A Pure heart, and how do we get one ?

Good question, think for a minute.

A PURE HEART, IS A HEART THAT HAS NO IMPURITIES,

NO NOT ONE ! PURE IS PURE ! A PURE HEART, IS A

HEART FULL OF THE ABUDANCE, THOUGHTS, AND

DESIRES OF EVERY PURE WORD OF GOD, FOR EVERY

WORD OF GOD IS PURE ! THY WORD O LORD, HAVE I

HID IN MY HEART, THAT I MIGHT NOT SIN AGAINST

THEE ! AMEN !

A good place to start is to look around.

What do you see that you know brings you

closer to God ?

Your car, house, boat, garden, your position in

the office, your pc, your pets ? No ! ! !

But your relationship with these and all else

does. I think you see what I'm getting at here.

If you had none of the things that invade your

space and make you 'think' about going

to fellowship, rather than just going without

thinking it, do you believe your heart would be

renewed as you sit, stand, sing or Praise the

Name Of Christ ?

Would you begin to see a Pure Heart grow

within you ? My bet is a strong "Yes."

Think about this.....

You are late for work, the freeway is moving

ok, not great, but ok. You have your thing

together, and you are feeling good about

today. 'Listening to Praise and Worship,' or

Hosanna music in the car........suddenly someone

pulls right in front of you and cuts you

off. Do you become enraged? Do you spit a few

words off that you wouldn't use in public, and

then calm down and start singing with the

radio again? Do you begin to ask for

forgiveness, do you feel weird going back to

singing Praise after poison just came from your

mouth, or maybe ran through your thoughts ?

A right heart ? I don't think so.

Maybe that person on the freeway just lost a

mother to cancer, and is leaving the hospital

in tears and just barely is keeping it together.

How would you act in the same situation ?

Would you follow your heart? Is your heart

right enough to feel for that person? Maybe

they lost a child, or found out their husband

or wife is cheating and has just filed for

divorce after 2o years of marriage. Maybe they

were just reunited with a sister or brother

after 30 years and are so happy they can't

contain their joy.

No matter what, driving in this condition is not

safe, but a kind heart can make it safer, and

easier to forgive and understand.

Take a look around this week......

Begin to let God change your heart......let Him

show you how to let your children and wife

into that changing heart. How to look at the

person in the pew next to you as a valuable

friend, someone you have never hugged or

shaken hands with till now.

Help someone put groceries in the car at the

Supermarket. With God in your heart, no one

will fear you.

Purify the gifts that God has given you,

strengthen the talents that He has shown and

taught you to use.

I tell you these things from experience. I do

these things, and I am elated when I hear a

'Thank you so much,' or I see a smile that out

shines the noon sun. It is such a pleasure to

help others, and to know that God has given

me the heart that lets me push the flesh aside

and help a brother or a sister whom I have

never met, but still I also have a long walk

down this path, but what a joy to be on this

path

Seek and desire a pure heart. Seek and desire a

heart that does not care to be a part of that

which is of the flesh, unless the drive to

become pure requires that knowledge. A heart

that continually seeks the spiritual well

being and needs of others, and strives to help

meet those needs and minister to that well

being.

Think of this.....if every saved and spirit filled

heart on earth were combined as one, it would

still not attain the Pure Heart Christ had for

33 years of life, but He gave us the right to

obtain that purity. Grab it, let it be yours.

Seek God and His Son, for there are no other

riches worthy of ours or God's time beside His

Son and His compassion.

Then we become like Jesus, and we are the ones

who preach the Word-God's Son, Whom God sent

unto His children, even as Jesus, the Son of man

was. Acts 10:36 & 37.

Seek a Pure Heart.

FOR BLESSED ARE THE PURE IN HEART,

fOR THEY SHALL SEE gOD ( MATTHEW 5; 8 ) !

(JOHN 1; 1) AND THE WORD IS GOD !

