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Pure in Heart

Matthew 5:8 (AMP) “Blessed [anticipating God’s presence, spiritually mature] are the pure in heart [those with integrity, moral courage, and godly character], for they will see God.“

I have written about this many times, but my word for this year is “Presence.” When we desire to see God face to face. Why? It is the type of relationship that we can converse with God as a friend (not His equal). Here, in Matthew, Jesus tells us that we should be pure in heart. Pure means to not contain any other substance, not to be mixed of different elements. Job asks, “Can [mortal] man be just before God or be more righteous than He? Can a man be pure before his Maker or be more cleansed than He?” (Job 4:17) Although my spirit man has been made alive, I am still residing in this fleshly body.

Psalm 20:7-9 (AMP) The law of the Lord is perfect (flawless), restoring and refreshing the soul; The statutes of the Lord are reliable and trustworthy, making wise the simple. The precepts of the Lord are right, bringing joy to the heart; The commandment of the Lord is pure, enlightening the eyes. The fear of the Lord is clean, enduring forever; The judgments of the Lord are true, they are righteous altogether.

Psalm 24:3-6 (AMP) Who may ascend onto the mountain of the Lord? And who may stand in His holy place? He who has clean hands and a pure heart, who has not lifted up his soul to what is false, nor has sworn [oaths] deceitfully. He shall receive a blessing from the Lord, and righteousness from the God of his salvation. This is the generation (description) of those who diligently seek Him and require Him as their greatest need, who seek Your face, even [as did] Jacob. Selah.

Our Master, our Creator, our Lord God is Holy. I am sitting here thinking of different ways to convey why we should obey, but all I can think of is that if you first do not understand that He is Holy. Where does the deep reverence we have for Him come from? Nothing I can write will convince you to even open your minds to such an idea without surrender. This is where we begin.

In order for me to be pure in heart, I need to surrender. In our surrender, God will remove the impurities. Everything used in the temple had to be of pure metals, the gold, the silver, etc. How do you get rid of the impurities? They had to put it under extreme heat. Surrender may seem extreme to some. I am not talking about rituals and works. I am talking about your mind, will and emotions. Not the goofy stuff either. God does not want us looking weird to show others of our surrender. We become no better than the religious men Jesus talked about in Matthew 6:1-8 and 16-18. His commandments are not supposed to be a burden. His precepts are not a formula to receive His blessings. They come from a heart of surrender.

It is not about how many scriptures you can memorize. It is about how much time you spend saying ‘God not my will but Yours today. Not my response, but Yours today. God, what is Your heart towards this?’ Read your Bible not to get streaks, not to get your reading goals met. Read your Bible with a surrendered heart. ‘God, what are you saying to me today?’

He desires a relationship with us. That is why I say to hunger and thirst for the communion as you would a close friend. This relationship development takes a pure heart. If I only go to Him to see what I can get our of it, is it really pure? Is my worship based on my emotions? Who’s atmosphere are you setting? What is my prayer life based on?

I can do good works; I can serve in ministry, and do them without a pure heart. I can be doing them as a stepping stone to a promotion. Why am I aligning with certain leaders? Is it so that I can support the vision that God has called me to, or am I biding my time until I can gather others to support my vision? Your personal surrender means you do not look for your own benefit. Love of self can be a huge distraction in our surrender. Remember we must align our will with His. Personal surrender means saying ‘no’ to areas that hinder me from developing a relationship with Him, so I can say ‘yes’ to the opportunities that draw me closer.

I have already mentioned serving. Jesus was all about serving. If you do not have an outlet to serve then you cannot put your surrender into practice. Where do you think the fruit of the Spirit is cultivated (Galatians 5:22)? Love is the unselfish concern for others. How I can I measure my patience if I do not have opportunities to be impatient? Patience has to do with our relation to people more than it does to events. How can I have opportunities for kindness if I do not have anyone to be kind to? How can I be gentle when there is no one to be gentle to? The fruit of the Spirit is a result of His presence within me. Being available to serve others, to love others, is your proving ground to surrender.

2 Samuel 22:26-27 (AMP) With the loving and loyal You show Yourself loving and loyal, with the blameless You show Yourself blameless. With the pure You show Yourself pure, with the perverted You show Yourself astute.

He knows the intent of our hearts. There is no manipulation I can use to hide my intent. He sees right through to the core of what we value most. I am choosing to surrender my mind to Him. I am choosing to surrender my will to Him. I am choosing to surrender my emotions to Him. In desiring His Presence my heart needs to be His as well. This is the gateway to something greater than I could ever imagine. In the scope of eternity, what are you waiting for?

