August 25, 2020
No one is exempt from temptations and the pull of sin.
I recently heard a message from Alistair Begg titled "How to Maintain a Passion for Purity". I have gone back and listened to the message again and I'd like to share my notes with you from his program. I think his Biblically based ideas are beneficial to all of us as we try to follow Christ more devoutly. He said many greats fall in the area of moral purity. He says it is a slow steady leakage but one that finds you out and takes you down. May this review of his message be an encouragement to you to STAY STRONG in our Lord's ways.
The scripture used for his points were Proverbs 6, 7, and 24. You might benefit from going and reading them now.
To maintain moral purity:
1. Cherish the Word of God - cherish:to value, prize, lay hold of, to possess, to adore
- Psalm 119:97 "O how I love your Law. I meditate on it all day long."
2. Stay awake and alert
- the young man in Pv. 7 failed to use good judgment, was living in carelessness
- I Peter 5:8 Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. 9. Resist him, firm in your faith,...
3. Make choices in advance and on the basis of God's Word
- good decisions can't be made 'on the fly' in the heat of the moment
- make decisions about your behavior before they need made, before you go on the date or to the event, before the problem confronts you
- Ps. 119:106 Then I shall not be put to shame, having my eyes fixed on all your commandments.
4. Determine to live your life in the center of the narrow way and not on the edge when it comes to moral purity.
- have an absolute act of determination to stay on the narrow way. This is unlike the young man in Pv. 7 who walked toward evil and sin.
5. Walk in the light and live with the children of the light
-I Thes. 5:5,6 tells us we are children of the light. We are to keep awake and be sober. We are not of the night or the darkness.
6. Don't be naive of sins appeal and power
-sin is a predator crouching at your door. It desires to have you. You must master it! Don't be like the foolish young man in Pv. 7
7. Live with eternity in view.
- Philippians 4:8 Whatever is true, honorable, just, pure, lovely, commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things.
-Philippians 2:15 ... so you may become blameless and pure, children of God without fault in a crooked and depraved generation, in which you shine like stars in the universe.
I am so very thankful for God's love and His wonderful Word to guide us!!
BUT when the plant matures those pods are not nice at all!!
They are very frustrating! The ends are sharp and catch in everything they can get a hold of. The are horrible in your horses tail or on your boots. What looked like a harmless little attractive plant turned into a nightmare problem. 
