Staying pure in your singleness!

I have been reading a book called “Hero” written by Fred Stoeker. It has been a Godsend. It has really challenged me concerning my purity! This is not a review of the book. I want to encourage you to read it if you are single especially if you are a man! It is up there with books like “Boy meets girl”, and “I kissed dating goodbye” by Joshua Harris. (I am biased towards Joshua Harris because I am still to find a book on dating I have enjoyed as much as his books!)

But this is why I am writing this post, because I HAVE found a book that is as good as or even better than the books I have read! As I read “Hero” purity was and is on my mind. Do we really understand what purity is in the context of life and relationships??

The first thought that came to mind was singleness. What is God’s purpose for singleness? Why does He allow us to go through a season of singleness? Singleness is not a time of nothing! It is not the “trailer before the movie”! God has specific purposes and plans for us in our season of singleness! After reading “Hero” I am convinced one of those purposes is to understand what purity is and walk in that understanding!

After reading “Hero” I made a decision:

I will fight for my sexual purity with all that I have! I will not allow the enemy to take it away through his deception and lies! It is my responsibility as a man to take up my sword and fight for my purity! It’s a gift from God which honors Him and will bless my wife! I will not wait for someone else down the line in my family who is more disciplined and who loves God more to fight this fight because I am weak! It stops here….. I will fight for the future generations! I am the one God has called to fight this giant and strike down with His help of course!

Purity is more than abstaining from sex before you get married! Let me show you what I think it is now:

1. It is about watching what you watch! Stop watching those illicit movies! Pornography has to go! What are you watching?

I DICTATED a covenant (an agreement) to my eyes; how then could I look [lustfully] upon a girl? Job 31:1

Job had to make a covenant with his eyes so he could stay pure and we need to do the same! When it comes to purity we can’t play games! It’s a war against anything and everything that will threaten it.

 

2. For the weapons of our warfare are not physical [weapons of flesh and blood], but they are mighty before God for the overthrow and destruction of strongholds, [inasmuch as we] refute arguments and theories and reasoning’s and every proud and lofty thing that sets itself up against the [true] knowledge of God; and we lead every thought and purpose away captive into the obedience of Christ (the Messiah, the Anointed One).  2 Corinthians 10:4-5

Being able to control your thoughts is what purity is all about. After reading “Hero” I realized I had mindsets and thoughts I had adopted from the media which were wrong and not biblical. They had to be torn down and that process is still happening! Bring thoughts that have exalted themselves against Christ.

 

3. I have addressed what you should do with your eyes and your mind. Purity means making a covenant with your eyes by watching what you watch. It is being careful what you think about. Every thought must be brought captive to the obedience of Christ. The next thing is watching what you say.

A man’s [moral] self shall be filled with the fruit of his mouth; and with the consequences of his words he must be satisfied [whether good or evil]. Death and life are in the power of the tongue, and they who indulge in it shall eat the fruit of it [for death or life] Proverbs 18:20-21

Put away from you false and dishonest speech, and willful and contrary talk put far from you. Proverbs 4:24

What’s the point if you have decided to watch what you watch and watch what enters your mind when you have a filthy mouth so to speak? It doesn’t add up. Life and death are in the power of the tongue so are you using it to give life or are you killing with that tongue of yours???? Being pure means being able to control how you speak, it means dispensing life with your words!

 

This is the final point:

Keep and guard your heart with all vigilance and above all that you guard, for out of it flows the springs of life. Proverbs 4:23

Guard your heart with all that you have! If your heart gets corrupted you will find yourself in a whole heap of trouble! How do you guard your heart?

You guard it by analyzing everything you allow. Everything should be tested. Don’t believe everything, don’t listen to everyone, measure everything according to the word of God! Is the heart pure?? I don’t know! But the one thing we can do is guard it.

