Week of December 29, 2023
“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 NKJV)
Our responses to God come from our heart. According to the wisdom Proverbs of the Bible, apart from the cleansing work of the Holy Spirit our hearts are extremely deceitful (Prov. 12:20). David prayed that God would cleanse him from his sin and purify his heart. God’s greatest desire is that His people love Him with all their hearts.
Sin hardens us and if we allow it to penetrate our hearts and our lives we will come to the place where we will resist the word of God. When we resist the prompting of the Holy Spirit we become hardened to Him, we become desensitized to God and His word.
Has your heart grown hard toward God? Maybe you feel at this point that nothing could soften it. I want to remind you of this week’s scripture so that it can encourage you during this time. God can and will remove a heart of stone and replace it with a heart of flesh, tender toward Him and His Lord.
If your love for God is not what it should be, ask Him to renew your heart and restore your devotion to Him
God bless, Pastor Rick