Purified!

What does it mean to be "purified?"

The dictionary defines the word purified as:
to become pure, free from evil (sin), to rid of foreign or objectionable objects

To become purified we must search within our souls, not our flesh. Our flesh will never become purified because of sin in the world. But, our soul, THROUGH CHRIST, can become purified more and more each day. When we receive Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior, His Holy Spirit enters our soul and begins the purification. We then have the ability to be PURE and FREE FROM SIN, but because we have a human nature within our minds, it's difficult to become purified until the day of CHRIST JESUS, when we no longer have the flesh. The closer we become to Christ, the more we will become purified. If you have a sincere desire to be like Christ, you will begin to be more and more like Him and, therefore, become PURIFIED!

The Bible tells us in 1 Peter 1:22..."now that you have purified yourselves by obeying the truth so that you have sincere love for your brothers, love one another deeply, from the heart." So, it means that we can only obey the command from God in Matthew 22:39 to love our neighbor as ourselves by obeying the truth! Of course, the TRUTH is the Holy Bible, nothing more, and nothing less.

The Bible also tells us in Romans 3:23 "for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,"
We know that we all sin, probably on a daily basis. There are sins in the Bible that are plain and simple for us to understand, but there are also some "gray areas" that only the Holy Spirit can reveal to us individually. You will see and feel this in the form of conviction. Please do not confuse "conviction" with "guilt." You will not receive guilt from the Lord, but a peaceful feeling of conviction that you should stop doing something or even start doing something. One way that I can discern the voice of the Lord from the voice of my flesh (satan) is that the Lord will speak to me in a calm, peaceful way, and in the first person, such as "I really should quit doing this." It will never feel condeming or guilty, but convicted. When I know my flesh is speaking, I will hear it in the second person, such as "You should really quit doing this." It will be more like revelation in your mind that you have the ability to stop or start whatever it is that you need to stop or start. This all sounds very confusing as I even type it, but I hope that God can reveal it to you in a very clear way.

Before I quit, one final thought...

Satan cannot hear what you think or say in your mind, but only what you say and pray out loud! Keep that in mind when talking to God! Satan loves to listen to your prayers and use them against you!!

Love to you all,
Melanie