“Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.
(Matt. 5:9)
The verse above is explained by Matthew 5:27-37. For more on the
outline of the Sermon on the Mount, see the very first post of this blog,
entitled The Key to the Sermon on the Mount and posted on Sept. 26,
2014.
Matthew 5:27-37:
"You have heard that it was said, 'Do not commit adultery.' 28 But I tell you that anyone who looks at a
woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart. 29 If
your right eye causes you to sin, gouge it out and throw it away. It is better
for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to be thrown
into hell. 30 And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it
away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole
body to go into hell.
31 "It has been said, 'Anyone who divorces his wife must give her
a certificate of divorce.' 32 But I
tell you that anyone who divorces his wife, except for marital unfaithfulness,
causes her to become an adulteress, and anyone who marries the divorced woman
commits adultery.
33 "Again, you have heard that it was said to the people long ago,
'Do not break your oath, but keep the oaths you have made to the Lord.' 34 But
I tell you, Do not swear at all: either by heaven, for it is God's throne; 35
or by the earth, for it is his footstool; or by Jerusalem, for it is the city
of the Great King. 36 And do not swear by your head, for you cannot make even
one hair white or black. 37 Simply let your 'Yes' be 'Yes,' and your 'No,'
'No'; anything beyond this comes from the evil one. NIV
“Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see
God.”
With these words, Jesus not only gives us a promise of
unspeakable worth – no less than seeing God Himself – but He also gives us a
goal to strive for as we grow in our happiness in Him. Let’s start first with
the promise.
Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God! Did
you catch that? What a promise! Blessed –
happy! – will you be for you will see God! Don’t let this slip by you
without grabbing a hold of it for yourself! Imagine, you and I – lowly
creatures, full of faults, mistake-prone and sliding towards sin despite our
best efforts – will one day see our Creator, and not only see Him, but see Him
in his glory, full of sinless perfect beauty and abounding in unlimited
lovingkindness for us, his beloved. Hallelujah!
And as great as that is, it doesn’t stop there. We will
not only see Him face to face, we will also have relationship with Him. We’ll
eat with him, talk with him, and be rewarded by him. We’ll not only be invited
to the wedding feast; we’ll be members of the wedding party as we who believe
make up the Bride of Christ (Matt. 22:1-14, 25:1-13; Rev. 19:7-8)
A
great destiny awaits those of us who believe – don’t let the worries of this
world and the enemy of our soul steal away your joy! Instead, take the antidote
that will keep you in that place of prolonged happiness, of indescribable joy,
of perfect peace regardless of the circumstances of life – be pure in heart.
Live in that place of purity of heart, in God’s kingdom and under His reign,
and you will be truly happy.
Happy and blessed will you be when your heart has been
cleansed and kept pure, with no impurities from sin nor any divisions from
worldly thinking or love for this world. Blessed will you be when you are 100%
pure in your devotion to God, sold out to Him, allowing no room for rival
affections. For then you will be living in the full strength of relationship
with Him, loving the Lord your God with all
of your strength, all of your mind, all of your soul, and all of your heart.
I
don’t know about you, but as for me I want to live in the blessed, happy state
that Jesus promises. I want to be 100% pure in heart, living a life completely
centered in Christ and totally lived in Him and for Him. I want to get rid of
the impure thoughts and the mixed-up madness that our modern-day American culture tries to
pass off as truth.
Will you join me in my quest? In tomorrow’s reading we
will look at the examples Jesus gives us, but for now, will you join me in committing to living pure in heart?
For further study, meditate on these Scriptures:
If we confess
our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us
from all unrighteousness. (1 John 1:9
NIV)
For the grace
of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men. It teaches us to say
"No" to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live
self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age, while we wait for
the blessed hope-the glorious appearing of our great God and Savior, Jesus
Christ, who gave himself for us to redeem us from all wickedness and to purify
for himself a people that are his very own, eager to do what is good. (Titus 2:11-14
NIV)
Since we have these promises, dear friends, let us
purify ourselves from everything that contaminates body and spirit, perfecting
holiness out of reverence for God. (2
Cor 7:1 NIV)
Please use this blog for
personal devotional use and feel free to share it with friends and family.
However, all publishing rights are reserved. No reproduction or publication of
this blog is permitted without the permission of the author, Pastor Randy
Brockett of New Song
Foursquare Church
in Colorado Springs, Colorado. To contact Pastor Randy, email him
at randybrockett@yahoo.com.
No comments:
Post a Comment