80 Sermon Illustrations on Purity

A woman from Berne, Switzerland, tells us this story of her country's flower, the edelweiss. The very name of this plant is a story in itself. Edelweiss is a compound word which in the German means "noble and white." It is a small perennial herb of the aster family whose pure white blossom must be sought after, since it nestles in the highest snowy crags of the Alps. It is so absolutely white that it blends perfectly with its environment, losing its identifying characteristics completely in its surroundings. Even when picked and pressed in paper for preservation, it remains free from discoloration for many years. If we would be like the edelweiss, we must keep ourselves pure and noble, striving to attain the heights with God. Then, as He keeps us pure in heart and motive, He will enable us to accept with humility the loss of our own status in the scope of His larger landscape. A Pure Heart A girl in Sunday school had read the Beatitudes in Matthew. She was asked which of the things mentioned she would most like to have. She said, "A pure heart." When asked why she preferred that, she said, "If my heart were pure, I believe I would have all the other virtues mentioned in this chapter." The Healthy Eye What our Savior wanted to teach by the analogy of the eye and the lamp is that everything we see depends on the condition of the lamp. If the lamp is dim, we won't see very clearly. If our eye is dim, diseased, the whole body will be darkened. Similarly, if the lamp is burning brightly, we see things as they are. We recognize the books upon the table and the photographs upon the wall. But if the lamp is flickering or smoky, everything is distorted or obscured; so it is with the eye. If we are color-blind, we cannot see the glorious redness of the rose. If we are nearsighted, we cannot see the friend who is signaling to us from a little distance. If we suffer from impending cataracts, we cannot clearly distinguish a friend sitting next to us. Still, the rose is red, though we cannot see it in our color blindness. Still, the friend is waving to us or seated by our side. There is nothing the matter with reality. The trouble is that we are seeing badly. Now the Lord tells us that the eye can be either single (healthy), or it can be evil. As the eye brings good or evil impressions to the body so the heart of man is that organ by which the spiritual self is enlightened. The heart can be single or evil.

The unicorn is described as a ferocious beast; having the body of a horse, the head of a deer, the tail of a boar, the feet of an elephant, the voice of a bull, and a large black horn in the middle of its forehead. No hunter dares face it, as it would either pierce them with its horn, or, throwing itself from some precipice, would fall upon its horn, and thus escape unharmed. An innocent young virgin was placed in the monster's way. When he saw her, he approached reverently, lay down beside her, put his head in her lap, fell asleep, and was thus captured. What bravery and strength cannot do is accomplished by weakness and purity.

Heart. "The pure in heart" are they whose hearts God hath "purified even as he is pure;" who are purified, through faith in the blood of Jesus, from every unholy affection; who, being "cleansed from all filthiness of flesh and spirit, perfect holiness in the love and fear of God." They are, through the power of his grace, purified from pride by the deepest poverty of spirit; from anger, from every unkind or turbulent passion, by meekness and gentleness; from every desire but to please and enjoy God, to know and love him more and more, by that hunger and thirst after righteousness which now engrosses their whole soul: so that now they love the Lord their God with all their heart and with all their soul and mind and strength. J. Wesley.

I would have you attend to the full significance and extent of the term "holy." It is not abstinence from outward deeds of profligacy alone; it is not a mere recoil from impurity in thought. It is that quick and sensitive delicacy to which even the very conception of evil is offensive; it is a virtue which has its residence within, which takes guardianship of the heart, as of a citadel or inviolated sanctuary, in which no wrong or worthless imagination is permitted to dwell. It is not purity of action that we contend for: it is exalted purity of heart, the ethereal purity of the third heaven; and, if it is at once settled in the heart, it brings the peace, the triumph, and the untroubled serenity of heaven along with it, I had almost said, the pride of a great moral victory over the infirmities of an earthly and accursed nature. There is a health and harmony in the soul; a beauty, which, though it effloresces in the countenance and the outward path, is itself so thoroughly internal as to make purity of heart the most distinctive evidence of a work of grace in time, the most distinctive guidance of a character that is ripening and expanding for the glories of eternity. Chalmers.

What cards are in your catalog?

In that place between wakefulness and dreams, I found myself in the room. There were no distinguishing features save for the one wall covered with small index-card files. They were like the ones in libraries that list titles by author or subject in alphabetical order. But these files, which stretched from floor to ceiling and seemingly endlessly in either direction, had very different headings. As I drew near the wall of files, the first to catch my attention was one that read "Girls I Have Liked". I opened it and began flipping through the cards. I quickly shut it, shocked to realize that I recognized the names written on each one.

And then without being told, I knew exactly where I was. This lifeless room with its small files was a crude catalog system for my life. Here were written the actions of my every moment, big and small, in a detail my memory couldn't match.

A sense of wonder and curiosity, coupled with horror, stirred within me as I began randomly opening files and exploring their content. Some brought joy and sweet memories; others a sense of shame and regret so intense that I would look over my shoulder to see if anyone was watching. A file named "Friends" was next to one marked "Friends I Have Betrayed".

The titles ranged from the mundane to the outright weird. "Books I Have Read", "Lies I Have Told", "Comfort I Have Given", "Jokes I Have Laughed At". Some were almost hilarious in their exactness: "Things I've Yelled at My Brothers." Others I couldn't laugh at: "Things I Have Done in My Anger", "Things I Have Muttered Under My Breath at My Parents". I never ceased to be surprised by the contents. Often there were many more cards than I expected. Sometimes fewer than I hoped.

I was overwhelmed by the sheer volume of the life I had lived. Could it be possible that I had the time in my 20 years to write each of these thousands or even millions of cards? But each card confirmed this truth. Each was written in my own handwriting. Each signed with my signature.

When I pulled out the file marked "Songs I Have Listened To", I realized the files grew to contain their contents. The cards were packed tightly, and yet after two or three yards, I hadn't found the end of the file. I shut it, shamed, not so much by the quality of music, but more by the vast amount of time I knew that file represented.

When I came to a file marked "Lustful Thoughts", I felt a chill run through my body. I pulled the file out only an inch, not willing to test its size, and drew out a card. I shuddered at its detailed content. I felt sick to think that such a moment had been recorded. An almost animal rage broke on me. One thought dominated my mind: "No one must ever see these cards! No one must ever see this room! I have to destroy them!" In an insane frenzy I yanked the file out. Its size didn't matter now. I had to empty it and burn the cards. But as I took it at one end and began pounding it on the floor, I could not dislodge a single card. I became desperate and pulled out a card, only to find it as strong as steel when I tried to tear it.

