BIBLE PASSAGE:
He who walks righteously and speaks what is right, who rejects
gain from extortion and keeps his hand from accepting bribes,
who stops his ears against plots of murder and shuts his eyes
against contemplating evil; this is the man who will dwell on
the heights, whose refuge will be the mountain fortress. His
bread will be supplied, and water will not fail him.
(Isaiah 33:15-16)
MEDITATION:
If you lost everything, but still had the essentials for living, you could
make it, right? The two essentials we need to sustain life are food and
water. The scriptures give us a promise that these two life-sustaining
elements will always be available for those who do the following:
1. Walk righteously.
2. Speak what is right.
3. Doesn’t try to extort anything from others.
4. Refuses to accept bribes to do anything.
5. Doesn’t listen to anyone contemplating murder.
6. Closes his or her eyes to evilness.
To summarize, God wants those who are members of His family to be people
who are pure and righteous in all they do. Being pure and righteous in conduct
includes being honest and having integrity when interacting with others. Every
Christian should be known by others (including his family, friends and work
associates) as an honest person – a person who can be trusted.
When we look at the 6 items listed above, we may exclude some like numbers
3-5, and say to ourselves, I would never do those things, but that still leaves 3
more (1, 2, and 6). We may exclude number 6 too if we are not using our eyes
to fulfill lustful and possibly envious desires. But now, we still have the first
ones (1 & 2) to evaluate.
Walking righteously and speaking what is right means our conduct needs
to be pure and righteous. To be pure in conduct, we need to have a pure
heart. Jesus said,
“Blessed are the pure in heart.”
Do you want to be happy? Then apply this Beatitude to your own heart.
Those who are pure in heart are the ones who have the capacity to know
what it means to be supremely happy. Their hearts are pure toward God
and, as a result, they are pure toward their fellowmen.
They find joy in their relationship with God. Why? Because it means
they aren’t bogged down with a counter-righteous attitude of jealousy
and envy toward the worldly possessions of other people. No longer do
they constantly compare themselves and their possessions with others.
They have found a new joy because their happiness is not dependent
on the praise from others, but it is a blessing from the Lord given to
those who live as God expects them to live – a life that is pure because
it walks and talks in a righteous manner. As long as any evilness still
exists in our thoughts and actions, righteousness will be a struggle.
Our happiness is at risk if we are not pure in heart. Impure thoughts,
motives, and actions can cause competitive and sometimes combative
relationships with others. It means that what we think, say and do can
cause us to have strained relationships with others, but the pure in heart
have the joy of living in peace with others,
When we feel at peace with the Lord, we can more easily be at peace
with others. Peace with God can be equated to peace with the world.
It doesn’t mean we accept and embrace worldly things, it means that
God, through the Holy Spirit He gave us at salvation, is helping us to
navigate around the evilness of the world and maintain a pure and
righteous lifestyle.
ACTION:
Question to consider:
– Am I searching for peace and happiness, and do I feel a need
for assurance that I will have the essentials for sustaining life?
If this is your desire, then follow the instructions from God’s Word and
develop a pure (honest and trustworthy) and righteous (leaning toward
the Lord) heart. Will we be going in the opposite direction of those with
worldly aspirations? Yes, we are, but the rewards from our Heavenly
Father are more valuable than anything the world can offer us.
Remember God is focused on helping us when we genuinely want to
become purer and more righteous. When we receive salvation from
the Lord, He begins a sanctification process of purging our lives of
unrighteousness and filling us with more of His righteousness.
That’s the kind of love the Lord has for those who belong to Him. He
knows the power and persuasion of Satan and our inability to resist
the Evil One in our own strength, so as our loving Father, He assists
us in our efforts to become pure and righteous.
We should ask ourselves,
– Am I a victim of Satan’s power and persuasion?
– What are my greatest challenges to overcome
when striving to become pure and righteous?
– Can I ‘feel’ the Lord’s sanctification process in my own life?
– What sinful things in my life
do I know the Lord is pulling me away from?
– What sinful things am I still holding on to?
– Can I say that my thoughts, words and actions are pure and righteous?
– What kind of attitudes and interactions do I have toward others?
– Do I constantly compare myself to others and often focus on
their faults instead of their good qualities?
– Am I glad or envious when I see others receive blessings?
Pray,
“Heavenly Father, thank You for Your promises for those who are
pure in heart. Forgive me if my heart is far from pure. Help me to
purify my heart so I can enjoy peace and happiness in my life. Teach
me how to be known as a person with honesty and integrity. Help me
to purge myself of all dishonesty, unrighteousness and any hidden
agendas.”
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