Tishri 3
Pure in Heart
"How
blessed are the pure in heart! For they will see God.” (Mat 5:8 CJB)
Do
we earnestly long for the presence of the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob? Do we dare to be like Moses, during the forty
days on the mountain top alone with Elohim, then descending with the shining glory
of the El Elyon, the most High God, evident on our face (Ex
33:11; 34:30)? What of Stephen, knowing death
is imminent, yet looking into the face of his Creator with joy and peace (Acts
7:55)? And yet, according to our opening
verse, the first requirement of being able to ‘see’ our Elohim is a “pure
heart”! So how can we know if our hearts are pure?
“Examine and test
and evaluate YOUR OWN SELVES to see whether you are holding to your faith and
showing the proper fruits of it. Test and prove yourselves …” (2Cor 13:5 AMPC,
emphasis mine)
We
are responsible for this testing and examination of ourselves, for determining the condition of our hearts (and not anyone else’s).
What is the definition of “pure”?
According to Noah Webster, it is “free from moral defilement, free from
sin; free from guilt; innocent, genuine, and holy”[1]. I can remember years ago, an elderly woman that
I greatly admired, one that loved Elohim with everything in her, telling me
that my ‘motive’ indicator was the surest test of the purity of my heart. In other words, what are the motives behind
my actions, my words, my thoughts, and yes, even my lack of action. To whom does
it ultimately bring glory to? If ‘me,
myself and I’ are anywhere in the picture, pushing our King off of His throne,
and drawing most of the attention to myself, then perhaps my heart is not as
pure as it ought to be …
“Teach me Your way,
O יהוה; Let me walk
in Your truth; UNITE MY HEART to fear Your Name.” (Ps 86:11 ISR,
emphasis mine)
“Who shall ascend
into the mountain of YHWH? And who shall
stand in His set-apart place? He that
has clean hands, and a PURE heart; who has not taken My name in vain, and has
not sworn deceitfully. He shall receive
a blessing from YHWH, and righteousness from the Elohim of his salvation. Such is the generation of them that seek
after Him, that seek YOUR face, even Ya’akov.” (Ps 24:3-6 HRVS, emphasis mine)
©2018
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