Defeated and utterly helpless, I returned the file to its slot. Leaning my forehead against the wall, I let out a long, self-pitying sigh. And then I saw it. The title bore "People I Have Shared the Gospel With". The handle was brighter than those around it, newer, almost unused. I pulled on its handle and a small box not more than three inches long fell into my hands. I could count the cards it contained on one hand.

And then the tears came. I began to weep. Sobs so deep that the hurt started in my stomach and shook through me. I fell on my knees and cried. I cried out of shame, from the overwhelming shame of it all. The rows of file shelves swirled in my tear-filled eyes. No one must ever, ever know of this room. I must lock it up and hide the key.

But then as I pushed away the tears, I saw Him. No, please not Him. Not here. Oh, anyone but Jesus. I watched helplessly as He began to open the files and read the cards. I couldn't bear to watch His response. And in the moments I could bring myself to look at His face, I saw a sorrow deeper than my own. He seemed to intuitively go to the worst boxes. Why did He have to read every one?

Finally He turned and looked at me from across the room. He looked at me with pity in His eyes. But this was a pity that didn't anger me. I dropped my head, covered my face with my hands and began to cry again. He walked over and put His arm around me. He could have said so many things. But He didn't say a word. He just cried with me.

Then He got up and walked back to the wall of files. Starting at one end of the room, He took out a file and, one by one, began to sign His name over mine on each card.

"No!" I shouted, rushing to Him. All I could find to say was "No, no," as I pulled the card from Him. His name shouldn't be on these cards. But there it was, written in red so rich, so dark, so alive. The name of Jesus covered mine. It was written with His blood.

He gently took the card back. He smiled a sad smile and began to sign the cards. I don't think I'll ever understand how He did it so quickly, but the next instant it seemed I heard Him close the last file and walk back to my side. He placed His hand on my shoulder and said, "It is finished."

I stood up, and He led me out of the room. There was no lock on its door. There were still cards to be written.

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Josh Harris, Spring 1995 issue of New Attitude magazine

[see also HolwickID #22215]

Jack Van Impe held city-wide crusades until supporters told him he was including too many liberals, or pastors who talked with liberals. He closed in his circle only to find it disappear. He closed down his ministry, wrote a book about the bad experience, and began large meetings again.

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Sermon version:

The desire for purity in the church through separation can get out of hand. The famous evangelist Jack Van Impe saw this happen in his own ministry. Beginning in 1969 he led crusades which reached more than ten million people. In those early days they invited any evangelical church to participate but soon his co-workers began to grumble. They said his united crusades involved “weedy” denominations. So he only allowed Baptists groups to participate. Nazarenes, Methodists, Mennonites and others were banned. His co-workers still were not satisfied. Grace Brethren churches were banned. Then questionable Baptists got axed – Baptist General Conference churches, Conservative Baptists, Free-Will Baptists, etc. Finally, the few independent churches that were left started to ban each other. It got to the point where purity was defined as those who rejected pantsuits, hair over the ears and wire-rimmed glasses.

Attendance at his crusades went from tens of thousands to a few hundred. In 1980 Jack Van Impe quit in disgust. He stopped organizing crusades. With a broken heart he wrote in the Fundamentalist Journal, “The only meaningful label in eternity will be Christian!”

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Another version:

Desire for purity in the church can get out of hand.

Evangelist Jack Van Impe saw this happen in his ministry.

Beginning in 1969 he led crusades which reached more than 10 million people. In the early days he invited any evangelical church to participate. But soon his co-workers began to grumble. They complained about "weedy" denominations taking part. So he allowed only Baptist groups to participate. Nazarenes, Methodists, Mennonites, and others were banned.

Then they began cutting questionable Baptists - Baptist General Conferences, Free-Will Baptists, etc. Finally, the few independent churches who were left started to ban each other. It got to the point where purity was defined as pantsuits, hair over the ears, and wire-rimmed glasses. Attendance at his crusades went from tens of thousands to a few hundred.

In 1980 Jack Van Impe quit in disgust. He stopped organizing crusades. With a broken heart he wrote in a religious magazine: "The only meaningful label in eternity will be 'Christian.'"

A major theme of Leviticus and the entire OT is "holiness."

• "Holy" is what is set apart for God in a special way.

• "Common" is what is ordinary. It is the converse of what is holy.

If something is not holy, then it is common.

Common is divided into clean and unclean.

• "Clean" objects can become holy when they are sanctified.

• "Unclean" objects cannot be sanctified.

HOLY COMMON

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<---- sanctify <---- <---- cleanse <----

holy clean unclean

----> profane ----> ----> pollute ---->

Cleanness is a state intermediate between holiness and uncleanness. Cleanness is the normal condition of most things and persons. The basic meaning of cleanness is purity, but the broader concept approximates our notion of normality. Uncleanness is contagious and incompatible with holiness. Some is permanent (lobsters), some is temporary.

Holiness:

1. Holiness characterizes God.

2. Anyone or anything given to God becomes holy.

3. A person dedicated to the service of God is holy.

There are two aspects of sanctification, a divine act and human actions. Keeping the law is one of the most important duties to demonstrate holiness. Holiness means more than separation to divine service - it means wholeness and completeness.

The New Testament makes full use of the idea of holiness. All Christians are holy, i.e., "saints." This state of holiness must find expression in holy living. Sanctification is expressed through obedience to the standard of teaching. The imitation of God is a theme that unites the ethics of the Old and New Testaments.

Insincere prayer closes the door to answers from God.

St. Augustine lived around A.D. 400. Just before he became a Christian he found himself in a terrible predicament. He wanted to be saved, but he also wanted to keep living in sin with his concubine. As his inner turmoil increased, he would fall on his knees and pray:

"Oh God, make me pure. Please make me pure! But not yet, not yet!"

The First Baptist Church of Granville, Ohio, was expelled from the state convention due to its condoning the homosexual lifestyle and sponsoring a “Gaylesbian Uprising.” This letter defends their actions, the acceptability of homosexuality in the church, and the principle of radical soul freedom:

Interpretation of the Bible is always filtered through “lenses.” The Crusades and slavery were justified from the Bible, Galileo was opposed, and Jews were slaughtered.

