Purity

“Run from anything that stimulates youthful lust. Follow anything that makes you want to do right. Pursue faith and love and peace, and enjoy the companionship of those who call on the Lord with pure hearts.” 2 Timothy 2:22 NLT

It was on this day in 1889 that Thomas Edison showed his first motion picture. It was a development that began a year earlier when he saw photographs taken of horses in full gallop using cameras along a racetrack. This gave the illusion that the horses were moving. But Edison was convinced that he could fool the brain into seeing these frames as continuous motion.

Dedicating himself to this challenge, Edison invented the first motion-picture camera, consisting of a cylinder that revolved, taking about 40 pictures per second. Within a few years, he completed a new machine that served as the prototype of all modern cameras. Recognizing the need for products showcasing this invention, in 1893 he established the first motion-picture studio, which produced short films.

Edison’s invention spawned a technology that revolutionized communication, eventually leading to the developments like movies, television, and videos streamed by the millions each day over the internet.

The medium of “motion pictures” can be used to deliver any message. Spirit-led preaching to the most carnal of content. From images that motivate and inspire to images of base pleasures. The images conveyed by these technologies are so powerful that they help shape thoughts and influence behavior.

In your life, what influence is the media having on you? Remember that Paul said that we are to “run from anything that stimulates youthful lust.” Instead, we are to “follow anything that makes you want to do right,” and “pursue faith and love and peace.”

Ask God to help free you from anything that might be controlling your heart, shaping your thoughts, and influencing your behavior, that you might continually surrender every part of your life to Him, that your heart might be pure.

Prayer Father, help me control what images and thoughts I allow into my mind. I want to be a pure vessel. Fill me anew with Your Spirit. Purge me of sin. In Jesus’ name. Amen.