Category Archives: Purity

Bible, Gifts, Offering, Purity, Scripture

A PLEASING OFFERING

MALACHI 3:4

“‘Then the offering of Judah and Jerusalem will be pleasing to the LORD as in the days of old, and as in former years.’”

I sometimes call people I really love “Sweetie.” It is a term of endearment. I don’t ever mean it to be condescending to a person. I have heard it used that way before (you know what I mean). For me, though, it is always used to reflect my love and care for someone.

That idea is reflected in the Hebrew word used in today’s verse for “will be pleasing.” Malachi, through the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, used the Hebrew word arab. It means to be sweet, pleasant. How did the offerings offered by the priest move from deplorable earlier in chapter 2 to pleasant in chapter 3? Through the purification of those priests in the previous verses. You see, the Lord desires pure gifts. They are pleasing to Him.

APPLICATION

Proverbs 3:24 uses the same word. “When you lie down, you will not be afraid; when you lie down, your sleep will be sweet.” Don’t you like that? And Jeremiah uses it, too. Jeremiah 31:26 says, “At this I awoke and looked, and my sleep had been pleasant to me.” Sweet sleep sounds good, right? But I am getting off track.

Jeremiah uses the same word back in Jeremiah 6:20, but in a negative sense. “‘For what purpose does frankincense come to Me from Sheba, and the sweet cane from a distant land? Your burnt offerings are not acceptable and your sacrifices are not pleasing to Me.’” God demands that our motives be pure when we bring our offerings to Him.

What are our offerings today? We don’t bring lambs and goats anymore. Our offerings are our financial gifts, our time, our energy, our service. When we give anything to the Lord, it is an offering of ourselves. So, what is your purpose for giving your offerings? As you give, ask the Lord to bless those who receive it and pray for the purpose in giving.

Lord, bless what I bring to You. I want my offerings to be a sweet smell in Your nostrils.

If you want to make a gift to my ministry with Every Man A Warrior, you can do that at www.twr.org/carl-willis. Your gift helps us reach more men with the power of the Gospel. This is a great time of the year to bring your end of the year gifts to Him.

Standard
Accountability, Bible, Cleansing, Fire, Forgiveness, Judgment, Purity, Salvation, Scripture

CLEANSING POWER

MALACHI 3:2

“‘But who can endure the day of His coming? And who can stand when He appears? For He is like a refiner’s fire, and like launderer’s soap.’”

I have had some pretty, dirty jobs in my lifetime. I grew up in Southwest Georgia and worked tobacco fields on my cousin’s and uncle’s land. There is nothing much dirtier than working tobacco fields in the morning. All that tar from the plants stains your hands, arms and clothes. I could literally come home from work and stand my jeans up because they were so stiff from that tar. We discovered that green tomatoes rubbed on our hands would remove the tar. Nasty, dirty work!

Today’s verse has been often quoted. The Lord is still speaking here and referring to the coming of His Son. Whether this is referring to His first coming or the second, the Lord goes on to say how His conviction for sin “is like a refiner’s fire, and like launderer’s soap.” What does that mean? Every person will be judged one day. Some will accept His grace and avoid final judgment. Our sins need either a fire to purify us or soap to clean us up. One is harsh, and one is more gentle. One or the other is needed though to take away our sins. Those who refuse this will not be able to stand before Him.

APPLICATION

Albert Barnes says of this refiner’s fire, “But as God is ‘a consuming fire, Who must burn out the dross, unless we be ‘reprobate silver’ which ‘the founder melteth in vain,’ either He must, by His grace, consume the sin within us, or must consume us with it, in hell.” That is pretty much to the point, isn’t it? We either fly or fry, turn or burn, get right or get left. Sorry, I just couldn’t help myself.

Seriously, God’s cleansing power is for all people, if they will accept it. 1 Corinthians 3:12-15 even tells us our works will be judged by fire. “12 Now if anyone builds on the foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, or straw, 13 each one’s work will become evident; for the day will show it because it is to be revealed with fire, and the fire itself will test the quality of each one’s work. 14 If anyone’s work which he has built on it remains, he will receive a reward. 15 If anyone’s work is burned up, he will suffer loss; but he himself will be saved, yet only so as through fire.”

This is not a devotional to scare you into repenting. I am simply bringing out the message in today’s verse as it applies to believers and unbelievers. Where are you today in your walk with Christ? Do you need a good scrubbing with landerer’s soap or maybe your sins need the refiner’s fire? Just come to Him.

O Lord, purify me. As James says, “Cleanse your hands, you sinners and purify your hearts, you double-minded.”