BLESSED ARE THE PURE IN HEART ( IN DESIRE )

THEY WHO DESIRE TO KNOW AND OBEY THE WORD OF GOD,

FOR THEY SHALL SEE GOD WHO IS THE WORD, FOR THEIR

UNDERSTANDING OF THE WORD ( OF GOD ) SHALL BE

OPENED ( LUKE 24; 45 ) ! AND THE WORD, IS THE LIFE

THAT IS THE LIGHT WITHIN EVERY MAN ( JOHN 1; 1, 4, 9 ),

THE INWARD MAN OR CHRIST WITHIN, WITHIN US ALL !

THE PURE IN HEART SHALL SEE THE INWARD MAN FROM

ABOVE, WHO IS THE LIFE THAT IS THE LIGHT IN THEM, AND

ASLO FIND AND SEE THE KINGDOM OF GOD ( OF THE WORD,

OF THE INWARD MAN ) THAT IS ALSO WITHIN THEM

( LUKE 17; 21 ) THAT WE ARE TO SEEK FIRST ABOVE AND

BEFORE ALL THINGS, KNOWING THAT HE WHO SEEKS,

WILL FIND ! AMEN AND AMEN !

No God ? No Peace !

Know God ! Know Peace !

i_amgodschild

10 Scriptural Confessions

10 Scriptural Confessions: 1) Colossians 1:13 - Who hath
delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into
the kingdom of His dear Son.


Confession: I walk in your Godly Kingdom today, for Jesus has
destroyed Satan's kingdom in my life. Satan, I command you to stop
your maneuvers in my life. I bind you and cast you out of my life
today. You cannot touch me. Jesus is Lord of my spirit, soul,
body, relationships, circumstances, finances and ministry. (Luke
10:19; I John 5:18)


2) 2 Corinthians 2:14 - Now thanks be unto God, which always
causeth us to triumph in Christ, and maketh manifest the savour of
his knowledge by us in every place.


Confession: I walk in total triumph in every situation, for
Jesus has destroyed failure in my life. I am an overcomer and can
do all things through Christ. I have the victory and the victory
has me! I am a victor and a king! (Phil. 4:13; I John 5:4)


3) Ephesians 2:6 - And hath raised us up together, and made us sit
together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus.


Confession: I reign from my heavenly throne-room position, for
Jesus has destroyed an inferior position in my life. I rule and
reign with Jesus today. Greater is He that is in me, than he that
is in the world. Father, you are Lord of heaven and earth, and we
go out and possess the land today. Satan's doors are closed, and
many doors are open for me to speak Your Word boldly. (I John 4:4;
Luke 10:21; Josh. 1)


4) II Timothy 1:7 - For God hath not given us the spirit of fear;
but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.


Confession: I walk in soundness of mind and divine direction,
for Jesus has destroyed confusion in my life. I identify with
Christ's mind. I have the mind of Christ. I will not listen to the
voice of doubt and discouragement. (I Cor. 2:16; John 10:5; Josh.1)


5) I Peter 2:24 - Who His own self bare our sins in His own body
on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto
righteousness: by whose stripes ye were healed.


Confession: I walk in divine health, for Jesus has conquered
sickness in my life. I walk in divine health and divine life,
because I have the divine nature. Jesus took all my sickness upon
His body, and by suffering, I am healed. Divine health pulsates
through every cell of my body everyday. Sickness and disease can
not, and will not latch itself to my body. (II Peter 1:4; Matt.
8:17)


6) Philippians 4:19 - But my God shall supply all your need
according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus.


Confession: I walk in financial abundance . God supplies all
of my needs - not half of them - ALL of them. Satan, take your
hands off of my finances. Finances, I command you to be loosed from
the world system, and placed at my account today, so I can do the
work of the Lord.


7) Luke 4:18 - The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because He hath
anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to
heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and
recovery of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are
bruised,


Confession: Father, your anointing is on me today. It breaks
yokes off the oppressed, causes blind eyes to see, deaf ears to
hear, hearts to open and understand. It causes the sick to be
healed, needs to be met, and it draws full attention to Your Word.
Father, Your Word is alive in me today! Revelation knowledge flows
out of me every day. I operate in the gifts of the Spirit as the
Spirit wills today. (Isaiah 61; I Cor. 12)


8) Psalm 91:7 - A thousand shall fall at thy side, and ten
thousand at thy right hand; but it shall not come nigh thee.