Specific texts dealing with homosexuality are discussed. Romans 1:26-27’s injunction concerning homosexuality as “against nature” is contrasted with other acts and conditions said to be against nature by Paul, such as long hair on men. Other passages on homosexuality can be translated various ways. The New Testament speaks of Jesus listening to sinners, and tells of unacceptable people being accepted. Application made to current debate.

Jesus radically re-interpreted the Old Testament and rejected valid Biblical themes in favor of apparently more basic biblical themes. Williamson refers to this as a more authentic interpretation. Loving God (Matt 22:26-37) is the primary principle. An example is given - the parable of the Good Samaritan. Jesus violated Scripture by touching and healing lepers. Jesus believed God not to prevent but to REQUIRE the uncompromising practical love of religious outcasts, even lepers, and this in the face of biblical tradition. Jesus shifts the focus from rules of ritual purity to an ethical commitment to God’s creation. Jesus lived as if notions of purity and defilement are imperfect expressions of God.

The wider religious community rejected Jesus in his day, and they reject the spirit of Jesus in our day. Even if homosexuality IS a sin, we should be gracious toward them because God is gracious toward us. Like the Pharisees in Matthew 23, conservatives lay heavy burdens on homosexuals.

The Billy Graham model for handling conflicts and controversies, with 5 key points:

Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone. - Colossians 4:6 (NIV)

Drawn together during the 1940s through the ministry of Youth for Christ, Billy Graham, Merv Rosell, and a small cadre of gifted young evangelists -- sharing not only sermons and songleaders but also long seasons of prayer and a growing sense of awe at what God was doing through them -- became the surprising leaders of what the editor of United Evangelical Action would by 1952 be calling "one of the greatest outpourings of the Spirit in the nation's history."

Those powerful midcentury revivals, marked by the large evangelistic crusades that swept through scores of American cities during the late 1940s and early 1950s, not only swelled the ranks of a resurgent evangelical movement, but they also helped to make Billy Graham the best known and most respected leader of our century. With Billy Graham's new prominence, however, came increasing criticism. Old friends as well as new enemies began to voice concerns about everything from his theology to his style of preaching.

Well-known figures, of course, are always vulnerable to criticism -- and special scrutiny, it would seem, has frequently been reserved for religious leaders. From Whitefield and Finney to Moody and Sunday, American evangelists have all felt the sting of unfavorable judgments made against them by their contemporaries. Yet few seem either to have understood the importance of criticism or to have developed as constructive a strategy for dealing with it as has Billy Graham.

One of his greatest legacies to those of us who come after him, I am convinced, is the pattern of dealing with criticism that he has practiced with such remarkable consistency across the years. Centered on five key principles, it is a model of Christian charity that evangelical Christians in our day would do well to emulate. I have enumerated below some of the key elements undergirding his approach to ministry and his response to critics.

1. Commit yourself to moral purity.

Richard Baxter, whom J. I. Packer has called "the most outstanding pastor, evangelist and writer on practical and devotional themes that Puritanism produced," opened his seventeenth-century classic, "The Reformed Pastor," with a striking admonition to Christian leaders: "Take heed to yourselves, lest your example contradict your doctrine, and lest you lay such stumbling-blocks before the blind, as may be the occasion of their ruin; lest you unsay with your lives, what you say with your tongues; and be the greatest hinderers of success of our own labors." It is "a fearful thing" to be "an unsanctified preacher."

Few preachers, I suspect, have been as determined to heed Baxter's warning as Billy Graham. Early in his ministry, during the 1948 evangelistic meetings in Modesto, California, he called the members of his team together to discuss ways in which they could fortify themselves more fully against "the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life" (1 John 2:16). As William Martin describes it in his recent biography, "A Prophet with Honor," the Elmer Gantry image attached to American evangelism, which Sinclair Lewis had "assembled from skeletons and scraps found in the closets of real-life evangelists," was well known by Graham. So he asked his colleagues to identify "all the things that have been a stumbling block and a hindrance to evangelists in years past" so that together they might establish effective means of avoiding them.

Out of that discussion emerged the "Modesto Manifesto," as it came to be known, a set of practical guidelines for maintaining moral purity and avoiding even "the appearance of evil" amid the lures of money, sex, and power. ...

The importance of this principle for Graham was underscored once again in the "Amsterdam Affirmation," the 1983 document from the International Conference for Itinerant Evangelists. "We acknowledge our obligation, as servants of God, to lead lives of holiness and moral purity, knowing that we exemplify Christ to the church and to the world"; and "[we pledge, moreover, to be] faithful stewards of all that God gives us [and] to be accountable to others in the finances of our ministry" and to be "honest in reporting our statistics."

We "must study as hard how to live well," Baxter once wrote, "as how to preach well." Many a "tailor goes in rags, that maketh costly clothes for others; and many a cook scarcely licks his fingers, when he hath dressed for others the most costly dishes." God never saved anyone for being "an able preacher," but because the preacher was "justified," "sanctified," and "faithful" in the Master's work. Therefore, "we must take heed," Baxter concluded in a warning that Billy Graham has echoed many times, lest we "mar the work of God by our weakness."

2. Weigh everything against Scripture.

While eager to learn all he can from his critics, Billy Graham's ultimate authority is always the Bible. Early in his ministry, among the pines of the Forest Home conference grounds in California, he came to the rock solid belief that the Bible is the very Word of God. Questions about the authority of Scripture had been troubling the young preacher for weeks. Knowing that the matter must be settled in his mind if he ever hoped to preach with authority and power, he wrestled with his doubts until he was able to pray: "Oh God, I cannot prove certain things. I cannot answer some of the questions my friends are asking. [Yet, here and now I am ready to accept the Bible] by faith as the Word of God."

That simple prayer transformed Graham's ministry -- and convinced him, once for all, of the Bible's absolute authority. Since that special moment at Forest Home, no conviction has marked his ministry more deeply. Across the years, the Bible has remained the foundation for his preaching and the ultimate standard by which he judges both his relationships and the conduct of his evangelistic work.

Some, of course, have interpreted Graham's generous spirit -- evidenced by his willingness to join hands with people of many traditions and backgrounds -- as a sign of weakness or a lack of resolve. Yet, even here, we see that his policy is the result of deep reflection on the Bible's teaching.

Two interesting examples of this principle come to us from the 1957 New York City crusade. "If criticism is a blessing," wrote George Burnham and Lee Fisher in their book Billy Graham and the New York Crusade, "then [Billy Graham] is certainly one of the most blest of men." Charged by those on his theological Left with preaching a gospel "devoid of social emphasis" and by those on his theological Right with "fraternizing with liberals," Graham found himself "caught in the cross fire." His responses in both directions are instructive.

