Pure Perspectives
To the pure all things are pure, but to those who are defiled and unbelieving nothing is pure; but even their mind and conscience are defiled. (Titus 1:15 NKJV)
Have you ever stopped to consider the power of perspective? Two people can look at the same thing and formulate completely different impressions. For example, a police officer can cause conviction in one heart and comfort in another. The difference is a matter of perspective. Are you a criminal or a law-abiding citizen?
This principle of perspective carries over into the spiritual realm. For in writing to Titus, Paul pointed out that there were some who had a pure perspective on life. These people looked at life through a pure lens and saw the positive potential in every situation. Conversely, there were those who had an impure (or defiled) perspective. They looked at life through a dirty lens and couldn't see the positive potential in anything. Life was one long list of problems and pains where everything seemed wrong.
From time to time, people will let me know how bothered they are by the fact that we permit people to smoke cigarettes outside on our church property. They see 'sinners' who need to be set straight. That's not what I see. I see people struggling and needing help, and I know that they've come to the perfect place. They've come to God's house, which means they're seeking His help for their lives. As they continue to come, they're going to hear about addiction and self-control. But I want the Holy Spirit to give them the inward conviction to change rather than me hitting them with rules that will only temporarily alter their outward behavior. Can you see the difference in perspective?
As God's children, we've been purified and cleansed. We should be the ones who see the positive potential in people rather than finding fault with everything they do. God has been so gracious to us, and He expects us to help others. But how can we if we don't show them the same grace that God has shown to us?
DIG - What does it mean to have a pure perspective?
DISCOVER - How have you struggled between having a pure perspective and a defiled perspective?
DISPLAY - Have a pure perspective when you look at people with problems.
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At the age of 24, Bob Coy left a coveted position in the music industry to serve as an associate pastor with Calvary Chapel of Las Vegas. In 1985, Bob and his wife, Diane, moved to Fort Lauderdale and began Calvary Chapel of Fort Lauderdale. As senior pastor, he has become well known for his unique style in expounding the Scriptures, making them come alive and relate to those of us living in the 21st century. His teaching style emphasizes the believer's "life application" of the highest standards of God's truth while his delivery captures the loving heart of God's Spirit.
Pastor Bob has had the rare privilege of watching God's miraculous hand move in the individual lives of those in the fellowship as well as the corporate body as a whole. From the first meeting in a living room with four in attendance, Calvary Chapel Fort Lauderdale has now become home to over 17,000 men and women from the tri-county area, and ranks as the eighth largest church in the country. Though many have tried to attribute its rapid growth to numerous reasons, no one is more surprised by the phenomenon than Pastor Bob, who gives total credit and all the glory to God alone.
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