The Quill and Me—Devotional Blog•Oswald Chambers Reflections  
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I, The Lord, 

Search the Heart . . .

Jeremiah 17:10

July 24
Today's Reading: My Utmost for His Highest
Matthew 5:20
". . . unless your righteousness exceeds the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven

When Motives Become Pure

Chambers' opening line: The characteristic of a disciple is not that he does good things, but that he is good in his motives, having been made good by the supernatural grace of God. 

Human righteousness will never equal pure motives.

We need His righteousness to purify motives. 

Motives originate in the heart, are interpreted by the mind, and discerned by God.

Jeremiah 17:10: "I, the Lord, search the heart . . ." 

"Unless our righteousness exceed..."

How do we measure our own righteousness? 

It is our heart's "posture" before God: being poor in spirit, depending on Christ—not ourselves, being repentant, having a hunger for Him, trusting in His finished work, walking in humility—not pride. Our righteousness must come from Christ, not from our own self. 

The scribes and Pharisees' were: outwardly moral, publicly religious, strict rule-keepers, admired by people, confident in their own goodness... but Jesus said they were: blind, hypocritical, self-righteous, inwardly corrupt, and spiritually dead. 

Chambers says: The purity that God demands is impossible unless a person can be remade within. 

Through the sanctification of a surrendered soul, Jesus Christ can create a pure heart with pure motives... when He places within us His very own nature. The source of our righteousness is Christ Himself therefore our hearts will be pure and our motives also. 

The sanctification of Christ purifies motives by changing their source. My human motives are being reshaped by Christ because... I used to write from self-help language, now I write from stewardship. I used to write from emotion... now I write from calm... my writing has become more circumspect... I stay focused... I don't rely on myself—I ask Him to be with me. I write slower now and check my accuracy against scripture while writing instead of waiting to check it later. 

God must find nothing in our motives to rebuke.  

Chambers' question: Who can stand in the eternal light of God and have nothing for Him to rebuke?

Chambers' answer: Only the Son of God. And Jesus Christ claims that through His redemption and sanctification He can place within anyone His own nature and make that person as pure and as simple as a child. 

We cannot make ourselves pure by any means, therefore we cannot purify our own motives only His redemptive power within us can work that miracle. 

Prayer

Father, thank you for loving us, 

for sending Your Son to redeem us,

for sending the Holy Spirit to remake us.

We yield our hearts and minds to His redemptive power,

cleanse our hearts and minds through Jesus and make our motives pure. 

Create in us a clean heart so You will find nothing in us to rebuke.

We praise You and thank You for Your merciful grace which makes it all possible. 

In Jesus' name, Amen.

Selah, 

~ Quil

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Scripture References

Matthew 5:20 — “Unless your righteousness exceeds the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees…”
Jeremiah 17:10 — “I, the Lord, search the heart …”
Psalm 51:10 — “Create in me a clean heart, O God…”
Ezekiel 36:26 — “I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you…”
1 Corinthians 4:5 — “He will bring to light what is hidden in darkness and reveal the motives of the heart…”
Romans 3:21–22 — “The righteousness of God… through faith in Jesus Christ…”
Philippians 3:9 — “…not having my own righteousness… but that which is through faith in Christ…”
Matthew 23 (selected verses) Jesus’ rebuke of the Pharisees: blind, hypocritical, inwardly corrupt.
Matthew 5:3 — “Blessed are the poor in spirit…”

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