Standard
Attitude, Bible, Devout, Following, Heart, Purity, Scripture, Worship

SNOBBY WORSHIP

MALACHI 1:9

“’But now, do indeed plead for God’s favor, so that He will be gracious to us. With such an offering on your part, will He receive any of you kindly?’ says the LORD of armies.”

Have you ever visited a church, and no one spoke to you? You walked in, and no one greeted you. Perhaps you even sat down, and someone gave you the stare that meant you were sitting in their seat. Everyone seemed to have their nose up in the air as if they belonged there and you didn’t. You know what I am talking about. They almost seemed to give off the impression that they were doing God a favor by being there.

That is exactly what the Lord is addressing in today’s verse. These priests totally ignored God’s commands. They did as they pleased in regards to worship. God should be pleased. After all, they were doing something. Something is better than nothing, right? Nope, it’s not, and they will find out soon enough.

APPLICATION

How do you ensure your worship is pure and holy? How do you present yourself before the Lord? I want my worship to be what He wants, not what I want. If you are like me, I have my own preconceived ideas about worship. I like this or I don’t like that. I want the choir to sing this song. I want the pastor to preach longer (come on now, who says that, lol).

We are told that “God is spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.” That’s John 4:24. What does that mean? Albert Barnes says this about that verse. “A pure, a holy, a spiritual worship, therefore, is such as he seeks – the offering of the soul rather than the formal offering of the body – the homage of the heart rather than that of the lips.”

Oh, to do that each and every time we enter into worship. Worship is about our heart attitude, not what we sing or preach. It’s a heart issue. So, is your heart right when you enter into worship? Are you bringing in unresolved grudges or ill will towards someone? If you are, confess that and get your heart right before worship. Then your heart will be what God desires.

Father, help me worship You in spirt and in truth. Let my heart cry out to You.

Standard
Bible, God's Will, Purity, Scripture, Testing

REFINED AND TESTED

ZECHARIAH 13:9

“‘And I will bring the third part through the fire, refine them as silver is refined, and test them as gold is tested. They will call on My name, and I will answer them; I will say, “They are My people,” and they will say, “The LORD is my God.”’”

Oh man, this verse hits me right between the eyes. The Lord has certainly turned up the heat on that refining furnace in my life. My two experiences going through stem cell transplants burned off a lot of chaff. You would think I would stay refined, right? I don’t want any more of those fires. But looking back, I am grateful for what He taught me in the furnace.

As we close chapter 9 of Zechariah, he shares one last comment from the Lord about the remnant He will preserve. He will not just rescue them. He will refine them. He will test them. He will push them to be better, to be holy. They will call on Him. They will be His people. He will be their God. Finally! Refining fires draw them closer to Him.

APPLICATION

You are not going to like where we are going today. No one likes this. The Lord is going to test you. Why? To make you more and more like His Son, Jesus. Job recognized this. Look what he said in Job 23:10. “‘But He knows the way I take; when He has put me to the test, I will come out as gold.’” Just think of all he went through. If you have forgotten, reread Job.

And look at 1 Peter 1:6-7. “6 In this you greatly rejoice, even though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been distressed by various trials, 7 so that the proof of your faith, being more precious than gold which perishes though tested by fire, may be found to result in praise, glory, and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ;” What a great result!

So, the next time God places you in that crucible of testing, rest in Him. He will never do one thing to harm you. He is always about making you more like Him – holy and pure. It is not normal for us to live pure lives. Our flesh fights against that every day. But God desires nothing else. He wants pure children. Let Him purify you today.

Lord, I submit to the fires of Your will. I want to be holy and pure like You. 

Standard
Abiding, Bible, Confession, Forgiveness, Purity, Scripture

PURE LIPS

ZEPHANIAH 3:9

“‘For then I will restore to the peoples pure lips, so that all of them may call on the name of the LORD, to serve Him shoulder to shoulder.’”

I have to confess something. When I first married Christine, I used to chew a little tobacco when I was outside working or when I was fishing. She quickly told me I had a choice – kissing or chewing. Guess which one I gave up, lol. My lips were not exactly clean and pure when I chewed tobacco. (Note to readers: I no longer use tobacco products, in case you are wondering.)

I don’t think Zephaniah had tobacco lips on his mind when he shared God’s message about Him restoring pure lips to the people. You have to look at what follows that statement to understand what the Lord meant. No one can truly call on the name of the Lord with an impure mouth, with a nasty mouth. Our lips need to confess our impurities first. Then God’s ears are attentive to our pleas.

