PURE HEART
BREAD
3 Who may ascend the hill of the LORD? Who may stand in his holy place? 4 He who has clean hands and a pure heart, who does not lift up his soul to an idol or swear by what is false. 5 He will receive blessing from the LORD and vindication from God his Savior. 6 Such is the generation of those who seek him, who seek your face, O God of Jacob. Selah Psalms 24:3-6 (NIV)
10 Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me. 11 Do not cast me from your presence or take your Holy Spirit from me. 12 Restore to me the joy of your salvation and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me. Psalms 51:10-12 (NIV)
9 How can a young man keep his way pure? By living according to your word. 10 I seek you with all my heart; do not let me stray from your commands. 11 I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you. Psalms 119:9-11 (NIV)
1 LORD, who may dwell in your sanctuary? Who may live on your holy hill? 2 He whose walk is blameless and who does what is righteous, who speaks the truth from his heart 3 and has no slander on his tongue, who does his neighbor no wrong and casts no slur on his fellowman, 4 who despises a vile man but honors those who fear the LORD, who keeps his oath even when it hurts, 5 who lends his money without usury and does not accept a bribe against the innocent. He who does these things will never be shaken. Psalms 15:1-5 (NIV)
26 “To the faithful you show yourself faithful, to the blameless you show yourself blameless,
27 to the pure you show yourself pure, but to the crooked you show yourself shrewd. 28 You save the humble, but your eyes are on the haughty to bring them low.” 2 Samuel 22:26-28 (NIV)
26 The LORD detests the thoughts of the wicked, but those of the pure are pleasing to him. Proverbs 15:26 (NIV)
11 Depart, depart, go out from there! Touch no unclean thing! Come out from it and be pure, you who carry the vessels of the LORD. 12 But you will not leave in haste or go in flight; for the LORD will go before you, the God of Israel will be your rear guard. Isaiah 52:11-12 (NIV)
3 As I urged you when I went into Macedonia, stay there in Ephesus so that you may command certain men not to teach false doctrines any longer 4 nor to devote themselves to myths and endless genealogies. These promote controversies rather than God’s work–which is by faith. 5 The goal of this command is love, which comes from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith. 6 Some have wandered away from these and turned to meaningless talk. 7 They want to be teachers of the law, but they do not know what they are talking about or what they so confidently affirm. 1 Timothy 1:3-7 (NIV)
8 “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.” Matthew 5:8 (NIV)
BUTTER
“Holiness is not a feeling – it is the end product of obedience. Purity is not a gift – it is the result of repentance and serious pursuit of God.” Frances J. Roberts
“Grumbling and complaining denotes a dissatisfied heart with God’s plan for our lives. When we murmur and wail over our circumstance we demonstrate our lack of contentment with His provisions for us and, as the “rabble” complained about the manna, it incites God’s anger. So often we are consumed by selfish ambitions and vain conceits with a penchant for every sort of self-indulgence. Comfort becomes not a luxury but a necessity and almost a “god” in our eyes. Our giftings are meant to lead us into selfless service with a pure heart. Indeed, that is where the abundant life is found. Watch your hearts and guard against dissatisfaction – whatever that may look like in your life.” BHY
“O my dear, heavenly Father, I desire to love thee and my neighbor with a pure heart fervently, and beg thou wouldst let me know and enjoy thy love in Christ, as the only means of producing this love in me. For how can my heart be cold, when resting at the cross of Christ, and feeling the virtue of His blood? Or how can it be hard, when lying in thy bosom, richly tasting of thy grace, and sweetly experiencing thine everlasting love to me, a vile, miserable sinner? Oh! May a sense of thy love melt my hard heart into love, and change it thoroughly.” K. H. Von Bogatzky
“God desires the smallest degree of purity of conscience in you more than all the works you can perform.” John of the Cross
“All work is sacred work for the child of the King. There is to be no difference between the secular and the sacred. The believer brings the glory of God and the sweet aroma of Jesus to every job – every encounter – working wholeheartedly as unto the Lord – not for man – through the achieving power of the indwelling Holy Spirit. All jobs from motherhood to medical to janitorial to legal to businessman to student to server to whatever – makes no difference the “what” rather the motivation behind why we do what we do which is to bring God all glory. It is His desire for us to work and take care of His world – just as He told Adam before the fall – and bring the Good News to others in our spheres through both our actions and words. This is for our ultimate good btw, satisfying both heart and soul. We live our lives for an audience of One and our goal is to hear a ‘well done good and faithful servant.’” BHY
“The children of God are ruled in their inmost powers by love – the love of Christ constraineth them; they rejoice that divine love is set upon them, they feel it shed abroad in their hearts by the Holy Ghost, which is given unto them, and then by force of gratitude they love the Saviour with a pure heart, fervently. My dear reader, do you love Him?” Charles H. Spurgeon
“In God’s eyes, impurity is one of the most revolting sins, because it twists and distorts one of God’s most precious gifts: human love. Impurity drags this gift down to the level of the beast. Yet impurity – surrounding us as it does in the form of filthy stories, suggestive remarks, open vulgarity; in magazines, on television, in the movies, through the Internet – has a better press agent than purity. Purity is considered smug, but impurity is considered smart – and the consequences of this vicious sin are played down. Satan fails to speak of the remorse, the futility, the loneliness, and the spiritual devastation that go hand in hand with immorality…Christ can cleanse you and give you victory over your sin. Jesus said to the immoral woman, “Go now and leave your life of sin” (John 8:11). He says that to you as well – and He never told anyone to do something without offering them the power to do it.” Billy Graham
“My people’s greatest need is my personal holiness.” Robert Murray M’Cheyne
On Robert Murray M’Cheyne’s Tombstone: “Died in the 30th year of his age and the 7th year of his ministry, walking closely with God, an example for the believers in word, in conversation, in charity, in spirit, in faith, in purity, he ceased not day and night to labor and watch for souls.”
“When the goodness of Christ and the character of Christ and the Word of Christ are evident in the church, people in the world will be drawn to Him. This is why we guard the Truth so people will be saved by it. This is why we live with purity so people see the difference Christ makes. This is why we train for godliness so people see in us the majesty of Christ. May everything we do draw people to our great Savior.” David Platt
“To have found God and still to pursue Him is the soul’s paradox of love, scorned indeed by the too easily satisfied religionist, but justified in happy experience by the children of the burning heart.” A.W. Tozer
“Only Thou art holy; There is none beside, Thee Perfect in power, In love, and purity.” Reginald Heber
HEART SAVOR
• God not only tells us to be holy for He is holy, but He also gives us the achieving power to accomplish this so great an endeavor.
• Create in us a pure heart O God.
• We keep our ways pure by living according to His Word.
Beth Yoe's Sharing Bread 