The Purifying Challenge

by Charlene

It amazes me how we have been allowing ourselves to be exposed to so many wicked things in the world. That exposure is dangerous in our spiritual life. Many of you may say, "we are adults and we are mature enough to handle it," but is that what the Bible says? The Bible tells us to be like children, and that also means to flee from wicked things and keep ourselves pure.

Pornography is on a high rise nowadays, even amongst Christians. It is amazing how many avoid the subject or even say there is nothing wrong with pornography. That is downright false.

Here are some statistical facts from Christianity Today magazine:

-51% of you say porn is a temptation
-37% of you say it's currently a struggle.
-53% of you have visited porn sites in the past year.
-18% of you look at porn a couple times a month.
-30% of you do not talk to anyone about your dirty little secret.
- 4 in 10 of you looked at porn today.

God makes it clear that adultery is looking at another woman lustfully. God even goes to the maximum extreme and says it is better for us to cut out our eyes and our limb if it is causing us to continue in that sin. That does not sound like a God that is okay with pornography.

Jesus said;

"You have heard that it was said, 'Do not commit adultery'. But I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart. If your right eye causes you to sin, gouge it out and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to be thrown into hell. And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to go into hell" (Matthew 5:27-30).

We are to remain pure and to be sanctified in the Lord. We also need to keep our surroundings pure.

The Bible tells us not to look at wicked things. That includes pornography, movies, magazines, pictures, and so forth. These things are present in our daily lives. What steps are we doing to ensure they are not welcome in our lives?

"I will set no wicked thing before mine eyes: I hate the work of them that turn aside; it shall not cleave to me."Psalm 101:3

Many movies and television shows nowadays show sexuality, homosexuality, adultery, violence, and wicked things in the sight of the Lord. I strongly urge you to take a look at your movie collection and evaluate your regular shows whether they would be pleasing to the Lord or not.

(Example: My friend threw away her movie, Lilo and Stitch, because they showed cross dressing as a positive, cute thing.)

(Example: I stopped watching Project Runway and a soap opera that showed homosexual characters in it.)

We also need to be on guard by what we hear. We may listen to cussing in movies and actors using the Lord's name in vain. We may hear ungodly things on the radio and even from our own friends. We need to avoid these things and guard our hearts and mind!

I felt prompted today by the Lord to create a purification challenge for all of us. God wants us to draw nigh to him and to cleanse and purify ourselves.

"Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double minded." James 4:7-8

Notice the beginning of the verse above? First, we are to submit ourselves to God. That is the only way we would ever accomplish any of this.


The Purifying Challenge

1. I challenge you to go through your movie collection and consider each one carefully. Is there something in the movie that would not please God? I want you to make separate two piles: one for movies that are good and one for movies that contain wickedness in it and throw it away. I do not suggest giving it to someone else because we do not want to pass impure things on to them.

2. Do the same steps above with your CDs and tape cassettes. Evaluate your music collection. Do they cuss, sing about evil things, sexual things, violence, or anything ungodly? Do they sing about things we know isn't aligned with the Bible and God's word? Throw away & again, do not pass it on.

3. Evaluate your blogs, MySpace pages, Facebook pages and websites. Do you have anything impure there that you know wouldn't be pleasing to the Lord? Eliminate those contents and avoid websites with wicked advertisements. (*Tip You can use Mozilla Firefox as your browser and add the AdBlocker Add-On)

4. Go through your house and look for magazines, pictures, clothing and items that are ungodly and impure. Does it have inappropriate pictures, advertisements, content on clothing, or anything of that sort? I encourage you to throw it away.

5. Is there a place you visit that a Christian shouldn't be caught in? Perhaps it is a bar, a store, a club, and so forth that has wicked surroundings. We should not be in the world for God has called us OUT of the world. We should not fellowship in darkness, but rather light. I challenge you to avoid these places. It will be hard and your friends might mock you for this but we are to be steadfast in the Lord.

I know this may seem alarming to many of you about throwing your things away. Many of you may have an extensive movie collection, a rock album collection, or a favorite magazine collection. I know this is a sacrifice, but I guarantee it will be well worth it. That's why this is called a challenge.

Whatsoever offends God, should offend thee as well.

"Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me." Psalm 51:10

I pray you will take this next step and go further in your walk with God than you ever have before.

So take the challenge today and spread the word to your friends. Let's all do what's right in the eyes of the Lord.

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Charlene is a deaf mom of two boys, one being hard of hearing. Her heart for God shines through her life and she has the 'law of kindness' in her words. She has her Bachelors Degree in Social and Behavioral Sciences, writes for AGMinistries, and you can read more about her at 'Bring on the Rain'.

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