MAKE ME PURE – NOT YET                               1 Corinthians 6:12-20

“For you were bought at a price; therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God’s.” (v20)

So often we are willing to stretch a meaning to gain a point to misquote if the misquotation serves an end, to exaggerate in order to impress. What could be behind this looseness with the truth? All too frequently we believe a lie is justifiable. But it is not. We remind ourselves once again of the importance of the truth. Lets look at the (2) second of the five questions pointed out yesterday. Have I been impure? The question of purity is fundamental; if our life flounders at this point it will probably flounder all down the line. This matter of purity seems to be an interesting problem in today’s church. Many Christians are in danger of settling for secular standards rather than scriptural ones. I remember needing to address a church official on one occasion with some evidence of serious impurity. As he threw himself down into the chair in front of me he said, ‘I am not a man of the gutter.” While nobody is pure and we all stumble at times, we need to be quick to confess and return with a dependent attitude and heart. This is a good moment perhaps to look into our own hearts and ask: Am I a pure person? Do I allow my mind to dwell on things that blunt my awareness of Jesus’ presence in my life? If so, then repent of that tendency now. Don’t adopt the attitude of St. Augustine who once prayed along the lines of “Lord, make me pure, but not just yet.”

PRAYER LINE: Lord Jesus, You who were of pure mind pure habits, pure acts, I surrender my whole being afresh to You today. Cleanse me of anything unwholesome and make my heart a place in which You can be at home. Amen (EDWJ)

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Make me pure now O Lord.