Pure in heart

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

What does this mean? How can I be pure in heart? I want to see God!

These are things I've been thinking on this past week as I've tried to hide this passage deep in my heart. And I believe the Lord has faithfully shown me a few things and revealed what this means for me. When I think of purity I think of fresh fallen snow...white, unblemished, free from stain. One dictionary definition says purity is "freedom from extraneous matter." I can think of so many things in life that can taint our hearts. Things that we say, think, or see. I think all of those areas can allow "extraneous matter" to take up residence in our hearts. And that subsequently clouds our view of God.

The pure in heart shall SEE God. Obviously our faith will not truly become sight as believers until the day we reign with Him in glory. But here on earth, the next best thing is to have an assuredness of his holy presence. He is with us always, as promised (Matt. 28:20). But our feeble humanity allows us to put up blockades or blinders that shield our view. We can't always "feel" the Lord, but He is always there. I want to live in that presence. Take the blinders off. Truly see Him, even here on this earth.

So to put these concepts both together, I'll give an example from my regular little life. The other night we were having a fun family time after dinner--lots of laughing, running around and just being crazy. My heart was full. Then bedtime routine came into view. Baths, jammies, teeth, books, Bible, bed...which sometimes goes smoothly and sometimes brings on some serious melting down. It messes up their plans. And their whining and fighting mess up mine! With their behavior and in my heart...I was all done. Everything started getting on my nerves, whether it be from a child, my husband, or even the dogs. As soon as I left the last one's room I fell on my face in our bedroom and laid still before God. I realized I had a choice. Pure in heart. See God. Put up walls of irritation, selfishness, resentment, etc. Limited view of God. I am so thankful I saw the choice. It was like a lightbulb moment. I prayed that God would change my attitude and my thoughts would honor him. That I would think the best of these messy people in my life, and that they would forgive messy me. It wasn't instantaneous, but I could see that peace was settling in. The night would not continue to go downhill, but my husband and I would instead have good conversation and enjoy our time together. We would not yell as our son comes down the stairs for the 3rd time just to "tell us something." We allowed our walls to fall down, and the result was seeing God.

I don't know if this makes any sense. The thing is, it looks different for everybody and on every different day. The point is that being pure in heart is something of a choice, a determination actually. Joining with God in prayer to break down those strongholds that trip us up and block our view of Him in our life. Moment by moment. Determine not to allow that extraneous matter to creep in and clutter your heart. It happens all too quickly. And we can trick ourselves into thinking it's just one little slip, one little indulgence, nothing that will have a lasting effect...that is just a flat out lie.

One final thing is this: the pure in heart not only see God, but they are also BLESSED. What an awesome God, who desires to bless us. Though we are slow to figure this whole thing out (to love Him and obey Him). He is always desiring to bless.

Santified by the truth

This life is hard. There are no two ways about it. No sugar-coated way to explain it to my kids. No denying it. And it's because of sin. That fated day that the sneaky snake creaped into the garden and then into our thoughts and our ways, causing us to be preoccupied with ourselves forevermore (here on this earth). It stinks.

There is nothing I want more than for our family to stop believing these lies, and to continually walk in the light of the Truth. The only truth: God's word.

Our boys have recently gotten into (or slightly obsessed with) the DVD series "What's in the Bible" by Phil Vischer. It's amazing. The way he just digs deep into the truth of God's word, explaining it in terms that kids can understand, yet not watering it down one bit. Our oldest has been listening to the songs during his quiet time each day. I do not exxagerate that he knows them almost word for word now. Even our 2 yr. old has started dressing up like the character "Chuck Wagon" and belting out "Who do you trust, who do you listen to, how are you gonna live your life..." (in a real twangy southern accent).

Anyway, my point is that I've been tempted to curb this obsession somehow, just because I tend to have a problem with obsessions. Then I realized there is one obsession that is okay. Being obsessed with God!

Jesus said, "Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied." (Matthew 5:6)

The only way to be satisfied in this hard life is to pursue righteousness, pursue our God, day in and day out for all of our days. Just like we pursue food when we are hungry and drink when we are thirsty!

I told myself at the beginning of this new year that I didn't want to live a defeated life anymore. I didn't want to give in to the thoughts that so often bring me down. I don't want that for my children or my husband either. We were made for more than that. We were made to stand in victory, with the Lord. Yes, the lies come, and the enemy is relentless in trying to get us to believe them. The only way I know how to combat that is by the truth.

"Sanctify them in the truth. Your word is truth." John 17:17

I pray that as our boys grow, they will continue to hunger and thirst for righteousness. That they will seek God in those places where they feel defeated, where they are tempted to "throw tantrums" or seek fulfillment in some other way, even in places where they just don't understand something. That they will not look to the ways of this world for the answers they seek. I pray that I will learn to do that more faithfully, and that I will have grace for those around me who are learning also. May we live on the bread of God's word. And give thanks. He is good.