Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God. Matthew 5:8.
Into the city of God there will enter nothing that defiles. All who are to be dwellers there will here have become pure in heart. In one who is learning of Jesus, there will be manifest a growing distaste for careless manners, unseemly language, and coarse thought. When Christ abides in the heart, there will be purity and refinement of thought and manner.
But the words of Jesus . . . have a deeper meaning–not merely pure in the sense in which the world understands purity, free from that which is sensual, pure from lust, but true in the hidden purposes and motives of the soul, free from pride and self-seeking, humble, unselfish, childlike.
Only like can appreciate like. Unless you accept in your own life the principle of self-sacrificing love, which is the principle of His character, you cannot know God. . . .
When Christ shall come in His glory, the wicked cannot endure to behold Him. The light of His presence, which is life to those who love Him, is death to the ungodly. . . . When He shall appear, they will pray to be hidden from the face of Him who died to redeem them.
But to hearts that have become purified through the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, all is changed. These can know God. Moses was hid in the cleft of the rock when the glory of the Lord was revealed to him; and it is when we are hid in Christ that we behold the love of God. . . .
By faith we behold Him here and now. In our daily experience we discern His goodness and compassion in the manifestation of His providence. We recognize Him in the character of His Son. . . . The pure in heart see God in a new and endearing relation, as their Redeemer; and while they discern the purity and loveliness of His character, they long to reflect His image. They see Him as a Father longing to embrace a repenting son, and their hearts are filled with joy unspeakable and full of glory. . . .
The pure in heart live as in the visible presence of God during the time He apportions them in this world. And they will also see Him face to face in the future, immortal state, as did Adam when he walked and talked with God in Eden.
Maranatha p. 88
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Prayer Requests
—– My mom fell and broke her femur Saturday. She is having other health issues making her a non-surgical candidate. I ask for your prayers for her. Bryce
—– I want to thank everyone for your prayers. I asked for prayers for my family 8 days ago. My Mother had a major health crisis, after 5 days in the hospital she is now home and doing better. Please keep her in your prayers as she continues to get better. Melinda
—– My precious little granddaughter fell off the slide an broke her arm had to have surgery an now has 3 pins in her arm! Please pray for her that she can get through this wk without pain . Beverly
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Dear Friends,
When Esther Marie was born, her big sister was delighted as she had been praying for a baby sister for years. Even before Ronnie Jay was born three years earlier, I had told her that when I had a girl, she could name her after her Bible hero, Queen Esther. She loved to hold Esther and to help care for her. To ten-year-old Eileen, it was like having a living doll to play with, only she had to be very careful with this “doll.” One thing she enjoyed doing was dressing Esther up in different outfits. (I really hadn’t noticed this, but later she admitted that she had done it.) In fact, she did that so often that by the time Esther had learned to dress herself, she used to change clothes many times a day. As soon as I figured out why her clothes kept “falling” off from the hangers and onto the floor, I corrected that bad habit in a hurry.
We all are in need of a special change of clothes, however. This change of garments is much more important than what we wear on the outside and is vital and has eternal consequences. Zechariah was given a vision of Joshua, the high priest, that shows us our need for this garment. “And he showed me Joshua the high priest standing before the angel of the LORD, and Satan standing at his right hand to resist him. And the LORD said unto Satan, The LORD rebuke thee, O Satan; even the LORD that hath chosen Jerusalem rebuke thee: is not this a brand plucked out of the fire? Now Joshua was clothed with filthy garments, and stood before the angel. And he answered and spake unto those that stood before him, saying, Take away the filthy garments from him. And unto him he said, Behold, I have caused thine iniquity to pass from thee, and I will clothe thee with change of raiment. And I said, Let them set a fair mitre upon his head. So they set a fair mitre upon his head, and clothed him with garments. And the angel of the LORD stood by. And the angel of the LORD protested unto Joshua, saying, Thus saith the LORD of hosts; If thou wilt walk in my ways, and if thou wilt keep my charge, then thou shalt also judge my house, and shalt also keep my courts, and I will give thee places to walk among these that stand by.” Zech 3:1-7
Just as Joshua was standing before God in his filthy garments, so He sees the filthiness of our sins, for “all things are naked and opened unto the eyes of him with whom we have to do” Heb 4:13. We cannot hide those sins: we cannot take away those sins ourselves. How much we need to be cleansed by Jesus’ blood. Praise God! Our Dear Saviour has provided His own spotless robe of His righteousness that we do not have to appear all spotted with sin before the Judge of all the Earth. The True Witness will not put that robe on top of our filthiness, however, but He takes away our filthy garments of our own unrighteousness and then clothes us with the robe of His righteousness.
Yet even after we have been cleansed, we are not free to do as we will for we would soon be all dirty again as Scripture tells us, “The dog is turned to his own vomit again; and the sow that was washed to her wallowing in the mire.” 2 Peter 2:22 How much we need His Holy Spirit to fill us through and through. Jesus told two parables that illustrate that fact. He said, “When the unclean spirit is gone out of a man, he walketh through dry places, seeking rest, and findeth none. Then he saith, I will return into my house from whence I came out; and when he is come, he findeth it empty, swept, and garnished. Then goeth he, and taketh with himself seven other spirits more wicked than himself, and they enter in and dwell there: and the last state of that man is worse than the first.” Matt 12:43-45 “No man putteth a piece of a new garment upon an old; if otherwise, then both the new maketh a rent, and the piece that was taken out of the new agreeth not with the old. And no man putteth new wine into old bottles; else the new wine will burst the bottles, and be spilled, and the bottles shall perish. But new wine must be put into new bottles; and both are preserved. Luke 5:36-38
James admonishes us, “But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves. For if any be a hearer of the word, and not a doer, he is like unto a man beholding his natural face in a glass: For he beholdeth himself, and goeth his way, and straightway forgetteth what manner of man he was. But whoso looketh into the perfect law of liberty, and continueth therein, he being not a forgetful hearer, but a doer of the work, this man shall be blessed in his deed.” James 1:22-25
May we come to Jesus that He may remove the filthy garment of our unrighteousness and clothe us with the pure spotless robe of His righteousness. May we open our heart’s door to the Dear Saviour that He may come in and help us to walk in His path. (Rev 3:20) May we obey the law of the Great King of the Universe, not to earn salvation, but because we are filled with love and gratitude for His great Gift to us.
Rose