You can live a pure life!

All that you need for a pure life has been given to you - Resets & Reflections 002

Hello my good friend. Thanks for coming back for yet another week of these conversations. I truly appreciate you taking time out of your real life to read these, it means a lot to me. And to everyone one of you that hits reply or leaves a comment, this letter is for you 🩵. Todays letter is a wrap up of what has been a three part series on purity. Let’s get into it!!

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One of the reasons I wanted to start this newsletter and have the conversations we are having now is so that I could bring a different perspective to our everyday chats. For example, these past couple of weeks have been my attempt at bringing a fresh new conversation to the subject of purity. Many of us have had this conversation directed in one way—we talk about sexual purity a lot, but we never approach purity holistically.

Our lives were created by God to be well-rounded and full. When we focus on one thing more than the other, we create gaps in our understanding and, therefore, in our way of life too. When I spoke about purity in the body, I chose to touch on food more than anything. I wanted to provoke something in you and me, to show us that maybe we aren’t as pure as we claim to be. Because if the entirety of our being is God's dwelling place, then surely we have to pay more attention to what we put into it.

My goal with these letters is to have us increase the level of deliberateness with which we live our lives—that’s all. So when you think about purity, think about it holistically—for your body, mind, and soul.

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Body

Our bodies are a gift from God; how we take care of them is our gift to ourselves and an offering of thanks to God. One thing I’ve learned about God is how important stewardship is to Him and how we, as His children, must pay more mind to it. Granted, most people are good stewards of their finances, careers, ministry, and even gifts. Our bodies just happen to be last on that list of important things to take care of, which, as I have expressed numerous times, is an error because how far can you go with your gifts and careers without a well-able body?

An illusion our youth gives us is that we will always feel this way: fit, energetic, and powerful. That’s a lie because, as the years go by, we will have to work harder to maintain what was once a natural attribute. The only way to make that work lighter is by starting now. The only way to avoid unwanted disease is by starting to eat right now. The word 'pure' simply means uncontaminated; it means clean, and the subject of clean eating is not one that we are unacquainted with. We’ve read about it, we’ve heard about it, but for some reason, most of us have held back on incorporating it into our day. In fact, it’s not just for some reason; I think one of the reasons we don’t do it is that it requires discipline and restraint. That is actually isn’t easy.

Friend, it’s not going to be easy. I hate to break it to you and even to myself; we must just push through the hard and get used to it. This has been one of the major lessons I’ve learned as I’ve embarked on this journey. For me, I’m currently fighting the urge to have juice every day! But I have to keep at it and resist it every time I see it or feel like taking it. And no, it’s not every time I've been able to resist it, but I can tell you now that moments after that strong urge passes and I deny it, my confidence in myself increases so much.

Also, just a side note: staying away from juices and sodas (always American) has improved my digestion so much. I have an unstable digestive system, but having this one thing be consistent has helped me a lot. No medicine at all, just a few changes made to my day-to-day routine.

Before I go on and on about this, I’m going to end by sharing a quote from a sermon by Apostle Arome Osayi that really crystallized the whole idea that putting your body under subjection, be it through eating good or not eating certain foods, is actually training for warfare or is warfare in itself.

“Someone thinks when Paul says ‘we wrestle not against flesh and blood’ he meant we don’t wrestle against flesh and blood at all, but what he actually meant was that if you’re still wrestling with flesh and blood (your body) and you have not mastered it, you’ll not be a good candidate for spiritual warfare, because Satan is going to exploit the appetites of your flesh and blood that you have not disciplined.”

- Apostle Arome Osayi-

Soul

I am reading the book of Acts this month (I hope some of you are too), and one of the things I noticed from the book is how the people being won to Christ were referred to as souls. It’s also a very annoying habit that my friends have; they always refer to our church invites as souls. But what I’ve learned is that truly the essence of a person is their soul—that is, their mind, will, and emotions. It is no surprise to me that the devil is going after the souls of many people because if he can beat your soul down, he will most likely take your body too.