When sharply criticized from the Left by Reinhold Niebuhr, then a well-known faculty member at Union Theological Seminary, for preaching too simplistic a gospel, Billy Graham responded in characteristic fashion, as quoted by Martin: "When Dr. Niebuhr makes his criticisms about me, I study them, for I have respect for them." While acknowledging that he "had read nearly everything Mr. Niebuhr has written," and that he had come to a deeper understanding of America's social problems as a result, he went on to make it clear that fundamental disagreements still remained. "I don't think you can change the world with all its lusts and hatred and greed," he concluded from his study of the Bible, "until you change men's hearts. Men must love God before they can truly love their neighbors. The theologians don't seem to understand that fact."

Meanwhile, criticism of a very different sort was coming from some of his fundamentalist friends on the Right. Citing the scriptural command to "Come out from among them, and be ye separate," they began to express their growing concern about Graham's willingness to join hands in his crusades with what they considered to be "liberal" or possibly even "apostate" pastors and churches. This issue of cooperative evangelism, marking in one sense the final and wrenching break between fundamentalism and evangelicalism, was a major turning point in Graham's ministry. But it was one that he took only after he had carefully weighed the criticisms against the teachings of the Bible.

In a lengthy letter "on separation" that was published in November of 1958 in Eternity magazine, Graham wrote: "During the past few weeks, I have come to some very deep convictions. It seems to me that the entire weight of Scripture lies in the direction of fellowship rather than separation. John 13:34 and 35, 'A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another....By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another.' What is the great overwhelming evidence that we have passed from death unto life? Orthodoxy? Morality? Evangelistic passion? No! It is love!"

Using other biblical texts -- such as John 17, Romans 14, Ephesians 2, and 1 Corinthians 12 -- he distinguished between appropriate and inappropriate separation. "There come times," he suggested, "when we are to separate on theological grounds! [I recognize] that there are some modernists we are to separate ourselves from; and yet, on the other hand, I am convinced there are some 'so-called' fundamentalists we are to separate ourselves from. In my opinion, the same spiritual defect which is apparent in extreme liberalism that causes deadness, hardness, callousness and unbelief is the same defect that causes bitterness, jealously, rancor, division, strife, hardness, a seeking after revenge and vindictiveness that characterizes a few fundamentalists. It seems to me the Scripture teaches that we are to avoid both extremes."

Here we find underscored an important key to Billy Graham's approach to criticism. Having wrestled with the issues raised by his critics, and having revealed his willingness to be instructed by their concerns, in the final analysis it is the Bible alone that must supply the ultimate conclusions.

3. View criticisms as opportunities for correction and growth.

Most of us will never have to face the kind of relentless and sometimes brutal scrutiny to which leaders such as Billy Graham are regularly subjected. Yet we can learn valuable lessons for how to deal with the stones thrown our way by observing how others have treated their critics over the years. From cynical reporters and theological opponents to angry students and jealous colleagues, Billy Graham has seen them all. Yet, with what the London Daily Telegraph described in 1955 as his "charm, sincerity, and simplicity bound together by a deep Christian charity," he has again and again turned many of his critics into his most ardent admirers.

Graham's approach to criticism can be seen in an article he wrote for the Christian Century (Feb. 17, 1960), entitled "What Ten Years Have Taught Me." In it we see just how seriously he listened to his critics.

[It was] just ten years ago, that my evangelistic work came to the attention of the church as the result of a Los Angeles crusade. To me it was like a bolt of lightning out of a clear sky....I found my sermons and statements being analyzed and criticized by hundreds of clergy, laymen, and theologians throughout the world. Religious periodicals joined in applause or criticism on my message, methods, and motives. To say the least, I was baffled...and even frightened. Over and over again I went to my knees for guidance and direction....There have been triumphs and defeats, elations and deflations, but never once have I doubted the validity of the gift or the call to evangelism. [...]

Here, in capsule form, we can discover the spirit that has come to characterize Billy Graham's response to criticism. It involves, first, an awareness of his own weakness and need for correction. Second, it points to his continued reliance upon God's sovereign power, appropriated through prayer, for the fulfillment of his ministry. Third, it is ready to admit that mistakes have been made within his ministry. Fourth, it reflects a determination to correct those mistakes and make whatever changes are needed. And finally, it reveals a passionate desire to serve God as fully as strength and human abilities will allow.

What is not expressed directly, but which seems to underlie all the others, is a loving regard for those whom he is called to serve -- even if they happen to be opponents. David Poling in his book "Why Billy Graham?" seems to capture the sentiment when he writes: "When the last conclusions about Graham are sifted and recorded, [it may be] that his greatest gift for the last half of the twentieth century" was not that he "packed them in" at Madison Square Garden or Earls Court or the Hollywood Bowl, or that he was successful in "radio and television" and "publishing." Rather, it may be that he "loved people greatly [and] by loving them, led them to the gates of the kingdom of God."

4. Remember that your most exacting critic is God.

In "A Biblical Standard for Evangelists," published in 1984, Billy Graham reminded himself and his colleagues in evangelism of the need for "transparent honesty" in everything they said and did. Even if others are "not watching us and evaluating our ministries by what they see of our honesty and integrity," he argued, "we still should be above reproach, because we are accountable to God."

There is a sense in which Graham's critics have not been nearly as hard on him as he is on himself. In his 1979 biography "Billy Graham: Evangelist to the World," John Pollock reports a conversation in which Graham commented about his growing concern that in a "day of publicity and media exposure," people would have a tendency to "put him on a pedestal" where, he is convinced, he does not belong. "[I am] not the holy, righteous prophet of God that many people think I am. I share with Wesley the feeling of my own inadequacy and sinfulness constantly. I am often amazed that God can use me at all."

What prompts such a comment is the awareness that God's standards for truth and righteousness are far beyond any expectations that even the harshest critic might harbor. Standards of lifestyle and conduct for those in the Christian ministry are rooted in the Scriptures. Therefore, it is essential that each Christian prayerfully study God's Word, come to understand its commands, and seek by the power of the Holy Spirit to obey them.