 

It looks like there is a lot of work to do in the season of singleness!  It’s an important season of your life. Use the time you have wisely! You won’t be single forever. That is what I think purity is now and that is all thanks to “Hero” the book I read. As I read it purity began to become clear to me! It was then that it dawned on me we have a lot of work to do in our singleness! I hope you will get a copy of the book if you haven’t read it. With that said, please have a great weekend!

Rolain

The “Acre of Diamonds” principle.

There are only a handful of people that have not read “Acre of diamonds”. It’s really an amazing story. If I would summarise it I would say it’s about a farmer who never knew what he had in his own backyard. He sells his farm so he can pursue a rumor about diamonds but eventually kills himself because he can’t can’t find them. The new owner finds a strange rock the size of an egg only to find that it’s a diamond. Apparently the farm was filled with diamonds!!! If only the previous owner had looked at what he had first before looking outwardly.

A lot of us do that as well. We always look to the outside for answers, for solutions and so on. Don’t get me wrong, we need advice from people. We need each other. In fact, the word says in the multitude of counselors there is safety. What i am talking about is taking responsibility for your life. No one else is responsible for you. Stop blaming other people for where you are. Stop using other people as an excuse to do nothing. You have so much in you. God has given you so much. You just have to open your eyes. Ask God to show you what He has given you. You’d be surprised at the things He shows you.

Lets look at a very interesting portion of scripture. This is where i have taken the “acre of diamonds” principle. The scripture is in Proverbs 21:20:
There are precious treasures and oil in the dwelling of the wise, but a self-confident and foolish man swallows it up and wastes it.

If you are wise there are precious treasures and oil in your dwelling. Do you know that? It may not seem like but its true.
What this scripture is saying is, precious treasures come our way. God blesses us all with these treasures but the wise man knows what to do with them. In fact, the thing that makes a wise man wise in this context is that he can recognise the treasure. And because he can recognise it he knows how to use it. That’s what makes him wise.
So let me ask you this, as you read this are things coming to mind? Maybe it could be a course that you did. It could be a degree or diploma that is just sitting gathering dust at home. Maybe you have a gift that you don’t use that could actually be the answer to your prayer. Maybe you have influence with people but you don’t recognise it. Maybe you have a vehicle that could be used for God’s glory. The list goes on and on. The point is this, what are you doing with what God has given you. Its a fact that He has given you “precious treasures and oil”. It all just boils down to what you doing with it.
When i got this revelation i looked at my life and realised that there were a lot of “precious treasures and oil” that He had given me that i could use. I realised how i didn’t see them the same way God saw them. God saw them as “precious treasures” and i saw them as “those things”. We need to change the way we view God’s blessings. Familiarity will make us lose the importance of what has been given to us. Kill familiarty at all costs. It will short circuit Gods blessing in our life.

Lets move to the last part of that scripture which says:
“but a self confident and foolish man swallows it up and wastes it”.

The thing that seperates a wise man and a foolish man is what they do with what they know. And this last portion shows us that. A foolish man will waste his “treasure and oil”. There is a good chance that he hasn’t got the faintest idea what is in his hands. He has not got a revelation of what he has been given. And that is why he swallows it up and wastes it.
Don’t waste the talent God has given you. Don’t waste the gifts He has blessed you with. Don’t waste the “treasure and oil” He has given you.
You have a choice to make today. You can either use your “treasure and oil” to accomplish your destiny or you can swallow and waste what God has given you. The choice is yours. Don’t be like Esau who never realised what he had. He was the first born which meant he would inherit the best of what his father owned. But he threw it away all because he was hungry! This is what the word says: Then Jacob gave Esau bread and stew of lentils, and he ate and drank and rose up and went his way. Thus Esau scorned his birthright as beneath his notice. Genesis 25:34.
He failed to see and recognise what God had given him and because of that he “scorned” it! That’s what happens when you treat the blessings of God in your life lightly.
As i close i want you to ask God to show you the “precious treasures and oil” he has given you. Ask Him to help you not take it for granted. Ask Him to give you a revelation of how important a role they play in your life.
So what you going to choose? I pray you make the right one today.
Make the right decision today.

God bless

Rolain.P