January 24th, 2020

...now browsing by day

 

#Standard#WhatStandard?

Friday, January 24th, 2020

Have you ever noticed there are some truths in the Bible we feel we can handle fairly easily?  They are the ones we can get a handle on and translate into our daily life.

Then there are those which seem like bottomless pits.  Not put you in the pits but the kind you can dig and dig and dig and you never seem to get to the bottom of it.

I think “Blessed are the pure in heart for they shall see God” is one of them.  Purity seems to be a rather big challenge these days.  It seems like the whole media juggernaut is slamming us like we are in a UFC fight. Even though I have now drawn the line on watching any UFC, I did watch enough to know it was different from boxing. Boxing requires 2 fists and you watch out for them. But MMA comes at you from all angles. Fists, shoulders, knees, elbows, kicks…you name it.

Life is more like an MMA contest than a boxing match. I don’t know about you but it never seems to rest. And when it comes to purity, I believe the enemy pulls out all the stops.  Maintaining a holy life is not easy. The Pharisees thought it was an outward thing (like some denominational people today who use clothing, tattoos, hair, etc as a symbol of righteousness and holiness).  The Apostle Paul used to be one of those guys. But in Phil.3 he calls it “dung.”

What does it mean to be pure in heart? What does it mean to be holy and to live a holy life? I’m going to tackle those questions (and others) in my sermon Sunday. I’ve entitled it Setting the Standard and you will find the Scripture in 2 Cor.4:2 and Mt. 23:25-28.  I most certainly covet your prayers.