<p><span class="fs-17 fg-mustard bold">For Reading and Meditation:</span><br><span class="italic">     <span class="scriptRef" ref="ps+51:1-15">Psalm 51:1-15</span></span></p><p>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. Others see the soul as a battleground on which long-drawn-out hostilities take place between the flesh and the Spirit. And there are those who claim, as did John Wesley, that inner purity can be imparted by a sudden influx of divine grace. Adherents of these views fall into three main groups: (1) those who believe that purity is imputed; (2) those who believe that purity is imparted; and (3) those who believe that purity is developed. Those who believe that purity is imputed say that Christ flings His robe of righteousness around a sinner and then God for ever sees him in the spotless garments of His Son. Those who believe purity is imparted claim that there is an experience awaiting all believers, usually subsequent to conversion, whereby, through a crisis experience, God imparts the gift of purity. This belief received great prominence under John Wesley. Those who believe purity is developed see the work of God in the soul proceeding along the lines of a slow but steady improvement. Which of these is right? I believe that each view has something to contribute; it is when the emphasis is disproportionately placed that problems arise. God both imputes and imparts purity, and then helps us apply and develop these truths in our daily life and experience. </p><p class="center-it italic bold mlr40 mtb20">O God my gracious Father, I am so thankful that You have provided for my deepest needs - and especially my need for inner cleansing. Wash me so clean on the inside that I will be whiter than the whitest snow. Amen.</p><div class="tl-lightgrey mt20 pt20 flexbox-row-wrap jc-around"><div><div class="fs-17 fg-mustard bold center-it">AdditionalVerses</div><ul style="margin-top:0px"><li><span class="scriptRef" ref="1pe+1:1-22">1 Peter 1:1-22</span></li><li><span class="scriptRef" ref="ps+24:3-4">Psalm 24:3-4</span></li><li><span class="scriptRef" ref="1ti+1:5">1 Timothy 1:5</span></li><li><span class="scriptRef" ref="1ti+5:22">1 Timothy 5:22</span></li></ul></div>

<div><div class="fs-17 fg-mustard bold center-it">Questions to Consider</div><ul style="margin-top:0px"><li>To what else does Peter relate purity?</li><li>What was Paul's exhortation to Timothy?</li></ul></div></div>

Let a little light into your soul every day with this wonderful devotional from English pastor Selwyn Hughes.

Every Day Light with Selwyn Hughes

"Cleanse me with hyssop, and I shall be clean; wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow." (v. 7)

<p><span class="fs-17 fg-mustard bold">For Reading and Meditation:</span><br><span class="italic">     <span class="scriptRef" ref="mt+15:1-20">Matthew 15:1-20</span></span></p><p>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"  (<span class="scriptRef" ref="mt+5:8">Matthew 5:8</span>). First we ask: What is meant by the term "heart"? According to the general use of the word in Scripture, it has reference to what goes on in the core of our being. The heart is more than just the seat of the emotions; it is the fount from which everything proceeds. In our reading today, our Lord put it thus: "For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality '" and so on (v. 19). Dr Oswald Chambers said: "If a sinner really wishes to understand his heart, then let him listen to his own mouth in an unguarded frame for five minutes." Luke put it this way: "' the evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in his heart. For out of the overflow of his heart his mouth speaks" (<span class="scriptRef" ref="lu+6:45">Luke 6:45</span>). It has been pointed out that the gospel is a religion of new things. It offers us all a new birth, a new life, a new hope, a new happiness, and, at the end of time - a new name. However, out of all these fascinating new things which Christ offers His children, none is perhaps more intriguing than His offer of a new heart. The promise is first given in the prophecy of Ezekiel: "I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you"  (<span class="scriptRef" ref="eze+36:26">Ezekiel 36:26</span>). Quite clearly, when it comes to spiritual things, the heart of the matter is the matter of the heart. Christ's offer of changing our hearts is one of the greatest promises of the Bible. Be encouraged: our Lord is not content with tinkering about on the surface of our lives - His goal is to purify our hearts. </p><p class="center-it italic bold mlr40 mtb20">My Father and my God, slowly but surely I am coming under the sway of Your "beautiful attitudes". But I see You have more for me to discover. Hold me close as I go through Your spiritual heart surgery. In Jesus' Name I pray. Amen.</p><div class="tl-lightgrey mt20 pt20 flexbox-row-wrap jc-around"><div><div class="fs-17 fg-mustard bold center-it">AdditionalVerses</div><ul style="margin-top:0px"><li><span class="scriptRef" ref="ps+51:1-10">Psalm 51:1-10</span></li><li><span class="scriptRef" ref="ps+19:12-13">Psalm 19:12-13</span></li><li><span class="scriptRef" ref="ps+79:9">Psalm 79:9</span></li></ul></div>