The question before all of us, as it has been for every generation, is a matter of basic loyalties. Will we continue to serve our own interests or give our allegiance to a holy God? Will we seek to please those around us or will we follow God's commands? Will we be guided primarily by a world that seeks to press us into its own mold, or will our lives be conformed to the image of our dear Savior, Jesus Christ? [...]

5. Stay focused.

As one of the most admired individuals in the world, one who enjoys access to its leaders and whose opinions are regularly sought, it is quite remarkable that Billy Graham has been able to maintain such a singular focus on his work as an evangelist. Graham once commented that he has had a number of opportunities to become involved in television, motion pictures, or even to help in the building of a great Christian university. "But always the still, small voice has said, 'God called you to be an evangelist.' When God calls us, we are to remain faithful."

This is also the reason that Graham has been so reluctant to enter into public debate with many of his critics. "Why should I engage in controversies?" he once wrote in a letter. "I would soon become so embroiled that the effectiveness of this ministry would cease....I am reminded of Nehemiah's answer to his critics, 'I am doing a great work, so that I cannot come down; why should the work cease, whilst I leave it, and come down to you?'.... [We] cannot afford to get bogged down in disagreements."

Since its founding in 1942, the National Association of Evangelicals has called for the avoidance of unnecessary contention. "[We will not] be diverted to participate in some back-alley scrap," wrote Harold John Ockenga, the founding president of the association, in the first issue of United Evangelical Action (Aug. 1, 1942). "Far too much energy, money, and time have been lost in this kind of mistaken strategy already. Let our motto among the brethren be, 'His banner over us was love.'...[Let us] refuse to waste our time and energy [in] fruitless controversy."

"What a moment to be an ambassador for Christ," Graham once wrote. "What an hour for the proclamation of his gospel! This is the time to make Christ known, whether we be pastor, teacher, evangelist or layman. I intend to keep on going, preaching the gospel, writing the gospel, as long as I have any breath. I hope my last word as I am dying-whether by bullet wound, by cancer, a heart attack, or a stroke-I hope my dying word will be Jesus."

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Garth M. Rosell is professor of church history and director of the Ockenga Institute at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary in South Hamilton, Massachusetts.

Copyright (c) 1995 Christianity Today, Inc./CHRISTIANITY TODAY Magazine

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#3553

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A Time magazine article stated the following: "For millions of committed Christians, the late `80s brought agonizing disillusionment. One after another, some of the country's most prominent Protestant televangelists revealed themselves as pious pretenders, driven by lust or avarice or unsaintly ego. Perhaps most distressing was ammunition the scandals gave to the skeptical and scornful. While erstwhile believers in Jim Bakker, Jimmy Swaggart and Marvin Gorman winced at the exposes of dalliance and the unconvincing protestations of repentance, countless other Americans were laughing" (Wm. A. Henry, III, "God and Money Part 9," July 22, 1991, p. 28).

Imagine that you're attending the wedding of a girl you once dated. As you go through the receiving line, the groom suddenly puts his hand on your arm and says, "I want to thank you for standing watch over my wife's heart. Thank you for guarding her purity."

Well, how many people think it's their job to guard other people's purity? Joshua Harris, the author of a best-selling book called I KISSED DATING GOODBYE, thinks it's everyone's job.

Most Christians claim they desire purity in their relationships, but Harris asks, "do we live the kind of lives that foster this purity?"

Many kids think they're pure enough if they refrain from going "all the way." But that's not good enough, says Harris. True purity is not some point on a sexual scale. It's "a direction, a persistent, determined pursuit of righteousness."

We cannot simultaneously explore the boundaries of purity -- getting as close to the sexual edge as possible -- and also pursue righteousness. And that's why Harris advises young teens against "dating." Couples who date one-on-one struggle against their desire to be physically intimate. The longer they date, the stronger the desire becomes.

If we really want purity, he says, we have to change both our attitudes and our lifestyles. For starters, we must learn to "respect the deep significance of physical intimacy."

The secular world says it's okay to fool around, to "try out" people emotionally and sexually. But God says to guard the sacredness of sexual intimacy between husband and wife -- and that means before marriage as well as after.

Well, you may be thinking, "one little kiss can't possibly do any harm." But look at it this way. Harris writes that God designed sex "to end in full consummation ... Physical interaction encourages us to start something we're not supposed to finish. It awakens desires we're not allowed to consummate, turning on passions we have to turn off."

And that's why, he says, "I avoid one-on-one dating.... It encourages physical intimacy and places me in an isolated setting with a girl. Can't I handle it?" Harris asks. "Yeah, maybe I could ... but that's not the point. I won't stick around to see how much temptation I can take."

Harris urges other teens to do likewise, to adopt a lifestyle that promotes purity instead of threatening it. Young men "need to stop acting like 'hunters' trying to catch girls and begin seeing [themselves] as warriors standing guard over them," he says. And young women must not, by actions, words, or choice of clothing, deliberately stir up lusts in their brothers in Christ.

...Learn why Christ said, "Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God." You'll also increase your chances for happiness here on earth.

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Copyright (c) 2000 Prison Fellowship Ministries. Reprinted with permission. "BreakPoint with Chuck Colson" is a radio ministry of Prison Fellowship Ministries.

A college intern who attended my church in Texas once preached and gave a humorous but insightful analogy for what it means to be holy:

Holy, as you may be aware, means to be set apart. In most biblical contexts, this means to be set apart for exclusive use by God. There are two items that we all own that are "holy" to us, that is, set apart for exclusive use by us. That is our toothbrushes and our underwear. You wouldn't want your underwear to volunteer to be worn by someone else, yet we who call ourselves Christian will allow someone else besides God to wear us. We wouldn't want our toothbrush to be used by someone else to scrub a toilet, but some of us allow ourselves to be involved with all sorts of filth.

So, be God's toothbrush, or his underwear. Be holy!

In the forests of northern Europe, and Asia a little animal called

the ermine lives. He is mostly known among us by his snow-white fur, a

thing than which there is nothing more beautiful on the fur markets of

the world. In some countries the state robes of judges are lined with

it, the white being emblematic of purity and honor. The ermine has a

peculiar pride in his white fur coat. At all hazards he protects it

against anything that would spoil it.

It is said that the fur hunters take cruel advantage of the

ermine's care to keep his coat clean. They do not set a snare to catch

him at some unwary moment, but instead find his home, a cleft in the

rock or the hollow of a decaying tree, and daub the entrance and

interior with filth. Then their dogs start the chase. Frightened, the

ermine flees toward his home, his only place of refuge. He finds it

daubed with uncleanness, and he will not spoil his

pure white coat. Rather than go into the unclean place,

he faces the yelping dogs and preserves the purity of his fur at the

price of his life. It is better that he be stained by blood than

spoiled by uncleanness. The ermine is right purity is dearer than

life. Walking With God.

