“Depart, depart, go out from there! Touch no unclean thing! Come out from it and be pure, you who carry the articles of the Lord’s house.”
I am a country music fan. Largely because I grew up listening to it. I enjoy other genres of music too, but when I listen to country music, I seem to sing every word from every song. Lori Morgan wrote a song back in the day that is titled, “What Part Of No.” It is about a woman in a bar being hit on by a guy who won’t take “no” for an answer to which Lori Morgan sings, “What part of no don’t you understand?” Catchy little song but it has always struck me as odd. It seems as if the woman in the song is in the wrong place for her state of mind. She says she is here “just to unwind” but the atmosphere is dripping with, well, pick up lines and bar etiquette. Now I know all the women could be saying the same thing, “can’t she just unwind without someone hitting on her?” The answer is yes but why do it there?
This is the same problem the Israelites were having. They would entertain all these foreign people with their foreign gods and you can almost see the song playing out….”I’m just here to unwind.” The wrong place at the wrong time with a state of mind that invites, well, pick up artists. The ones who see someone alone and go in for the hunt. I am not against unwinding but I am against putting myself in places where the devil will tempt me for sure.
The phrase, “Touch no unclean thing!” refers to the priests, who were supposed to be handling the articles of the temple, to not handle anything not of God. What are you touching? You are called to spread the word of the Lord, read Revelations 5:10, “You have made them to be a kingdom and priests to serve our God, and they will reign on the earth.” Are there habits in your life that are unclean so to speak? The Lord tells them to depart two times, touch nothing unclean, come out, and be pure all in one verse.
We are all walking testimonies. All of us. We are billboards for the Lord so to speak. You are the best Christian someone knows. Are your habits in line with that procession or do you find yourself in places and circumstances and you say you are there just to unwind? Where is “here” for you? Is it with the wrong crowd, the wrong night scene, the wrong friends, the wrong place you go to for advice? We all have them and we are all called to depart, quit touching it, come out, and be pure.
Maybe today is your day to come out, be pure, and grab ahold of the Lord with everything you have. You see, Lori Morgan writes the truth about the wrong places. She says she is not interested in romance, talking, or any other communication but she finds herself in the very place where temptation or sin crouches at the door.
Today, depart from those things that are pulling you down. Quit touching all the dirty things that make you unclean, come out and be made pure by the Lord. Take ahold of your God given call to become a follower of Christ, not just a hearer but also a doer.
Prayer: Father, too often we find ourselves in circumstances that are compromising and wonder why we seem to keep sinning. I pray that we learn to be holy as you are holy in all we do. I pray that we stop going to and attending places that you have already told us to never go back to. I pray that you strengthen our faith so we can walk clean, pure lives before you Lord. In Jesus name, amen.
Let It Go 
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