The most important thing in our walk with God is to reform our heart. This daily devotional looks at how we need a pure, clean heart so that we can witness to others.
Nuggets
- A reformed heart is made pure after sin is removed.
- A reformed heart is needed to influence others to search for Jesus.
God is in the business of reforming our hearts. Horton contended that reformation was the main thing that we needed.
Let’s see what we can get from what Horton had to say.
Resource
A Clean Heart
“Create in me a clean heart, O God …” (Ps. 51: 10 ESV)
A reformed heart is made pure after sin is removed.
After Adam and Eve sinned, we were born with unclean, impure hearts. Sin does that.
Cleanness has to do with the Israelites remaining holy.
- Holy means to be set apart, perfect, and morally pure while possessing all virtues.
- Perfection means we reach a state of maturity because the combination of the spiritual graces form, when all are present, spiritual wholeness or completeness — holy, sanctified, and righteous.
- Spiritual graces are worldly morals that have been submitted to God to further His kingdom instead of enhancing this world.
- Sanctified means to be set free from sin.
- Righteous means we are free from sin because we are following God’s moral laws.
- Virtues are standards of moral excellence.
- Perfection means we reach a state of maturity because the combination of the spiritual graces form, when all are present, spiritual wholeness or completeness — holy, sanctified, and righteous.
Pure means not being sinful or having the stain of sin.
- Sins are actions by humans that disobey God and break one of His reasonable, holy, and righteous laws and commandments, goes against a purpose He has for us, or follows Satan’s promptings.
Glossary
Horton told us removing sin from our hearts was the most important thing for us to do. We must all seek to cut out sin in our lives.
I am going to take those backwards. How can we do that? It is only through
- admitting that mankind was separated from God after the original sin, making us sinners;
- believing Jesus paid the penalty for those sins to become our Savior and Redeemer;
- confessing God as Sovereign God; and
- demonstrating that commitment by submitting to living our lives following His laws and commandments confessing God as Sovereign Lord.
Why is it important? If we do not ask God to cleanse our hearts from our sins, we remain separated from Him.
One day there will be a judgment day. If we are separated from God on that day, we will remain separated from Him for eternity.
But separation has its consequences. If we are not a child of God on judgment day, we will spend eternity in torment in Hell.
Glossary
To read a devotion in the Hell Does Have Fury series, click on the appropriate button below.
Hell is real, people. “Then Death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death, the lake of fire. And if anyone’s name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire” (Rev. 20: 14-15 ESV).
What does all of that tell us?
- Sin is bad news. It destroys our hearts.
- There is hope for our hearts to become pure again, but it is only through the Plan of Salvation that it can be accomplished.
- Only we can make the choice to ABCD — God will not force us to submit to Him.
A Right Spirit
“… and renew a right spirit within me” (Ps. 51: 10 ESV)
A reformed heart is needed to influence others to search for Jesus.
When our spirit is renewed within us – taking us back to our before-the-fall heart status – then we are in a position to influence others for Christ.
I know. There are many good people out there who don’t believe God.
But their hearts are unclean and impure. They can’t have pure, clean hearts unless they have been forgiven by God.
A right spirit is all about repentance. Repentance is acknowledging our separation from God and expressing sorrow for breaking God’s laws and commandments by making the commitment to change our sinful ways to ways of righteousness through obedience.
We ask God to forgive us of our sins. We submit to His Will that we follow His laws and commandments.
One of God’s laws is that we “… Go into all the world and proclaim the gospel to the whole creation” (Mk. 16: 15 ESV). We share the joy that we have found in God.
I know many of us aren’t comfortable with witnessing. We need to get over it.
God requires that we tell other about Him. There is no exceptions to that.
Mark 16: 15 doesn’t say the “go” is only talking to the Pastor Steve-types. It doesn’t limit it to those in leadership positions.
Jesus was talking to the apostles. These are the 11 common men – fishermen, tax collectors and others.
They were just like us. If they would have been part of the higher ups, they would have kept going with their education and become priests.
They weren’t priests.
Look what else Jesus told them. “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age” (Mt. 28: 19-20 ESV).
There is that word go again. What is meant is that we make disciples as we do our daily walk.
It doesn’t mean that we got on a mission trip to some far off country. It doesn’t mean that we give up anything where we are at.
It means we make witnessing and teaching others about God part of our daily lives.
Making the Connections
I love something else Horton had to say. He wrote, “They that desire to reform their lives, they must endeavour to reform their hearts; they must labour to have right spirits in them, or else all will be in vain unto them, whatsoever they apply themselves to as concerning this matter.”
Resource
Our heart status matters greatly. Remaking ourselves to be a good person isn’t going to cut it.
Our focus has to be on fixing our relationships with God.
How Do We Apply This?
The ABCDs of Salvation
If you have not become a believer in Christ, please read through the
Plan of Salvation and prayerfully consider what God is asking you to do.
A – admit our sins
B – believe His Son Jesus is our Redeemer
C – confess God as Sovereign Lord
D – demonstrate that commitment by making any changes needed in our lives to
live the way in which God has called us
The Disciple’s Job Description
Searching for and Seeking God
Hearing His Word (Rom. 10: 17).
Reading His Word (Rev. 1: 3).
Praying to Him (Heb. 4: 16).
Studying His Word (Ac. 17: 11).
Meditating on His Word (Ps. 1: 1-2).
Memorizing His Word (Ps. 119: 11).
Father God. You call us to repentance. You want us to follow Your Will. Cleanse and purify our hearts, Lord, so that they are a reflection of You. Help us to grow in Your grace and knowledge. Amen.
What do you think?
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