Being Pure at Almost 80

 

I am not sure why my heart suddenly began stirring around purity--the difference between bring pure and being perfect--but the thoughts have awakened something in me to be reckoned with. I want my heart to be rid of anything that would come between me and God. My thirst for a walk with Him at almost 80 has caused me to be more honest before Him about my daily habits.

Let me say first, its easier to look perfect than to be pure.

I can fool many by my obedience to outward worship, attending church faithfully, giving to others and teaching a Bible study, along with many other forms of outward actions. Christians, including men and women in full time ministry from all flavors of churches are falling into sin in their hidden private life and God is not pleased with them. And we fall into judgement of them as if we could not do the same thing. God tells us to take heed, if we think we will not fall. I Cor. 10:12

And, that is where Satan wants us to live before the world, he wants us to strive to be perfect for he knows we cannot hold that line in our privative lives. The enemy of our soul loves hidden sin and tells us lies that keep us in them. Lies that makes us think God does not know where our hearts are.

Purity isn’t perfection — it’s surrender.

Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me.” — Psalm 51:10

God purifies the heart that is willing to be honest with Him. Purity begins when we stop hiding and let Him shine His light on the places we’d rather keep tucked away.

Purity grows through tender repentance — not harshness, not shame, just a soft “Yes, Lord.” (Every day I grow more aware of my need for repentance as I seek to grow deeper into God grace and mercy. Looking at my sins through His pure love for me brings me to repentance and makes me grateful for the means to get my heart clean before a Holy God. )

Purity is shaped by what we feed our hearts. When we fill our inner life with God’s Word, His presence, and His thoughts, purity becomes the natural fruit.

This hit home for me concerning what I watch on TV or read. For the sake of entertainment I watch too much that does not glorify God and often fills my mind with disgust, yet I continue to watch it. Since I am homebound more than ever with my health it becomes too easy to fill up my space of time with unhealthy entertainment. I cannot blame anyone but myself or anything for what goes into my mind and affects my heart.

A pure heart is protected by obedience, strengthened through forgiveness, and completed by love. (

A pure heart is simply a heart that is open, soft, and surrendered to God. ( I love that God loves simple prayers for there is one prayer that helps my heart on a daily base. I try to start my day with this attitude and prayer, God, please help my day to hold less of Betty and more of You. Thank you for all you bring into my daily life to help me walk pure before you.)

There is no way I can live a perfect life before a God who knows better then me the battle for my heart. When I fail, He picks me up, shakes off the dirt and dust from my failure and sets me back on the path He paid for on the cross. I cannot begin to count the times He has done that for me because He loves me, me the sinner, me the one who is so not perfect, me who fails to be obedient all the time.

In my quest to go deep at almost 80 with my Lord I find first I have to go deep into Betty to be made aware of my need for God. I know some would say, and have said to me, Betty you are too hard on yourself. Rather I be hard on myself instead of hard with God. It is Betty who needs a Savior, not a God who needs me, it is Betty who fails, not a God that fails me, it is Betty who needs a pure heart, not the Savior who loves me that needs a pure heart.

Heb. 3:12-13 tell us how to help each other by exhorting one another so that none of us be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin. (My version of this verse, be harder on Betty then others, judge my own heart and not others, look for sin in my heart and not in others.) As long as I judge others I will not look at my own sins. I Cor. 10:12 Wherefore, let him or her that thinks they stand, take heed lest they fall.

More of you Lord and less of me...

Repost on Being Extreme

 

Have you even been called, extreme concerning your faith? Have you had someone to say, “you need to cool it with that religious stuff?”

,If you have then you realize you do not fit in with the world view and this is sad to say, sometimes not in Christian circles. Last night I sit with a bunch of younger than me women, and listened to their conversations. Not once did they talk about the Lord, not once. What they did do was talk about other people issues, not their issues, but others issues. The bible calls it gossip. It was hard to keep my mouth shut, this radical Jesus believer wanted to call them out for their gossip. At one point I thought maybe, I should say, hey, wait a minutes, why don’t we stop and pray for the ones they were talking about. But I didn’t…my bad, I felt awful about not saying anything. I am sure a couple would have been offended but maybe I am wrong about that too. Anyway, I can’t stop thinking about it. One reason is I am one of the, “older women the bible talks about that is suppose to teach the younger ones.

