Pure In Heart

Matthew 5:8 “Blessed are the pure in heart for they shall see God.”

Do you want to see God?

I resolved at the beginning of the year that I was going to try to memorize the sermon on the mount found in Matthew:5. Each time I read this passage, it tenderizes my heart to the point where I am humbled beyond what I can bear.

I want these blessings known as the beatitudes imprinted upon my mind and heart so that I can be reminded of the message Jesus tenderly spoke to His disciples.

In the midst of my resolution I have found myself encamped upon verse eight, “Blessed are the pure in heart for they shall see God. I set out on a journey to fully understand the meaning of this verse. How do you become pure in heart? I feel strongly that it is a byproduct of Matthew 22:37-39. “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul, and with all your mind.”

This is the great and first commandment. And second is like it: you shall love your neighbor as yourself.

I truly believe that the condition of our hearts determine whether or not we see God in our

fellowship with Him.

You might say, “No one has seen God!” I am not speaking of the physical realm. I am speaking

in the spiritual realm.

The pure in heart can capture the very essence of God. A pure heart can see God in nature, in scripture, and in and through the church family. In the everyday events of our lives his hand is ever present! The pure in heart receive the most wonderful reward!!

We either love God or we don’t! Loving Him is acting like him. Revelation 3:16 speaks of the lukewarm Christian being neither hot nor cold. God gives a grave warning in this verse, “I will spit you out of my mouth.” He desires his followers to be pure in heart.

If we love Him in the way we are commanded, our hearts will be pure in that we admit to His

presence and Awe.

• We experience His glory!

• We give life to his hands and feet on earth.

• Our words are gentle and filtered before spoken.

Our life is an offering to our Lord and presents a sweet aroma before His throne.

• A pure heart is free from deceitfulness and it does not choose the world over God.

• It is humble and meek.

• A person with a pure heart will live to be an example inviting to others and not an obstacle of discouragement.

Wow! I have learned much about the pure heart. I Cannot produce it on my own. Only through the spirit of the Lord is a pure heart made possible! And only by loving Him with all of my heart, and with all of my soul and with all of my mind and by loving others the way Christ loves me (and you) will produce a pure heart.

“A pure heart may get hurt many times but it never loses its purity because the light inside it always shines brighter than the fire outside it. (Souvik)

The Beauty of the Bible

By: Jonathan Carl

Have you discovered how amazing the Bible is?  Here are 10 amazing truths about the Bible!

1) The Most Evidenced Book In Human History.  The amount of archaeological, scientific, historical, manuscript/documentary, internal and external evidence for the Bible is overwhelming.  God has evidenced the trustworthiness of His book more than any human book that we might trust Him.  Check out some of the evidence here: www.trustworthyword.com/evidence-for-jesus 

“For no prophecy was ever produced by the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.” 2 Peter 1:21 

2) The Voice of God.  God wants to talk to us.  We get to listen and hear the voice of the Creator of the Universe through the Bible.  What an incredible conversation we can have with the Bible and prayer!

“All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.” 2 Timothy 3:16-17

3) Connects Us to Jesus. The Bible is the vehicle which brings us to meet Jesus.  They point us to Him and share who He is and what He has done with us.

“the Scriptures…bear witness about me” - Jesus in John 5:39-40 (ESV)

“the sacred writings, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus.” 2 Timothy 3:10-17

4) Our Only Hope for Salvation.  We live in a difficult world filled with despair but God speaks to us so that we may know and experience His love forever in Heaven.

“receive with meekness the implanted word, which is able to save your souls” James 1:21

5) A Weapon Against Satan. We have a real enemy in Satan and the demonic and we are hopeless in that battle without the Spirit of God and His sword: the Bible.

“take…the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God” Ephesians 6:17

6) A Light In A Dark World.  The darkness of our surroundings is scary but God’s light guides us through it.

“Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.” Psalm 119:105

7) Protection from Error.  How do we know what is true? The Bible.

“Jesus said to them, ‘Is this not the reason you are wrong, because you know neither the Scriptures nor the power of God?’" - Mark 12:24

8) Forever Unchanging.  Our unchanging God describes His unchanging nature can character clearly to us.

"Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change." James 1:17

9) A Tool for Tough Days.  Life isn’t easy but the Bible gives us supernatural wisdom and understanding.

