The battle for purity is a massive battle in our culture, isn’t it?  My phone dings frequently with cries for help from men of all ages.  My email box is often the same way.  No one is exempt from the battle! As Adrian Rogers says, “Don’t think you are above sexual temptations — you would have to be stronger than Samson, Godlier than David, and wiser than Solomon.”  Obviously, we should all be on guard. 

Here are four purity steps you should take today!

1. You should pray for a clean heart and a right spirit (see Psalm 51:10).  David asked God to ‘create’ in him a clean heart.  Create is a strong word.  It has the idea of making it brand new.  Pray for that.  God is able to help us to be clean and to keep our spirit right.  I suggest you pray that every day, and maybe several times throughout the day.  Here is another step you can take:

2. You should plan for success by hiding God’s Word in your heart.  To hide is to treasure or to reserve. The word heart, of course, is your thoughts, emotions, and decisions.  Make sure you have verses on reserve — verses you can reference so that your thoughts will be clean, your emotions will be controlled, and your decisions will be based on Godly character.  Read, memorize, and meditate on specific truths from God’s Word. This will give you strength and power!

3. You should prepare in advance for battle. This is a war, and I am sure you’ve heard this statement: the best defense is a good offense.  Be on the offense!  Attack the enemy while you are strong and continually strengthen your position when it is easy to do so. For instance, I frequently read books about purity.  I pray daily about purity.  I have strong filters on my internet-connected devices and I have them sent to partners who are engaged in my life.  I listen to sermons about purity.  I think ahead and plan ahead for the times that I know might be prone to temptations.  Remember that it is much easier to overcome if we have prepared for victory in advance of the temptation.

4. You should persuade others to join you.  We are not called to “do life” alone, but to enjoy Godly relationships.  For those of us who are married, we can build purity with our spouse.  For you who are single, you can build purity with good friends and mentors.  In fact, all of us should pursue Godly friendships — friends who love us and with whom we can be honest and open and with whom we can pray and who will help us to grow and win.  We need the local church and we need relationships within our church family. The writer of Hebrews (in 10:24) says that we should “consider one another to provoke one another to love and good works.”  To consider one another includes the idea of getting to know one another.  Simply put, we need each other!  We need to work on Godly friendships and then pray for each other and strengthen each other. We need to include others in our battle! Is there anyone you could connect with today? Anyone you could encourage? Anyone you could strengthen?  We are called of God (even commanded) to do so!

What steps are helping you to win?  What steps could you take to help someone else?  I would love to hear from you.

Do you need help?  If so, reach out and let me know.  My personal email is dave@evangelistdaveyoung.com.  

As always, thanks for reading.

Your sincere friend,

Dave Young