"Fear God, Love God, Serve God": "Pure In Heart"

Tuesday, July 9, 2019

"Pure In Heart"

"Blessed are the pure in heart:

for they shall see God."

(Matthew 5:8)

Depiction of Mary, mother of Jesus

Man looks on the flesh, the body, the outward appearance, but God looks on the heart. Man rewards actions, performances, and the strutting of human flesh, but God rewards the motive of the heart, the obeisance of the soul, the holiness of spirit, and the purity of the heart. To "see God" means to behold His face. We shall behold Him in all of His Glory ... if we keep our hearts pure; if we walk in holiness; if we live in repentance; if we receive His Spirit and speak in tongues as His Spirit gives utterance, and we must do it daily and continually, keeping our lamps oiled and ready; and if we are baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ for the remission of our sins ...

You say, "That's a lot of 'if's." Yes, the Holy One of Israel, the Lord God Almighty said it first, "If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land." (2 Chronicles 7:14) We must have "if's" from God, because in our flesh dwells no good thing; we must keep our flesh under submission to the Holy One of Israel, and how do we do that? A Cherokee indian said it best:

One evening an old Cherokee told his grandson about a
battle that goes on inside people. He said, "My son, the
battle is between 2 "wolves" inside us all. One is
Evil. It is anger, envy, jealousy, sorrow, regret, greed,
arrogance, self-pity, guilt, resentment, inferiority, lies,
false pride, superiority, and ego. The other is Good. It
is joy, peace, love, hope, serenity, humility, kindness,

benevolence, empathy, generosity, truth, compassion,
and faith." The grandson thought about it for a minute
and then asked his grandfather: "Which wolf wins?"
The old Cherokee simply replied, "The one you feed."

"Create in me a pure heart, O God, and

renew a steadfast spirit within me."

(Psalm 51:10)

It's up to us, you know. When we all stand before our Holy God, and we will, we will have no excuses; it will be "we" who guarded our hearts or exploited it, we who lived in sin or continued in repentance and holiness, we who prayed for and sought with diligence a pure heart or neglected our hearts, we who hid His Word in our hearts or never read it, we who finally saw His face or were cast into utter darkness. In this age of "choice;" we must choose to follow the only One who loves us enough to save us, who forgives us and redeems us, who carries us through our storms when we belong to Him, who showers us with His love and gives us beauty for ashes, joy for mourning, blessing instead of cursing. He does this for those with "pure" hearts, bowed knees, reaching arms, seeking souls, willing spirits and loyal minds ... to the One who died to set us free, our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

Repentance brings forgiveness

and Joy!

The bottom line for earthlings, for those created from "dust," for those who want to make heaven their final home, for those who can experience "in earth as it is in heaven," for those who will SEE God ... is to be "Pure In Heart."