Purity

Lord, teach me the value of purity. The value of separating oneself from the world for a sweet hour of prayer. The imperfection of human sin has tainted everything - not humans alone. It has tainted the beauty that God has intended for this earth. 

When constantly surrounded by the world, we must look to Jesus for cleansing. I feel surrounded by worldliness on a daily basis - and at times, it has taken a toll on me. It has led me to look to things other than God for fulfillment, which is terribly wrong. Everything we do needs to be for God's glory; is that not our purpose on this earth?

May He forgive us for loving anything more than we loved Him! We have played the harlot, like Israel in the Old Testament prophet book of Hosea; we have mocked His grace, raped His mercy, beaten His love; and 

still He loves us. 

Is this not the greatest miracle ever known to mankind? That such Perfection could look down upon imperfection in love? The same eyes that see our sin look upon us in grace in mercy, in the truth that the Son of God has given Himself for us. 

As this week starts....make the first commandments (of both the Old and New testament) your prayer. 

1. "You shall have no other Gods before Me." 

He is to be the one we worship! No other person or thing is worthy. We are not even worthy to worship Him, and yet he bestows the privilege upon us. What are common idols in the world today?

-Social Networking

-Friends

-Boyfriend/Girlfriend

-Husband/Spouse

-Children

-TV/Movies

-Videogames

-Music

-Schoolwork 

-Family

-Food

-Drugs/Alcohol (substance abuse)

And the list goes on. None of these things belong on a higher pedestal than our Father. None! He commands it. 

2. "Love the Lord God will all your heart, mind, soul and strength."

If you are anything like me, you may be thinking, "What an impossible request!" 

And you're right - apart from God's strength it is impossible. 

But Jesus tells us that all things are possible with God. It is a promise from God - claim it in order to fulfill the command He has given you.

Make Him Lord of every thought and action that you think and do. Make Him Lord of every area of your life - family life, love life, work life, financial life, church life....anything that pertains to you, pertains to Him. If you have accepted Him as your Heavenly Father, you have entered into an everlasting, holy covenant. 

It is a difficult to do these things. I, for one, have struggled with it immensely. Only by God's grace am I here today. He has claimed me! I am His princess. My relationship with Him is a larger part of my identity than my very name. He has all of me! Heart, mind, soul, body.