It Starts Small

God is going to restore His people. This is the theme throughout Jerimiah and Ezekiel. God promises to renew us by restoring us. In today’s scripture He promises a full on heart transplant!

God promises us that He will change us from the inside out. This promise is referred to as the promise of a new covenant. It is the promise that is fulfilled in the New Testament with the coming of Jesus. Jesus paid the price of our ransom from sin so that our hearts might be clean and the may is opened to us to be reconciled sinners to God. This new way allows for us to undergo a mighty heart transplant. Within is, Jesus says in John chapter three we are given a new spirit. The Holy Spirit dwells within us. 

¹⁸ “When they arrive there, they will remove all its abhorrent acts and detestable practices from it. ¹⁹ I will give them integrity of heart and put a new spirit within them; I will remove their heart of stone from their bodies and give them a heart of flesh, ²⁰ so that they will follow my statutes, keep my ordinances, and practice them. They will be my people, and I will be their God.

Ezekiel 11:18-20

Amen!!

There is a process that must be done before this heart transplant is done. To those of us who have accepted the free gift of God’s love, grace and mercy, we have received Christ as our Savior. We have turned away from our old flesh and take the intentional step to remove all its abhorrent acts and detestable practices from our lives. This is called repentance. It is taking responsibility for our choice to sin and laying it upon God’s altar and confessing them to Him. 

In return God removes our stone cold hearts that have put blinders on our eyes and cotton in our ears. He begins a day-by-day transformation of our hearts by bringing to light the darkness in it and helping us to over come terrible patterns of behavior. He teaches us a new way to think and act. God will give them integrity of heart and put a new spirit within them.

He removes the fleshly, selfish prideful desires of our hearts and lends us the desires of His heart.  When he gives us His desires we in turn follow His statutes, keep His ordinances, and practice them.

Then God promises us will be His people, and He will be our God.

Repentance is not a one and done deal. Everyday we need to seek the Lord. Lay our transgression upon the altar and confess our sins to Him. In doing so, he cleanses us through forgiveness and by His patience works with us to overcome the things that hold us back from being who He has created us to be.