Matthew 5:8. Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God.
Aye Friends, a good Sunday morning to all of you, wherever you may be on God’s great earth! And I do hope that most of you are getting ready to go and worship with other believers, or have already done so, because we do need to come together every so often, preferably at least once a week. Our systems are set up so that it’s essential for us to get the refreshing rejuvenation that the fellowship of God’s children brings to our hearts and souls. Just like an engine can’t function without fuel, likewise Christians can’t function properly without fellowship.
And don’t forget that this is the most important day of the week because it also calls for us to rest properly, so that we can be up and about early tomorrow morning, bright eyed and bushy tailed, to go out and both face and change the world for Jesus. And we can’t do that if we’re all tired, miserable and suffering from the after-effects of negative stuff.
Enough of that sermon for today though, tomorrow will look after itself. (smile) But as a wise man once said: ‘Keep your eyes on today, but don’t lose sight of tomorrow.’ To tell the truth, I don’t know who that wise man was, it might even have been me, because I sort of just made it up. (smile)
But regardless of the identity of the wise man, the good news is that we can do both those things by simply living the words of our Bit: ‘Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God.’
Oh Friends, that’s certainly a most encouraging promise! Wow! If our hearts are pure, then we shall see God… Glory Hallelujah!
And having said all of that, the pertinent question then becomes, why aren’t we all pushing and clamouring for pure hearts eh mih people? Is it because we don’t want to see God, or that the pull of the things of the world is greater than our desire to see our heavenly Father?
It’s sad, but I believe that the latter answer is the true one. We’d really like to have both, but that’s not possible. And for too many of us, it will be extremely difficult, if not impossible, to cultivate a pure heart, since it would mean giving up a lot of our worldly lusts and desires. But please remember, that if we do decide to seriously give up the things of the world, IT IS POSSIBLE with the help of Almighty God.
Anyway, listen to what the scholars have to say on this Beatitude from Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount. ‘5:8. Those who are truly saved shall see God. These are the pure in heart. Their lives have been transformed by the grace of God. They are not yet sinless but their position before God has been changed. They have the New Birth, saving faith, and holiness. The process of sanctification is ever conforming them to the image of Christ (Rom.8:29), which image consists in “righteousness and true holiness” (Eph.4:24).’
Please read those references my brethren, because they are given for our edification, our enlightenment, and you never know when one of these scripture references might just speak to your heart with an upheaval or awareness of a tremendous magnitude. (smile) Now let’s look at some scripture that corroborates our Bit.
Regarding our pureness of heart, Bruh David puts it nicely and wisely in Psalm 15. He begins by asking: ‘Lord, who shall abide (sojourn) in thy tabernacle? Who shall dwell in thy holy hill? He that walketh uprightly, and worketh righteousness, and speaketh the truth in his heart.’ (Ps.15:1-2)
Yes Friends, if our hearts aren’t right, then we’ll be at a serious disadvantage, for as we all know, it’s our hearts that Jehovah checks when He wants to know what’s really going on with us. So though we may fool mankind with our outward apparently pure actions, we can’t fool God, because He’ll surely see all our false and hypocritical motives when He examines our hearts.
Then, in Psalm 24, the King of glory, Bruh David again addresses the question: ‘Who shall ascend into the hill of the Lord? Or who shall stand in his holy place? He that hath clean hands, and a pure heart; who hath not lifted up his soul unto vanity (unto an idol), nor sworn deceitfully. He shall receive the blessing from the Lord, and righteousness from the God of his salvation. This is the generation of them that seek him, that seek thy face, O Jacob. Selah.” (Ps. 24:3-6)
Ah Friends, what wonderful rewards for simply living the way God desires us to! And I do wish that I could say like Bruh David that this was the generation of those who are truly seeking God, but it would be a lie, for the majority of the world right now is trying to get away from God, instead of turning to Him for comfort and succour.
Oh, I know that living for God is oftimes a rough row to hoe, but it is definitely a wise, or rather the wisest way to live this earthly life! No doubt about that my brethren!
Therefore, let’s ponder on, and consider our individual situations today nuh, then prayerfully go to God, and in all sincerity and truth, ask Him to help us fix whatever is wrong, whatever is hindering our communication with Him. That my Friends, is the zenith of wisdom! Much LOVE!
…oh, for a heart that’s pure…that we may see the wondrous face of God…
Today’s Scrip-Bit 27 October 2013 Matthew 5:8
27 Oct 2013 Leave a comment
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living Tags: after effects, almighty god, awareness, Beatitudes, blessings, bright eyed, bushy tailed, change the world, clean hands, comfort, communication with God, cultivate a pure heart, don't lose sight of tomorrow, edification, encouraging promise, enlightenment, face of god, false motives, fellow believers, fool mankind, fuel, glory hallelujah, God of our salvation, God's great earth, good news, grace of God, hearts and souls, holiness, holy hill, hypocrisy, idols, Jehovah, Jesus, keep your eyes on today, miserable, negative stuff, New Birth, outward actions, rejuvenation, rest, righteousness., rough row to hoe, saving grace, see God, seek God, Sermon on the Mount, sincerity, succour, suffering, sworn deceitfully, tabernacle, the pure in heart, things of the world, tired, truth, upheaval, vanity, walk upright, wisdom, wise way to live, worldly lusts and desires, worship, zenith