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Have you taken your Daily Step
Sometimes the step may be a long one, a leap even, however, life is still taken "One step at a time!"
Add one Godly thought a day and in a year you will have taken 365 steps closer to Him!
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Wednesday, March 21, 2007
"The Cup & the Water"
5:8 "Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God. Matthew 5:8 NAS
From which would you drink if you had the choice:
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a cup of muddy water
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a cup of water that looks clear but smells funny
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a cup of water where the cup is dirty outside
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a cup of water where the cup is dirty inside
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a cup of water taken from a mountain stream
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a cup of water taken from a local creek
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a cup of water from a bottle (store bought)
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a cup of tap water
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a cup that is half full or full
Most of us would probably chosen the water from the bottle, the tap water or even the mountain stream. The others would have been deemed unacceptable. If we want water, we want it clear and from a good source. We also want it in a clean cup, thank you very much.
God is the same about the souls that He wants close to Him. He wants them pure, from a good source and in a clean spiritual vessel. If you want to see God, these are the conditions. Hard to attain by yourself. However God has made a way.
Jesus tells us in this passage that purity of heart is necessary to see God. How many of us have the taint of sin upon us? Our souls, like the water can be polluted with sin; they may be clouded or smell bad. Sin is apparent to God's senses and makes us unacceptable to Him like the water in the polluted cups is to us. God knows this and has a purifier ready.
Pure water is desired. If the water is clean but the cup is not, the water becomes polluted. God compares us to vessels in scripture. We know that if a vessel is dirty it contaminates the contents; the cup defiles the water. It is true that we live in a dirty (fallen) world. The dirt is sin. Sins on the outside are the things we bump into during the day. Like taking a bath or a shower we must wash the dirt off. Sin on the inside is more serious, we have tracked the dirt inside our hearts and our beings. These are sins we have committed or taken into ourselves. These are the ones that cause the spirit to become impure and unacceptable. They are harder to deal with and once again God has a cleaner that is ready and up to the job.
Pure spirit only comes from one source, God. He gives us such a spirit when He creates us. Then there is that impurity called sin that gets in and once it touches us it wants to imprint us forever and make us unclean. God has a filter to remove all the particles of sin from within us.
Jesus is the purifier of our hearts and souls that allows God to look upon us and take us heavenward. We come from a pure source, God. Sin causes us become unclean. We have Jesus who cleans and purifies us body and soul. We have the Holy Spirit to dwell within us to keep us pure as sin is pushed out by its presence.
Copyright © 2007
Points to Ponder
1) Is it easy to purify water? Gold? Silver? Life?
2) Some purification processes use heat to burn off impurities and to refine it. Silver is one such metal. The finished metal is beautiful and useful. Just like the pure child of God. The silver had to go through a rough process, just like we sometimes have to. What is gained by our refining?
3) Are you glad that God is skilled in the refining process?
4) We use filters, chemicals, sunlight and heat along with other processes to purify water. Can you think of what God uses to purify us? Things like confession, repentance, hard times.
5) Have you ever been or felt unaccepted? How does it feel to know that God wants to get you accepted into heaven?
6) Purity is for both men and women and is about both physical and spiritual purity.
"God, put purity in my life and heart. Help me to be clean on the inside, free from sin and the guilt and shame of sin. Guard my heart, o Lord that no sin may enter in and defile what You made to be pure and holy. May I inspire purity in others. Prepare me for heaven and a holy life eternal. Amen."
Copyright © 2007
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