Psalm 51:10-19

For Reading and Meditation:     Psalm 51:1-15

As we continue discussing what it means to be pure in heart, we ask: How do we ensure that our hearts are made pure? Great controversy has raged over this issue in every century of the Church. Those who see sin as having made deep inroads into human nature say that the only thing God can do with sin is to forgive it....

For Reading and Meditation:     Matthew 15:1-20

Today we come to the Beatitude which is considered by many to be the most sublime of them all: "Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God" (Matthew 5:8). First we ask: What is meant by the term "heart"? According to the general use of the word in Scripture, it...

For Reading and Meditation:     Psalm 139:1-24

We continue meditating on the right way to handle our negative feelings. We said yesterday that the two wrong ways to handle hurting emotions are to deny them or express them. Denial pushes them down inside us, while expression dumps them on to other people or things. Neither of these, in my view, is a Biblical way of...

For Reading and Meditation:     Psalm 51:1-12

We are looking at the Beatitudes as containing the principles which enable us to experience good mental and spiritual health. I cannot think of anything more psychologically in harmony with the best thinking of today's social scientists than the words of Jesus: "Happy are those who mourn, for they will be comforted." We...

Such a prayer implies a conviction of sin, a sense of pollution, a desire for holiness, a knowledge of weakness, grief for inconstancy, and the possession of true wisdom.

It is the prayer of every Christian; let it be our prayer this day; let us lift up our hearts and voices to our God, and cry, "Remove guilt and pollution, produce purity and peace in our hearts. Cleanse us by Thy word, the blood of Jesus, and the influence of the Holy Spirit." Purity of heart can only be produced by...

A backslider, if there be a spark of life left in him will groan after restoration. In this renewal the same exercise of grace is required as at our conversion. We needed repentance then; we certainly need it now. We wanted faith that we might come to Christ at first; only the like grace can bring us to Jesus now. We wanted a word from the Most High, a word from the lip of the loving One, to end our fears then; we shall soon discover, when under a sense of present sin, that we need it now....

In this SOLEMN CONFESSION, it is pleasing to observe that David plainly names his sin. He does not call it manslaughter, nor speak of it as an imprudence by which an unfortunate accident occurred to a worthy man, but he calls it by its true name, bloodguiltiness. He did not actually kill the husband of Bathsheba; but still it was planned in David's heart that Uriah should be slain, and he was before the Lord his murderer. Learn in confession to be honest...

A. P. Gibbs used to say, "You are not what you think you are, but what you think - this is what you are." This means that the mind is the spring from which behavior flows. Control the source and you control the stream that flows from it.

Therefore control of the thought-life is basic. That is why Solomon said, "Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life" (Proverbs 4:23) Here the heart is used as a synonym for the...

There is nothing more beautiful in God's spiritual creation than a believer who demonstrates a true spirit of brokenness. Even God Himself finds such a person irresistible; He can resist the proud and haughty (James 4:6), but He can't resist the broken and humble.

In our natural condition, none of us is broken. We are like a wild donkey's colt - rebellious, stubborn, impetuous. We resist the bit, the bridle and the saddle of God's will. We...

Luke 7:36-50

Jesus did not turn His back on social pleasures. Herein He differed from the Baptist. We are almost certainly right in saying that John would not have gone to the wedding feast in Cana - Jesus went, and went gladly. John, we are quite sure, would not have gone to diner at the Pharisee's house - Jesus accepted the invitation without a question and without hesitation. His heart was full of gracious...