February 13
“Watch over your heart with all diligence, for from it flows the springs of life. Put away from you a deceitful mouth, and put devious lips far from you. Let your eyes look directly ahead, and let your gaze be fixed straight in front of you. Watch the path of your feet, and all your ways will be established. Do not turn to the right nor to the left. Turn your foot from evil.” Proverbs 4:23-27
We have been talking about purity of heart and what a key part this plays in our victory over sin. We discussed the goal of not having any impure thoughts plague our minds, and we discussed a few ways to try to achieve and preserve this state (crying out to God for victory and not exposing ourselves to evil ideas, images, and enticements). Today we will reinforce the need to maintain this purity of heart, this integrity, this holiness. It can easily be lost if we are not careful what we put into our minds.
This is especially crucial in today’s society when we have the enticements of the internet continually bombarding us. What man has not been tempted when looking at the news or email and seeing pictures of women’s cleavage or other provocative pictures? If you allow yourself to get ensnared by this, there is no end to the depths of depravity just a few finger motions away. It takes great purity of heart and Spirit-given determination to keep ourselves from these evils. They are closing in from everywhere, it seems, and it feels very repressive indeed.
If you are plagued by these evil enticements, if you are longing to be free from these deceitful allurements, then recognize that your holiness and purity in Christ are far more highly prized than you have been valuing them, and that you must seek these from the Lord earnestly until you find them. And then you must maintain them by eliminating even the opportunity to view websites that you should not (there is software and accountability tools to help with this, get them!). You must recognize that when Christ gives you a time of victory, it is like a flower in a way in that it is fragile and must be nurtured and protected.
Only by the power of the Holy Spirit can we keep away from sin. Only by regularly, daily, seeking Him and quickly confessing our sins, only by viewing His holiness as a very precious gift that we cannot do without and will not let go of, can we maintain it. This is my view of it, anyway. Ask God to take away desires from evil, ask Him to give you a heart that only desires His righteousness. Ask Him to show you what you can do to keep your heart pure. Ask Him to help you guard your heart diligently. Ask Him to keep you on the narrow path, to make you walk it, to give big warnings if we begin to stray, and to even force you to not stray. Ask Him to do whatever it takes to keep you on the right path. Make purity of heart one of the highest priorities of your life, and you will find it, and you will find relief from nagging, besetting sins.