Matthew 5:8 - Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see
God. (NKJV)
Blessedly, Bible study teachers encouraged me in simple belief when
reading the Scriptures, especially those that contain a promise, also to
ask, "What does God want from me?" "What is my part?" "How do I qualify
for this promise?"
"Blessed are the pure in heart."
Clearly, any iniquity defiles us. Of ourselves, we cannot make our own
hearts pure. As each of us surrenders to Jesus' Spirit, desiring a pure
heart, we permit Him to begin His loving, ongoing, transforming work of
grace, which forms a holy, true and guileless, pure heart within us.
Such a pure heart qualifies us to have this beatitude promise fulfilled
in our lives: "They shall see God."
From my own experience, plus believer friends' testimonies and Christian
books, there is concurrence that it is through the purifying, holy work
of Jesus' Spirit, and by His loving grace and our desired time spent in
His presence, that receiving this glorious promise of seeing God is made
possible.
Initially, it takes practice and perseverance to spend time in the
presence of the Lord, with nothing else pressing on our minds and
timetable. Shutting out all else takes discipline and determination,
until the habit is well developed, and we are enabled by His Spirit to
relax and to fearlessly enjoy Him -- His holy presence, His love, His
fellowship in response to our fellowship, and the holy anointing of His
Spirit.
Hebrews 12:14 - Work at living in peace with everyone, and work
at living a holy life, for those who are not holy will not see the Lord.
(NLT)
For me, this devoted time in the Lord's presence has developed over time
in the same way as any other growth and development: it begins with the
desire and choice to begin. It develops and multiplies with the desire
and choice to continue in faithfulness to the habit of spending time
with our Lord.
Eventually, with His anointing, came the spiritual seeing of my Lord
during the time of close fellowship with Him, occurring while hearing
His quiet voice, and through prayers and reading His Word, also during
praise, dance, and worship, alone and in anointed church and group
gatherings.
Believer friends, my daughter, Sharon, and I, agree that we've found
nothing to equal these holy, spiritual, intimate, fellowship experiences
with the Lord, which we describe as times of heaven on earth -- that is,
as much as we can imagine how heaven will be.
I do believe with all my heart that the promise, "Blessed are the pure
in heart, for they shall see God," is possible for every one of us who
faithfully wants to spend time with Him in His holy, awesome,
presence.
I believe Jesus Lord wants our company immeasurably, so that He
graciously waits for us every day, just to love us and lead us into His
holy resurrection life of His glory. Bless His holy name!
Prayer: Master, Sovereign Lord of the ages, thank You for all
that You want for each of us and for the many ways You permit us to know
You. You ever continue graciously to love us through all our various
ways and endeavours to love, surrender, and draw close to You. With
grateful hearts, we thank You. Amen and Amen!
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