Lord, keep me pure!

Lord, keep me pure!

The teenage boys, athletes and good students from respected families, are on trial for rape. A football coach in their small town had a pre-season party where alcohol was provided. A young intoxicated girl was raped. About a dozen boys talked about what they had seen, posting a 12 minute video of their conversation on Facebook.  Sickeningly, they had no compassion for the young girl. They lauded the boys who raped her with language too lewd to repeat here.  “They’re good kids,” everybody says, and I suppose they are.  On the same day I read that story, another about a pastor in Arizona came to light.  The respected leader of a large church is being sued for seducing women in his office when they came to him for counsel.  One man, with two very different sides!  To most he appeared a genuinely caring shepherd, but in private he was a predator.

Duplicity stalks us all, doesn’t it?  Even as I struggled to understand good kids who exploited, raped, and celebrated their violence; even as I wrestled with the tragic dimensions of the pastor predator story, I had to admit that sin is very much alive in me, too.  And, hopefully you know that sin lays in wait to ambush you, as well! To deny that we are capable of disobeying God’s law, to tell ourselves that we are somehow better than others, above temptation, too good to fail, is a setup for failure. The Bible gives this two-fold direction to us: "If another Christian is overcome by some sin, you who are godly should gently and humbly help that person back onto the right path. And be careful not to fall into the same temptation yourself." (Galatians 6:1, NLT)

Every Christian deals with temptations, some grossly offensive, others more hidden sins of self.  Paul writes, "I truly delight in God’s commands, but it’s pretty obvious that not all of me joins in that delight. Parts of me covertly rebel, and just when I least expect it, they take charge. I’ve tried everything and nothing helps. I’m at the end of my rope. Is there no one who can do anything for me? Isn’t that the real question?" (Romans 7:22-24, The Message)  Sounds hopeless, doesn’t it?  The story doesn’t end there, however,  "Thank God! The answer is in Jesus Christ our Lord. So you see how it is: In my mind I really want to obey God’s law, but because of my sinful nature I am a slave to sin. So now there is no condemnation for those who belong to Christ Jesus. For the power of the life-giving Spirit has freed you through Christ Jesus from the power of sin that leads to death." (Romans 7:25-8:2, NLT)

Overcoming temptation and living a life of integrity is not for wimps!  It requires unwavering honesty with ourselves before the Lord.  All kinds of sin gains a foothold when we live in ignorance of our true desires or when we suppress them under layers of superficial morality. Healing begins when we look at our longings, our unmet needs, our desires and expectations through the eyes of Christ.  Purity requires openness, before God, before others, too.  Nothing breaks the power of temptation like dragging it into the light.  Purity comes when we invite the Spirit to draw us near to the Heart of God, regularly. 

If we would be the ‘salt and light’ that Jesus asks His disciples to be, we cannot escape this world to live behind the walls of the church or separate communities. We must engage our world, but doing so means we walk in the mire, that we get our hands dirty in ministry of His grace.  But, if we are committed to purity and responsive to the Spirit,  we will be "blameless and pure, children of God without fault in a crooked and depraved generation, in which you shine like stars in the universe as you hold out the word of life." (Philippians 2:15-16, NIV)

Here’s the word from the Word. "Who can say, “I have kept my heart pure; I am clean and without sin”? (Proverbs 20:9, NIV)  So we pray together, "Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me. Do not cast me from your presence or take your Holy Spirit from me. Restore to me the joy of your salvation and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me." (Psalm 51:10-12, NIV)

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A Pure Heart

A pure heart that's what I long for,

A heart that follows hard after Thee.

A pure heart that's what I long for,

A heart that follows hard after Thee.

A heart that hides Your Word

So that sin will not come in;

A heart that's undivided,

And one You rule and reign.

A heart that beats compassion,

That pleases You, my Lord,

A sweet aroma of worship,

That rises to Your throne.

Rusty Nelson

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