Confession: I walk in safety and supernatural protection
today. Even though a thousand fall at my side and ten thousand at
my right hand, it shall not come near me. No weapon that the enemy
forms against me today shall prosper. Nothing shall by any means
hurt me today. (Isaiah 54:17; Luke 10:19)


9) I Peter 5:7 - Casting all your care upon Him; for He careth for
you.


Confession: I walk in faith today, for Jesus has taken away
fear and doubt in my life. Fear will not rule me - Faith Will!
Whatever is not of faith is sin, so I speak words of life. Today, I
cast all my cares on Christ today. I will go throughout my day
worry free. I choose to meditate on the promises, and not the
problem. As I cast my cares on Christ today I will magnify God's
Word in all that I do.


10) John 6:63 - It is the spirit that quickeneth; the flesh
profiteth nothing: the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit,
and they are life.


Confession: I will speak life today for Jesus has destroyed a
murmuring and complaining tongue in my life. My tongue will speak
forth words of life today. My words will produce spiritual life in
the hearts of men and women


cclose1944e

HOW TO STUDY THE BIBLE

Lesson Four: How to Interpret the Bible
The study of the 'rules' of Bible interpretation is called hermeneutics. Hermeneutics is the science of Bible interpretation. This strange theological term comes from the Greek word hermeneuo which means TO INTERPRET OR EXPLAIN. The reason for studying the Bible is to properly interpret what God is saying to us.
Two other technical terms are important here. Bible scholars often refer to the 'exegesis' of Scripture, which means allowing the truth to come out of the text without the filter of our own ideas. The word "exegesis" is also derived from a Greek word, which means "explanation " or "to lead OUT of." This means we approach to the Scriptures to learn what they say and mean, not to prove our own point.
The opposite term is "eisogesis" which is from a Greek word meaning "to read INTO". This is probably the most common (and dangerous) error of casual Bible students. It is even the error of many well-known television evangelists. This means that a person approaches the Scripture with a pre-conceived idea and uses the Scripture to prove their point, even if the Scriptures have to be "bent" to make them fit.
What we mean by Bible interpretation is the correct meaning of the passage as it was intended by the original author. In other words, we must allow the Bible to speak for itself. While this sounds simple, we must realize that we all have some pre-conceived ideas and that we must work carefully to see that we arrive at the Truth instead of seeking to prove that we are right. We must seek to understand what the original author had in mind--in his context of life and history.
The eighteenth century scholar J. A. Ernesti set the stage for what we call today "rules of Bible interpretation." For Ernesti, a correct understanding of the Bible mean discovering (1) the use of words, (2) the historical circumstances controlling their usage, and (3) the intention of the author strictly governed by his own words. (See Toward an Exegetical Theology, by Walter C. Kaiser.)
Rules of Bible interpretation:
(1) We must interpret the Bible in the light of its LANGUAGE AND HISTORY.
Language, or 'literary setting,' means that language has different meanings in different social, historical, and cultural settings. We must know what Bible words meant to the writers of the Bible. Understanding something of the meaning of the original languages is necessary for correct Bible interpretation, although you should also know that no new or novel doctrines are hidden in the Greek and Hebrew.
Second, "historical setting" means the time and place when a passage of the Bible was written.
This first rule brings up the need for Bible dictionaries and commentaries. They are helpful in obtaining background material as to the culture, setting and the history of the passage in question.
Some examples of how to apply this rule.
(a) Read carefully 2 Corinthians 12:2. What is the third heaven? The Mormons build a whole doctrine of levels of eternal reward based on this verse. But if you just understood something of ancient astronomy, you would know that the first heaven was the sky and clouds, the second heaven was the realm of the heavenly bodies (sun, moon, stars), and the "third" heaven, beyond the sun, moon and stars, was the realm of God. The third heaven is paradise, which Paul indicates in verse 4.
