Hebrews 1:3 tells us that the Son of God provided purification for sins. Acts 15:9 says that God purified our hearts by faith. In 1 Peter 1:22 we find that we have purified ourselves by obeying the truth. 1 John 1:9 calls on us to confess our sins and God will forgive them and purify us. We see clearly, in the preceding scriptures that we who believe in the Son of God as our Lord and Savior and confess our sins and repent of them, are purified. We are made pure.

We now find ourselves in a society where there is little respect for authority and little value placed on moral conviction. Many have given up on government leaders, teachers, athletes or any other traditional role model. We hear many saying there are no more role models, there are no more heroes. The "good-ole-days" are gone, they say. Our youth are being bombarded with television programs and movies that tell them there is no future, no promise for tomorrow. Many lament, the best days are but a passing memory. Pessimism and defeatism are weaving their way through the media, the schools, the home and most unfortunately the Church. We who call ourselves "children of God" must not fall into this trap. We must rise above it. We must show the world that we serve the Almighty God who has begun a good work in us and He will be faithful to complete it (Philippians 1:6).

We have already explored the truth that God has made us pure through salvation. Now we see in Titus 1:15, 16 that "to the pure, all things are pure, but to those who are corrupted and do not believe, nothing is pure. In fact, both their minds and consciences are corrupted. They claim to know God, but by their actions they deny Him. They are detestable, disobedient and unfit for doing anything good." We clearly see here that we who have been made pure, must now see all things as pure. We must speak, by faith, with the words of our mouth, that those things which are impure will be made pure. This is the character of God, as we read in Romans 4:17(b), "the God who gives life to the dead and calls things that are not as though they were." We must not speak with pessimism and defeat but with optimism and victory. We must step out in the power of the Holy Spirit, doing great exploits, by faith, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. We must not hang our heads in shame but we must boldly proclaim the liberating Word of God. In Ezekiel 22:30, the Lord says, "I looked for a man among them who would build up the wall and stand before me in the gap on behalf of the land so I would not have to destroy it, but I found none." There are literally tens of thousands of believers in these United States of America, interceding powerfully on behalf of the nation. Renewal and revival are surely ahead for America. We must show this nation and the world that with God the best days are ahead and that righteousness, peace and joy will rule and reign in the hearts and lives of those who love Jesus Christ.

Let the children of God lead the way to victorious, optimistic living. Let the pure see things as pure. Let us put on the full armor of God in purity to defeat the enemy and to bring freedom to the captives. Let us proclaim the favorable year of the Lord our God. Let us look at the sea before us and see it parting to the promised land. As God has spoken it in His word, see it as already done. Psalm 118:24 shouts to us, "This is the day the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it." Psalm 40:3 says it best: "He put a new song in my mouth, a hymn of praise to our God. Many will see and fear and put their trust in the Lord." The world will believe and trust in God when they see His people, who have been purified, living a life of gladness and victory, praising God and believing that the best is yet to come!