lease begin by reading the Shema out loud and continue trying to memorize it.

“Hear, O Israel. The LORD is our God. The LORD alone. Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. Amen.”

Continue trying to memorize “The Beatitudes” (Matthew 5:1-12). Today we add verse 8.

The sixth beatitude from the Sermon on the Mount is found in Matthew 5:8. “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.”

Purity is not something that comes on a scale of 1 to 10. Something cannot be “a little pure,” “kind of pure,” or “really pure.” Something is either “pure” or  “not pure.”  Purity implies that an object is made up of only one substance.

Read Luke 11:34 (out loud).

This scripture explains one way that our heart can become impure – with things that we choose to see. Guard your eyes. Be careful what you see on television, movies, the Internet, video games, social media, etc. It is amazing how crafty Satan can be.

How do we know the condition of our heart? Read Matthew 12:34-37 (out loud).

One very good indicator of the purity of our heart is the purity of our mouth. Think about the words you say. Would you classify them as “pure” or  “not pure”? This includes things we say to our friends, our family members (parents, siblings, spouse, children, etc.), and our authority figures (teachers, boss, etc.).

Pure in heart can be summarized in the Shema – “loving the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength.” It basically says that we are to fill our heart with only one thing – Jesus. Purity in heart requires a faith that is aimed only in one direction. A half-hearted faith in God means that a person does not fully trust God. Something or someone is receiving part of our faith that belongs to God. It might be that we are putting some of our faith in ourselves, our family, our money, our friends, our success, our power, our popularity…. You fill in the blank. Where do you put your faith?

What is the result of having a pure heart? Certainly, we will see God in eternity, but there are other benefits as well. First, we are able to see God as He truly is. Secondly, we are able to see God in other people. We begin to be able to see God’s image in people that we could never see before. This in turn helps us as we strive to have mercy and show compassion.

Can you think of anyone that you think is pure in heart? How is the condition of your heart? Do you need to “clean house”? If you have chosen to live a life of darkness, then there is no need for the heart to be clean. However, if light and life are to dwell inside of us, then a pure heart is necessary. Our heart can be the seat of sin and evil or the home where Christ dwells? Which will you choose?

Source:
Stephen Willis’ Discipleship Materials