Who Are the Pure in Heart?

Direction of Our Christian Walk

And he removed from thence unto a mountain on the east of Bethel, and pitched his tent, having Bethel on the west, and Hai on the east: and there he builded an altar unto the LORD, and called upon the name of the LORD. (Gen 12:8)

It was said that Sadhu Sundar Singh wrote a simple but meaning chorus that says ‘I have decided to follow Jesus…. The world behind me, the cross before me’.  Is that becoming a working reality in you and me? Interestingly the instruction to Moses was to build the entrance of the Tabernacle on the east hence worship was westward as opposed to eastward pagan worship of the sun. The worship of YHWH is directly antithetical from the world. Ai stands for ‘ruin’ and Bethel, ‘House of God’. In the perspective of our Holy God, there is no room for syncretism (Exo 29:3), the other alternative brings us to destruction (Matt 7:13).

Mortify therefore your members which are upon the earth; fornication, uncleanness, inordinate affection, evil concupiscence, and covetousness, which is idolatry: (Col 3:5)

The last command at the end of 1 John is, ‘Little children, keep yourselves from idols. Amen’. Our refusal to allow God to conform us into His moral character constitute idolatry (I Sam 15:23).  The root of stubbornness is from a strong mind or will, which can lead to rebellion by upholding one’s own desires and rights above God’s hence the worship and exaltation of self. In that refusal our thoughts and actions revolve around self. We need to be delivered from individualism and narcissism to be found in the place of oneness and communion with Christ, as He is with the Father.

Consistency

I will behave myself wisely in a perfect way. O when wilt thou come unto me? I will walk within my house with a perfect heart. (Psa 101:2)

The Lord would have us to be consistent in our behavior. The ‘Sunday best’ that we put on is not what He sees, but the private moments and unpublicized thoughts He considers. What we are in public may not reflect our relationship to Father God as His son.

There is only one perfect way, Jesus the Way. By faith and in Christ can only be found this perfect way; we cannot excuse ourselves and wait for God to work into us, but we have to desire to walk in it. Failure means we humbly return and ask for His grace to restore us as we also have the same grace towards the failures that other struggle with. Nevertheless, failure does not mean we give up. It would be presumptuous to continue our own way and hope or even believe that Jesus, by His Spirit will miraculously transform us if we don’t seek Him to be changed into His glorious image. It is hard work. It is the cross we need to bear, dying to every wickedness and even goodness of self in order to be endowed with the glory of Christ.

Father’s Dealings on His Sons

If ye endure chastening, God dealeth with you as with sons; for what son is he whom the father chasteneth not? (Heb 12:7)

Sons of God are those whom God the Father will deal with, depleted of natural strength of both good and evil. We thrive in the good, but God does not see natural good as of Himself. All that a son inherits has to come entirely from Him, by faith. We can summon up every form of ‘goodness’ in ourselves to be demonstrations of the sons of God and we will fail poorly. This will only reap self righteousness. Sons of God do not wear badges of honor but bear the marks of the cross of Christ. Many a times, what we subconsciously boast is precisely where the dealings will be most severe.