Blessed Are the Pure in Heart
Open Your Bible
Matthew 5:8, Ezekiel 36:22-28, Psalm 24:1-10, Revelation 22:1-5
BY Kaitlin Wernet
Text: Matthew 5:8, Ezekiel 36:22-28, Psalm 24:1-10, Revelation 22:1-5
The doctor’s office wasn’t on my list of must-see destinations in Italy, but it’s the one I got to check off the list just 72 hours into my semester abroad.
I’d intentionally chosen a program without any familiar faces—just me and the open road! Instead, it was just me… and the scratching. And the hives.
The minute the itchiness ensued, I immediately began washing all my clothes and sheets, then used every last drop of my brand-new bottle of soap in the shower. But it got worse, sending me to the farmacia, which was closed, followed by the doctor’s office, all the while accompanied by a translator who did not know the word for “hives.”
This isn’t the first time I’d taken matters into my own hands, working to scrub away my flaws for a pristine exterior. Just today, I’ve held doors, given compliments, and tweeted Scripture—which are all good things, but my motives are off. And do you know what I see when I do these things? Nothing. I’m hiding so well that I don’t see a thing—not myself, and definitely not God.
Sitting in the doctor’s office chair, I listened to the translator and the doctor intensely converse, unable to decipher what they were saying. Then, the translator turned to me, diagnosing an allergic reaction to an ingredient specific to Italian soap and detergent.
What I’d been using to hide and treat my condition was actually the root of my problem. My attempts to outwardly correct my inward shame had only exposed it more.
When I read, “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God” (Matthew 5:8), I’m sent scrambling, trying to scrub my heart of its impurities. Reading that verse makes me want to work harder and look better. But in reality, I start to hide more, feel less, and then wonder why I can’t see God in the midst of my shame.
I want to see Him. I want to see Him so badly that I’ve shamed my sinful heart into hiding. But Praise the Lord, He is not hiding from us, and nothing is hidden from Him. God sees us and knows us long before we could ever think to seek Him. He saw us first.
For “Man does not see what the Lord sees, for man sees what is visible, but the Lord sees the heart” (1 Samuel 16:7). He sees us when we are impressive, as well as indecent. He knows our hiding places and wants to give us a better one (Psalm 32:7).
While we are busy trying to correct our outward behavior and conceal our inward brokenness, we miss the work God is already doing:
“For I will take you from the nations and gather you from all the countries, and will bring you into your own land. I will also sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean. I will cleanse you from all your impurities and all your idols. I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; I will remove your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh.”
–Ezekiel 36:24-28
By His grace, may we stop hiding from Him in shame, and instead turn to face the One who has already blessed us with the purity of Christ and washed us clean.
72 thoughts on "Blessed Are the Pure in Heart"
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Leo update… praise Him. Keep praying, sweet sisters…
“ Overall it was a good week. The big news for the week is that Leo is finally able to eat again. This is huge. It’s what he’s been talking about every day. After a month of no eating you would think his stomach would be the size of a pea. Even still, he managed to eat half of a Chipotle burrito bowl his first meal!
We are hopeful that he will be coming home in a couple of weeks but of course that isn’t certain. He continues to heal, get stronger and his coordination is improved every day.” -
I love today’s Scripture. “26 And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. 27 And I will put my Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes and be careful to obey my rules. 28 You shall dwell in the land that I gave to your fathers, and you shall be my people, and I will be your God. – Ezekiel 36:26-28”. Oh, how I need a new heart and spirit within me. When I try to “be good” and do the things I think I should, I’m just stirring around the sin in my heart. It’s when I fall to my knees and ask for a new, clean heart that I find forgiveness and cleansing. I pray that God will cleanse my heart anew each day. On my own, I just make a mess.
I receive peace from reading that God is putting a new Spirit within me that I will be able to follow His statutes and be careful to follow His rules. He gives me the cleanliness I could never achieve, no matter how I try.
I’m praying for:
KRISTINE LOUGHMAN-stamina as you grade and have parent conferences. May God give you the words to speak to each parent. Oh, that all teachers cared enough to pray for the right words.
DONNA WOLCOTT – continued prayers for your friend to get out of Gaza and return home safely. And for her family to be safe in such a dangerous place. I’m praying, too, for Israel and its leaders to look to God for guidance and protection.
RHONDA J – your unspoken request.
MICHELLE PATIRE- for the event you are planning; for it to go well and for each leader and participant to receive the blessings God has for each.
MARI V. – For God to provide a way to get your car’s lock fixed. Also for your words and thoughts toward your mom to be sweet and loving. Having lost my mom, I wish I had asked God for gentleness, kind words, and the ears and heart to really hear when she was speaking. God bless the relationship between you and your mom.I, too, used to sing in the choir, and in duets with my husband. What a blessing to my own soul to practice and give my best for Him. I also miss the fellowship with other choir members. I love today’s praise songs, but think it would be nice to have a service with a choir at least a few times per year.
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I often don’t feel I deserve good things due to my sin. This is a hard thing I’ve learned to accept. I deserve good things in my life despite my sin or what I might do because our God isn’t looking for us to mess up. Happy Tuesday ladies!
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ALEIDA – a new, smaller home! How exciting! I pray for everything to go well with the sale of your old house, and your purchase of the new one. May God bless you and your new home. I’m praying, too, for Victor. I pray things go well with his IOP and sober living house. I pray that his eyes and heart are open to healing. I pray the trip home is a healing and loving time for you all.
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“Man does not see what the Lord sees, for man sees what is visible, but the Lord sees the heart” (1 Samuel 16:7). I often think of this verse when I feel so absolutely useless, and when Satan is so quick to remind me of my sins…the ones that have already been forgiven and washed white as snow. Just as God sees our inmost heart and knows the sinful attitudes or thoughts we might harbor, He also sees straight through to the new heart He has given us. He knows when we desire to obey & follow Him & when we have such a heart for Him but don’t know how to express it or live it out. It reminds me of the lyrics to the song Indescribable by Chris Tomlin – “Incomparable, unchangeable – You see the depths of my heart, And You love me the same, You are amazing, God, You are amazing, God.” He knows our desires, even the ones we can’t seem to bring to fruition. Yes, our God is an amazing God! Thank you God for your long-suffering, patience and goodness to each and everyone of us!
@Tina & @Cee Gee – thank you for sharing, it really helps to see things in a different light. Iron sharpening iron!
@Donna Wolcott – praying that your friend is able to make it back to the states and that her daughter & grand-daughter are kept safe.
@Kristine Loughman – praying for you as you grade and meet with parents, may God give you the stamina and just the right words for each situation!
@Rhonda J. – praying for your unspoken request.
@Michelle Patire – praying that God will give you the wisdom to know what to do. Sometimes the least prepared we are, are the times God uses us in the greatest way – in His strength and not our own!
@Mari V. – praying that God gives you the grace for the right words and that your actions toward your mom will be pleasing to Him.Have a grace filled, blessed day my sisters!
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