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Daniel 1:8 - "But Daniel made up his mind that
he would not defile himself with the King's choice foods or
with the wine which he drank; so he sought permission from the commander of the
officials that he might not defile himself."
The word Defile
means "Unclean" or "Stained".
Did you ever see the movie "Bubble Boy"? It's about this
guy that has lived in a plastic bubble his whole life because he was
allergic to everything, so he lived in a pure,
undefiled, clean plastic bubble: that way he would never get hurt or be
exposed to something that might hurt him.
Some times as a Christian I think to be
put in a plastic bubble might be the only practical way for me to stay
"undefiled" by the world. But then I wouldn't be
able to be "Salt and Light" - Matthew 5:13-14
So the question is how can I stay "Pure", "Undefiled",
and "Clean" in a world that is pushing for me to just
conform to it's impurity?
HERE ARE THREE PRACTICAL
WAYS.
Think of Daniel's situation he was a young man between
the age of 12 and 17. He was a captive of a foreign country far
from his home. Can you see yourself in this? I can. I'm young and in a place
that is like a foreign country to me since
my real home that I want to be at is heaven.
1. - Decide - Daniel 1:8 - "But Daniel made his mind that he wouldn't defile himself with the kings choice foods
or with the wine which he drank; so he sought permission from the commander of
the officials that he might not defile himself."
It was a choice of his
will. How did Daniel know what was
right? Because he was in constant communication with God (Daniel 6:13
- " But Daniel keeps making his petition to God three times a day.") He knew
the will of God and lined his own will up with it. So if it was not a choice
that would be approved by Daniel's awesome Lord. He would not
compromise to it.
2. - Depend on God - That sounds so cliche' to me to say, "I've heard it all my life."
But I've never quite understood what it means or how to depend on God. The
word is such an awesome picture. It can mean: pay attention to, regard, inner most being, plaster over. OK, think about those
words. I need to pay attention to Christ - with Him and His Will. My dependence
to Him needs to come from my inner most being. I need to regard Him.
The Scripture says:
"Don't be wise in your eyes;
Fear the LORD and turn away from evil." - Proverbs. 3:6-7
"Finally be strong in the Lord
and in the strength of His might. Put on the full armor of God." - Eph. 6:
10-11a
Can you see how these verses are
challenging us to regard and pay attention to Him from our inner most being?
Well they are!
3. -
Desires - It's so easy for me to
"pretend" that I only desire stuff that brings glory to God and honors Christ
all the time, but I would be totally faking it and
lying. For so long, and still more often than it
should, what I desired or wanted is and was based on my feelings (which
change more often than Jessica Simpson's hair styles).
I was so wrong to think that my feelings should
decide what I desired, because the word
"desire" can actually mean "Passionate longing". The word is used in
Scripture as so much more than a passing feeling. It is used as a great earnest
longing. That is what desire means; it's a
"Passionate longing."
We need to have a passionate longing for
Christ and the things that glorify and honor Him in order to live an
uncompromising and pure life.
"But I say walk in the spirit and you
won't fulfill the desires of
the flesh." - Gal. 5:16
"My heart's desire and my prayer to God for them are
for their salvation." - Rom.10:1
"Yet earnestly desire
spiritual gifts." - 1 Cor. 14:1
"Go now, the men among you, and serve the LORD, for
that is what you desire." - Ex
10:11
APPLICATION:
This is what I'll end with. This is one of THE MOST
challenging verses to me - it says,
"Now flee from youthful lusts and PURSUE
righteousness, faith, love and peace WITH those who call on the Lord from a
pure heart." - 2 Timothy 2:22
This verse doesn't even have 30 words in it, but it is one that day after day challenges me more
and more. It's because that word FLEE is
used of a fugitive running after escaping. He
doesn't look back, he doesn't slow down wondering if he should return. He runs
like crazy to get away at pretty much any cost.
That is the first step on the road to a pure life.
FLEE don't look back at your dead life of
sin and comprise and wonder if it's worth giving up. Don't keep hanging around
your "friends" that push you into physical and spiritual impurity. Don't sit on
the fence
between Deciding to conform to God's
will, Depending on God, Desiring Christ
and a life of impurity, defilement, and
compromise.
So many of us have become so dull in our Christian walk
that it's not that big a deal to let things defile or stain us. That's not how
we're called to live. We are called to FLEE those things and call on the Lord from a
pure heart. We are not called to do this alone but we're called to
stand with others who ALSO call from a PURE heart - something we
can't do if we're sitting on the fence letting our old life defile us.
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