It is in times of great responsibility and overconfidence that ministers and evangelists must be ever vigilant of the sinful lures around them, Robert E. Reccord, president of the North American Mission Board, said. “The moment we ever think we deserve where we are, we are just one step away from total tragedy. Be careful.”

Recounting his personal story of taking the helm of Southern Baptist national missions, Reccord said his 1997 reaction echoed those who are in similar situations: “We don't understand how we got here and we're scared to death.”

Accountability becomes paramount in order to avoid letting the world in, Reccord said, comparing the slow moral compromise that can occur in a minister's life to the small cracks which eventually caused the Titanic disaster. The huge ship sank because “it got close to something it should have avoided -- and something made to stay outside [water], got inside,” he said.

Citing a divorce rate in the church that is slightly higher than that outside of the church, Reccord said temptation is “inevitable,” and has nothing to do with age.

“Guard your heart with all diligence,” Reccord exhorted, recounting a story about being alone in a hotel room. Flipping through regular television channels, he was surprised by inappropriate and immoral activity popping up on the screen in front of him.

“The two most important people in the world will know [if I watch what I shouldn't], God and me,” Reccord said. “After 30 years of marriage, I am still grappling with the challenge that comes banging on the door. Lest you think you are strong enough to stand on your own, you are not.”

Using the example of Genesis 3, Reccord said the process of rationalizing one's behavior is the same today as it was in the Garden of Eden: “We question God, we contradict God, and we replace God.”

Bible stories about David and Joseph have implications about immoral behavior. In 2 Samuel 11, David overestimated his strength, while in Genesis 39:7, Joseph resisted temptation.

Caught up in the challenges of war and aware of his own authority, David took what was not his. On the other hand, Joseph exercised caution.

“One irresponsibly abused his authority,” Reccord said. “One responsibly used his authority.” Gifted and busy people may be especially vulnerable to falling, he warned.

“As God honors you with leadership, understand you have full freedom in Christ, but that's not the freedom to do whatever you want. The more your responsibility increases, the more narrow your freedom becomes because you impact people by everything you do.”

Showing a short film clip from the Sandra Bullock movie “Hope Floats” as an example of the destruction caused by infidelity, Reccord became emotional along with others in the room when the father in the movie drove off, leaving his young sobbing daughter behind, yelling, “Daddy!”

“Submit yourselves to God,” Reccord implored. “Resist the devil and he will flee from you. Draw close to God and He will come near you. Stay close and you will stay clean.”

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[Original illustration at this number was a duplicate of HolwickID #15869]

I'm glad they didn't tell me until it was over. It was my first time landing at LaGuardia Airport in New York City - an airport whose runways jut right out into Jamaica Bay. When I arrived, my friends told me that I had just landed on the garbage of New York City. Now, that is a very exciting thought. It turns out that much of the airport was actually built on landfill - yes, it was made from Big Apple garbage. That's not bad for piles of trash.

Well, I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "The Power of Recycled Garbage."

It's amazing what human engineers can do with the garbage of a city. It's much more amazing what God can do with garbage of our lives. He recycles the worst things that ever happened to us into something wonderfully useful - and even beautiful.

Some of that trash-to-treasure miracle is described in 2 Corinthians 1:3-4, our word for today from the Word of God. God's talking here about some of the heartbreaking moments of our life. He is described here as "the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves have received from Christ." In other words God says, "I'm going to give you My resources to help you get through your times of trouble - and, in so doing, I'm going to qualify you to spend the rest of your life helping other hurting people."

Recently, I received an email from a woman I'll call Mary Ann. She told me about her deep regret over her premarital sexual relationships and how it hurt her now not to be able to give her husband love that no one else had ever had. We asked her if she would be willing to share her story on our youth broadcast, RealTime. She agreed - and she had some very powerful things to say, both about sexual purity and the forgiving, restoring power of Jesus Christ. And, when we finished the interview, she said, "You know, I think doing this has finally helped me be free inside ... to really forgive myself and move on."

I told Mary Ann that she was completing the cycle of God's healing of our past. First, you experience God's forgiving love or His comfort and healing ... and then, ultimately, you use the past you hate to help others, to comfort others, to challenge others, and to give hope to others. If you've been wounded, abused, abandoned ... if you've experienced deep loss, grief, struggle, handicaps - you have those strange credentials that qualify you because of your pain, to be one of God's wounded healers; to be listened to because of what you've been through.

But for this recycling miracle to take place a person must be willing to take their eyes off themselves ... to look beyond their own hurt to the hurts of others. And you have to open up all those closets of anger and self-pity and doubt and let God's mercy and grace come flooding in. When you reach beyond yourself and open up to God's healing resources, you become uniquely prepared to become a healer in a hurting world.

And when you do, it's amazing the healing that releases in you. You're actually using the past you hate to help others. And you are allowing God to take the garbage of your life and recycle it into something beautiful -that's meaning for your pain and hope for someone else's despair.

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Copyright © Ron Hutchcraft Ministries, Inc., PO Box 400, Harrison, AR 72602. Used by permission. Written by Ron Hutchcraft. 'Practical Answers to Real Life Issues'

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"The one thing that unites all human beings, regardless of age, gender, religion, economic status or ethnic background, is that, deep down inside we all believe that we are above-average drivers."

-- Dave Barry

"Too many people overvalue what they are not and undervalue what they are."

-- Malcolm Forbes

"Better keep yourself clean and bright; you are the window through which you must see the world."

-- George Bernard Shaw

"If your every human plan and calculation has miscarried, if, one by one, human props have been knocked out, and doors have shut in your face, take heart. God is trying to get a message through to you, and the message is: 'Stop depending on inadequate human resources. Let me handle the matter.'"

-- Catherine Marshall

"For a man to achieve all that is demanded of him he must regard himself as greater than he is."

-- Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, QFTM 11/22/03

"What lies behind us and what lies before us are small matters compared to what lies within us."

-- Oliver Wendell Holmes

“Always remember that you’re unique. Just like everyone else.”

-- (unknown)

Writer and speaker Joni Eareckson Tada was paralyzed from the neck down in a diving accident. In her book Secret Strength, Joni wrote about facing temptation.

