When Jesus RulesSample

Cleansed and Focused

The Lord here is talking about the purity of the heart.

Jesus came into the world to purify our dirty hearts. He reminds the disciples it is not enough to have pure good acts on the outside. The Lord is concerned with the condition of the heart. What we are deep down in the recesses of our hearts is what really matters to Him.

The Bible reminds us that out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks (Luke 6:45).  The Lord says in Matthew 15:18-19  that those things which proceed out of the mouth come from the heart and they defile a man. For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, and blasphemies. The pure heart is free from the polluting sins of covetousness, lust, and deception.

So, what does pure of heart look like? The phrase pure of heart has the idea of straightness, honesty, and clarity. In Psalm 24:3-4,  David says that he who has clean hands and a pure heart, one who has not lifted up his soul to an idol nor swears deceitfully, is the one to ascend into the hill of the Lord. Basically, David is saying that a pure heart is one that has nothing to do with falsehood, and is free of deceitfulness. The one who has a pure heart seeks the Lord (v6).

James 4:4  reminds us that one who is a friend of the world is an enemy of God, plain and simple. Double-mindedness is an impurity of heart. To be pure of heart is to love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind (Matthew 22:37). No divided allegiance, no deception, no double-mindedness.

The supreme blessing of seeing God is the reward for those of pure heart. Those who see God will be allowed into His presence will experience His holiness and His comforting grace. The person with a pure heart can see God in nature, in Scripture, in the people around. They will enjoy greater intimacy with God than they could have imagined.

Would the Lord find yours to be a heart that is pure?

Lord, would you cleanse my innermost thoughts and give me single-minded devotion to you, I pray.