Now, more than ever, I am so aware of the schemes of the enemy, especially as it relates to our souls, particularly our emotions, which most people have unfortunately given power over their minds and inadvertently allowed it to control their will. As children of God, our resolve should be to subject our emotions to the will of God, subject our thoughts to the authority of Jesus, and surrender our will to Christ. But this isn’t an easy thing; it’s hard (this whole hard thing is starting to make Jesus’ carry your cross talk make so much sense 😵‍💫), and when I say hard, I don’t mean it’s impossible. I just mean that it isn’t our natural inclination.

Pursuing purity of the soul is a continuous process that comes from a high level of self-awareness and consciousness, but more than that, it requires serious knowledge of the word of God. We must know the Bible and know ourselves so that we can always assess our alignment to the word. Many of us know more mental health diagnoses than we know the word. When this is the case, the word of the world (doctors) becomes louder and dictates our responses to things and feelings. When all the mental health experts tell you it’s okay to not be okay, why would you believe the guy that tells you that your soul can, in fact, prosper and be free of affliction?

Life will throw many things at us, and we will have bad seasons where we walk through the valley of the shadow of death. But what shouldn’t change in those seasons is the position of our minds. David says, “I will not be afraid.” That must be our resolve too. That through valley lows and mountain highs, our mental fortitude will not be compromised. A pure soul is an uncompromised and uncontaminated soul. It can be achieved, but it must be done diligently, as Proverbs says, because out of it comes the things of life.

Keep and guard your heart with all vigilance and above all that you guard, for out of it flow the springs of life.

‭‭Proverbs‬ ‭4‬:‭23‬ ‭AMPC‬‬

Spirit

Our relationship with God quite literally depends on the strength of our spirit man. How much of the person and power of Jesus we manifest depends on how built up our spirit man is. Just as the physical body is kept in tip-top shape by physical exercise and discipline, our spirit man is also built up by spiritual exercise and discipline.

The interesting and often overlooked thing about building up our spirit man is that we don’t just focus on the spiritual disciplines; we must also ensure that the flesh is being starved of its desires and impulses. For a long time, I thought I could do both, and I know many people live this way too. There’s no balance to be achieved between the flesh and the spirit; one must be chosen. In the case where one isn’t chosen, the flesh wins.

My friend Munana always talks about how most people think they can get away with being mixtures of both the world and Christ. Saints, it’s impossible. We can’t read the scriptures and listen to Doja Cat and call it balance 😵‍💫. It’s pure madness facilitated by the devil. Every day of our lives is a war between the flesh and the spirit. We must be vigilant and aware enough to know that our response to the things thrown at us is a vote for either the spirit or the flesh.

Purity in spirit is choosing Jesus and subjecting the flesh to the spirit. When our spirit man has been strengthened, we become people with the ability to truly manifest the person and power of Christ to the world around us. This is the only way we can bring about actual change to our environments and the people around us. The world is not affected by Christians who act, talk, and think like them.

It wouldn’t be me if I didn’t mention the fact that this pursuit isn’t easy; it’s hard 🤭. But guess what, my friend? God has given you all that you need through His sufficient grace.

I say then: Walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh. For the flesh lusts against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; and these are contrary to one another, so that you do not do the things that you wish.

‭‭Galatians‬ ‭5‬:‭16‬-‭17‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

Reflections

Because we are still in the month of November, I will not share December goals. Instead, I will share some reflection prompts that we can all use to close off the month.

Body:

1. How well did I prioritize and care for my physical health this month?

2. What changes in my physical habits contributed positively or negatively to my well-being?

3. In what ways did I practice discipline in terms of physical exercise and nutrition?

Soul:

1. How did I nurture and care for my emotional well-being in November

2. What were the predominant emotions I experienced, and how did I handle them?

3. Did I engage in activities that brought me joy, peace, and emotional balance?

Spirit:

1. How consistent was my spiritual discipline, such as prayer and reading the Bible?

2. In what moments did I feel a deep connection with God and what were the reasons for that?

3. What steps did I take to strengthen my relationship with God ?

That’s it from me this week my friend, In the comments tell me what you thought or simply just hit reply to this email. And don’t forget to put us on to something we should watch, listen to or read or better yet tell us a lesson God/life taught you this month.

See you Tuesday.

Love,

Ruth Musange

ps : I will now time stamp these so that I can track what time I publish them, my goal is 7pm but my current life doesn’t support that. So here’s to achieving 7pm every Tuesday.

21/11/23, 9pm.