Titus 1:10-16

Titus 1: 10-16 (NLT)

For there are many who rebel against right teaching; they engage in useless talk and deceive people. This is especially true of those who insist on circumcision for salvation. 11 They must be silenced. By their wrong teaching, they have already turned whole families away from the truth. Such teachers only want your money. 12 One of their own men, a prophet from Crete, has said about them, “The people of Crete are all liars; they are cruel animals and lazy gluttons.” 13 This is true. So rebuke them as sternly as necessary to make them strong in the faith. 14 They must stop listening to Jewish myths and the commands of people who have turned their backs on the truth.

15 Everything is pure to those whose hearts are pure. But nothing is pure to those who are corrupt and unbelieving, because their minds and consciences are defiled. 16 Such people claim they know God, but they deny him by the way they live. They are despicable and disobedient, worthless for doing anything good.

DEVOTION (Chris Bunch) “Pure Heart”

One question that I often ask myself is this: Is your heart pure? Purity does not mean perfection rather it focuses on whether or not your heart is turned toward yourself or turned toward God. When our hearts are focused on God they are pure and we see His goodness all around us. When Christ is in control of our life we learn to see goodness and purity———even in this evil world. When a person’s heart is focused on themselves, they tend to see and find evil in everything because their self-centered minds and hearts color even the good they see and hear as evil. The reality is this: “Whatever you fill your mind with will affect the way you think and act.” So, the question is: What will you fill your mind with? This week I encourage you to turn your thoughts to God and his words, and as you do that you will discover more and more goodness, even in this evil world. One exercise I often do to focus more on God is I set my cell phone alarm to go off each hour and when it does——I try to spend a few seconds connecting with God. I don’t think of God every moment, so I need a reminder to focus on him. So, this week fulfill these words: “Whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable——if anything is excellent or praiseworthy——-think about such things.” “Philippians 4:8 (NIV)

PRAYER: God, help my heart to be pure this week. Give me the strength to focus more upon you than I do the circumstances around me. Thank you for loving me no matter what. In Jesus name. Amen.