BLESSED ARE THOSE WITH PURE HEARTS TV

What activity is most important to me (or do I even demand to be allowed to do without interruption or guilt or any other obligations), especially at the end of the workday or when IвЂ™m stressed or upset-food, sports, drink, a TV show, a book, a smoke? ThatвЂ™s my idol. What person or thing makes me happiest? ThatвЂ™s an idol. we wanted and had been daydreaming about? What thing do I daydream about happening most? What person do I think about most? ThatвЂ™s an idol. Is there anything or anyone you would be furious with God for taking away from you? Anyone you may be angry enough that you would turn your back on God and then say вЂњforget you God IвЂ™m done doing things your way nowвЂќ? If we live in a hot region, do we not get angry with God when our AC goes out, or our heat if itвЂ™s the middle of winter, or if our car doesnвЂ™t start, or if we donвЂ™t get the accolade/praise/job/promotion/bonus/tax return/gift/house/car/etc. But what if we broaden the definition of an idol? вЂњa person or thing that is greatly admired, loved, or reveredвЂќ more than we revere or love God. It seems easy to say we donвЂ™t worship idols, since most of us donвЂ™t have metal or wood statues in our homes that we pray to (Ex.

Even if we stop lying and deceiving, idols are a tricky temptation, something weвЂ™re easily deceived into thinking weвЂ™re immune to. 24:4 Someone who does not worship idols or lie or deceive. So what does it mean to have a pure heart? вЂњHe who has clean hands and a pure heart, who does not lift up his soul to an idol or swear deceitfully.вЂќ -Ps. Who can understand it?вЂќ Mark 7 continues to list the wickedness of our hearts: вЂњFor from within the hearts of men come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, greed, selfishness, deceit, debauchery/drunkenness, envy, slander (gossip), arrogance, and foolishness.вЂќ Who is not guilty of at least two or three items on that list, more than once in their lifetimes? Romans 1:21 lays out our shortcomings even more detailed: вЂњFor although they knew God, they neither glorified Him as God nor gave thanks to Him, but they became futile in their thinking and darkened in their foolish hearts.вЂќ Who is not guilty of complaining daily, of instead being thankful daily in prayers to the Lord? ThatвЂ™s a practice I still struggle to maintain. Who is or even can be pure in heart? Jeremiah 17:9 says вЂњThe heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. When we experience that freedom-when our hearts are unencumbered with sin, and are made pure by ChristвЂ™s sacrifice for us-we then can know God more clearly and love others more abundantly.Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God. He is most interested in our hearts, and the one thing that cleans up our broken, sin-filled hearts is to recognize our need for Jesus and what He did on the cross, to honestly confess what weвЂ™ve done wrong and ask for His forgiveness. God is not interested in our outward appearance.

BLESSED ARE THOSE WITH PURE HEARTS FREE

The clearer our hearts are-free of our own needs, wants, and desires free of our own self-centered need for approval-the more alert we are to God revealing His love for us. Not to actually see the face of God, like the Apostle Paul talks about, but to see the work of God in our lives. The pure heart is a heart that is freed up to see God. I think first of the children, students, and adults with special needs who participate in our Tapestry and Mosaic ministries-they give and receive a pure love so freely.

The pure in heart are not those with a perfect heart, but those whose heart is free of shame, unworthiness, and guilt. By Rich Phenow, Pastor of CongregationalВ Care

Blessed are those with pure hearts