APPLICATION

Romans 10:9 probably says it best. “that if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved;” That act of the lips purifies your lips. God instantly and eternally saves you. He purifies your heart. He purifies your spirit. He purifies your lips. There is still a lot of purification to be done as you grow more like Him, but the act has begun.

I love Proverbs. It has a lot to say about lips. Two of my favorite verses comes from Proverbs 18:6-7. “6 A fool’s lips bring strife, and his mouth invites beatings. 7 A fool’s mouth is his ruin, and his lips are the snare of his soul.” You can’t get much clearer than that. Beware of your lips.

Impure lips can cause all kinds of problems for you. It’s not just the words you say. It’s the attitude of the heart that is shown through your lips. Ask the Lord today to purify your lips so you can call on His name. Then you too can serve Him “shoulder to shoulder.”

Wash my mouth out, Lord. Cleanse my lips that I may speak Your name boldly.

Standard
Abiding, Accountability, Battles, Bible, Choices, Discipline, Godliness, Integrity, Purity, Scripture

SOUND THE TRUMPETS

ZEPHANIAH 1:16

“A day of trumpet and battle cry against the fortified cities and the high corner towers.”

I have never played a trumpet but have the utmost respect for those who do. One of my favorite trumpeters is Phil Driscoll. He is amazing. He’s been playing the trumpet for decades and using it to praise the Lord. If you haven’t heard him, you need to check out some of his music.

Unfortunately, Zephaniah isn’t referring to Phil Driscoll in today’s verse. Instead, he is reminding the people of the trumpets that were played in times of war. There were different trumpets and different sounds played to give signals and warnings. Now, they are going to hear God’s trumpet as He brings judgment on the land.

APPLICATION

God may not sound a trumpet to give us warnings, but we have every warning sign we need in His Word. All throughout its pages God tells us how to live and the consequences if we don’t. It would be nice if we had red lights that flashed and got buzzed with an electric current every time we came close to straying, but God gives us that infamous free will, doesn’t He?

The only way we can stay holy is to follow His Word. I love 2 Peter 1:3-4. “3 for His divine power has granted to us everything pertaining to life and godliness, through the true knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and excellence. 4 Through these He has granted to us His precious and magnificent promises, so that by them you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world on account of lust.”

So, what is our excuse? It says very clearly that He has given us everything we need to live godly lives. We want trumpets to blare and sound the warning. We want God to reach down and jerk us away from sin. We have to make the choice – the choice to live holy, to live in purity. Will you today?

Take my life, lead me Lord, take my life, lead me Lord!

Standard
Accountability, Battles, Bible, Choices, Evil, Purity, Sacrifice, Scripture

WHAT A DISGRACE

HABAKKUK 2:16

“‘You will be filled with disgrace rather than honor. Drink, you yourself, and expose your own foreskin! The cup in the LORD’S right hand will come around to you, and utter disgrace will come upon your glory.’”

Too many men have fallen into disgrace in the recent years through moral indiscretions, bad choices and just plain being dumb. My first thought when I hear these stories is where were the godly men in their lives holding them accountable. Where were their friends?

God continues in verse 16 with this most recent woe. Here He is warning the Chaldeans of their own self-imposed disgrace. Their shame knew no low. Drunkenness, nudity and immoral behaviors ran deep in their lifestyles. They did not recognize the holiness of God or care that He had warned them of justice.

APPLICATION

Before you start pointing fingers at them, take a look at yourself. You may not live a disgraceful, public life, but how about your private thoughts? How about that secret sin you have hidden away (or so you think)? As believers, we are to live holy lives (check out 2 Peter 3:14). Our actions are to be above reproach.

I know you are probably thinking that your “little sin” isn’t hurting anyone. It’s all yours. It’s not anyone’s business. But our sins do not live in isolation. Sooner or later all those sins affect those closest to you. That secret porn addiction is harming your relationship with your spouse. That second or third glance at someone plants ideas in your mind that will come back to haunt you.

Christ has the answer. Amputation! Don’t get alarmed. I am not talking about any bodily maiming. But I am meaning that you have to take drastic action to rid yourself of these enticements. He has given you the power to do it through His Holy Spirit. Lean into Him. He is there. Listen to Him and obey.

Purify my mind today, O Lord. Cleanse me with hyssop and I shall be clean. Wash me and I shall be whiter than snow.

Standard
Abuse, Bible, Darkness, Evil, Flesh, Holiness, Justice, Purity, Scripture

DEBAUCHERY

HABAKKUK 2:15

“‘Woe to him who makes his neighbor drink; to you who mix in your venom even to make your neighbors drunk, so as to look at their genitalia!’”

