How are your Filters?

How are your Filters?
Words of Faith 8-31-2023
Dr. Jeffrey D. Hoy © 2023
Jeff.Hoy@faithfellowshipweb.com
Faith Fellowship Church - Melbourne, FL
www.faithfellowshipweb.com
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Titus 1
[15] To the pure, all things are pure, but to those who are corrupted and do not believe, nothing is pure. In fact, both their minds and consciences are corrupted. [16] They claim to know God, but by their actions they deny him. They are detestable, disobedient, and unfit for doing anything good.

What was at the core of the rebellion that was infecting the churches of Crete?
Paul gave a contrast that we may be able to relate to. A person whose heart is pure and seeking the Lord will see the good and the pure in all situations. But a person who is being "corrupted" will see only the bad-- the failures and shortcomings.
Today we sometimes call these "filters." It is much more than just optimism versus pessimism, a glass half-empty or half-full. Those who are caught in impurity see impurity everywhere. Those who are themselves being purified see the hope of purity in all. Paul was this way. With very few exceptions, Paul focused on what God was doing in a person... rather than on what the person was doing.
Even when there are sins, faults, and failures, the pure one sees what God is doing in a person who is still a work in progress and is being sanctified. But some see nothing pure because their "filters" of the mind and conscience are corrupted.
The word translated as corrupted means defiled, sullied, or tainted. This was a vivid image among Jewish people. Rabbinical teaching delineated lists of all the things that could "defile" or taint a person rendering them unclean. Coming in contact with a dead body, working with a tannery, or just touching a Gentile rendered one unclean. This is the sort of language that Paul was using.
Those who were going about the churches accusing people, spouting prejudice, and ruining households by teaching legalistic demands were, in fact, not believers at all. And it all began with a corruption of their "filters," the mind and the conscience.
Paul's declaration was that the ones claiming to know God best because of their rules and accusations, were in fact denying God by their actions. It is probably with some sense of irony that Paul used the words he did to declare that such "sin spotters" were in fact detestable in their disobedience and unfit for anything good.
Jesus said that the pure in heart will be blessed, they shall see God (Matthew 5:8). If we are looking for how God is at work in every situation, we will see God.
So how are your filters? Do you look for that which is pure, or only for the things that are not? Do you watch for the redemptive work that God is doing in life, or only for the way that a person has failed in the past? Do you look for the pure intent of a person even when they have made a misstep, or do you condemn with legalistic fervor?
To the pure, all things are pure, but to those who are corrupted and do not believe, nothing is pure.

Father God, I want to be pure in heart. I want to see with Your filters. I want to see the possibilities and the hope in every situation. Cleanse the corruption of my mind and conscience so that I will have the mind of Christ. Give me eyes to see and ears to hear all of the wonders of Your grace and mercy. In Jesus' Name, Amen.

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© Jeffrey D. Hoy 2023
Dr. Jeffrey D. Hoy - Faith Fellowship Church (EFCA)
2820 Business Center Blvd.
Melbourne, Florida 32940 (321)-259-7200
Jeff.Hoy@faithfellowshipweb.com
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The Words of Faith devotion is published five days a week by E-mail, excluding Federal holidays. Please feel free to forward this devotion to a friend who might be blessed by this devotion. Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture is quoted from the New International Version (R) of The Holy Bible. Copyright (c) 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan Publishing House. All rights reserved. Words of Faith (c) 1997, 2023 Jeffrey D. Hoy. All rights reserved. Permission is granted to forward this copyrighted material or use portions of it with appropriate notation of the source for non-profit purposes.