(b) Mark 1:1-21. Why did the disciples so quickly and readily leave everything and follow Jesus? Because they were so committed to him? No. Israel was under the iron yoke of Roman domination and occupation and everyone was expecting the Messiah who would liberate Palestine and rule the world. The disciples probably followed Jesus for very selfish reasons. Even later they were arguing over who was going to be the greatest in the kingdom, and who would sit at the right hand of the throne of the Messiah!
(2) We must interpret Scripture by Scripture
In other words, the whole Bible must speak for itself. We cannot build doctrines on isolated portions of Scriptures. It’s easy to quote individual Bible verses to prove your point. It is a much greater challenge to see how individual verses fit into the whole picture.
Examples:
(a) Does Acts 2:38 teach that baptism is necessary for the forgiveness of sins? Yes, by itself. But many other passages about water baptism in the Bible make it clear that baptism is necessary for discipleship and Christian growth, but it is not necessary to get into heaven.
(b) Does James 2:24 teach that works are necessary for salvation? Yes, by itself. But James 2:24 must be understood in the larger context of New Testament grace.
(3) Individual verses of the Bible must be understood in the context of OTHER VERSES IN THAT PASSAGE.
Two examples which will probably ruffle your feathers are;
(a) Matthew 24:40-41 says, "Two men will be in the field; one will be taken and the other left. Two women will be grinding with a hand mill; one will be taken and the other left." Does this sound like the rapture? It has been used that way for years. But look again at the verses ahead of these famous words. See verses 36 - 39, especially 39. In 39, who is taken away, the righteous or the unrighteous? And who is left? Read carefully. The rules of language apply to Scripture and dare not be bent or ignored. Just because it does not fit with what we want it to say, we must take it for what it does say.
(b) Romans 10:17 is not about building your faith by hearing the word, even though it is used by many preachers to "prove" just that. This verse is about salvation. In other words, faith in Christ unto salvation comes by hearing the Word. Just look at the context!
(An old proverb used in Bible School - "Text, without context, is pretext.")
(4) Each passage of scripture has one INTERPRETATION, many APPLICATIONS.
Interpretation is WHAT THE BIBLE MEANS. The "literal" meaning of each passage of the Bible understood on the basis of the rule of interpretation, must be our starting point for applying the Bible to our daily lives.
Application is WHAT THE BIBLE MEANS TO ME. One of the great Bible scholars of this century, F. F Bruce, wrote, "The place of the Bible in the life of the church has constantly added to it a wealth of fresh and practical meaning which the interpreter cannot ignore."
(5) We cannot build major Doctrines on isolated or unclear verses of the Bible.
Passages of Scripture in which a doctrine is merely touched on must be interpreted by those passages where a doctrine is expressly taught. An example is 1Corinthians 11:6. Another example is the idea that the gifts of the Spirit "died out" with the Apostles. There is no Bible verse in the New Testament that teaches this very popular idea, even though some preach it as a fact.
(6) In most cases, like the rest of the Bible, parables have ONE BASIC MEANING.
A more contemporary example is Aesop's fable of the fox and the grapes. You know the story. Is the lesson, or the moral of the story, that foxes actually eat grapes? No. That's just part of the story to illustrate a single moral principle. If you focus on whether or not foxes actually eat grapes you miss the whole point of the story.
Just so with the parables in the Bible. The parable of the ten virgins is a Biblical example. The parable is full of unique symbolism: the number ten, virgins, lamps, oil. But the whole point of the story is that we should "watch" or "be spiritual alert." Whatever else all the symbols mean is not clear, and to start building doctrines on this parable (like a doctrine of a partial rapture) is theological thin ice.
(7) Two guard rails along the highway of correct Bible interpretation: THE HOLY SPIRIT and THE CHRlSTIAN COMMUNITY.
We have the Holy Spirit to guide us, but this does not mean we don't need other Christians, especially well equipped and informed Bible teachers. And we have the established, historical teachings of the Church, but this does not mean we don't need the Holy Spirit!
Lesson One Lesson Two Lesson Three Lesson Five Lesson Six Lesson