“rightly handling the word of truth” 2 Timothy 2:15

10) A Guide to Life. Our Father in Heaven desires to instructs us through the ups and downs of life and we find courage through His presence and voice.

"This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success." Joshua 1:7-8

Here is a helpful resource for ideas of how to study the Bible!

www.trustworthyword.com/how-to-study-the-bible

How to Get Rich Quick & Stay Rich Forever

By: Jonathan Carl

If you could…would you…get rich quick?  Whether it be an inheritance, an investment, or an insane winning, wouldn’t it be great?  It would be wonderful to relieve the financial woes and pressures that many of us feel with our currently obligations and debts.  Could you imagine the excitement you would feel if you knew that your riches were guaranteed to continue forever?

Luke 12:15 “And he said to them, ‘Take care, and be on your guard against all covetousness, for one's life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions.’” (ESV)

Unfortunately, human wealth almost never works that way.  Even those who gain a large amount of money overnight often lose much or all of it as time passes.  Jesus warns us through the Bible about the dangers of the love of money being a “a root of all kinds of evils” (1 Timothy 6:10).  Wanting what others have (covetousness) does harm to our soul.  Storing up goods on earth is eternally futile as they ultimately pass on to others at our death.  Jesus also speaks to the opportunity to gain a wealth that you will never lose…

Luke 12:20–21 “But God said to him, ‘Fool! This night your soul is required of you, and the things you have prepared, whose will they be?’ So is the one who lays up treasure for himself and is not rich toward God.’” (ESV)

Being “rich toward God” comes through faith.  When we trust, treasure, and love Jesus more than anything we discover “a living hope” that brings a guaranteed “inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven” for us. (1 Peter 1:3-4)

Focusing on earthly possessions and treasures can cloud our mind and warp our daily priorities.  What should we do when we realize we’ve loved and pursued and trusted money too much?

1) Repent where we have failed.  We’ve all messed up with money.  We’ve overspent, undersaved, and made unwise decisions.  If we are honest we have all loved money more than we care to admit.

“people will be…lovers of self, lovers of money…ungrateful…without self-control…lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God” (2 Timothy 3:1-4)

2) Avoid bad influences.  God warns us that “bad company ruins good morals.” (1 Corinthians 15:33).  The places and people we associate with affect us.  We need to surround ourselves with godly influences and protect what comes into our mind through our ears and eyes.

“Avoid such people.” (2 Timothy 3:5)

3) Pursue Jesus more than pleasure.  Our time and energy is limited.  Our choices matter.  Let’s work on saying “yes” to things that matter more and saying “no” to free up our time and energy for what is better.  Jesus is more satisfying than any earthly pleasure.

“live for the rest of the time in the flesh no longer for human passions but for the will of God.” (1 Peter 4:2 ESV)

4) Work hard to invest more in eternity.  God has gifted us with varying skills to do our work with excellence and enjoyment.  Hard work still takes discipline but the money we earn at work can be best used for eternal purposes through our local churches and Christian missions and ministries.

Acts 20:35 “In all things I have shown you that by working hard in this way we must help the weak and remember the words of the Lord Jesus, how he himself said, ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.’”

5) Keep this world in perspective.  Life is short.  We can’t take anything here on earth with us.  Our possessions need to be held lightly and in this perspective.

Mark 8:36 “For what does it profit a man to gain the whole world and forfeit his soul?”

Let’s be content with what we have and rich towards God, enjoying His presence now and for eternity.

Hebrews 13:5 “Keep your life free from love of money, and be content with what you have, for he has said, ‘I will never leave you nor forsake you.’”

"Every time you doubt that you can live on 90% of your income, let the glorious promise of God strengthen your faith: ‘My God shall supply all your needs according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus’ (Philippians 4:19)." John Piper

The Deadly Danger of Staying Away from Church & the Bible

By: Jonathan Carl

Drinking and driving. Obesity. Illegal drugs. Smoking.  All dangerous for our health. We know it.  We try to avoid them.  We know they lead towards a more limited life and an expedited death.

Know what’s more dangerous to your health?  Missing church. Ignoring the Bible.

One may argue… “I don’t have to go to church or read my Bible to be a Christian!” Yes, you are right if you mean that we aren’t saved by going to church, being baptized, or reading your Bible…but our lack of church attendance and Bible reading can be a symptom of a limited life and eternal death.

Here are four concerns that God has for those whose Bible reading and church attendance is sporadic.

