In Whom There Is No Guile

The Lord Jesus tells us in Matthew 5:8, "Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see GOD." A pure heart is characterized by integrity of character – no duplicity, no contradiction between thoughts, intentions, and actions. It's about being like The LORD Jesus even when no other person is watching.. It's about having an undivided heart- a single minded pursuit of GOD Himself, seeking Him whole heartedly. See Psalm 42:1-2 To obtain and maintain a pure heart we must cooperate with The Holy Spirit. Firstly He is The One Who gives us the complete spiritual heart transplant that we all need in the new birth in Christ. He makes us a new creation in Him. See 2 Corinthians 5:17 He cleanses us with the shed blood of The LORD Jesus Christ. Secondly by spending time with Him in His Word He washes our hearts. See Ephesians 5:26. We all need to give ourselves regular heart checkups and go to The Holy Spirit whenever we see the symptoms within ourselves of spiritual heart disease. Eg apathy, indifference or being distracted from GOD. We need blockages removed such as pride, unforgiveness, jealousy and other hindrances to our spiritual vitality that clog up our spiritual arteries. We must embrace, literally take to heart, the words of Matthew 5:8. Our hearts define who we are and GOD values a pure and a holy heart. In John 1:47 The LORD Jesus commended the heart of Nathaniel. "Behold an Israelite indeed, in whom is no guile" When He spoke of him being without guile, He referred to something far deeper than outward appearance. He was reaching into the soul, to the very heart of righteousness. An innocent heart without deceit, hypocrisy, dishonesty or duplicity in our thoughts and in our actions. To beguile is to deceive or to lead astray. He was touching the key to goodness and to the Christlike life. See 1 Peter 2:22 and 1 Peter 3:10 To be without guile is to be pure in heart - an essential virtue of those who would be counted among true followers of Christ. As born again believers the only limitation on our intimacy of fellowship with The LORD is forged by us, not by Him. How much do our hearts long for Him? How much do we want to see and know Him fully? Do other things clog up our hearts? Selah.... Shalom shalom