Pure and Blameless

 

So, here I am early on a Saturday morning, with something burning deeply in my heart. Sleep won’t come because this thought is burrowing into my spirit.

Pure and blameless. Pure and blameless. Pure and blameless!

No catchy title, no eloquent wording. Just pure and blameless. This isn't a topic that typically attracts readers, but I will leave that in the Lord's hands.

Last night, I was crying out to God for the heaviness I was feeling due to recent revelations of moral failures among prominent Ministry leaders.

For the last few weeks, I have been studying Philippians, and last night I opened my Bible to Philippians again. It’s a small book, but twice it uses the phrase, pure and blameless. Those three words just jumped out at me.

Philippians 1:9-11,  And this is my prayer: that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight, 10 so that you may be able to discern what is best and may be pure and blameless for the day of Christ, 11 filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ—to the glory and praise of God.

Philippians 2:14-15, Do everything without grumbling or arguing, 15 so that you may become blameless and pure, “children of God without fault in a warped and crooked generation.”

I feel this so deeply in my spirit; it’s like a fire burning in my belly, an inner groaning of wanting to personally walk in greater purity and blamelessness, and also wanting to see the Church walk in greater purity and blamelessness. I have been praying and interceding for purity of heart and purity of mind in my own life and in the lives of other Christ followers.

Being in Christian ministry has its challenges and can be very difficult at times. The wider your audience, the larger the target on your back. The attacking arrows come from the enemy of our souls and also from sideline critics.

Satan's strategy is to kill, steal, and destroy, and he will do anything within his power to stop the work of expanding the kingdom of God. He deceivingly distracts and destroys the work of ministry by enticing leaders with power, influence, success, and many other fleshly desires.

It is not my job or anybody else’s job to judge a person‘s heart; that is up to God. However, when we see a person’s actions that don’t line up with the word of God, then we can tell by their fruit whether or not they are walking in purity and blamelessness.

My heart is grieved by what I see happening in the Church today. The division in the Church does not bless God's heart. We are divided by political beliefs, social justice, theology, and denominations. Social media has created a platform for divisive slander and finger-pointing. I personally feel that unless we are actively involved in a situation, we should be very careful with our words, because we have no way of knowing what is true and what is being misconstrued in the scandalmongering of social media.

By no means am I condoning inappropriate, immoral behavior, especially in the church. Church leaders are actually held to a higher standard and will be judged more harshly by God. But I want to be extremely careful that I do not get involved with slandering someone when I have no idea if the allegations are accurate or true.

Pure and blameless. Pure and blameless. Pure and blameless!

Lord...

May our motives be pure and blameless.

May our discernment be pure and blameless.

May our ministries be pure and blameless.

May our personal lives, our thoughts, and how we spend our time be pure and blameless.

May the way we deal with accolades, followers, and platforms be pure and blameless.

May our thoughts, words, and deeds be pure and blameless.

May we exercise sexual integrity, guarding our hearts, our minds, and our actions, being pure and blameless before you, Lord.

May we put before our eyes no vile thing...being totally, completely, pure and blameless before you.

Oh God, we need more of you. We need more time on our knees and less time arguing, pontificating, judging, and finger-pointing. God, make us desperate for you and purify us to be the perfect, spotless Bride that you are coming back for.