Passion & PurposeSample

Essential #1: A Clean Heart

This reading plan presents seven essentials related to the pursuit of your God-given potential & His purpose for your life. But only one absolute essential relates to your eternal potential: 

You must have a clean heart.

And by “heart,” I’m referring to your spirit—the place deep within where you relate to God and experience His presence.

Why is a clean heart necessary? Simply because you were born with a “bent” away from God. That’s true for every person. All of us are born with a sinful nature—with a focus on self and self-gratification. Every baby clearly demonstrates this from its first breath with cries related to human, physical needs: Feed me! Change me! Hold me! 

In the spiritual realm, we’re also born with a focus on ourselves. We want what we want when we want it. We want—and expect—the world to revolve around us. And we want to determine our own destiny and gain control over everything within our grasp. 

God sent His only Son, Jesus Christ, into this world to die a substitutionary, atoning death for us so that we might experience a change in our spiritual nature. The person who receives the sacrifice of Christ and believes in Him as Savior has a new “bent.” The Bible says that person is now a new spiritual creation, one who’s fully a part of the Father’s immediate family (2 Cor. 5:17) and who instantly receives the Holy Spirit to dwell within him and enable him to desire a new way of living. This person then enters the ongoing process wherein his mind is renewed, redirected to walk the Lord’s path, refocused in his desires, and reenergized to fulfill His purposes.

It’s at this point the Holy Spirit begins to unlock and unleash the fullness of the person’s potential, unfolding before him all he’s created to be and to do, helping him to succeed at accomplishing God’s purpose for his life.

Jesus said, “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God,” (Matt. 5:8). God’s Word teaches us that those with a pure, clean heart shall see God—not necessarily in visions or great spiritual exploits, but as He works in and through our own lives. Those with clean hearts will begin to grow in their understanding that God’s working all things to their ultimate good—changing circumstances, bringing about unexpected events that produce unimagined benefit, and orchestrating relationships so that God’s Word goes forth with greater power and more impact (Rom. 8:28).

Do you want to see more of the Father’s work in your life as you live out your purpose, reaching your full potential?

Then begin by pursuing, desiring, and seeking a clean, pure heart.