Lord, Master and Creator, You are Holy. Holy is everything about You. Grace, Love and Mercy are just a few of Your attributes. Just is also one that we often do want to remind You of, but who You have always been. You are Just, just as much as You are Love. You are Just, just as much as You are Grace. Thank You for sending Your Son to be the atonement for us, so that we may be restored to Your right standing. Thank You for the Holy Spirit, so that we may be empowered to surrender. We cannot do this on our own. In the desire to see us restored, You give us every opportunity to grow strong in You. Thank You for the revelation of Your Word. Thank You for speaking to us as we listen in prayer. Let us continue to surrender our mind, will and emotions to You. Let us continue to listen to You and read our Word so that we do not get off in weird revelations. You call us Your sons and daughters. We desire Your Presence. We desire to be fruitful as You have commanded us to. We choose love today. We choose hope today. We choose forgiveness today. In Jesus Name, Amen.

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He Understands

Ephesians 4:22-25 (AMP) That, regarding your previous way of life, you put off your old self [completely discard your former nature], which is being corrupted through deceitful desires, and be continually renewed in the spirit of your mind [having a fresh, untarnished mental and spiritual attitude], and put on the new self [the regenerated and renewed nature], created in God’s image, [godlike] in the righteousness and holiness of the truth [living in a way that expresses to God your gratitude for your salvation]. Therefore, rejecting all falsehood [whether lying, defrauding, telling half-truths, spreading rumors, any such as these], speak truth each one with his neighbor, for we are all parts of one another [and we are all parts of the body of Christ].

So many of us put our faith in Christ as our Savior, but fail to allow Him to be our redeemer, our healer, our restorer. Christ has done everything He needs to do to be one with us. God lives in me, He sees me, He hears me, He loves me and He understands me. People may not always understand you, but Jesus will always understand you.

I have recently gone through a great heart ache. People in our church have recently walked away from ours to go to another in our area. As pastors it is hard because it feels like a divorce (or that is what those who have never had a divorce would think it feels like). I had a dream about one of them last night. It was a dream of when he and his brother were younger, with short curly hair. In my dream I wept. I also imagined myself using something to dull the feeling of pain. That is something I have never done in the natural, so why would I dream about that?

Galatians 5:16-17 (AMP) But I say, walk habitually in the [Holy] Spirit [seek Him and be responsive to His guidance], and then you will certainly not carry out the desire of the sinful nature [which responds impulsively without regard for God and His precepts]. For the sinful nature has its desire which is opposed to the Spirit, and the [desire of the] Spirit opposes the sinful nature; for these [two, the sinful nature and the Spirit] are in direct opposition to each other [continually in conflict], so that you [as believers] do not [always] do whatever [good things] you want to do.

I have recently been reading about the time in David’s life when his son Absalom was against him. You can read about their tumultuous relationship in 2 Samuel 13-18. David did not send orders to end Absalom’s life. He asked for them to have mercy on his son, the son that was trying to overthrow him. I often think about how we want God to take revenge for us to those that have done us wrong. My husband made a good point yesterday and I have been asking God to help with my heart change. We have have every right to feel the way we do when someone wrongs us…in the natural. However, when we are born again we have to submit those feelings to the Kingdom and let go of our rights.

David writes during this time in Psalms 26:11 (AMP), “But as for me, I shall walk in my integrity; Redeem me and be merciful and gracious to me.”

Psalms 139:23-24 (AMP) Search me [thoroughly], O God, and know my heart; Test me and know my anxious thoughts; And see if there is any wicked or hurtful way in me, And lead me in the everlasting way.

I cannot allow these hurts to hold me back. I cannot beat myself up for them coming up sometimes either. I have to change my focus. I have to allow the Holy Spirit to heal me from the inside out. Remember, Jesus understands. David did have his moments when he cried out to God to hide his iniquity. Psalms 38:16 (AMP), For I pray, “May they not rejoice over me, who, when my foot slips, would boast against me.” We want to hide in our shame. We want to close the doors to our bedroom and not let the light shine in so we can stay in the bed all day long. Let Christ in!

Let me know how I can pray for you today. Let me know if you have moments like this too, or if you are in a season right now that is hard to get out of. I want to pray with you! You can email me at amanda@desiringformore.org.