’s a spiritual act with physical, social, legal, and emotional consequences. If sex were just physical, it’d be like a handshake. It wouldn’t matter who you had sex with. But sex is more than physical. The Bible makes it clear that sex is exclusively reserved for a husband and a wife who are committed to one another in a marriage. Anything outside of that, like sex before marriage and sex outside of marriage, will have profound consequences on my emotions and my spiritual life, and it may even physically harm you. God’s standards are in my best interest. If I want to live by them — and avoid all the negative consequences that come from living outside of them — it starts with a commitment.

Bottom Line:

Stay pure by living according to God’s Word.

What this means to me:

For me to stay on a path of purity, I must live according to God’s Word.

In summary, I can stay pure only by obeying God's Word. It will require something beyond my own strength. It requires counsel and strength more dynamic than the tempting influences around me. I find this by reading God's Word and then doing what it says. I must put it to work in my life. It all starts with a commitment on my part

This morning Father I am grateful that after have the chest and back pains that nothing was wrong with my physical heart. It is however a warning sign that I’m allowing myself to be more stressed and overworked than I should be. Even in a brief discussion with a prior coworker my own opinion of my current job wasn’t one of enjoyment but of high demand. Part of what you have been teaching me over the past several days have reminded me that I have just enough time to do Your will. My work and my worth are two different things. The key to a balanced life is Jesus. I'm not God, so stop acting like it and trying to please everyone. I must treat others with respect and learn to forgive because I too am in need of constant forgiveness.

I pray this morning for your wisdom to be calmer and to rely on you. Help remind myself that I need breaks and that working longer is not the answer. Give me wisdom to handle the tasks in front of me and to deal rightly with those around me. This I pray in your Son Jesus name, Amen!