<div><div class="fs-17 fg-mustard bold center-it">Questions to Consider</div><ul style="margin-top:0px"><li>What was the psalmist's prayer?</li><li>Make it your prayer today.</li></ul></div></div>

"But the things that come out of the mouth come from the heart, and these make a man 'unclean'." (v. 18) 

<p><span class="fs-17 fg-mustard bold">For Reading and Meditation:</span><br><span class="italic">     <span class="scriptRef" ref="ps+139:1-24">Psalm 139:1-24</span></span></p><p>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 dealing with negative emotions. In fact, recent research by some psychologists shows that the uncontrolled expression of negative feelings can compound, rather than clear up, one's emotional difficulties. In my judgement, the correct and Biblical way to handle negative emotions is to acknowledge them fully before God and share with Him how we feel. Now understand clearly what I am saying, for at this point many have responded to this advice by coming to God when they are hurt or sorrowful and saying: "Lord, please forgive me for feeling hurt." That misses the point entirely. A Christian psychologist puts the issue most effectively when he says: "We are not to pretend that we feel penitent when we feel hurt." When our stomachs are churning with grief, sorrow or hurt, we must come before the One who sees and knows everything, and pray a prayer something like this: "Lord, right now I am hurting more than I think I can endure. I feel like screaming, running away or hitting somebody. I don't want to feel like this, dear Lord - but I do. Thank You for loving me as I am. Help me now to handle my feelings in a way that glorifies You and honours Your Name." When we pray a prayer like that - and mean it - we are on the way to maturity. </p><p class="center-it italic bold mlr40 mtb20">O Father, help me not just to receive this concept into my mind and do nothing about it, but enable me to put it to work in my daily Christian living. I ask this for the honour and glory of Your peerless and precious Name. Amen.</p><div class="tl-lightgrey mt20 pt20 flexbox-row-wrap jc-around"><div><div class="fs-17 fg-mustard bold center-it">AdditionalVerses</div><ul style="margin-top:0px"><li><span class="scriptRef" ref="ps+51:1-19">Psalm 51:1-19</span></li><li><span class="scriptRef" ref="ps+69:1-36">Psalm 69:1-36</span></li><li><span class="scriptRef" ref="ps+46:1-11">Psalm 46:1-11</span></li></ul></div>

<div><div class="fs-17 fg-mustard bold center-it">Questions to Consider</div><ul style="margin-top:0px"><li>How did David deal with his feelings?</li><li>Write a short psalm expressing your true feelings.</li></ul></div></div>

"Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts." (v. 23)

<p><span class="fs-17 fg-mustard bold">For Reading and Meditation:</span><br><span class="italic">     <span class="scriptRef" ref="ps+51:1-12">Psalm 51:1-12</span></span></p><p>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 would not be taking any undue liberty with the text of  <span class="scriptRef" ref="mt+5:4">Matthew 5:4</span> if we translated it thus: "Congratulations to those who are willing to face and feel sorrow, for they will discover in and through the comfort that I impart to them a new ministry and a new joy." A mentally and spiritually healthy person is someone who is willing to face and feel sorrow, and recognise that it can be made to deepen one's life - not devastate it. You are familiar, I am sure, with the terms "neurotic" and "psychotic". A "neurotic" is someone who is afraid to face reality, while a "psychotic" is someone who is unaware of reality. If we draw back from being willing to face and feel any emotion that rises up within us, then the denial of this feeling will have negative results within our personality. A woman once said to me: "I have problems with the second Beatitude because I don't know how to mourn; I am too happy to mourn." As we talked, it became clear to her that it wasn't so much that she didn't know how to mourn, but that she didn't want to mourn. She was afraid to face or feel any negative emotions - grief, sorrow, and so on - and thus, despite her claim to happiness and lightheartedness, she was a stunted soul. </p><p class="center-it italic bold mlr40 mtb20">Loving heavenly Father, how wonderfully You help me to put my finger on my need. Help me, I pray, to be willing to feel and face my emotions, and show me that when You are by my side I need be afraid of nothing - myself included. Amen.</p><div class="tl-lightgrey mt20 pt20 flexbox-row-wrap jc-around"><div><div class="fs-17 fg-mustard bold center-it">AdditionalVerses</div><ul style="margin-top:0px"><li><span class="scriptRef" ref="ps+139:14-24">Psalm 139:14-24</span></li><li><span class="scriptRef" ref="1ch+28:9">1 Chronicles 28:9</span></li><li><span class="scriptRef" ref="jer+17:10">Jeremiah 17:10</span></li></ul></div>

