At this point in my journey i'm realizing the most important characteristic of a pure heart is a heart that is unassuming. In other words, the less I assume in life, the better off I am. The less I assume the less chance bitterness, anger, and unforgiveness will infiltrate, control, and ruin my life.
This is something that confronts my life on a daily basis. Every day I'm faced with what seems to be inequality, unfairness and simple stupidity that threatens my rights as a good human being. When i'm consumed with all things Steve (an assuming heart) then I see all these things as a direct assult on my happiness and well being. I then go to war, fight for my rights, and hurt everyone who I assumed hurt me first. At the end of the day, i'm standing in the middle of a bloody battlefield with my rights in tact, but my heart more bitter, angry and unforgiving then it was before, this in turn serves to motivate my fight for tomorrow and the next day.
An unassuming heart, however, is pure because it's a heart that isn't about me but about something much greater than me. It's an attitude that transcends self and lives for God and the betterment of humanity, which I believe is our true calling in life. An unassuming heart rejoices when others succeed, cries when they fail, and forgives when they hurt.
This pure heart is a heart that I desire to live with, but it is a heart that is truly hard to come by. An assuming and selfish heart is basic human nature...it comes naturally and at least for myself is easily cultivated. A pure heart on the other hand is much harder because it takes a conscious choice on a daily basis to cultivate. When the choice is made to live in purity, the flip side of things is so much better in the long run. Imagine a life lived without the baggage of bitterness, unforgivenesss and anger.
We often fall into the trap of thinking that this kind of life will come when people start treating us fairly and respectfully, but it won't...because they won't. I realized a long time ago that people are people and you can't control what they do, say or think. I can, however, control how I react to those things and when I react with a pure heart, I will always come out on top.
Wednesday, January 31, 2007
Tuesday, January 30, 2007
A Pure Heart Part 1
I was recently watching a program on Discovery channel called "Future Weapons." On this particular episode they were profiling the M.O.A.B. Bomb. M.O.A.B., in layman's terms, stands for the "Mother of All Bombs." As I was watching how powerful this bomb was my mind went back a few years when they tested it. After some digging, I found that it was tested on March 11, 2003 at the hight of America's war with Iraq. 3 days later the Iraqi army surrendered. The testing of M.O.A.B. proved to be effective in that it brought the surrender of the enemy without ever having to unleash it's furry. Some would say that the primary reason the US government spends so much money on the development of such weapons is to impliment an intimidation factor that theoretically keeps the peace instead of destroying it.
I believe there is a spiritual lesson for us as followers of Jesus Christ. God has given us weapons to utilize. No, they aren't weapons of the conventional sort but weapons that are useful in helping us live a life that diffuses the power of the enemy of our souls. One such weapon, which I believe is our most powerful, is a pure heart. In the same manner that the US Military openly demonstrates the power of it's weapons in order to keep it's enemies at bay, I believe the more we seek after a pure heart the more effective we will be at seriously defusing Satan's strategies against us.
When I was a kid I had a Daisy Crossman BB gun. It wasn't the fancy type that uses compressed air to launch it's small projectile, but one that used tension springs and levers. After a while, the springs started getting stretched and worn out. I remember going in my back yard and shooting rabbits with it. When the BB hit them they would just sit there as if it didn't faze them at all. It was as if they were mocking me. Soon, the BB's wouldn't even reach its target but would simply drop off in a tantilizing arc after about 5 ft of flight. It was a powerless gun that had no effect on it's target. When it comes to the enemy of my soul I don't want him to have any more power against my life then that old BB gun had on my targets, and its the power of a pure heart that will help accomplish this.
I believe there is a spiritual lesson for us as followers of Jesus Christ. God has given us weapons to utilize. No, they aren't weapons of the conventional sort but weapons that are useful in helping us live a life that diffuses the power of the enemy of our souls. One such weapon, which I believe is our most powerful, is a pure heart. In the same manner that the US Military openly demonstrates the power of it's weapons in order to keep it's enemies at bay, I believe the more we seek after a pure heart the more effective we will be at seriously defusing Satan's strategies against us.
When I was a kid I had a Daisy Crossman BB gun. It wasn't the fancy type that uses compressed air to launch it's small projectile, but one that used tension springs and levers. After a while, the springs started getting stretched and worn out. I remember going in my back yard and shooting rabbits with it. When the BB hit them they would just sit there as if it didn't faze them at all. It was as if they were mocking me. Soon, the BB's wouldn't even reach its target but would simply drop off in a tantilizing arc after about 5 ft of flight. It was a powerless gun that had no effect on it's target. When it comes to the enemy of my soul I don't want him to have any more power against my life then that old BB gun had on my targets, and its the power of a pure heart that will help accomplish this.
Monday, January 29, 2007
My First Blog
My first blog is underway...how about a little about myself.
I'm a family man with a beautiful wife and two awesome children. We live in Sarasota Florida where I can ride my motorcycle all the time. Recently moved from Pennsylvania, where I was born and raised. My occupation is a minister at the Church of Hope.
As I near the second half of my life, my mind continues to race around the concept of wanting the second half to be better than the first. Not that the first was bad, because it wasn't. In fact, I wouldn't trade it for anything. And that is just my point. When I am at the end of my life, I want to be able to honestly look back and say...I wouldn't trade any part of it.
The second half I want to be about my family, seeing my children become successful, falling more in love with my wife than I already am, and someday having a slew of grandkids that I can spoil rotten (my kids are only 10 and 12 so I don't want to rush this one).
Anyhow, that is the place my thoughts often go.
I'm a family man with a beautiful wife and two awesome children. We live in Sarasota Florida where I can ride my motorcycle all the time. Recently moved from Pennsylvania, where I was born and raised. My occupation is a minister at the Church of Hope.
As I near the second half of my life, my mind continues to race around the concept of wanting the second half to be better than the first. Not that the first was bad, because it wasn't. In fact, I wouldn't trade it for anything. And that is just my point. When I am at the end of my life, I want to be able to honestly look back and say...I wouldn't trade any part of it.
The second half I want to be about my family, seeing my children become successful, falling more in love with my wife than I already am, and someday having a slew of grandkids that I can spoil rotten (my kids are only 10 and 12 so I don't want to rush this one).
Anyhow, that is the place my thoughts often go.
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