Why Do I Need A Pure Heart, Reason 3

3. Because A Pure Heart Pleases The King of Kings

Matthew 5:8 says this:
"Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God."

If God didn't want people to have pure hearts, He wouldn't bless those who stay pure.

Also the ones who stay pure will see Him. If you don't like something, you don't want to see it. So God is again telling us that He wishes fervently that we have pure hearts.

Why Do I Need A Pure Heart?, Reason 2

2. Because a Pure Heart Keeps You from Hurting Others

Remember, your actions effect those around you, including your family and friends. If a team member on any sport team decides that they are not going to help on the team or that they simply are not going to play because they don't feel like it, what would happen? The team would not, could not, reach its full potential because they were missing a player. Not only that, they were being burdened by this useless player! Their decision, right or otherwise, effected a whole team. It is like that with your heart. If you decide to make it impure by watching things that you shouldn't or reading magazines with impure pictures, you are doing yourself a discourtesy and people around you. What do I mean by that? You will start thinking about those things the more you read/watch them. Then you might talk about them, or encourage others to read/watch them. You are leading yourself astray and others too.

"Why Do I Need a Pure Heart?"

In my post "What is a Pure Heart", I (Catherine) might have addressed this issue, but the main point was to tell you what a pure heart is. This blog post is directed on answering the question "Why Do I Need a Pure Heart?".

In the next few days I'll be giving you reasons to stay pure, but here is the first one now!

Keep Blooming!

Princess Catherine

1. Because A Pure Heart Will Protect You Emotionally

Remember the post about The Dangers of Dating (See Is Dating Dangerous? Part 1 and Is Dating Dangerous? Part 2 for more information)?

Now, I am not saying that if you don't date you automatically get a pure heart, but it will help a lot. It will help you keep out of hurtful situations like when you break-up.
If your heart is pure it will guide you in a pure direction. If it is not pure, it will lead you into sin.
Wouldn't you rather stay out of sin then be in sin?

Proverbs 31, Part IV: More Serving

She opens her arms to the poor
and extends her hands to the needy.
When it snows, she has no fear for her household;
for all of them are clothed in scarlet.
Proverbs 31:20-21

These verses show the Proverbs 31 woman's selflessness and caring. 'She opens her arms to the poor and extends her hands to the needy/When it snows, she has no fear for her household; for all of them are clothed in scarlet'. She cares for those who need it, like her family, or people who are needy.

This is a very good example of generosity. As you probably know, this costs her not a little. But, according to what we see here, she isn't complaining about that at all. Rather, it looks more like she welcomes the opportunity to serve. And that's one of the most important parts about serving--doing it from your heart.

I (Izori) have noticed that the 'theme of the week' is serving people, so I'll go along with that and list more ways that you can serve.

In your church--our church has many opportunities for service. Sometimes, people who need something (like maternity clothes or help with yard-work) write it on a piece of paper, and then other people sign up to fill their need. My mom has done this several times, and I would like to do it sometime, too.

In your home--I don't mean just do the chores; those are what you automatically have to do. I mean offer to help your parents with something for free. I have this problem with this. For some reason, it's very hard for me to do something without expecting anything in return, and I really have to work on this (especially since I'm telling other people to do so, too :).

There are so much more ways to serve others. Princess Catherine has some great suggestions, and I suggest you read those, too.

In Christ,

Princess Izori

Proverbs 31, Part III: Laziness (not a good thing)

She sets about her work vigorously;
her arms are strong for her tasks.
She sees that her trading is profitable,
and her lamp does not go out at night.
In her hand she holds the distaff
and grasps the spindle with her fingers.
Proverbs 31:17-19

In these verses we see that the Proverbs 31 woman is not lazy. 'She sets about her work vigorously' 'her lamp does not go out at night' are all good examples of this.

