Evang Ps. Kenneth Nandoha
He who walks righteously and speaks uprightly, He who despises the gain of oppressions, Who gestures with his hands, refusing bribes, Who stops his ears from hearing of bloodshed, And shuts his eyes from seeing evil: He will dwell on high; His place of defense will be the fortress of rocks; Bread will be given him, His water will be sure.
Isaiah 33:15-16
Now I will rise,” says the Lord; Now I will be exalted, Now I will lift Myself up. You shall conceive chaff, You shall bring forth stubble; Your breath, as fire, shall devour you. And the people shall be like the burnings of lime; Like thorns cut up they shall be burned in the fire. Hear, you who are afar off, what I have done; And you who are near, acknowledge My might.”
Being pure in conduct also includes honesty and integrity in dealing with our fellowmen. A Christian should be known in his neighborhood or place of business as an honest person, a person who can be trusted. Jesus said, “Blessed are the pure in heart.” Do you want to be happy? All right, apply this Beatitude to your heart. Take it to yourself.
The pure in heart are the only ones who can know what it means to be supremely happy. Their hearts are pure toward God and, as a result are pure toward their fellowmen. They are happy because, in possessing Him who is All and in All, they envy no man’s worldly goods. They are happy because they envy not another man’s praise. Because they are the enemy of no man, they regard no man as their enemy. The result is peace with God and the world.
Have you ever asked yourself what God wants you to think about? To put it another way, have you ever asked yourself what God wants to do about your thoughts?
The answer is that God wants to fill your mind with Himself with thoughts and emotions that are good and pure, and reflect Him instead of the evils of this world. The Bible says, “Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable if anything is excellent or praiseworthy think about such things” (Philippians 4:8).
Those words were written by the Apostle Paul, a man whose mind had once been filled with hate and anger: “Meanwhile, Saul (or Paul) was still breathing out murderous threats against the Lord’s disciples” (Acts 9:1). But something happened to him: He met Jesus. And Christ took away his anger and hatred, and replaced them with love and compassion and purity, so are you when you let Him sink down deep into your heart, mind and soul.
Today’s Prayer
Forgive me, Lord Jesus, my heart is far from pure. I confess to You all my innermost thoughts. You are the lamb of God, have mercy upon me and by the Holy Spirit lead me to purity every single day of my life; Through the grace of the Holy Spirit restore me to friendship with your Father, cleanse me from every stain of sin in the blood you shed for me, and raise me to new life for the glory of your name. Amen.
