Beautifully Pure.

    Hello Everyone!

     So I know that I originally created this blog to be a fashion blog. I love fashion and all that fun stuff, but I feel lead to write this blog about the everyday struggles and joys we all face today, to write down the wisdom that God has given me, and to encourage you all in your walk with Christ. If you wonder why I chose the name Lily Belle, I wanted it to have a powerful meaning. Lily means pure and Belle means beauty, so Pure Beauty. So on the topic of that, I wanted to talk about purity.

    As I was younger I always thought that being pure simply meant that I was going to wait till marriage to have sex, but it is so much more than just that. So lets start out at looking at the definition of the word pure.This was the definition that came up: free from anything of a different, inferior, or contaminating kind; free from extraneous matter. As God's children we are set apart. We are to not be of this world and not acting in their ways. As 1 John 2:15-17 says:

"Do not love this world nor the things it offers you. For when you love the world, you do not have the love of the Father in you. For the world offers only a craving for physical pleasure, a craving for everything we see, and pride in our achievements and possessions. They are not from the Father, but are from this world. And this world is fading away, along with everything that people crave. But anyone who does what pleases God will live forever."

  So being pure means we are different from the world. We are called to a higher standard. God tells us He wants us to be holy just as He is. Think it's impossible? It's not, but only through His grace and the strength He gives us can we be holy and set apart. We will fail and burn ourselves out trying to do it all on our own. I've been there, I know.

     So back to the subject of purity, I said that being pure meant so much more than just waiting to have sex till you were married, and while that is major, it ties into what God has commanded us. We are to keep all His commandments not just the wait till marriage rule. When God said to love your neighbor, He meant it. By loving the person who gets on your nerves the most, you are giving God glory and being pure. By telling the truth instead of lying you are being pure, and it goes down the line. When we obey God, we are ultimately giving Him glory. It shows the world His grace and love in our lives. Jesus said in Matthew 5:8 "Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God". I don't know about you, but I want to see God and to experience His presence.

     In conclusion, being pure is to be set apart by not only by our actions but also by our thinking. To be pure also means to keep God's commandments. We can only do this by His grace and strength. If we mess up, we shouldn't let that stop us. Ask for forgiveness and most of all forgive yourself. I struggled with that tremendously. But God does not condemn us. He is our Father with His arms open wide ready to accept us. All we must do it run to Him. So if you have past regrets, then lay them aside and become new in Christ. It is never too late to chose purity. It is such a beautiful thing.