Spiritual Laziness.  Priorities.  Love of the world.  Love of self.  It’s easy to get pulled away from church and the Bible.  We’ve all been there.  It takes dedication and commitment to wake up and roll out to church on a Sunday.  It takes discipline to make time in your daily schedule for Bible reading.  But both are worth it.  Let’s listen to God’s many commands for Bible reading and church commitment.

Hebrews 10:24-25 (ESV) “And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near”

Spiritual Foolishness. Ignorance is not bliss.  We are wrong and make poor decisions when we stray away from God’s truths and His power.  God lovingly speaks to us in the Bible so that we might know and follow Him instead being deceived by Satan, the world, and our flesh.

Luke 6:46 (ESV) “Why do you call me ‘Lord, Lord,’ and not do what I tell you?”

Spiritual Cancer.  Disconnectedness from a local church is discouraging and dangerous.  The world is a dark place. The Bible and the church are designed to encourage us as a refuge of hope and light.  Just as cancer slowly invades and does serious damage to our physical health, sinful disregard to God’s commands does harm to our spiritual health.

Matthew 7:21 (ESV) “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven”

Spiritual Death.  Lack of presence with the people of God and lack of communication with God may evidence a lack of love and spiritual deadness.  Jesus summarizes the law of God with the priorities of loving Him and loving others.  Presence and care communicates love.  Absence and apathy communicates hate.  Listening and obeying indicates trust and value.  Ignoring and disregarding indicates contempt.  If we continue to stay disconnected from a local church family and the Bible, we would do well to examine the genuineness of our faith.

2 Corinthians 13:5 (ESV) “Examine yourselves, to see whether you are in the faith. Test yourselves.”

Here are four steps to take for our spiritual health in 2020!

1) Commit to a local church.  We are better together.  No church is perfect, but if their focus is biblical truth and love then that’s the main thing.  We are blessed to have so much access to many wonderful, biblical churches!  Don’t have a church home? Try one out this Sunday!  Been a little while since your last visit to your church home?  Jump back in with both feet!

2) Care for others.  Your local church is amazing place to be loved and to love others.  Relationships take time and intentionality but they are worth it!

3) Dive Deep into the Bible.  You won’t regret it.  Studying God’s Word is refreshing and energizing.  If you read one chapter of the New Testament every weekday you’ll finish the NT in 2020!

4) Dare to Share.  The world needs God’s hope and truth so look for opportunities to share Bible truths and God’s love as you go throughout your day!

5 Tips for Christmas!

By: Jonathan Carl 

Merry Christmas!  Christmas Day can be such a joy to care-free children who are anticipating, opening, and enjoying their gifts!  Christmas can easily lose its luster for adults though when loss, fears, hurts, and worries overwhelm us.  No matter your current experience this Christmas, can you imagine what the first Christmas was like?

Jesus Is Here!  Jesus came to us! Think about the joy of Jesus’ mother Mary and adoptive-father Joseph had when the Christ-child arrived; the promises of the prophets and the angels fulfilled!  Imagine the sweetness the Shepherds savored when they saw the Savior of the world (Luke 2). What a wonder for the Wise Men to encounter their Wonderful Counselor (Matthew 2)!  What child-like joy they all must have experienced as they worshipped Jesus with child-like trust, love, comfort, security, delight, joy, and awe at what God was doing!

This Christmas, here are 5 tips for entering into and experiencing the “good news of great joy!” (Luke 2:10)

1. Receive the gift of love.  Gifts aren’t ultimately about the object itself, they are about the love of the giver.  Don’t let your Christmas become a ritual or routine.  Don’t reject a heart-felt relationship with your Creator.  God wants you to experience the relational love He has for you!  You are loved.

 2. Trust the rescue.  Have you ever been in a desperate situation where you have no choice but to ask or cry for help?  You and I are in such a situation now, in our sin.  We need a Savior to rescue us.  We can’t work our way out of our sin dilemma. Don’t resist His saving work but instead rejoice in His salvation from sin and death!

3. Listen to the King.  Slow down.  Open and read your Bible.  Make time to play an audio Bible.  Watch the “Visual Bible” on YouTube.  There are lots of ways to experience the truth and love of God’s voice through the Bible.  Be still, open your ears, and engage your mind while you marvel that your King wants to speak personally to you.

