The Power of a Pure Heart

We must consistently pursue the power of a pure heart out of which comes an effective prayer life (2 Timothy 2:22, Matthew 5:8).

 Let’s face reality; sinful attitudes and activities are way too abundant in today’s church.  Yet the Christian is called to resist temptation and to go further. We are to hate sin, to reject it, and to love righteousness. If the church of today is to experience revival and to witness an outpouring of God’s glory and power, we must develop a heart for God.  We must want to live for God and to shun evil and iniquity.  The Lord will hear our prayers when we shun evil and wage war on iniquity in our lives. 

The key to spiritual power is maintaining a pure heart.  Remember, Jesus has a bride, He doesn’t want girlfriends.  Our heart must not be divided.  We cannot love Jesus and love the things of this world too (Matthew 12:25, 15:8).

I love the words to the song “Turn Your Eyes Upon Jesus”.  “Turn your eyes upon Jesus, look full in His wonderful face. And the things of earth will grow strangely dim, in the light of His glory and grace”.  There is the secret. If we stay focused on Him, sin temptation and ungodly attractions grow dim to our eyes and ears.  Sin is not attractive to us when our heart is engulfed in Jesus. 

Let’s stay in the Word.  Stay in church. Stay near the power of His presence.  Keep your heart warm and in tune with the Lord.  Then, He will hear us when we pray. Are you ready to take your prayer life to the next level my friend? 

The Pastor’s Pocket

Pastor Bruce Freeman

 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Are You Ready?

Image
It’s that time of the year when the animals are getting ready for winter. They make sure their nesting place is ready for hibernation. They are gathering food or eating a lot of food now to sustain them during the winter months.   In the mornings when we wake up, we get ready for the day. When we are expecting visitors, we get ready for their arrival. The airline industry works hard to make sure their planes are ready to fly. Athletes warm up to get ready for competition.   Jesus tells us to get ready because He is coming.  Are you ready for His return? We must be prepared, for one day the Lord will surely come. How can you be sure you are ready for that moment? (1) Make sure you are saved, born again. (2) Be serving Christ in some capacity. (3) Make sure you are doing the will of God. (4) Be a worshipper. Practice now praising the Lord because that is what you will do in heaven (Revelation 4-5).   Are you prepared for an encounter with the Lord today? Have you positioned yourself to m
Read more

Shopping Season

Image
Our daughter was shopping at a wholesale store recently and sent my wife this text, “Insane how packed it is on Wednesday afternoon!” My wife’s reply to her was, “Tis the season”. The busy shopping season has begun. It’s a great time of the year for retailers.  During this season as Christians, we mustn’t venture out without asking the Holy Spirit to fill us with patience and give us the strength to maintain a Christ-like spirit.   This is a shopping season when many people are searching for, hoping for, something that will satisfy a craving, fulfill a longing, or give them a thrill. For some it will be a party, alcohol, a new car, new clothes, a new boyfriend/girlfriend perhaps. For some, their happiness comes from a sale at the mall, and their many purchases. It’s a season when many are looking for a “high” which turns out to be only temporary.   Friend, there is a “high” you cannot buy. It’s righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit (Romans 14:17). It’s not something temporal
Read more

Trusting God

Image
You’ve never really given a problem over to God until you completely trust Him with the outcome. Too much of our faith in prayer is tied to getting God to do what we think is best. We rejoice if God does what we ask or if He responds as we think He should. What if God has other plans? Is He any less faithful?   The truth is, God sometimes does have plans that differ from our own agenda.   As we pray, we must be willing to accept whatever God determines best.   That’s never easy, but it’s a place we must come to in our understanding of the Holy One.   We all know the story of the three Hebrew young men, Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, and the fiery furnace.   The story is found in Daniel chapter 3.   An order had gone out from the Babylonian king that everyone in the province was to bow down to the golden idol, and anyone who refused would be thrown into a fiery furnace. I love the approach of these three men in Daniel 3:17, “If it be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us
Read more