Daily Devo

Pursuing Purity

By: Bob Beck

Thursday, February 19, 2026

Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God. Matthew 5:8

According to dictionary.com, purity is the freedom from anything that debases, contaminates, or pollutes. But there are many different opinions about purity. One person might avoid a bottle of water if they see a small speck in it. Someone else might not worry about the purity of their food very much. For example, when I was growing up, my father and I would have cookouts for the family. If a piece of meat fell on the ground, dad would say: "pick it up, a little dirt never hurt anybody.” But our spiritual purity is way more important than the purity of our food.

Flee the evil desires of youth and pursue righteousness, faith, love, and peace, along with those who call on the Lord out of a pure heart. 2 Timothy 2:22

We are all imperfect humans, so our thoughts and desires aren't always pure. Satan knows our weaknesses, so he is always tempting us to be impure. When we are tempted, a godly response is to get away from it. Joseph ran away from impure temptations, and God rewarded him for fleeing. We must flee temptation and pursue purity.

Search me, God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting. Psalms 139:23-24

How do we pursue purity? It takes discipline, spiritual discipline. Controlling our thoughts is critical, because when we’re able to control our thoughts, it's much easier to control our actions. If our thoughts are impure, it's likely our actions will be too. Frequent spiritual self-evaluation is one way we can guard our hearts and our minds. One of the best things we can do is to ask God to reveal any impurity within us.

Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it. Proverbs 4:23

God's Word says Christ followers are new creations, but we are all still living in our sinful human bodies. Since our bodies are weak, we must guard our hearts and ask God to help us resist temptation. A wonderful way to guard our hearts is by regularly praying for our purity.

Christ follower, keep pursuing purity, and keep fleeing from the immorality Satan sends your way!