Tag: completion

30.u. “Behold, you delight in truth in the inward being, and you teach me wisdom in the secret heart.”

 

Matthew 5:8 “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.

 Matthew 23:25-28    “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you clean the outside of the cup and the plate, but inside they are full of greed and self-indulgence.  You blind Pharisee! First clean the inside of the cup and the plate, that the outside also may be clean.  “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs, which outwardly appear beautiful, but within are full of dead people’s bones and all uncleanness.  So you also outwardly appear righteous to others, but within you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness.

 Psalms 15:2    He who walks blamelessly and does what is right and speaks truth in his heart;

 Psalms 51:6   Behold, you delight in truth in the inward being, and you teach me wisdom in the secret heart.

 Ezekiel 36:25-27   I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you shall be clean from all your uncleannesses, and from all your idols I will cleanse you.  And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh.  And I will put my Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes and be careful to obey my rules.

 2 Corinthians 7:1  Since we have these promises, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from every defilement of body and spirit, bringing holiness to completion in the fear of God

 James 3:17    But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, open to reason, full of mercy and good fruits, impartial and sincere.

 James 4:8   Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded.

 1 Peter 1:22  Having purified your souls by your obedience to the truth for a sincere brotherly love, love one another earnestly from a pure heart,

 1 John 3:2-3  Beloved, we are God’s children now, and what we will be has not yet appeared; but we know that when he appears we shall be like him, because we shall see him as he is.  And everyone who thus hopes in him purifies himself as he is pure.

Purity, inner purity, the image of purity, ceremonial purity have been attempted by many religions in many different ways. Pure of heart in Scripture seems to define it as a single, undivided heart – those who are sincere and not divided in their devotion and commitment to God. It is an inner purity and has external manifestations of the Holy Spirit which is in them. There are pollutants (sin) that pollute the heart. Greed, pride, lust, power, anger, deception, hate, confusion, self-reliance, self-worth, self-deserving, etc….. When these are present and acted upon there is little to no intimacy or relationship with God. A pure at heart person has heard the voice of God through the Gospel of Jesus Christ and humbly surrendered all of this selfishness, repented, committed, believed, trusted, followed, and obeyed Jesus Christ. The purity of heart comes through this alone and not by external actions, though there certainly are external actions that can be clearly seen in those of a pure heart. Being sensitive to Godly, holy, and heavenly spiritual things requires a heart and soul that is pure to things of God and always voiding the worldly and fleshly desires. If you are not conscious of spiritual things then your heart is focused on something else. The greatest motivator of purity comes from a desire to know and understand the grace, mercy, and love of God so that in all we say, think, and do Jesus Christ is honored and glorified. They want to be pure for His honor and glory, not ours. 

Commit to Know Him

“For I know the plans I have for you, declares the LORD, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope. Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will hear you. You will seek me and find me, when you seek me with all your heart. I will be found by you, declares the LORD, and I will restore your fortunes and gather you from all the nations and all the places where I have driven you, declares the LORD, and I will bring you back to the place from which I sent you into exile.”

Psalms 57:2  I cry out to God Most High, to God who fulfills his purpose for me.

Psalms 136:2  Give thanks to the God of gods, for his steadfast love endures forever.  Give thanks to the Lord of lords, for his steadfast love endures forever;

Isaiah 57:15     For thus says the One who is high and lifted up, who inhabits eternity, whose name is Holy: “I dwell in the high and holy place, and also with him who is of a contrite and lowly spirit, to revive the spirit of the lowly, and to revive the heart of the contrite.

Psalms 138:8    The LORD will fulfill his purpose for me; your steadfast love, O LORD, endures forever. Do not forsake the work of your hands.

Philippians 1:6   And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ.

Philippians 2:12    Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, so now, not only as in my presence but much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling,

Hebrews 13:20  Now may the God of peace who brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, the great shepherd of the sheep, by the blood of the eternal covenant,  equip you with everything good that you may do his will, working in us that which is pleasing in his sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen.

We can cry out to God, but do we? We can claim His promise of having a plan and purpose for our life,  plan of welfare and hope, but do we believe it?  He will be found if we seek Him, but do we seek?  His word says that He will equip us with everything good so that we may do His will.  Do you wonder how He equips us to do His will?  If we seek Him with all our heart He will be found.  This seeking begins with believing in Him, His promises, and desiring to want to know Him and choosing to humbly serve Him above self, to honor, follow and obey Him above all else.  All of this requires us to spend time in His word, thinking about it and what it is saying to our heart mind and soul, seeking to and wanting to be led by Him in ways that honor and glorify Him.  This desire is from the moment we wake until the moment we lay down.  We keep our eyes focused on Him with our heart and mind open and with our ears open to hear His quiet small voice speaking to and leading us.  Spend time in His word and praying to Him.  How sad will it be if at the end of your life when entering eternity you hear “Depart from Me for I never knew you”