These past few months brother Kent Brown has had us on a journey through The Beatitudes in
Matthew chapter 5 (BROWN STRONG https://www.oxstrongmen.org/verse). I thought the reminders below would fit well with The Beatitudes from Matthew 5:8 specifically, and with my last posting on Monday, Tested by Fire. Hope you enjoy the good read and the fitting songs! Practicing His Presence, Nate Question: "What does it mean to be pure in heart?" Answer: “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God” (Matthew 5:8). Jesus spoke this during His famous Sermon the Mount. So what did He mean by “pure in heart?” The Greek word for “pure” in Matthew 5:8 is katharos. It means to be “clean, blameless, unstained from guilt.” Interestingly, the word can refer specifically to that which is purified by fire or by pruning. John the Baptist told people that Jesus would baptize with the Holy Spirit and fire (Matthew 3:11). Malachi speaks of the Messiah as being like a “refiner’s fire” (Malachi 3:2). Jesus refers to believers as being the branches and to Himself as being the vine (John 15:1-17). For a vine to produce fruit, it must be pruned. Those who are truly “pure,” then, are those who have been declared innocent because of the work of Jesus and who are being sanctified by His refining fire and His pruning. The Greek word for “heart” in Matthew 5:8 is kardeeah. This can be applied to the physical heart. But it also refers to the spiritual center of life. It is where thoughts, desires, sense of purpose, will, understanding, and character reside. So, to be pure in heart means to be blameless in who we actually are. Being pure in heart involves having a singleness of heart toward God. A pure heart has no hypocrisy, no guile, no hidden motives. The pure heart is marked by transparency and an uncompromising desire to please God in all things. It is more than an external purity of behavior; it is an internal purity of soul. The only way we can be truly pure in heart is to give our lives to Jesus and ask Him to do the cleansing work. Psalm 51:10 says, “Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me.” God is the one who makes our hearts pure – by the sacrifice of His Son and through His sanctifying work in our lives (see also 1 John 3:1-3). From gotquestions.org Songs: Another in the Fire by Hillsong United Psalm 51 (Wisdom in the Secret Heart) by Shane and Shane
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1 Peter 1:6-8 (ESV) 6 In this you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials, 7 so that the tested genuineness of your faith—more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire—may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ. 8 Though you have not seen him, you love him. Though you do not now see him, you believe in him and rejoice with joy that is inexpressible and filled with glory,
What does the Apostle Peter remind us, from the passage above, that testing's reveal and result in? Have you passed the tests, or does God keep giving you retakes until you pass them? Here's a great reminder in song (3:51 long) and story behind the song (only 1:11 long)...Fires by Jordan St. Cyr. https://freeccm.com/2020/10/06/behind-the-song-jordan-st-cyrs-shares-the-heart-behind-his-song-fires/ Practicing His Presence in the Midst of Trials, Nate Daniel 3:23-25 (NKJV) 23 And these three men, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego, fell down bound into the midst of the burning fiery furnace. 24 Then King Nebuchadnezzar was astonished; and he rose in haste and spoke, saying to his counselors, “Did we not cast three men bound into the midst of the fire?” They answered and said to the king, “True, O king.” 25 “Look!” he answered, “I see four men loose, walking in the midst of the fire; and they are not hurt, and the form of the fourth is like the Son of God.” Real Dudes,
Turn your eyes upon who? The One Who has a Name above all names...Philippians 2:9 (NLT) Therefore, God elevated him to the place of highest honor and gave him the name above all other names, The One Who every knee will eventually bow to and confess that He is Lord...Philippians 2:10-11 (NLT) that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth, 11 and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. Yes, that Name!!! Last month I put out a post entitled What in your life is distracting you from looking unto the Lord? Each of us face the potential for many distractions each and every day of our lives. Distractions that we all too often allow to consume our minds and that we allow to take our eyes off of the Lord, whether they be toxic people or circumstances, etc. Rather than turning to Him in prayer or turning to Him in His Word, we tend to run to many negative thoughts and actions. In our self-help, self-efforts, self-reliance we become enslaved, angered, bitter, sick, exhausted, frustrated, depressed, and weary. Therefore, to help keep us on the right track, I'd like to follow up the previous posting by providing each of us with another song/hymn that ties into that lesson...Hope this helps. Here's a link to Shane and Shane singing Turn Your Eyes Upon Jesus https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g7JHCIuyYG4. And here's the first stanza and chorus for you to read, answer the questions and pray over. Turn Your Eyes Upon Jesus. O soul, are you weary and troubled? No light in the darkness you see? There’s light for a look at the Savior, And life more abundant and free. Turn your eyes upon Jesus, Look full in His wonderful face, And the things of earth will grow strangely dim, In the light of His glory and grace. https://www.hymnal.net/en/hymn/h/645 Practicing His Presence, Nate Real Dudes,
You ready for this news... Sam and Kaylene did an amazing job this past Saturday at Ox Strong. They explained to us their marriage testimony and also explained to us the importance of prayer in the home. It was a very heartfelt, courageous and transparent testimony. We had a little over 40 in attendance, which is awesome. The other exciting news is that they've had nearly 1,400 views on our YouTube website https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E6GZG5mXeJ0 and we've had nearly 190 views on our Ox Strong website. Making His Name famous for sure. Their testimony is very powerful, so let me encourage you to take some time to view it and then pass this link on to someone God's placed on your heart and in your circles...I'm sure they could benefit from hearing / viewing this as well. Nate |
AuthorNate Smith is a husband, a father of 6 girls, grandpa to 3 granddaughters and one grandson, a police and fire chaplain, a pastor, and has a passion to see men grow in Christ. #girldad including granddaughter
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