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Glory Seed Devotionals, 2015: Year of Promise
The simple and pure in heart will find rest and blessings…
“Gracious is the Lord, and righteous; our God is merciful. The Lord protects the simple; when I was brought low, he saved me. Return, O my soul, to your rest, for the Lord has dealt bountifully with you.” (Psalm 116:5–7, NRSV)
“The Lord protects the simple...” Those 5 words intrigued me so I checked the commentaries to find out where the Psalmist was going. I see myself as a simple person and I needed to know if I were indeed a simple person. Here in part what Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible says. “The latter is evidently its meaning here. It refers to one of the characteristics of true piety - that of unsuspecting trust in God. It would describe one who yields readily to truth and duty; one who has singleness of aim in the desire to honor God; one who is without guile, trick, or cunning.”
What Albert Barnes says about the “simple” has a familiar ring with Jesus' Sixth Beatitude, "Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.” (Matthew 5:8 NRSV) Albert Barnes sums up the “pure in heart” / “simple” seeing God this way. “So here, to see God, means to be his friends and favorites, and to dwell with him in his kingdom.”
The Lord protects the simple, protects those who are simple and pure in heart, protects those who are motivated out of love, not love of self but out of love for God! John D. Barry writes about motivation becomes our conscience. “There are times I wonder whether I treat others well because I subconsciously think that it will earn me points with them or with God. I battle this—it’s something we should all fight against. The state of the heart when helping others is every bit as important as the act itself.”
John Barry leaves us with these two questions. “What motivates your acts of kindness? What pure, kind, and intentional act can you perform today?”
Believe! Anticipate! Experience! Be transformed!
Grace and PEACE, Amen!
Gary
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“I pray that the Lord will bless your life and will be kind to you.” (2 Timothy 4:22, CEV)
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Scriptures marked CEV, “Scripture taken from the Contemporary English Version © 1991, 1992, 1995 by American Bible Society, Used by Permission.”
“The Scripture quotations contained herein are from the New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright © 1989, by the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the U.S.A., and are used by permission. All rights reserved.”
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