Clean Hands – Pure Hearts: A Generation of Purity Will Arise

I began to see God. It was the treasure that was worth the journey and the search.

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There is something deep within most people that long to be clean. Purity brings peace and a clear conscience. It is something that, when I first came to know the Lord as a young 18-year-old, felt was out of reach! I didn’t fully understand how the blood of Jesus makes us whiter than snow but also how there is “a process to purity” that we must desire and partner with.

When I was born, my parents named me Karen. In those days, moms and babies stayed in the hospital for three days after a birth. For the first three days of my life, I was called Karen, but on the third day, my parents had a visitor who said that I looked like a “Kathleen” and they fell in love with it and changed my name (calling me Kathi for short). The interesting thing is that both of these names have the same meaning, “Pure One.”

As a new believer, I would look back upon my first 18 years, and I realized they were anything but “pure!” I would do anything for love and often did. So when I discovered the meaning of both of these names, the Lord said to me, “I created you to carry purity, and that threatens the enemy more than any other call on your life.” I knew that the enemy had fought long and hard to defile what God had put within me.

So…I began to pray that He would make me pure as He is pure. I asked for clean hands and a pure heart. Though my outward actions changed fairly quickly; the motives of my heart, the manipulations of my soul, and the development of a clear conscience were a process. The process didn’t defile me because I was covered by His blood and clothed in His righteousness (not my own!). Yet, I had to want it enough to value purity like a treasure of great worth that I had to find.

Though I was pure and clean in the Father’s sight through the righteousness of Christ, I still dealt with many things that I knew grieved the heart of God because they were things that blocked my view of His beautiful face. For me, impurities were like stones in my soul that blocked my view and caused me to stumble or have to navigate my way around until they were removed. I loved the verse from Matthew 5:8 that says, “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God”

While gifting can allow you to be used of God, purity allows you to see God! But how do we have our hearts cleansed, our minds renewed, and our souls set free of the defilements of the world? For me, it was a constant prayer out of Psalm 51 that I prayed and cried out for,

“Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me. Cast me not away from thy presence; and take not thy holy spirit from me. Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation; and uphold me with thy free spirit…” (Psalm 51:10-12)

In my early days (as a new believer), gospel singer, Keith Green, had a song that was written from this verse, and I remember driving in my car singing it with tears streaming down my face, wondering if my heart would ever be pure. Yet, it was not by might, not by my power but by the work of His Spirit that He began to renew my mind and purify my heart…as this happened, I began to see God. It was the treasure that was worth the journey and the search.

As we are living in a time where the exposures of darkness and sin are becoming a common occurrence, I find my heart grieved. I’m not only grieved because these lives were made for so much more but because I want them to see God! The pursuit of purity is one of the greatest pursuits you will ever engage in because it is the pathway to intimacy and unhindered oneness with God. It is worth fighting for and pressing in for.

Again, the blood of Jesus lacks nothing in allowing us to stand before the Father as ones who have been made as white as snow. Yet, there is a process that must occur in the lives of every believer that involves purification, the renewing of our minds, and the cleansing of the motives of our hearts. As this happens, we find great freedom and alignment with the character of Jesus, creating a “face-to-face” intimacy that is like nothing we can imagine.

I believe that God WILL have a bride without spot or wrinkle! I believe that a generation of purity will (and is!) arising; completely dependent upon His Spirit to do this work within their hearts and lives. I believe that a deep longing for purity is arising from the exposure of darkness and sin that has been hidden in the church. The prayer in Psalm 51:10-12 will be on the lips of His people like never before. I pray that every person who is being exposed will fall on their face in humility and repentance and pray for clean hands and a pure heart. May they SEE God!

Purity is not merely the appearance of walking in Biblical morality; purity is what is within your heart, your mind, and your motives. It is not obtainable by works, but rather it is a work of His Spirit. But we must want it..cry out for it and pursue it as if our lives depend on it (because they do!).

I long to always see God! I long for all of His people to see Him as He is! This will keep so many from being pulled into deceptions and compromise. When you see Him, you will want to be like Him…it’s like pure, clean water that refreshes every place of shame and separation. He’s so, so beautiful!

Let’s begin to pray this prayer like never before; over our lives, over our children’s lives, and over the body of Christ.

“Who may ascend the mountain of the Lord? Who may stand in his holy place? The one who has clean hands and a pure heart, who does not trust in an idol or swear by a false god. They will receive blessing from the Lord and vindication from God their Savior. Such is the generation of those who seek him, who seek your face, God of Jacob.” Psalms‬ ‭24:3-6‬ ‭

 

This is an updated edition of a post originally published on Inscribe Ministries

Featured Image by Christelle Olivier from Pixabay

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About the Author

Jeffrey and Kathi Pelton understand our culture’s need for encouragement and hope. Through writing and speaking, they escort individuals into awareness of God’s profound compassion and mercy that heals brokenness, and they have a unique ability to help anyone seeking pathways into His kind embrace. For several years, the couple led a house of prayer located in Kelowna, British Columbia.