4. Enjoy the Relationship. God doesn’t issue rules and commands as a harsh dictator.  He wants us to hear His fatherly protection, warnings, and encouragements toward His children.  Be more child-like this Christmas, submitting your heart to His amazing comfort and care.  Even when others will abandon, burn, and betray you, God is faithful and will never leave you or forsake you (Hebrews 13:5).

5. Spend Time in His Presence. Devotional time matters.  Church matters.  Small group matters.  Godly friendships matter. God has organized His family into opportunities to experience Him directly through His Spirit and together through others.  Prioritize Jesus in your Christmas Day and everyday and you will experience joy. 

I hope and pray that you and your family have an amazing Christmas as you delight in God’s amazing love!

Humble Beginnings

Humble Beginnings By: Machelle McDowell

 Incredible things begin in humble places!

Tiny Little Town

From the moment of Jesus’ birth he modeled humility. God chose the tiniest little town for Jesus to be born in, “ But you, oh Bethlehem Ephrathah, Who are too little to be among the clans of Judah, from you shall come forth for me one who is to be ruler in Israel, whose coming forth is from the old, from ancient days. Micah 5:2

Tiny Little Baby

Mary and Joseph did not check into a hospital where state of the art medical care was available if a problem was to arise.

Mary did not hear the beeps of a heart monitor attached snuggly to her stomach as she awaited the arrival of her little bundle of joy, but instead the sounds of bleating little lambs and the groaning of nearby cattle. 

Tiny Little Trough

Mary continued to clothe Jesus in humility by wrapping him in swaddling cloth. As she gently placed each piece around his arms and legs confining him in love and at the same time restraining his ability to move. Once in a nice little bundle she gently lowered him into a even greater state of humility by placing him into a feeding trough to rest. 

What is God trying to show us in this picture?

There are 73 verses in the Bible that address humility. Throughout the Bible, Jesus is presented as the definition of true humility. Beginning as an infant and throughout his life humility defined our Savior. 

I love James 4:10! “Humble yourself in the presence of the Lord and he will exalt you!” Wow! God will exalt those who humble themselves! Why is that so hard for us to do then? Simply put, we think more highly of ourselves than we should? Are we tiny in our own eyes? The truth of the matter is that our eyes reflect the opposite. It’s more about me than it is about, “He.”

Oh Lord, Help us to:

“Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than ourselves. Let each of us look not only to ur own interests, but also to the interests of others" (Phil 2:3-4).

There is a very hard lesson to be learned in being truly humble. Being humble requires a very strong sense of God‘s presence. We cannot overcome our fleshly desires on our own.

“Count others more significant than yourself.” 

When Jesus was being tortured and finally crucified the words, “Forgive them for  they do not know what they are doing.”.... Little did we know that (approximately) 33 years prior when that tiny little baby, in that tiny little town, in that tiny little manger all wrapped up in swaddling cloth was being prepared at that very moment to demonstrate the greatest act of humility to mankind!

Forgive them? He looked at those who came against him and counted them more significant than himself. He was not blinded by pride or tempted to bring vengeance or prove a point. He acted out of pure love and humility.

One of my favorite stories in the Gospel of John is where Jesus shared humility and grace to the Samaritan woman. She yearned to be wanted, and cared for when no one, not even herself, could see anything of value in her life...Jesus did. She was living in open sin and Jesus reached out to her in humility and made her feel important and loved. 

This story teaches us much about the value of people. He demonstrated love to everyone and commands that we do the same. Humble ourselves to the point of putting others above ourselves.

“True humility is not thinking less of yourself; it is thinking of yourself less.” 

Humble beginnings allow God to be made much of. Let’s wrap ourselves in humility. In doing so, it will allow us to love greater, forgive easier, and become selfless instead of selfish.

“ Humble yourself in the presence of the Lord!”.....He will exalt you!

A Prayer for Our Nation

By: Jonathan Carl

Our nation continues forward into another election cycle, we are becoming increasingly divided between Republicans and Democrats.  The rhetoric and anger is overwhelming.  Can you imagine what the average political in Washington D.C. faces in the social media age we live in?  

As Christians, we are called by God to pray for all of our leaders.  Have you ever thought about how you would pray over our nation’s leaders if you had the opportunity?  How you would lead them into the presence of our Creator and pray on their behalf?  Here is an idea of how we can pray together for our leaders today.

