The Pure In Heart

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

Blessed (loved and favored by God) are the pure in heart (those whose life and soul have been made pure by Jesus and is centered on Him), for they shall see God (be admitted into His presence and enjoy His fellowship).

Pure in heart. I must admit, I've never felt pure in heart. My mind's full of unpleasing thoughts and a desire to sin. Praise God, we are not purified by our thoughts or works but by Jesus blood on the cross. He did for us what we are unable to do.

Clothed by Jesus righteousness. Luke 1:74-75 says God rescues us from the hands of our enemies and clothes us (Galatians 3:27) in Christ's holiness and righteousness. He doesn't see our filthiness, He sees our purity. Of course, we should come before Him in repentance because sin clouds our fellowship with Him; His fellowship with us never falters.

They shall see God. Rejoice, Rejoice! You are pure before God and you are allowed to come into His presence! When we pray, do we realize that we are fellowshipping with God? He draws near to us and fellowships with us. Isn't that a miracle?!?

Clothed by Jesus, indwelled by the Holy Spirit. We have such sweet fellowship with God, not only because we are clothed by Jesus, but also because Spirit lives in us to teach, guide, and protect us. We are shielded inside and out!

We are blessed by God because our hearts have been purified by Jesus,  we are made holy by Jesus' righteousness, and we are continually transformed by the Spirit.

What greater love is there?

How have you seen God transform you?

If this post blessed you, please share!

Those Who Are Merciful

Blessed are the merciful for they shall obtain mercy. Matthew 5:7

Blessed (loved and favored by God) are the merciful (not those who only express acts of mercy but those who do so as an expression of  God's character) for they will obtain mercy (receive God's graciousness when He frees them from deserved punishment).

I was a little hung up on the word obtain in this scripture. To obtain something generally means you have to work for it, pay for it, or earn it in some other way.

My New Testament Word Dictionary clarified the meaning for me and proved what I already knew to be true:

It's impossible to earn God's favor and love. Jesus purchased that on the cross for believers. 

Sometimes, it's easy to be merciful. Some things are easy to forgive. Most of the time I stumble. I'm too angry, feel betrayed, or I've been hurt too much. Surely God wouldn't expect me to show mercy to that person!

But remember, that's exactly what He did for us when He gave His only Son.

But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were 

still sinners, Christ died for us. Romans 5:8

For if, while we were God’s enemies, we were reconciled to him through the death of his 

Son, how much more, having been reconciled, shall we be saved through his life! Romans 5:10

Be still for a moment and reflect on God's extreme mercy. Where would we be without it? He loves us beyond our comprehension. He took us when we stood in unbelief, lived as sinners, and were His enemies to bring us to faith through the death, burial, and resurrection of His Son. 

Amazingly, God's grace and mercy pour on us even more. He filled us with the Holy Spirit and He empowers us to express His character to those around us. He understands our humanness but He's there to give us the help we need to allow His mercy to flow to the others around us. 

We serve a God of infinite love, grace,   and mercy! 

How long has it been since I rejoiced in Him?

What about God causes you to rejoice? 

Poor In Spirit

Photo by Asdrubal luna on Unsplash

Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Matthew 5:3 

I'm reading Matthew in my Bible-study time. When I came to Chapter 5, I read the beatitudes without really thinking about them. Blessed are...Blessed are...Blessed are...

Then I stopped. God prompted me to look deeper. Has He ever done that to you? You're reading along and, all of a sudden, you feel this voice whisper, "Back up, you missed something." It happens to me a lot.

So I reread verse 3. Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

Poor in spirit. I thought about people who feel despair, deep sorrow, or depression, People who live on the street with very little food or clothes. But I'm not sure that's who Jesus is talking about.  Why would a desperate person be called blessed?

Could it be Jesus is talking about their spiritual condition?

With the help of a couple of my reference books, Matthew 5:3 reads like this:

Blessed (loved and favored by God) are the poor (destitute) in spirit (Holy Spirit) for theirs is the kingdom (righteousness conferred by Christ on believers) of heaven (a consummately perfect region where God dwells).

Hmm. That is a bit more complicated, isn't it? Can we write it more clearly?

Those who identify with Jesus' statement realize they're spiritually poor and seek Him. He shows them favor by covering them in Christ's righteousness and promising them eternal life.

WOW! Now, that's blessed!

What about today? The verbs are present tense; Jesus' words are alive today. The rich promises are there for all of us who believe.

We are poor in spirit. We never quite "make it." There's so much to learn about God. There's so much He can teach us through His Word.  When we're aware of our poverty and open to Him, He fills us more and more.

His favor overflows! 

When we stumble, we don't have to fear. He never says, "You've gone too far! No more forgiveness for you!" We are covered in Christ's righteousness. When He looks at us, He sees us through eyes of love and righteousness. He loves us even as He loves Jesus! We are clothed eternally. We can't ruin this perfect covering, no matter how often we fall!

His love never changes!

We can rejoice because our earthly home is temporary. Our suffering and sorrows are temporary. Clouds might cover our present lives, but the Son reigns eternally. The glory of Heaven beckons us.

Our forever home is secure!

Your turn:
How have God's promises of favor, love, and security enriched your life?