Friday, March 7, 2025

PT-2 "A Pure Heart" (2 Tim. 2:22)

 

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 3/7/2025 11:00 AM

 

My Worship Time                                                                              Focus:  PT-2 “A Pure Heart”

 

Bible Reading & Meditation                                                   Reference:  2 Timothy 2:22

 

            Message of the verse:  22 Now flee from youthful lusts and pursue righteousness, faith, love and peace, with those who call on the Lord from a pure heart.”

 

            Yesterday we ended up looking a the first attribute found in this verse and stated that it was negative, while the next four attributes of a pure heart are positive and comprehensive:  righteousness, faith, love and peace.  “Now to pursue those virtues is the other side of fleeing youthful lusts.  As with flee, the Greek verb translated pursue is an imperative.  Paul is not making a suggestion,” writes John MacArthur.

 

            Now this next quote from MacArthur’s commentary is a very important one, and actually would be good to memorize.  “A believer who does not run from sin and toward righteousness will be overtaken by sin.”  He goes on to write “When [am] unclean spirit goes out of a man,” Jesus said, It passes through waterless places seeking rest, and not finding any, it says, ‘I will return to my house from which I came.’ And when it comes, it finds it swept and put in order.  Then it goes and takes along seven other spirits more evil than itself, and they go in and live there; and the last state of that man become worse than the first’ (Luke 11:24-26).  The only way not to ‘be overcome by evil’ is to ‘overcome evil with good’ (Rom 12:21).  Understanding that truth, the psalmist wrote, ‘How can a young man keep his way pure?  By keeping it according to Thy word’ (Ps. 119:9).  In whatever age the faithful live, the only infallible and effective guide to righteousness is God’s divine Word.  Living a pure life does not involve following an esoteric system of ritual, having a mystical experience, achieving a special level of human wisdom, or making a decision to do so.  But by faithfully pursuing and obeying the truth of Scripture, even the most unsophisticated child of God is able to successfully pursue the Lord’s righteousness.”

 

            This is all that I am going to write this morning as I am still feeling the effects of the news that my wife got about the procedure she got a week ago, and the news was surely not what we wanted to here.  Prayer is what we both need.

 

Spiritual meaning for my life today:  Remember: “A believer who does not run from sin and toward righteousness will be overtaken by sin.”

 

My Steps of Faith for Today:  Trust the Lord to see my wife and I through this very difficult situation we find ourselves in.

 

3/7/2025 11:28 AM

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