Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God. Matthew 5:8
"He that but looketh on a plate of ham and eggs to lust after it hath already committed breakfast with it in his heart." - C.S. Lewis
Jewish laws stated many specifics about outward cleanliness but avoided specifics about cleanliness of the heart. Are we simply following rules or are our actions guided by a pure heart.
1) Unplug from all media activity for a week as a means to simplify your life. Instead of watching TV or surfing the internet, spend some time outside. Seek God and listen.
2) Visit your church when nobody is there. Pray in silence for the people of your community. Pray for others' struggles and addictions as well as your own. Light a candle to symbolize each person you raised up in prayer.
3) Sign up for the accountability program at xxxchurch.com. It doesn't matter if you have ever struggled with an internet addiction or not. This is a safeguard against future temptation. xxxchurch will help keep you accountable to having a pure heart when on the computer.
4) Carve out space every morning to memorize Ps. 139:23-24. Pray the verses for a week, asking God to reveal those area of your life that act as a block in your relationship with him.
5) If you don't already have an accountability partner, seek out a trusted friend and set up times to meet regularly. Use these times to share joys, struggles, temptations, and everyday life. One of the main reasons God created the body of Christ was so we could encourage and support one another through this faith journey.
6) Purity doesn't stop at the physical boundaries we set for ourselves. It also involves how we treat our bodies and the earth around us. You may love your bag of Cheetos, but for one week eat fresh foods. Refill a reusable water bottle instead of wasting plastic disposable bottles. See how purity comes in all shapes and sizes.
7) Take a candle to the people you prayed for this week. Include a note explaining that you lifted them up in prayer.
2 comments:
I finished up my semester this week with a final on tuesday and one yesterday. It feels really good to be done with this one and hopefully only one more semester to go. Needless to say, this put me a few days behind on my postings so its catch up time now.
I did the last exercise this week - giving prayer candles with a note. The prayers themselves were not really out of the ordinary but it was very strange for me to share my prayer experience with the person for whom I prayed. I got a better sense of what a Christian community feels like. There is a feeling of being blessed in carrying out this experiment and I hope that blessing will carry on to the recipients.
This week I did #6. I started on a diet this week so thought I would incorporate this into it. It wasn't quite as easy as I thought it would be. I ate only fresh fruits and vegetables in fact trying to keep things organic if possible. I did not use bottled water , but used filtered water from the refrigerator. It is funny how our world has become so "fast". I found myself becoming impatient at fixing all my meals. By the end of the week I have to admit I felt so much better and God helped me as I purged my body. Now I need the strength to keep it up !!!
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