pure devotion
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Blessed are the pure in heart,
for they will see God.
BE STILL/PRAY
Purity has been used as a list of do’s and don’t. Growing up I felt like purity was following the rules and don’t do this and don’t do that and you will be pure. While there is some aspect of truth within this, we have to look deeper within to know purity as an aspect that not only applies to the physical realm, but to the mental and spiritual realm as well.
PURITY IS NOT JUST RELATED TO THE PHYSICAL
Purity of the heart, mind and body.
PURITY- HEB- In the Old Testament, the basic sense of the Hebrew word for purity is probably an emptying out or being clean.
In the society in which we live, we wake up each and everyday with the decision to either bow to the culture, or to stand firm on the truth of the Word.
ARE YOU KNOWN TO OTHERS BY YOUR FAITH?
Scientist have measured the amount of information that is processed through the brain in a day and they found that the brain takes in about 74 GB of data and information A DAY. To give you context, that is the equivalent of 16 movies. They also discovered that that number rises by 5% each year.
The majority of that information is found in things like social media, music, movies, television, phones, tablets, computers, etc.
Every behavior that is displayed by those around us is a byproduct of what we learn.
“The eye is the lamp of the body. If your eyes are healthy, your whole body will be full of light.
WHAT YOU FILL YOUR MIND WITH IS WHAT WILL DEFINE YOUR ALLEGIANCE
The heart is the motivating force behind the decisions that we make. It pushes and pulls us in the direction we feel is the best way and leads us where we want to go. It does this by being in sync with the brain. The experiences and the encounters we have help us to determine whether a decision we make is good or bad.
In lamest terms, what you put into your mind will go to your heart. What is sent to your heart fills it up and then gives us our decision-making process.
The heart is deceitful above all things
and beyond cure.
Who can understand it?
“I the Lord search the heart
and examine the mind,
to reward each person according to their conduct,
according to what their deeds deserve.”
WE ARE A POOR JUDGE OF WHAT THE STATUS OF OUR HEART IS.
HUMAN PERSPECTIVE KILLS THE MOVE OF GOD
When we allow our feelings to sum up that we are a good person and that God knows my heart then we have bought into the lie that we stop growing.
James 1:23–24 (NIV)
Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says. Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like someone who looks at his face in a mirror and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like.
This is where we have failed as Christians because we have accepted that as long as I come to church, pray before my meals, and post my verse of the day then my heart is clean.
“Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You are like whitewashed tombs, which look beautiful on the outside but on the inside are full of the bones of the dead and everything unclean.
The MIND and the HEART all are the contributing factors into how we live our lives. Essentially, we are going to live in a way of what we have filled our minds and hearts with.
The pure in heart refers to those that love the Lord. Therefore, their inward affection for the Lord then is reflected in outward profession of faith.
“Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name and in your name drive out demons and in your name perform many miracles?’ Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’
Walking in the will of the Father is a requirement to being connected to the Father.
I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either one or the other! So, because you are lukewarm—neither hot nor cold—I am about to spit you out of my mouth.
APPLICATION
REPENT
If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.
Fill your mind with godly things.
Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.
Dig into the WORD
All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness,
Live out your faith
Whoever claims to live in him must live as Jesus did.
ought- opheilō - refers to an obligation or duty
ALTER CALL? Only if the Spirit moves to do so.