Here is a good thing to learn before it's too late: God created us for work! God didn't command Adam and Eve to laze around and be couch-potatoes, he told them to tend the garden. No where in the Bible does God say 'I command you to be lazy' or 'I tell you the truth: you should sit on the couch with a bag of potato chips' (here my dear brother suggested that I should put 'I command you to play video-games all day). Instead, God tells us not to 'eat the bread of idleness'.

Now, God knows that we can't always be working; as humans in a fallen world, we need our rest. But that is not an excuse to be doing nothing all the time. This is a great problem of mine. I tend to just sit on the couch listening to my MP3 player, when I could be knitting or something like that.

How do you think your husband would feel if you just sat around all day, leaving him to do the work? I'd advise you (and me) to get into the habit of being non-lazy quickly.

In Christ,

Izori

Proverbs 31, Part II: Service

She selects wool and flax
and works with eager hands.
She is like the merchant ships,
bringing her food from afar.
She gets up while it is still dark;
she provides food for her family
and portions for her maidens.
She considers a field and buys it;
out of her earnings she plants a vineyard.
Proverbs 31:13-16

As you can see from the above verses, the Proverbs 31 woman certainly isn't lazy! She does handwork (like knitting, sewing, embroidery), and does it cheerfully, as the 'works with eager hands' part indicates. She brings her food from afar. That doesn't mean she goes to China everyday to get her food, however. It really means that she doesn't just take the first produce that she can find. She is willing to look all over to find good food for her family!

'She gets up while it is still dark; and provides food for her family'. That is showing that she works hard and diligently to make sure her family can be fed properly. She doesn't lay around in bed, expecting her servants to prepare the food for her. Maidens is another term for 'servant girls', and from the ending of verse 15, it sure looks like she prepares the food for them!

Verse 16's meaning is often mistaken to be that the Proverbs 31 woman has a job outside the home, instead of being a home-keeper. This actually isn't true. It's possible to have a job from inside your home. I just finished butterfly-sitting, turtle-sitting, and I often dog-sit, too! I know someone who bakes and sells bread from inside their home, too. The considering, and then buying a field out of her own earnings indicates that she is a steward of her money. Notice that she just doesn't buy the field at random without considering carefully what she was investing in.

The Proverbs 31 woman, as we will see later on, serves other people willingly (see verse 20 and others). Princess Catherine has two excellent posts about service called "Ways to Serve, Idea 1", and Ways to Serve. Here are some more ways to serve:

Do you know someone who just had a baby, has had a hard time lately, or just needs some cheering up? A good way to serve them is to give them food, like some fresh-baked, homemade cookies, or chicken soup, or meatloaf. My mom had a baby about a year ago, and we really appreciated all the good meals we got from generous people willing to serve! We didn't have to cook anything for several weeks, which was good for all of us. Also, my dad recently got diagnosed with cancer (please pray for him, fellow princesses) and we got several more meals. I know from experience that this is a good way to serve others.

See any mothers at your church trying to deal with a cranky two year old while juggling a baby and a coffee cup at the same time? I sure have! A good way to serve in this situation is to offer to hold the baby or/and the coffee cup for her. I'm sure she would appreciate that greatly.

Do you know someone who's having trouble with fair-weather friends? I have a few friends whose friends are 'fair-weather' friends. They like you if your popular and pretty, but when you show signs of unpopularity, they aren't your friends anymore. I have also experienced this, and it's wonderful having real friends to cheer you up. Try to be a very good friend to people that you see are in this situation.

More's coming soon!

In Christ,

Princess Izori

Ways to Serve, Idea 3

YOU CAN SERVE IN YOUR COMMUNITY

This could be in your town or in your neighborhood! If you see someone moving in, you could get a bag together full of things they would need when first moving in (such as paper towels, toilet paper, tissues, and so on). You could help clean up trash (if there is any) or think of and organize games for little children (3, 4, and 5 year olds) around your home. The older children (6 and up) would enjoy games too! Or maybe it is just waving to a sad looking neighbor, or bringing a meal to one who just had a baby (like Princess Izori kindly suggested).

If you have any other ideas, please comment!

Princess Catherine