Monday, December 14, 2015

Dear Young Christian:

We all seem to be concerned about purity these days. We want to make sure our drinking water is pure, so we buy it in bottles; we want to breathe purer air, so there are emission controls; we want our food to be pure, so we look for the sign that says, “organic.”

But what about personal, moral purity? In First Timothy we have the word “pure” four times:

“A pure heart” (1 Timothy 1:5).

“A pure conscience” (1 Timothy 3:9).

“Be thou an example of the believers…in purity” (1 Timothy 4:12).

“Keep thyself pure” (1 Timothy 5:22).

How much is it true in your life? The Lord doesn’t want a mixture of good and bad; righteousness and unrighteousness; uprightness and deceit. No, He wants “pure religion and undefiled before God and the Father” (James 1:27).

Your Christian Friend,

Jim Hyland

We would love to hear from you. Send your comments or questions to jhyland@primus.ca