I was in my late twenties, single, and with every prospect of remaining so. Sometimes lust or a bit of fantasizing would seem so inviting-and so easy to justify. After all, hadn't I already given up more than most Christians just by being disabled? Didn't my wheelchair entitle me to a little slack now and then?

Joni asks her readers:

When God allows you to suffer, do you have the tendency to use your very trials as an excuse for sinning? Or do you feel that since you've given God a little extra lately by taking such abuse, He owes you a "day off'?

Joni Eareckson Tada teaches us that there is no excuse-not suffering, not great sacrifice, not even paralysis-for indulging impurity in our hearts.

Heart, Purity, Rationalization, Suffering

1 Cor. 10:13

Contemporary Illustrations For Preachers, Teachers, & Writers

Editor Craig Brian Larson, Baker Books, p. 264.

Reared in North Africa in the second century, Tertullian may have trained to be a lawyer, but he became a skilled defender of the Christian faith instead.

Quintus Septimus Florens Tertullian, an educated man who would become the great apologist of his time, converted to Christianity around 197, in his mid-life years. Many scholars believe the courage of Christian martyrs moved him to accept their faith.

His earliest known work is a letter of solace and encouragement to imprisoned Christians awaiting execution. Shortly after that, he sent a long letter to the Roman authorities mocking their attempts to suppress Christianity.

“We are but of yesterday,” he wrote, “but we have filled every place among you-cities, islands, fortresses, towns, market places, the very camp, tribes, companies, palace, senate, forum-we have left nothing to you but the temples of your gods.”

Roman persecutors thought if they killed Christians, they could wipe out the church. Tertullian replied with a line for which he has become famous: “The blood of the martyrs is seed.” The more Rome killed, argued Tertullian, the more people would be converted by the courageous witness of Christians.

DEFENDER OF THE FAITH

Tertullian is also remembered for his razor-sharp wit in defense of the Christian faith. To the pagan world, Tertullian’s tracts asserted that Christians posed no threat to the empire and were loyal citizens; therefore they should be tolerated.

In his writings to Christians, Tertullian warned that separation from pagan culture was necessary to avoid moral and doctrinal corruption. He, with many Christian leaders, believed the theater, pagan banquets, public assemblies, and above all, the gladiatorial contests were no places for Christians: “The places themselves do not contaminate, but what is done in them; from this even the places themselves, we maintain, become defiled.”

Tertullian leveled his deepest criticism at those who attempted to change or modify the Christian faith. God, he insisted, was loving and merciful in both the Old Testament and New; Christ was God incarnate and the fulfillment of all messianic prophecy, and the church alone carried on the legitimate faith received from the apostles. Heretics, schismatics, and pagans, he said, were just plain wrong. They had no right even to quote the Scriptures.

DEFINING THE TRINITY

Tertullian was a man of strong opinions and high standards. He disliked infant baptism, believed the return of Christ was imminent, and had little time for clergy, many of whom he believed were too lenient about sexual immorality.

So completely did he embrace rigorous ethics, and so positive was he that the Holy Spirit still spoke through believers in prophecy, he ended his days among the Montanists, a movement eventually condemned for exalting the ecstatic utterances of its leaders over the church’s authority.

The founder, Montanus, a self-proclaimed prophet, began speaking in Phrygia (modern Turkey) around 172. Accompanied by two prophetesses, Montanus claimed inspiration from the Holy Spirit for their ascetic and apocalyptic message. Tertullian joined them in urging the church to exercise strict discipline, including withholding forgiveness for major sexual sins.

During his Montanist days, he wrote his most significant theological work, “Against Praxeas,” in which he marshals numerous Scripture verses to condemn Praxeas’ belief in the “monarchy” of God: that the Father, Son, and Spirit are one and the same. Tertullian accuses Praxeas of crucifying the Father. As he argued, Tertullian coined two terms that helped define the orthodox view of the Trinity. He wrote that God exists in three “persons” who share one “substance.” The Father, Son, and Spirit are clearly distinct but not divided.

Tertullian made good use of natural imagery to support his views. He writes, “His [Christ’s] coming out from God is like the ray's procession from the sun, and the river's from the fountain, and the tree’s from the seed.” Two but undivided. He confirms this: “... inasmuch as this Son is undivided and inseparable from the Father, so is He to be reckoned as being in the Father, even when He is not named.”

Though many find his Montanist beliefs troubling, his writings nevertheless have earned him a lasting legacy as one of the great African Fathers of the church.

Create in me a clean heart, O God,

and renew a right spirit within me.

Create in me a clean heart, O God,

and renew a right spirit within me.

Cast me not away from Thy presence, O Lord,

and take not Thy Holy Spirit from me.

Restore unto me the joy of Thy salvation,

and renew a right spirit within me.

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What our Savior wanted to teach by the analogy of the eye and the lamp is that everything we see depends on the condition of the lamp. If the lamp is dim, we won't see very clearly. If our eye is dim, diseased, the whole body will be darkened. Similarly, if the lamp is burning brightly, we see things as they are. We recognize the books upon the table and the photographs upon the wall. But if the lamp is flickering or smoky, everything is distorted or obscured; so it is with the eye.

If we are color-blind, we cannot see the glorious redness of the rose.

If we are nearsighted, we cannot see the friend who is signaling to us from a little distance. If we suffer from impending cataracts, we cannot clearly distinguish a friend sitting next to us. Still, the rose is red, though we cannot see it in our color blindness. Still, the friend is waving to us or seated by our side. There is nothing the matter with reality. The trouble is that we are seeing badly. Now the Lord tells us that the eye can be either single (healthy), or it can be evil. As the eye brings good or evil impressions to the body so the heart of man is that organ by which the spiritual self is enlightened.

The heart can be single or evil.

Sermon in Beatitudes series. Matthew 5:8 and Psalm 24:3-6

ONLY THE PURE SEE GOD

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I. Your black-spotted heart.

II. What the heart stands for.

III. Meanings of "pure" (katharos) in the Bible.

Clean / winnowed / unadulterated or unmixed.

