Purity of Heart
“Come close to God, and God will come close to you. Wash your hands, you sinner's purify your hearts, for your loyalty is divided between God and the world.” James 4:8
How do we develop a heart that is loyal to you, God? The human heart is a brilliant thing. How do we keep it tame? It is powerful-it drives everything we do, think, and say. We must keep a watch on our hearts. Proverbs says, “Above all else, guard your heart. For out of it flow the issues of life.” In the book of James, God calls us to purify our hearts from sin, otherwise they are seen as disloyal to Him. As we do this, it is considered by God to be an act of us drawing closer to Him. Like oil and water, sin and holiness will not mix and remain separate from one another. In order to cultivate the oneness that our holy God desires with us and the oneness our hearts need with Him, we must invite the cleansing of His Holy Spirit to purify us of known sin on a regular basis. Then, “God will come close to you.” Actually, it's not that God comes close to you, He just seems to come closer because the barrier of sin has been removed from between you. What barriers of sin can keep us from sensing the closeness of God?
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Entitlement. The attitude that you deserve something or something is owed to you. This can even be present in the way that we feel entitled to sin. We think, “Well, I've been so faithful in my tithes and I haven't seen God's financial blessings yet, so I'm going to lie on my taxes to get what is owed to me.” Entitlement justifies the reason something is owed.
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Rebellion. I'm sinning, I know it, and I don't care.
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Idolatry. Finding your innermost fulfillment from something other than God. Using something as a means of escape or for a sense of false peace, significance, or success.
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Control. I want to be able to mold and manipulate my life or this situation, or person, into what I want it to be.
Prayer:
Father, please help to correct and purify any sin barriers in my heart that would keep us from being one. I am your child-robed in righteousness, clothed in holiness because of what Christ has done for me. I want to conduct the matters of my heart in accordance with who you say I am. Please search my heart Lord and show me my sin and equip me with the power and healing to overcome it, that we may walk in oneness. In Jesus name. Amen.
