How can "smooth" mean divided? In those days, they used smooth stones as dice. Looking into this word, divided, we see that the Hebrew word is "smooth". But, hey, when you read what the Lord is saying to the people in Hosea 10:1,2 we see what this divided heart is actually doing. Hmm, no wonder things are not in focus for me sometimes. Jesus said if our eye is single our whole body will be full of light. Wow! God said their heart is not single, not pure, not united. Are you up for it? Why, certainly you are! Listen, as I stated before, because of sin, our whole personality has been corrupted. But Christ came and He meets the need of my heart! He is the heart changer! Let me show you something. My will is then perverted because of sin and I choose evil. My feelings are those of misery and without purpose. The Bible says that the minds of men have been blinded by the devil. It is sin that has destroyed our God-given faculties. There are professors of the highest IQ in colleges and universities who cannot keep their marriage together! NO, it is sin that infected us as human beings. Also, education will not fix the problem. (Romans 5) So, placing man in a perfect environment will not fix his heart problem it will not save him. They still disobeyed and by that act, sin came into the world and death by sin. I remind us of Adam and Eve in the garden of Eden. Many people say that if they only had a better neighborhood to live in, or a better job, or a world that didn't have so much evil in it, they would then be able to live a Christian life. Let's pray and ask the Lord to do in us as the psalmist did in Psalm 139:23, when he said, " Search me, O God, and know my heart try me, and know my thoughts." Could it be, that, to the degree that I mourn over my impurity I will experience the joy of purity? A people, a church, who do not mourn over their sin will have an issue with purity. It is to surrender the impure heart to Jesus for cleansing by His precious blood! Hallelujah! So, we see that this beatitude is in the sixth position and it emphasizes to us that the pure in Heart are those who mourn over the impurity of their heart. There is only one way to have a pure heart. Have we seen the impurity of our heart? If we have, we will mourn over our condition. "Blessed are the pure in heart." Who are the PURE in heart? Those who are mourning over the IMPURITY of their heart. What did they mourn? They mourned over what they saw. Do you see why we need MORE of this poor in spirit beatitude? It will enhance the mercy. They are the ones who can extend mercy to others for they know that they themselves are bankrupt and have received undeserved mercy. Those who are poor in spirit, who have a correct view of themselves, can have a correct view of others. Poor in spirit corresponds to the merciful. It is the Holy Spirit trying to stir their hearts and draw them to the Savior. Many times, this is due to the fact that your life is a "conviction" to them. Look out! Some people are not going to like this new-found faith of yours! They will not be pleased with your new outlook on life. What is this? It is the end result of all that has gone on before this. The last beatitude is Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness sake. From this we see the powerful results, such as, being merciful, purity in heart, and peacemaking. This means that so much depends upon our hunger and thirst! So much is resultant from and depends upon this hunger. We say things, like, "The whole case hinges upon the evidence.". ![]() The door opens and closes by way of a hinge. What I learn about myself causes me/us to hunger and thirst! Yes, to hunger and thirst with the promise that follows, THEY SHALL BE FILLED! To hunger and thirst is a very powerful thing. They show us how much we are full of ourselves! We realize that in Christ Jesus lies our only hope and we mourn over the discovery of our sinfulness and impurity. ![]() Have you come to that realization? The first three beatitudes have revealed to us our desperate need. By way of a short review, we need to remind ourselves that at the first, we must see ourselves as of no consequence. However, this one has a most powerful and dramatic effect on us as Christians. We have made our way through the first five beatitudes and now we come to one of the most blessed of them all! They are all wonderful in their own way.
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