Purity of Heart

https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Psalm+97%3A9-12&version=NKJV

Psalm 97:9-12 (NKJV)

⁹ For You, Lord, are most high above all the earth;
You are exalted far above all gods.

¹⁰ You who love the Lord, hate evil!
He preserves the souls of His saints;
He delivers them out of the hand of the wicked.
¹¹ Light is sown for the righteous,
And gladness for the upright in heart.
¹² Rejoice in the Lord, you righteous,
And give thanks at the remembrance of His holy name.^[a]

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^{There is a benefit to following Christ. There is a benefit to having a pure soul, an upright heart.} 

^{God will preserve you.}

^{Many times I have wondered if it is worth it to align myself with other believers against sinful behaviors, or ideas that go against Scripture. I sometimes wonder if taking a stand is effective.}

^{I think it is.}

^{I think there are powers in the unseen realm that try to keep us from standing firm, and it comes at great cost. Sometimes relationships suffer, sometimes there are "accidents" that occur. Sometimes we have to endure a period of spiritual drought.}

^{Sometimes we are killed.}

^{I think that facing fear is the most important thing any of us can do on this earth. We need to know that our fears are nothing to God. He knows every thought. He knows every atom and holds it together personally.}

^{In Him we live and move and have our being.}

^{I think that many of us think He's rather smaller than He really is. We look around us at the suffering of mankind and we cannot imagine a kind, just, and merciful God.}

^{We fail.}

^{Those are the days when I particularly pray, "MARANATHA!"} 

^{I am tired of keeping on keeping on. I want the Maker of the Universe to make it all right. I want out, to be done here, to leave it all behind!}

^{We all have those thoughts, right? Oh, yeah, it only happens to those of us who suffer.}

^{We sufferers want out.}

^{But we know that our Comforter understands. He gives us assurance when we most need it. He convicts us of our sin, He reminds us of His promises. He helps us be patient. He gives us hope.}

^{Today was not a good day. Something went amiss with the dishwasher in our new house. Water everywhere----dripping through vents and through cracks down into the basement. There's hardwood on the floor in the basement, so we scrambled with towels and buckets. Boo-hoo. What a mess.}

^{Ugh, I'll probably have to repaint. :(} 

^{Yesterday Ed had a particularly painful spinal tap. His bi-polar medications need tweaking. He hurts and was told that he MUST swim three days a week, minimum, to reduce the limp in his walk. Yesterday I saw the endocrinologist and learned that I am just a big baby where my thyroid is concerned. The doctor basically told me that yes, the thyroid isn't normal, but she's seen far worse. Why are you complaining, anyway?}

^{Ya. I'm a big baby.}

^{But I know that the GREAT Father in heaven is my intimate helper and healer. I go to him when things look bleak.}

^{Sometimes you stand by your convictions at great cost to your loved ones. People aren't necessarily so understanding of your own life path. They truly want you to sanction their ways and their life choices, even when you have an entirely different philosophy and worldview.}

^{That hurts.}

^{I think Hollywood is full of movies of people coming together and compromising. I don't see life that way. Hollywood is, well, Hollywood.}

^{We DO think differently, we DO disagree. We do have different convictions.}

^{My dad is a total tee-teetotaler. I don't drink alcohol either, but I have no issue with beer steins or wine glasses. To please my dad, who is now a regular visitor, I moved the goblets out of sight. Sometimes we do that for people.}

^{I could just stand my ground and thumb my nose in his face.....}

^{but that would not be showing respect. I don't try to antagonize my dad.}

^{We've talked here about dancing, drinking, drugs, and divorce. I'm old-school on all of these. a Traditionalist, I'd say.}

^{I'm also pretty hard line on fornication (sex before marriage) and filthy language. Pornography is a big no-no. I have issues with perverted sexual function, whatever it may be.}

^{I decided a long time ago that I would not support that type of behavior.}

^{Sadly I've seen many people give in to it, only to find themselves toying with the doctrines of demons.}

^{I pray that eyes may be opened, that repentance occur, that lifestyles would show the power of the Holy Spirit.}

^{That transformation would come to those who espouse lives of filth.}

^{There are so many powerful testimonies from around the world, of lives sold out to Christ, pure, godly, and blameless.}

^{I want that. My convictions may not be yours, but I certainly would hope that yours would align with God's.}

^{You know what His are, don't you?}

^Purity.

^{And soon the pure in heart shall see God. It's in the Bible.}

^{When darkness and judgment falls on the earth those who thought God would wink at sin and "let them in" will despise Him. They will look away from His light. They will be happy to choose an eternal life of hell.}

^{I don't want that.} 

^{Only Jesus saves. Not Mary. Not good works. Not yourself. Jesus alone. Jesus alone.}

^{We finished the first part of "Vanya," a story about a young Russian soldier in the early 1970's. He was tortured and martyred for his faith in Christ by the KGB.}

 

^{It is quite a story. I wish you all could read it. It is the testimony of one who gave all for his powerful faith in Christ. It is a story of spiritual purity. Of a heart that sees God.}

^{May that be my heart. Your heart.}

^{May you see God.}

^{It's not long now. The signs are happening like a ticker tape machine, chattering off all over the world. The economy is tanking, the hurricane is about to plaster the east coast. The animals are perishing. The elite are showing signs of wear and tear.}

^{Hillary's going down. The powerful politicians are seeing their feet of clay. In my über-liberal state of Minnesota all I see are Bernie Sanders bumper stickers. The guy who honeymooned in Russia, so affiliated with communism! What are people thinking?}

^{I admit that the GOP has little to offer. Ben Carson is my guy, still. The times are so dark we hardly care.}

^{Look at Europe. Here comes a powerful people with an even more powerful ideology----certifiably the doctrine of demons---and they are being welcomed into transforming the continent--- lock, stock, and barrel.} 

^{Wake up! Purify your hearts!}

^{Choose life this day.}

^{May you have a spiritual re-birth. Today.}

^{Today is the day of salvation.}

^Maranatha.