Sunday, August 30, 2009

A New Heart

Ezekiel 11:19-21
(19) And I will give them one heart, and a new spirit I will put within them. I will remove the heart of stone from their flesh and give them a heart of flesh,
(20) that they may walk in my statutes and keep my rules and obey them. And they shall be my people, and I will be their God.
(21) But as for those whose heart goes after their detestable things and their abominations, I will bring their deeds upon their own heads, declares the Lord GOD."

This is a little appetizer for a similar promise that is coming in Ezekiel 36. Here God is telling Ezekiel how things will work. The people have hearts of stone. God promises that He will remove their hearts of stone and replace them. He has to do this in order that they can follow Him. It ends by reminding us that there are those who will still pursue their own desires. I would take this to mean that they still have the hearts of stone.

Hopefully this passage points you to the incredible majesty of God. He transforms hearts in His sovereign will. He doesn't woo people to Him. He doesn't sit up in heaven hoping that we will choose Him because He loves us and wants to have a relationship with us. No, He transforms people from the inside-out so that they may have a relationship with Him.

Does this make the chosen any better than those who are not chosen? I would say no. We are all like sheep who have gone astray. All I know is that I want to be faithful to my calling.

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