A 30 Day Journey of Purity

As I mentioned here entertainment can be a problem for me. I have been reading some great blogs lately about "Magic Mike" and "50 Shades of Grey." If you'd like to read those articles, here are the links: http://melissajenna.com/2012/06/30/50-shades-of-magic-mike-in-which-i-am-very-uncool/ http://tolovehonorandvacuum.com/2012/07/magic-mike-marriage-and-womens-libido/ After reading these articles, I hit the little "Like" button for Facebook at the bottom of the page. It was pointed out to me by someone that "people can't selectively (say) one thing is inappropriate when they divulge in inappropriate things themselves." Good point. I'll get back to this in a minute. Right now, "Magic Mike" and "50 Shades of Grey" are all the rage. The books are still topping the charts on Amazon as of this morning. The media is in a craze about both. There are articles, blog entries, spots on TV news about both "MM" and "50," and I have heard people I know talking about them, posting about them on Facebook or Twitter. These are things that are being called "mommy porn" by some of the bloggers I read who have read these books. Some of these women like the "mommy porn." Some of them are against it. Some are Christians; some are not. God has called Christians to a different standard of living. While "50 Shades of Grey" (or more!) may be popular in the society we live in, God only has two: holy and unholy. His Word makes this very clear. Sin is either a black or white; there are no gray areas. Last Sunday, I heard a pastor say, "Instead of asking ourselves, 'how far is too far?,' we should be asking ourselves, 'how holy is too holy? how pure is too pure?'" This has been running through my mind all week, and then I received the above comment. That is why I am going on a fast from secular entertainment for 30 days. 1 Peter 1:15 says "But just as He who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do; for it is written: 'Be holy, because I am holy." My prayer when I studied this in BSF last year was that the Lord would make me pure and blameless, a woman whose life is pleasing to the Lord. When I look at what Christ gave for me to set me free, so that I could live, my heart and soul burst with the desire to give all that I can to Him. This includes my time, and my time spent on entertainment that does not lead to godliness seems wasted. I think of a recent book I read, how there was cursing on practically every page. It had a good plot. It had interesting characters. Even though God put it on my heart to stop reading it, I disobeyed Him. And you know, it did seep in. I didn't think it would. I rationalized my sin and disobediene, because I wanted to continue on, to find out what happened. But isn't it interesting, how when I started to get mad, profanity would come into my angry thoughts (as if they weren't bad enough on their own). Garbage in, garbage out. I love 1 Corinthians 7:23, which says, "You were bought at a price; do not become slaves of men." When all I can think about is the book I'm reading, when I do that but don't read my Bible, I'm becoming a slave to it little by little. James 1:21-25 says, "Therefore, get rid of all moral filth and the evil that is so prevalent and humbly accept the word planted in you, which can save you. Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. DO WHAT IT SAYS. Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like a man who looks at his face in a mirror and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like." God has given me, and all Christians, the amazing opportunity to grow closer to Him and become more like Him through the Holy Spirit's sanctifying work. But if I am too focused on the world around me to focus on Him, the world starts to hold a greater place in my heart and I lose focus of what's really important, the true life that Christ came to give me. I am not just biding time here on this earth. I am here for a purpose, first and foremost to worship God with my whole life and being and to tell others about Him. So, this is a first post in many on God's work of purification in my heart in the area of entertainment. I invite you to join me. Will you take the challenge to cut out your favorite TV show for a month? Believe me - it's going to be hard for me to miss "Burn Notice" for a whole month! Will you put your secular novel on hold and join me in replacing that time with reading the Bible or a devotional or another Christian book? Will you commit with me to read the Bible daily for the next 30 days? Will you join me in cutting out secular music and praising God when you have music on? I am praying for myself and for you that God will grow your relationship in Him during this fast and will give you a heart that desires Him above all else and one that can see the things of the world a little bit more clearly through the spiritual glasses He's given us through the Spirit.