Blessed (VII) are the pure in heart, for they shall see God

The Scripture admonishes us to guard our hearts with all diligence, for out of it flow the issues of life (Proverbs 4:23). The heart of the matter is the heart! Jesus tells us that out of the heart come evil thoughts--murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false testimony, slander (Matthew 15:19). It seems that what we focus on in our hearts, what we allow ourselves to dwell on, these things will produce fruit, either good or bad. And in fact our mouths will betray us, for “out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks” (Luke 6:45).

We need to ask ourselves what it is that we dwell on. Resentment can hide behind all sorts of things including apathy, disrespect, judgemental attitudes etc., etc. The Lord recently convicted me of hidden resentment, and when there is resentment,  we are moving in the direction of bitterness and malice. These things defile us, and those we love, and if we cling to them, we void the Grace that is available to us to forgive and even to love and pray for those who despitefully use us (Hebrew 12:15; Luke 6:28) .

I have gotten into trouble with Christians for talking about Jeremiah 17:9, even when I was primarily speaking about my own heart. The verse reads “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked; who can know it?” Some have gone so far as to say “That's Old Testament and not applicable to us, a Christian cannot be deceived!” But if it were impossible to be deceived, why would the New Testament admonish us not to be deceived (Galatians 6:7). And then why would the writer to the Hebrews tell us to exhort and encourage each other every day,  to not allow our hearts to be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin (Hebrews 3:13). Is this not why with the Psalmist we need to regularly ask the Lord to “Search my heart oh God, to see if there be any wicked way in me and lead me in the way everlasting (Psalm 139:23, 24)?

Father, thank You for this beatitude that promises that when with Your help we keep our hearts pure we will indeed see You.  Thank You Father that You have made a new heart available to us in the New Covenant (Ezekiel 36:26), but we sill need to guard it with all diligence. When we do this, we will see You more and more clearly in the here and now, and because we will be like You, we will see You as You are, in the bye and bye, Hallelujah in Jesus Name