Father God, Lord Jesus, Holy Spirit.  You are amazing.  You are wonderful.  You are powerful.  There is no-one like you God.  Thank you for who you are and for the privilege of another day of life.  Thank you for the ability to even have access to you right now through prayer.

You have told us that…  ‘if my people who are called by my name humble themselves, and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and heal their land.’ (2 Chronicles 7:14 ESV)

So here I am now before you.  Humbled in heart.  On my knees.  

Please forgive us.  So much wickedness has passed through our minds, hearts, lips, and our lives.  I am guilty.  We are guilty.  As individuals.  As leaders.  As a nation. Forgive us.

We need you.  We love you.  We want you.  We trust you.  Jesus, lead us into your presence.  Give us your wisdom for the daily decisions that we encounter today and everyday as your servants and representatives.

God, heal us as only You can.  Our nation is hurting.  Our people are divided.  Our world is in chaos.  Thank you for sending your Son to save us from Satan, sin, and Hell. Help us to “be blameless and innocent, children of God without blemish in the midst of a crooked and twisted generation.”  Help us to “shine as lights in the world” (Philippians 2:15 ESV).

Jesus, I lift up these leaders to you. Thank you for giving them to our nation.  Protect their physical, emotional, mental, and spiritual health.  If any have not received and submitted to you as Lord and Savior, I pray for you to save their souls.  Guard their minds from Satanic and worldly deception and focus their minds on your truth.  Keep their hearts from the Evil One and guide their affections to your throne-room.  Encourage and strengthen their marriages and families with the love you have for us.  Use these men and women greatly for the welfare of their hometown communities and states.  Unite them together under your commands for the sake of our nation.

In the name of the Jesus I pray, amen.

1 Timothy 2:1–5 “First of all, then, I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for all people, for kings and all who are in high positions, that we may lead a peaceful and quiet life, godly and dignified in every way. This is good, and it is pleasing in the sight of God our Savior, who desires all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth. For there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus” (ESV)

Thank God, Even On the Toughest of Days

By: Jonathan Carl

What does Ephesians 5:20 mean when it says to give “thanks always and for everything”?  In this verse and several others, God seems to be telling us to be thankful to Him even on the darkest of days and the roughest seasons of life.  Have you ever wondered why gratitude is so important?  Here is how to be grateful to God, even when you are in a season of suffering.

1 Thessalonians 5:16–18 “Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.” (ESV)

Gratitude acknowledges God.  In our fallen state we easily become self-focused.  When times are good we can become self-reliant and fail to give thanks to God.  In times of difficulty we can often be so overwhelmed by our suffering that we fail to appreciate the many blessings we have been given.  Contentment is key (Philippians 4:11–13).

James 1:17 “Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change.”

Ingratitude is dangerous.  Discontentment is a spiritually deadly disease.  When God speaks to unbelief, one of the defining characteristics is not being thankful or honoring God.

Romans 1:21 “For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him"

Trust God. We don’t always see how He is working at the time, but he assures us in Romans 8:28 that “we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.”  Often in suffering we want to know “why” and our immediate prayer is for it to stop.  In seasons of difficulty we should ask God in prayer what purposes He is seeking to accomplish in us and through us while simultaneously sharing our heartfelt desire for the suffering to end.

Trials are gifts.  That statement does not seem to make sense.  Most of us would not willingly choose to go back through evil and suffering we have endured in our past.  Human-purposed evil can be used by God for good purposes.  The story of Joseph being sold into slavery is a good example, where his brothers intended evil, but “God intended it for good” (Genesis 50:19-21)!  God uses suffering to draw us closer to Himself in order to give us a comfort so that we can overflow His comfort and love to others in a way we wouldn’t be able serve without the prior difficulty (2 Corinthians 1:3–5).

God grows us. God uses the testing of our faith to produce in us things that aren’t often discovered in the easier seasons of life (Hebrews 12:10–11).  Romans 5:3–5 explains that we should “rejoice in our sufferings” because “suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not put us to shame, because God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.”  How we endure in suffering gives us greater evidence and assurance of our faith.  

Look Ahead. Suffering gives us the reminder that there is something much better ahead and that this fallen world is not our place of final rest and relief.  We need the reminder that our earthly sufferings “are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us” (Romans 8:18).

We may not feel like being thankful for all things we encounter in life, but we can choose to be thankful knowing that God is still in control, loves us, and has a purpose for us even in the hardships of life.