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Speaker 1: Life Audio. Welcome to the Crosswalk devotional. We're glad to

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Speaker 1: have you listening with us. Today's topic is how purity

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Speaker 1: may sometimes feel like a chore, but it's actually a blessing.

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Speaker 1: We'll return with the devotional after a brief message from

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Speaker 1: our sponsors. A pure heart is a blessing written and

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Speaker 1: read by Whitney Hoppler. Create in me a pure heart,

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Speaker 1: O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me, Psalm

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Speaker 1: fifty one ten and IV. Every year, when I spring

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Speaker 1: clean my home physically, I ask God to help me

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Speaker 1: do spiritual spring cleaning to clean up my soul. When

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Speaker 1: I clean my home regularly throughout the year, I also

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Speaker 1: often pray for God's help to get rid of messy

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Speaker 1: attitudes or behaviors and to blow the fresh air of

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Speaker 1: renewal into my life. It definitely feels like a chore

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Speaker 1: to do physical cleaning, getting rid of trash, mopping floors,

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Speaker 1: washing windows, and all the other boring and dirty tasks

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Speaker 1: involved in cleaning a house aren't pleasant, but they're necessary

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Speaker 1: for living a physically healthy life. It can also feel

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Speaker 1: like a chore to do spiritual cleaning because it's stressful

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Speaker 1: to confess unhealthy attitudes and behaviors, and to try to

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Speaker 1: make better choices. However, it's necessary for being spiritually healthy.

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Speaker 1: Unlike with physical cleaning, I have help from God for

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Speaker 1: spiritual cleaning, and that makes all the difference. I'm grateful

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Speaker 1: that I can always succeed with spiritual cleaning and even

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Speaker 1: enjoy the process of it because God, God is always

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Speaker 1: willing to create more purity in my heart and to

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Speaker 1: renew my spirit. Psalm fifty one ten is a powerful

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Speaker 1: prayer we can use to ask God to change our

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Speaker 1: hearts for the better. When we're willing to let God

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Speaker 1: into the messy corners of our lives, He'll remove the

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Speaker 1: dirt that's accumulated there and send us fresh help to

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Speaker 1: grow in holiness. When we think about holiness, we may

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Speaker 1: worry that pursuing it will be a chore that will

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Speaker 1: restrict us from having fun or keep us working hard

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Speaker 1: to reach a standard we can never achieve. But God

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Speaker 1: wants us to live holy lives because doing so is

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Speaker 1: truly good for us, and God will help us every

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Speaker 1: step of the way. God wants us to have pure

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Speaker 1: hearts because purity is a blessing, not a burden. God's

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Speaker 1: commandments for healthy and holy living are actually loving boundaries

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Speaker 1: that protect us from being harmed by sin. Praying for

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Speaker 1: a pure heart invites God to wipe away the dirt

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Speaker 1: of sin from our souls so we can see God

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Speaker 1: more clearly. As Jesus says in Matthew five eight, blessed

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Speaker 1: are the pure in heart, for they will see God.

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Speaker 1: The reward of purity is experiencing God. A pure heart

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Speaker 1: helps us focus on what really matters most, so we're

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Speaker 1: not stressed and exhausted from being pulled in many different directions.

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Speaker 1: It helps us realize that God's ways aren't meant to

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Speaker 1: restrict us, but to free us to live in ways

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Speaker 1: that help us notice and appreciate the wonder of God's

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Speaker 1: work in our lives every day. By living each day

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Speaker 1: with a pure heart, we can stay focused on God

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Speaker 1: and enjoy the blessings that God is constantly pouring into

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Speaker 1: our lives. Developing a lifestyle of greater purity is like

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Speaker 1: decluttering a messy room. At first, it might feel hard

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Speaker 1: to let go of certain things, but as the realm clears,

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Speaker 1: we realize how stressful it really was to deal with

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Speaker 1: so much clutter. We feel more peaceful in the room

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Speaker 1: because it's a healthier space. When we let God help

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Speaker 1: us clean up spiritually, we'll also notice less stress and

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Speaker 1: more peace in our lives. We'll have this steadfast spirit

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Speaker 1: that Psalm fifty one to ten mentions a spirit that's

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Speaker 1: stronger and more focused, so we're no longer tossed around

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Speaker 1: by every temptation to sin that comes our way. A

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Speaker 1: pure heart is a blessing, not a chure. It's the

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Speaker 1: gift of a heart at peace because it's the way

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Speaker 1: God designed it to be clean and whole. Intersecting faith

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Speaker 1: in life, as you consider how it's a blessing to

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Speaker 1: have a pure heart, reflect on these questions. When you

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Speaker 1: think of the word holiness, does it feel like a

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Speaker 1: heavy burden or a beautiful invitation? Why do you think

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Speaker 1: that is? Is there a specific kind of mess in

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Speaker 1: your life right now and unhealthy attitude or behavior that's

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Speaker 1: making it hard for you to feel close to God.

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Speaker 1: In Psalm fifty one ten, King David asked God to

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Speaker 1: renew a steadfast spirit within him. In what areas of

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Speaker 1: your faith do you feel most inconsistent right now? How

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Speaker 1: can you ask God for help and rely on that

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Speaker 1: help to be more steadfast in those areas. How do

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Speaker 1: you want to change your life overall with God's help

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Speaker 1: to live with greater purity and holiness. What's one small,

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Speaker 1: yet significant change you can start making right now to

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Speaker 1: live with more purity in your heart every day. Further

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Speaker 1: reading Matthew five eight, Ezekiel thirty six, twenty six, First

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Speaker 1: John one nine, Second Corinthians five seventeen Philippians four eight.

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Speaker 1: Thanks for listening to today's devotional. If you liked what

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Speaker 1: you heard today, we want to make sure you know

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