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Purity of Heart
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Psalm 119:9 How can young people keep their way pure? By guarding it according to your word.
Listen to the radio broadcast of Purity of Heart
Download audio fileIf you’re a parent, you’ll know what it’s like to experience conflict with your children. If I had a penny or a rupee or a cent for every time I’ve said to my kids, “all I want is the best for you” I’d be a very wealthy man.
Here’s how the conflict happens. They do something that you know is wrong; something you know is going to hurt them. So, you step in. As their parent, you have wisdom, you have insight, you have experience to guide them in the right direction. But they resent that, because, as the saying goes, you can’t put an old head on young shoulders.
Children tend to view the discipline of their parents as something negative. It’s not until they grow up that they can look back and see how the wisdom and the discipline of their parents has made them who they are today.
And, you know, the same is true in our relationship with God. We so often resent the fact that there is a handful of things of which He says to us, “don’t do them”. Why? Because He has wisdom that we don’t, and just as we did when we were teenagers, we want to rebel against the wisdom of our Father. Am I right?
So what’s the answer to that? I think, it’s a change of heart on our part. It’s coming to the mature position of recognising that God’s ways are the best ways. That if I keep myself to His ways, then I’m going to have a better life. I’ll be more of a blessing. I’ll have fewer hassles. And even when I’m travelling through the odd wilderness experience here and there – as we all do – I’ll be better able to deal with that.
Take for instance the wisdom of a parent to a child who’s moving from teenage into adult years. Wisdom about sexual propriety. These days kids all want to sleep around. But any parent filled with just a bit of godly wisdom knows how dangerous, how painful and how harmful that is to their child.
How can young people keep their way pure? By guarding it according to your word. (Psalm 119:9)
Sexual desire is a very strong desire. We all have very strong desires, young or old, but not all of those desires are good ones. Not all of our apparently natural desires are beneficial. Some of them are downright harmful and destructive. Selfishness, envy, immorality. There’s quite a list of things we know are bad for us.
But how do we keep our ways pure? By guarding them according to God’s Word. By being in the Bible, day after day, and gleaning the wisdom and frankly, also, the incredible Holy Spirit power, to steer clear of those destructive ways.
That’s God’s Word. Fresh … for you … today.
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