IV. Insight from Psalm 24. Psalm 24:3-6

A. Jesus probably had this psalm in mind.

B. Basic question: who can stand before God as a true believer?

V. How focused is your heart?

A. A pure heart has one focus.

B. Our hearts tend to be fractured.

VI. Only God can make us pure.

A. Religion, ethics, etc., cannot do it.

B. King David's answer. Psalm 51:10

C. We must be prepared to receive it. 1 John 1:9

VII. They shall see God.

A. Two themes in Bible:

B. Jesus is focusing on the future.

C. Where is YOUR heart headed?

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”And if your eye causes you to sin, pluck it out.” (Mark 9:47) — For reading & meditation: Mark 9:42-50

What are the principles we must follow if we are to move from weakness to strength in relation to this matter of evil thoughts? The first is: take steps to ensure that you are not contributing to the problem by the literature you read or the things you watch. One great philosopher said that if you want to evaluate the moral tone of a society, just examine its literature. These days it is hardly possible to pick up a newspaper that does not contain a picture or an article that is calculated to inflame our passions. We live in an age which is preoccupied with sensuality and hedonism (the pursuit of pleasure). Any discussion on this subject must inevitably be linked with sex, as this is one of the main ingredients in the problem of evil thoughts. Although sex is not evil in itself, few topics can so engross the mind or kindle our curiosity. People with a passionate nature, however high their ideals, often fight a battle in their mind and imagination with sexual fantasies. These, in turn, make them the kind of people of whom Montaigne speaks with much contempt: “Men and women whose heads are a merry- go-round of lustful images.” Fix it firmly in your mind that the first step to victory over evil thoughts is to cut off the supply at the source. Burn any books or magazines in your possession that others might describe as “really hot.” Turn off the TV when it violates biblical standards. Avoid newspapers that go in for nudity. Saying “no” to sensuality is the same as saying “yes” to God.

PRAYER:

Father, help me to realize that although Christianity is a privilege and not a prohibition – it does have prohibition in it. Today I am going to make up my mind to say a firm “no” to the things that are not of You. Strengthen me in this resolve. Amen.

FURTHER STUDY – 2 Sam. 11:1-17; 1 John 2:16; Luke 11:34; Eph. 1:18

1. What was the source of David’s downfall?

2. List six ways in which Satan tempts us through our eyes.

Do you know that if you really feel lonely you can use AOL’s Instant Messenger and talk to yourself? Some of the answers you get are lousy!

Many people think that the number 13 is an unlucky number. This is almost a worldwide belief. You will usually never see a room numbered 13, or any hotels or motels with a 13th floor. But think about this:

13 original colonies, 13 signers of the Declaration of Independence, 13 stripes on our flag… then look at our dollar — 13 steps on the Pyramid, 13 letters in the Latin above, 13 letters in “E Pluribus Unum”, 13 stars above the Eagle, 13 plumes of feathers on each span of the Eagle’s wing, 13 bars on that shield, 13 leaves on the olive branch, 13 fruits, and if you look closely, 13 arrows.

It’s a 13 world. Let’s look at Romans 13:13 (NLT), We should be decent and true in everything we do, so that everyone can approve of our behavior.” You say, “C’mon Paul, you’re a killjoy — we have Christmas office parties coming up.” Well, if you aren’t excited about verse 13, get your Bible and look up verse 14. He-he!

The point is that whether at church or an office party, we are representatives of the Christ we claim to love. We should want our lives to give proper credit to the Lord we serve.

It was a simple order, “Get dressed.” When Mom said it, our five-year-old grandson did what she asked. Moments later, he emerged from his room dressed for the day. That's good. It wasn't until he was undressing that night that Mom noticed a slight anomaly in how he had gotten dressed. He had two pairs of underwear on! When Mom asked him about it, he answered with a bemused look on his face: “Oh, I just put clean underwear on over the dirty underwear.” Not good.

I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about “Putting Clean On Over Dirty.”

Unfortunately, that is an all too common practice - among God's children, that is. Instead of taking off some things in our life that are dirty, we keep those and just put some clean stuff on over the dirty. It may make you feel better about the dirty stuff, it may be covered up from most people, but the dirty is still there. And you've got trouble with God.

There's a game all too many of us church folks play. It's described in Isaiah 29:13-15, our word for today from the Word of God. “The Lord says: 'These people come near to Me with their mouth and honor Me with their lips, but their hearts are far from Me ... Woe to those who go to great depths to hide their plans from the Lord, who do their work in darkness and think, 'Who sees us? Who will know?'“ Of course, God knows. He's not impressed with all those Christian words we say and Christian meetings we go to and Christian causes we support - He's interested in what's really going on in your heart, in your real life.

There are a lot of nice people who have some very not-nice things going on beneath the nice. Nice Christians who are poisoning their soul with pornography, seemingly unaware that Jesus is standing there all the time. Nice Christians who still have a serious problem with their temper, whose rage is so hurtful, but known only to a few. There are nice Christians who are hiding a pattern of abuse, or a heart full of bitterness, a life of lying, a relationship that our culture calls an affair but God calls adultery, a secret but sinful addiction, an agenda of revenge, sex outside of God's fence of marriage - so many secrets Christians cover with a layer of clean.

Maybe the lie we want to believe is that the good we put on over the bad somehow excuses or makes up for the bad. Not with a holy God. That's a lie that may stave off the judgment of your own conscience but will only compound the judgment of God. And about it being a secret - Romans 2:16 describes the day “when God will judge men's secrets through Jesus Christ.” If you're covering up sin with spiritual stuff, you are sponsoring an unholy coexistence that is an insult to a Savior who gave His life on the cross “so that we might die to sins” (1 Peter 2:24), not hide our sins.

In Ephesians 4, God commands us to “put off your old self” and “to be made new,” to “put on the new self.” He goes on to tell us to put off lying and put on truth, put off trash talk and put on uplifting talk, put off anger and bitterness and put on forgiveness and compassion, put off any kind of sexual immorality and put on purity.

So you are at a crossroads. God brought us together today to tell you that covering up your dirty with a layer of clean isn't going to cut it. It's self-deception, living a lie, defying God, and building up judgment. Don't you think it's time to come clean - even if it hurts? It will hurt a whole lot more not to come clean. You know you're sick of that battle inside you. It's tearing you apart - the guilt, the fear of getting caught, the shame. And you know God is sick of this charade. While God is speaking to you, while your heart is open to the truth, run to the cross where everything you're hiding was paid for with Jesus' blood. And leave all that dirty stuff, once and for all, at the foot of His old rugged cross.

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Copyright © Ron Hutchcraft Ministries, Inc., PO Box 400, Harrison, AR 72602. Used by permission. Written by Ron Hutchcraft. "Practical Answers to Real Life Issues"

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