I am going to order a book titles, Faithfully Different by Natasha Crain. Read a post on it this morning and was convicted again for not saying anything last night. I am wondering if I am still an extreme believer? When did I slip into a worldly world view and worry about offending others by calling forth truth.

The author of the book says, the worldview that surrounds us is putting significant pressure on what we believe, how we think, and how we live. She goes onto say, she wrote the book to help Christians clearly understand the fundamental difference between secular and biblically worldview, both for the strength of our own faith and for our ability to be salt and light to others.

,I have to ask myself, when did I lose my extreme biblical world view? When did I stop shifting everything I heard through the Bible worldview. What stopped me from saying something as I listen to that extreme gossip. We and I say we because even though I did not enter into the conversation, I sit listening to it. So, what stopped me from calling it out, in love, and say, hey girls, lets just pray for this couple we are gossiping about. When did it get ok to gossip?

The most foundational difference between those with a biblical worldview and those with a secular one is our source of authority.

Therefore to him or her that knows to do good, and does it not, to him it is sin. James 4:17. My biblical world view was confronted last night and I failed to hold to it. God help me to be salt and light in the darkness that can even surround a group of Christian women just sitting around talking.

Last night was a wake up call for me, one I am happy to be woke from. Grateful for His love despite my failures to be His mouth piece.

You might think I am being a little too hard on myself, I think not. You see, I pray to be one of those extreme Godly women and that conviction that has hit my heart I am thankful for. I believe I am called to be extreme in God’s authority and His Word.

Going Deep at Almost 80

NEW MORNING MERCIES is the daily devotional I read. It lays open to the present day on my desk ready for me to read daily. Every word in it takes me deep into who God is, who I am, what sin is and help me through whatever the day brings.

This is a little of today’s devotional: I really love the honesty of the Bible. I don’t need vacuous religious platitudes that delude me into thinking that life is far better than it really is. I don’t need a form of faith that requires that I deny piece of reality in order to have peace of heart. I don’t want to be in the position of having to close my eyes to things that make believe that they are not there. If it is anything, the Bible is honest. The blood, guts, and dirt of the fallen world stain its every page. Filled with brutally honest stories of flawed people marked with stinging analyses of the brokenness of the world, the Bible requires us all to be honest as well. Paul Tripp

A surface believer avoids this process. Their walk with God depends on doing: “I’m fine — I go to church, I give money, I serve, I do what I’m supposed to do.” Their confidence rests in activity, not intimacy. When I slip into being a surface believer, it’s usually because I don’t want to look honestly at my heart or examine the real motives behind what I’m doing. Surface believers also tend to look outward instead of inward — judging what others do or don’t do, while never letting God speak to their own hidden places.

But those who go deep with God live differently.

They don’t gossip. They don’t make rash remarks about others. They walk steady, even when life shakes them. They encourage. They look for the good. They forgive quickly and willingly. They carry a quiet strength.

Honesty is essential if we want to go deep with God. No one can be truly honest about themselves and remain a surface believer. Real honesty forces us to look at our own hearts — even when what we see makes us cringe or turns our stomach. But that kind of honesty is what leads us into conviction, then repentance, then restoration, and finally a sweet, quiet peace.

Depth with God isn’t loud or complicated. It isn’t earned by doing more. Depth comes from honesty — the kind that opens the heart wide and lets God speak into the places we would rather hide.

The deeper I go with God, the more I realize He has never been afraid of my honesty. He already knows every hidden place, every motive, every fear, every moment I’d rather not look at. What He waits for is my willingness to let Him speak into those places. And every time I do, He meets me with conviction that softens, repentance that cleanses, restoration that steadies, and peace that settles like warm light over my heart.

Surface living is easy — anyone can stay busy, stay distracted, stay outward. But depth requires courage. It asks me to stop looking at what others do or don’t do and let God deal with me. And when He does, something beautiful happens: my heart becomes quieter, kinder, slower to judge, quicker to forgive, and more willing to see the good in others.

Going deep with God doesn’t make me perfect. It makes me honest. And honesty makes me free.

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