<div><div class="fs-17 fg-mustard bold center-it">Questions to Consider</div><ul style="margin-top:0px"><li>What was David's prayer?</li><li>Make that your prayer today.</li></ul></div></div>

"Surely you desire truth in the inner parts '" (v. 6)

<p>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.</p><p>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 God; it enters into the very essence of religion; we cannot be godly except we are holy.</p><p>If we love sin, if we can indulge in sin, or if a sense of having sinned does not pain us, and cause us to adopt this prayer, our religion is spurious, we are destitute of the power of godliness. No real Christian can live in sin. He is called to holiness. He is the temple of the Holy Spirit. Holiness is his element and health. His God says, "Be holy, for I am holy:" and he cries, "Create in me a clean heart, O God."</p><p>Let us be holy in all manner of conversation, looking for and hasting to the coming of Jesus.</p><p class="mlr40 italic">Supreme High Priest, the pilgrim's light,<br> My heart for Thee prepare;<br> Thine image stamp, and deeply write<br> Thy superscription there:<br> Ah, let my forehead, bear Thy seal,<br> My heart the inward witness feel.</p>

Written by James Smith for his own flock around 1840, but such was the demand that by 1846 over thirty thousand copies where in circulation.

The Believer's Daily Remembrancer

Create in me a clean heart, O God. - Psalms 51:10

<p> 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. No man can be renewed without as real and true a manifestation of the Holy Spirit's energy as he felt at first, because the work is as great, and flesh and blood are as much in the way now as ever they were. Let thy personal weakness, O Christian, be an argument to make thee pray earnestly to thy God for help. Remember, David when he felt himself to be powerless, did not fold his arms or close his lips, but he hastened to the mercy-seat with "renew a right spirit within me." Let not the doctrine that you, unaided, can do nothing, make you sleep; but let it be a goad in your side to drive you with an awful earnestness to Israel's strong Helper. O that you may have grace to plead with God, as though you pleaded for your very life-"Lord, renew a right spirit within me." He who sincerely prays to God to do this, will prove his honesty by using the means through which God works. Be much in prayer; live much upon the Word of God; kill the lusts which have driven your Lord from you; be careful to watch over the future uprisings of sin. The Lord has his own appointed ways; sit by the wayside and you will be ready when he passes by. Continue in all those blessed ordinances which will foster and nourish your dying graces; and, knowing that all the power must proceed from him, cease not to cry, "Renew a right spirit within me. " </p>

This timeless classic from Charles Spurgeon will help to both start and end your day with wonderful insight into God's Word.

Charles Spurgeon's Morning & Evening

"Renew a right spirit within me." - Psalm 51:10

Morning Devotional

<p>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.</p><p>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" (<span class="scriptRef" ref="pr+4:23">Proverbs 4:23</span>) Here the heart is used as a synonym for the mind.</p><p>James reminds us that sin begins in the mind (<span class="scriptRef" ref="jas+1:13-15">James 1:13-15</span>). If we think about a thing long enough, eventually we'll do it.</p><p>Sow a thought and reap an act.</p><p>Sow an act and reap a habit.</p><p>Sow a habit and reap a character.</p><p>Sow a character and reap a destiny.</p><p>The Lord Jesus emphasized the importance of the thought-life by equating hatred with murder (<span class="scriptRef" ref="mt+5:21-22">Matthew 5:21-22</span>) and by equating the lustful look with adultery (<span class="scriptRef" ref="mt+5:28">Matthew 5:28</span>). He also taught that it's not what a man eats that defiles him but what he thinks (<span class="scriptRef" ref="mr+7:14-23">Mark 7:14-23</span>).</p><p>We are responsible for what we think because we have the power to control it. We can think about lewd, suggestive things or we can think about what is pure and Christlike. Each one of us is like a king. The empire that we rule over is our thought-life. That empire has tremendous potential for good and enormous potential for evil. We are the ones who determine which it will be.</p><p>Here are some positive suggestions as to what we can do. First, take the whole matter to the Lord in prayer, saying "Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me" (<span class="scriptRef" ref="ps+51:10">Psalms 51:10</span>). Second, judge every thought by how it appears in the presence of Christ (<span class="scriptRef" ref="2co+10:5">2 Corinthians 10:5</span>). Third, confess every evil thought instantly and expel it (<span class="scriptRef" ref="pr+28:13">Proverbs 28:13</span>). Next, avoid having a blank, empty mind. Fill it with positive, worthy thoughts (<span class="scriptRef" ref="php+4:8">Philippians 4:8</span>). Fifth, exercise discipline over what you read, see, and hear. You cannot expect a pure thought life if you feed on filth and pollution. Finally, keep busy for the Lord. It's when you shift your mind into neutral that vile fantasies seek admission. </p><p> </p>

With reverence, humor and skill, William MacDonald wove a daily devotional tapestry that challenges the reader to think deeply and Biblically, and apply God's Word to their lives.

