Pure heart...will see God. Wow that
is an incredible statement. One for me that is hard to fathom. I
see my heart and all the things I want to change. I see the sins I make
in my thoughts, in my deeds, and in my words. I see all the ways I let
God down. I see all the ways I don't live as a Christian. I see how
the others apply to me. Poor in Spirit, mourning, meek, hungry and thirsty,
in these I can relate. It means I am lacking and God has filled that
need.
But pure in heart? To be pure was
referred to as being clean. A pure heart is without defect, it is unmixed
with impure things, and it unwavering int its single devotion to God. At
the cross I see how impure I am. How can we be pure in heart? Is it
even possible?
And honestly I think being completely pure
in heart will not happen for us until we are created completely new in Heaven.
We are never going to stop making mistakes and that leaves our heart
impure.
ere are ways to purify our heart now.
To start to make it clean, to get read of the defects, and impurities,
and to have its focus and devotion be to God.
Jesus started this process with his death
on the cross. Through acceptance of his FREE AWESOME gift of forgiveness,
grace and mercy we receive a new life here and now. Our sins (impurities)
are washed away and we are given a new start and a new beginning. It is
such an amazing feeling when you are standing in the grace of God.
Let's be honest, though, that feeling
doesn't last and neither does our new clean heart. We walk away and 5 seconds
later sin again. It can leave us feeling discouraged, disheartened, and
well impure.
But that doesn't mean we should give up!
Faith walk with Jesus is a JOURNEY full of ups and downs, really high ups
and really high downs, droughts, storms, and sunshine. The point is that
we KEEP GOING. We keep our faith in God even if we don't see Him. We keep
our faith in his promises of always loving and being with us. We keep
walking forward knowing our destination (Heaven) is better than we can possibly
imagine.
But Jesus didn't die and rise again so we
can journey alone or without direction. To keep on purifying our heart,
the Bible gives us great verses to show us how.
“How can a young man keep his way pure? By
living according to your word” (Psalm 119:9)
“I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin
against you” (Psalm 119:11)
God's WORD shows us exactly what a pure
heart does and doesn't do. It fits so well in our progression. When
we realize we have nothing or can do nothing to get to God, when we realize
what our punishment is but yet know it has been paid, and we hunger and thirst
for righteousness pretty soon we see our heart start to change from impure to
pure.
If we purse God's word (that means you
actually have to read it) and pray to God asking for help (it's okay to admit
you need help) and guidance (Holy Spirit here for a reason) we will start
leading a different life. A life that reflects a heart that is being
purified.
But this road of purifying our hearts which
in turn changes how we live does come with a cost. We might lose friends,
possessions, status, and family members. We might get made fun of and maybe
even persecuted. We might even lose our life.
But Christ tells us in Matthew 10:39 Whoever
finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find
it.
Jesus gave up his life for us! Left his heavenly throne
and glory to come to a broken world to save sinful people. Who are we to
give him anything less? Even if we give up our life here we are met with
an eternal life and a pure heart. There we will see God.
But I also firmly believe on our path to purify our hearts
through God we will see Him. If we pursue Him and have our hearts and
eyes open to Him, we will find Him. We might not see Him face to face but
we will know He is there by the stirring of our hearts.
What things in your heart need to be purified? What
path and journey are you on today?
I suggest praying Psalm 139:23-24: Search me, O 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.
May we together pursue pure hearts through the God who gave
us the chance to see Him
The Message version "You're
blessed when you get your inside world- your mind and heart-put right.
Then you can see God in the outside world."
0 comments:
Post a Comment