Wednesday

Related Verses
Matt. 5:3, 8
3 Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of the heavens.
8 Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.

Heb. 10:22
22 Let us come forward to the Holy of Holies with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience and having our bodies washed with pure water.

Heb. 2:11
11 For both He who sanctifies and those who are being sanctified are all of One, for which cause He is not ashamed to call them brothers,

Psa. 139:23-24
23 Search me, O God, and know my heart; Try me, and know my anxious thoughts;
24 And see if there is some harmful way in me, And lead me on the eternal way.

Matt. 13:4, 19
4 And as he sowed, some seeds fell beside the way, and the birds came and devoured them.
19 When anyone hears the word of the kingdom and does not understand, the evil one comes and snatches away that which has been sown in his heart. This is the one sown beside the way.

2 Cor. 5:14
14 For the love of Christ constrains us because we have judged this, that One died for all, therefore all died;

Eph. 1:4-5
4 Even as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world to be holy and without blemish before Him in love,
5 Predestinating us unto sonship through Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will,

Related Reading
Since the heart is so vitally related to life, God has no other alternative but to deal with our heart so that His life might be regulated out from us. Toward God, our heart has four great problems: hardness, impurity, unlovingness, and unpeacefulness. Hardness is a matter of the will, impurity is a matter not only of the mind but also of the emotion, unlovingness is a matter of the emotion, and unpeacefulness is a matter of the conscience. When God deals with our heart, He deals with these four aspects so that our heart may be soft, pure, loving, and at peace. (CWWL, 1953, vol. 3, “The Knowledge of Life,” p. 110) 

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First, God wants our heart to be soft. To be soft means that the will of the heart toward God is submissive and yielding, not stiff-necked and rebellious. When God deals with our heart so that our heart is soft, He takes away the heart of stone out of our flesh and gives us a heart of flesh (Ezek. 36:26). This means that He softens our hard, stony heart so that it becomes a soft heart of flesh. 

How does He soften our heart?…God often uses His love first to move us; if love cannot move us, He uses His hand through the environment to strike us until our heart is softened. Once our heart is softened, His life can work within us. 

Second, God wants our heart to be pure. A pure heart means a heart that sets its mind specifically on God. It is also a heart in which the emotion is exceedingly pure and simple toward God…It only loves God and wants God; besides God, it has no other love, inclination, or desire. Matthew 5:8 says, “The pure in heart…shall see God.” Thus, if the heart is not pure, we cannot see God. If our thought is a little concerned with things outside of God, or if our emotion has a little love toward things outside of God, our heart is no longer pure; the life in our spirit is also hindered because of this. Therefore, we must pursue “with those who call on the Lord out of a pure heart” (2 Tim. 2:22), and be those who love the Lord and want God with a pure heart; then we can let the life of God work freely within us. 

Third, God wants our heart to be loving. A loving heart means a heart in which the emotion loves God, wants God, thirsts after God, yearns for God, and has affection toward God…Song of Songs in the Old Testament…says that as the Lord’s people, we should love the Lord as a woman loves her beloved. This love is so deep and unchanging and is as strong as death (8:6-7). Because this book speaks especially of our love toward the Lord, it also shows forth especially our growth in the life of the Lord. Then in the New Testament, in John 21, the Lord asked Peter three times, “Do you love Me?” This means that the Lord desired to lead the emotion of Peter to so love the Lord that he could be one who has a loving heart toward the Lord. The Lord did this because He wanted Peter to afford His life an opportunity to work and grow within him…If our heart has such love toward the Lord, the life of the Lord within us can move smoothly and do as it pleases. 

Fourth, God wants our heart to be at peace. A heart at peace means a heart in which the conscience has no offense (Acts 24:16), no condemnation or reproach; it is safe and secure. The conscience within us represents God to govern us…We must deal clearly with all the offenses, condemnation, and reproach; so we “will persuade our heart before Him” (1 John 3:19). When our heart is thus at peace, God can pass through, and the law of the life of God can continue to work within us. (CWWL, 1953, vol. 3, “The Knowledge of Life,” pp. 110-112) 

Further Reading: CWWL, 1953, vol. 3, “The Knowledge of Life,” ch. 10; CWWL, 1964, vol. 3, “The Economy of God,” chs. 7—8