I have read too many case files of child abuse. Just when I thought I had heard it all, I would get another case with even darker sins exposed. Actions taken against children anger me. To see their innocence robbed of them makes me scream for justice. One day all those perpetrators will receive their just reward.

The third woe has begun, and this one is against such abuse of others. Getting others drunk in order to leer at their nakedness or even abuse them was abhorrent to God. These Chaldeans were a wicked bunch of people and used their power over their enemies to abuse them.

APPLICATION

You are probably not going to carry out such actions on another person. At least I hope you wouldn’t. But we can be just as sinful in our minds. Jesus told us to even look at a woman with lust in our hearts is a sin. That goes for women looking at men as well. You may not be getting them drunk and abusing them, but you are sinning against them just as much.

How do you protect yourself from such base desires of the flesh? By filling your mind with His Word. The more of His Word we have memorized and studied, the more weapons we have to fight off those evil desires of the heart. It takes discipline and effort to memorize Scripture, but the payoff is one hundred fold.

Why don’t you make a plan to start memorizing one verse a week? That’s not hard to do if you are determined to do it. There are many tools you can use, including some pretty, cool Bible apps to help. As you begin to do this, you will find those impure thoughts become less and less because your mind is flooded with pure things. Give it a try.

Fill my mind with Your Words, O Lord. Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in Your sight.

Standard
Bible, Direction, Holiness, Purity, Scripture

PURE EYES

HABAKKUK 1:13

“Your eyes are too pure to look at evil, and You cannot look at harm favorably. Why do You look favorably at those who deal treacherously? Why are You silent when the wicked swallow up those more righteous than they?”

When I read this verse today, my thoughts immediately went to Job 31:1. “I have made a covenant with my eyes not to look lustfully on a young woman.” I want my eyes to be pure, but ian this world, that’s a pretty hard thing to do. Our eyes are under constant bombardment.

Habakkuk knows God’s eyes are pure. He knows the God of His people cannot stand to look on sin. So, why is He allowing these wicked Chaldeans to come in and defeat them? Why is a holy God using them to judge Israel? Surely, God cannot handle looking on such evil.

APPLICATION

Everywhere we look, evil abounds. This world is constantly throwing evil our way. Any attempt to have holy eyes is a target for the evil one. He uses every conceivable method to divert our eyes off of God and onto the evil.

Thankfully, we can rely on God’s eyes remaining holy. Yes, He used the Chaldeans to judge Israel. He was doing that to bring them back to Himself. It wasn’t to drive them further away. God will not shield our eyes from evil just to make our lives easier. That is not how He works.

God will steer our eyes toward the holy, but we are in total control of what we choose to look at. We can choose to peer into the abyss of sin or into the heavenlies. What holds more promise. His Word directs our eyes. Our time with God reading His Word and praying points our vision.

Keep my gaze on the holy things, Lord. I only want what is holy to come into my view.

Standard
Accountability, Battles, Bible, Cleansing, Fire, Godliness, Idols, Judgment, Obedience, Purity, Scripture

UNEXTINGUISHABLE

AMOS 5:6

“Seek the LORD so that you may live, or He will break through like a fire, house of Joseph, and it will consume with no one to extinguish it for Bethel,”

Recently, there was a wildfire that swept through parts of Colorado near to where some friends of mine live. They had to evacuate their home and flee for safety. Thankfully, their home was spared, but many homes and businesses were totally consumed. This fire was aided by over 100 mile per hour winds. It seemed it was unextinguishable, but firefighters finally got it under control.

God’s fire is unextinguishable. No one or nothing can put out His fire. Amos warns Israel that the result of not seeking after God is His fires of judgment. He will consume everything in His path. God’s fire will purify the nation of Israel. Bethel, the site of their rebellion, will be consumed.

APPLICATION

What is standing between you and your loyalty to God? We need to put those things down or risk the fires of God. As believers in Christ, our salvation is sure. Nothing can take that away. But all those things that are “wood, hay and stubble” will be burnt away.

Can you name some things right now in your life that you need to lay down? For me, it’s television. I can get lost watching a ballgame or some movie. Before I know it, I have spent 3-4 hours in front of that “one-eyed monster.” I am choosing to lay that down this year.

Now, don’t get me wrong. I am not saying television is evil. But when I spend more time in front of it than I do in God’s Word, something’s wrong. Will you join me in evaluating your own life? Instead of facing the fire of judgment, let’s enjoy the fire of the Holy Spirit. Let’s let our fire burn brightly so others can be drawn to Him.

May the things in my life that prevent me from being with You, Lord, be burned away. I want to be fireproof when I face You at judgment.

Standard