Truths to Live By - One Day at a Time

"…as (a man) thinketh in his heart, so is he." (Proverbs 23:7)

<blockquote>
<p style="text-align: justify;"><strong>Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me"</strong> (<a id="verse_1632879639114016" href="https://bible.knowing-jesus.com/Psalm/51/10">Ps. 51:10</a>).</p>
</blockquote><p style="text-align: justify;">A healthy spiritual birth results in the falling away of many of the more obvious works of the flesh, often causing the new believer to claim <a id="verse_1632879639292373" href="https://bible.knowing-jesus.com/2-Corinthians/5/17">2 Corinthians 5:17</a> or <a id="verse_1632879639321067" href="https://bible.knowing-jesus.com/Galatians/2/20">Galatians 2:20</a> as his testimony. However, for the Lord Jesus to be fully manifested, it is going to involve a lifetime of the Holy Spirit's deep dealing with the more subtle and deadly characteristics of the self-life "always delivered unto death" (<a id="verse_1632879639563188" href="https://bible.knowing-jesus.com/2-Corinthians/4/11">2 Cor. 4:11</a>).</p><p style="text-align: justify;">"By the daily supply of the Spirit of Jesus Christ' (<a id="verse_1632879639468677" href="https://bible.knowing-jesus.com/Philippians/1/19">Phil. 1:19</a>), the believer united to his Risen Lord grows continually to a more perfect knowledge and likeness of his Creator,' and grows up after the image of Him that created him, in the sphere where Christ is all, and in all.' "The child naturally grows up in the likeness of his father, and the new life communicated to the redeemed grows up in the likeness of Him who is the Creator of the new creation if so be that the death with Christ is unflinchingly recognized, and old things' are truly allowed to pass away to make room for the growth of the new man, which is after God . . . created in righteousness, and holiness of truth' (<a id="verse_1632879639713908" href="https://bible.knowing-jesus.com/Ephesians/4/24">Eph. 4:24</a>)."</p><p style="text-align: justify;">"How many earnest and religious people belong to the Old Adam Improvement Society.' It is the recognition of the Christ-life, it is union with the Risen Christ, that men need instead of the culture of the religious self-life." -E.H.</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><strong>"Unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ"</strong> (<a id="verse_1632879639821401" href="https://bible.knowing-jesus.com/Ephesians/4/13">Eph. 4:13</a>).</p>

A 365 day devotional that will help you in your Christian growth and walk with the Lord Jesus Christ.  This devotional is a collection of quotes from some of the best authors in the realm of Christian growth that has been organized by Miles J Stanford.  This devotional study is divided into 12 sections each containing 31 daily portions.

None but the Hungry Heart

 Subtle Self 

<p><span class="bible-text "> <sup class="verse-num poetry-line">10 </sup><poetry>Create in me a pure heart,   O God,<br/><indent>and renew a steadfast spirit within me.  </indent><br/></poetry> </span></p>

Create in me a pure heart,<cr>1</cr>  O God,<br/><indent>and renew a steadfast spirit within me.<cr>2</cr> </indent><br/>

Psalm 51:10

 10 Create in me a pure heart,   O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me.   

From Wikipedia: 

The New International Version (NIV) is an English translation of the Bible first published in 1978 by Biblica (formerly the International Bible Society). The NIV was published to meet the need for a modern translation done by Bible scholars using the earliest, highest quality manuscripts available. Of equal importance was that the Bible be expressed in broadly understood modern English.

The NIV is published by Zondervan in the United States and Hodder & Stoughton in the UK. The NIV was updated in 1984 and 2011 and has become one of the most popular and best-selling modern translations.

OT: Biblia Hebraica Stuttgartensia; additional sources;
NT: UBS Greek New Testament; Novum Testamentum Graece; additional sources;

New International Version

<p><span class="bible-text "><poetry>Create in me a pure heart,   O God,<br/><indent>and renew a steadfast spirit within me.  </indent><br/></poetry> </span></p>

 Create in me a pure heart,   O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me.   

Bible Verse of the Day

April 19, 2022

Psalm 51:10 NIV

Verse by Verse Bible Study

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