At the Well

Today's "At the Well" is being hosted by:

Tracy @ Thirsty For Him

be sure to stop by Tracy's blog to for more encouragement on purity

Today's Topic is:
"Purity - Being Set Apart From the World"

Titus 2 calls us "to be self-controlled and pure...so that no one will malign the word of God."
Discussion Questions:

1. How do we teach the next generation (both our daughters and other young Christian women) how to live a life of purity WITHOUT falling into legalistic rules, or on the other hand, to slip into a worldly mindset, teetering on impurity?
2. How do we live, as Jesus said, "in the world" without being "of the world"?
3. How is the word of God maligned when we aren't living in purity?

My personality is mainly a concrete type. I see things in black or white, I am not very creative or spontaneous, but like to have guidelines and directions. After first reading the above verse in Titus, purity became a desire for my life as a Christian. Since I tend to be peaceable and follow directions, I did not have trouble with this. In fact I went overboard and went through a stage of "purity" in dressing where I dressed only in dresses but it was only for appearance sake, but this was done only because others were doing it. Later I realized that was not the right reason to be holy and that holiness is an inside work, not something that can be taken off and on.
Through growth and maturity in the Lord, I realize that purity is an attitude of the heart which reflects itself in actions, words and attitudes. The Bible points us to holiness and to "be holy because the Lord is holy". Our God is righteous and holy above all and as His children when we love Him, we desire to be more like Him.
Obedience to God's ways is a heart issue. When we want to be obedient, we look for things that will please God. These things are our relationships with others, the manner that we dress, speak, the attitudes we reflect. When our hearts are obedient we tend to look for the good in things. The more we practice seeking God's will, the more aware we will become to what is good and righteous. Our eyes and ears will be sensitive to what we see or look upon or hear and listen to and the distinguished marker of these things is "will this be pleasing to our Lord?"
To teach our children these things, it is most important to read the have them grasp that God has ordained purity, it is not a whim or a rule from us as parents. This is God's plan for His people. I find it easy to put a lot of rules and restrictions on worldly things, but that is not completely correct. Since we are living in the world, the children are exposed to ungodliness and evil every day. They need to recognize these things and be prepared to "depart from evil and choose good." Again the heart issue comes into play - why obey? It needs to be ingrained into our families, not for show but from the heart. Prayer is a vital link to keeping our hearts focused and pure.
As Christians we are called to be "peculiar" or different. I like to think of this as not the run of the mill, but extraordinary. Not to bring attention to ourselves, but that people see something different in us that draws them to seek Christ. As we go into the world each day, let's take some of our Lord's attitudes - the fruit of the Spirit with us and shine for Him.