eDevotion
Encouragement for your daily walk with God
The Bible has a lot to say about the heart, and apart from the regenerating work of the Holy Spirit, the heart is extremely deceitful (Jeremiah 17:9). David knew it too, so he prayed that God would cleanse him and purify his heart (Psalm 51:10). Jesus told a large crowd one day that we are blessed if our hearts are pure (Matthew 5:8). And we must never forget that God’s greatest desire is that we love Him with all of our heart (Deuteronomy 6:5).
But we have a problem: SIN! Make no mistake about it, sin hardens the heart (Matthew 13:4, 19), and a hardened heart has consequences of its own. The hardened heart is more resistant to the Word of God. The harder our heart, the less tendency there is to forgive. Likewise, a hard heart desensitizes our receptivness to the Holy Spirit. If we remain in this state over a period of time, our hearts will become like stone—anesthetized to sin.
Fortunately, there is hope for hardened hearts! They can become “soft” again. The solution rests in our loving God. First, He calls us to repent—to turn from, and forsake our sins. When we do, He cleanses us from sin and our misplaced affections (Ezekiel 36:25). Then He replaces the heart of stone with a heart that is tender toward Him and His Word.
I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; I will take the heart of stone out of your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. (Ezekiel 36:26)
No comments:
Post a Comment