A PURE HEART

Hebrews 10:22 let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water.

During Ladies Prayer, I meditated on the fact that it was the Day of Atonement in the Jewish Religion and began to thank God for His atoning blood that covers our sin.  I am so thankful that we no longer are required to offer the blood of a spotless lamb because Jesus became the perfect Lamb of God.

John 1:29 The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, “Behold! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.”

As I continued to worship and praise God for this great sacrifice I felt that God whispered in my ear, “All I wanted then and all I want now is a PURE HEART!”

Let us take a mind trip back…It is the morning of the big day.  The Day of Atonement begins at sundown, the scurry of preparation is over, the final requirement now rests on the shoulders of the High Priest.  He is well aware of the requirements of the Law that passed down through Moses.  They ring through his head as he goes step by step…the purification, the special garments, the linen turban, the specially prepared incense to burn and finally, the bowl that would hold the blood for the atonement.  Yes, they were all there; all ready and waiting.

Then the moment came…the High Priest slipped behind the veil into the Holy of Holies to deliver the blood of atonement to the altar.  He had followed every step perfectly, the blood had been delivered and he comes back from behind the curtain….all the boxes were checked and he was unchanged…this glorious day; the one chance to come into the Shekinah Presence of God had become just A RITUAL….the right garments, the right words, the right instruments of praise, the right offering, BUT….the heart had been forgotten.

Isaiah 29:13 ….these people draw near with their mouths and honor me with their lips but have removed their hearts far from me.

Allow your mind to journey back to this moment…What about me???  Has entering into the Presence of the Lord become just a ritual?   We have perfected the look, the clothes are just right, the hair is arranged perfectly, our incense burner is filled with the latest Praise and Worship songs; we know when to stand, when to kneel, what words to repeat and when to raise our hands or say Amen.  We even have the facial expressions down pat…the look of “Godly” sorrow, awe, concern and concentration on the message being delivered or the Bible passage we are reading…BUT WHAT ABOUT MY HEART???

SERIOUSLY….God isn’t concerned about your dress, hair, worship rituals and even your facial expression; besides I can promise you when you really get into the Holy of Holies and God’s presence enters to commune with you, YOUR FACE WILL BE ALL UNDONE, and you won’t care or even notice.

God isn’t concerned with our rituals.  In fact, I believe they have become a stink in the nostrils of God blocking out the sweet smelling savor of our worship.

GOD IS CONCERNED ABOUT OUR PURE HEART

A pure heart doesn’t mean you have done everything in the right order or even that you haven’t stumbled, failed or fallen down.  A pure heart is honesty before God, sorrow as you crucify this flesh and allow the Holy Spirit to do its work in you.  It is handing over your will to Him and following wherever He leads…then it is time to bring out the “Censer of Praise.”  Let the sweet smelling savor waft into the Heavens as you worship with a pure heart because GOD CAN SMELL AGAIN!