Thursday, July 2, 2009

Divine Heart Transplants

"A new heart also will I give you and a new spirit will I put within you and
I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes,
and you shall keep mine ordinances and do them And you shall dwell in the land
that I gave to your fathers; and you shall be my people, and I will be your God.
I will also save you from all your uncleanness."
Ezekiel 36:26-29
God's grace is so much more than being saved from hell. These words spoken through the prophet, Ezekiel, promise us that God's grace encompasses the removal of a stony heart hardened by sin. It also encompasses the giving of His Spirit to dwell within us to continually purify and cleanse us. I love what He says...
He takes away a stony heart…We no longer have hearts callused by sin, unforgiving attitudes, or self-protective life styles. Nor do we still have hearts hardened by scars covering pain from things done to us. Our hearts are renewed, which means they are now tender, continuously being cleansed, continuously being transformed, and continuously being healed. This is a never ending process in which Christ, Himself, is chiseling away at the hard parts and softening them with His steadfast incomprehensible love. It may be painful as He works, but He will make them beautiful in His time.
God gives us a new heart…In Christ we have a heart transformed by grace. It is a heart that is passionate for the things God's heart is. We have the capacity to love the things He loves and hate the same things He hates. Our new heart is like the one we see in Jesus--strong and bold, yet tender and kind, fully capable of loving unconditionally and sacrificially. With this new heart we find we weep over sin and death, and we get angry over injustice and hatred. We find we have tremendous joy over spring flowers, babies being born, people being born again. We have the potential to invite others to be as real and transparent with us as the disciples were with Christ.
God gives us a new spirit…Our new spirit makes it possible for us to have an intimate relationship with our God. It is a spirit that desires purity and goodness even in the hidden parts of our hearts that no one sees. Our new spirit, like His, is acquainted with brokenness, yet full of praises. It is weak in its humanness, but strong in His Strength. It is a spirit that lets go of the things of this world in order to seek the things of God. It is a spirit empowered by God to live in righteousness, easily convicted by the sin and selfishness that needs to be chipped away.


He has put His Spirit within us…. His Spirit is a "down payment" until the day of redemption. There is no place we can hide from Him or nor is there an escape from His love! When we are hungry for knowledge of Him, He resides within us so He can reveal Himself to us. When we are hurting, He is washing our souls with healing love. When we are grieving, He is comforting. When we are afraid, He is filling us with the courage that helped Jesus face the cross. When we are confused, He is there to counsel us. When we are emotionally drained…He is there to fill our empty tank with love and hope. When everything around us is unstable He is our stability. When the enemy attacks, He is our defender. When we are anxious He is our peace.

He is our God and we are His people…We are totally accepted by God and can bask in a sense of belonging! He has said we are His and it means He has purposed to give us eternal unconditional acceptance and a sense of belonging. There is nothing we can do to earn it or lose it. He has called us beloved, friends, children - rich terms indicative of intimacy! We belong to a family that is becoming what the Heavenly Father meant families to be.

He has cleansed us from our uncleanness…God has forgiven our sins and He will continue to transform our selfish hearts by accomplishing the work He began in us. He will help us live honestly and transparently before Him and others. He will lead us to walk in His righteousness and empower us to become more like Him. God has done all of this out of a Heart motivated by His love to shower us with His GRACE!

Prayer: Father, thank you for taking my hard heart and conforming it into a soft heart with your love. Thank you for healing my hurts and helping me to become bolder in loving others. Thank you for Your complete unconditional acceptance and enabling me to relate to You. Thank You for Your Holy Spirit that enables me to know you and to live for You. Amen
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Introduction

Several years ago I realized that I often sped through my Scripture reading and gave it little thought. Yet, when I had meaningful conversations with friends or family members I replayed them over and over in my head. One day it occurred to me, that if I thought more about what God says in his word that I would not only know more about Him, but I would come to know Him in a personal way. I would know more about His thoughts, His character, His intentions, His passions, and His actions. So, I began to take one verse at a time and think on it and then journal about it. At the time I was served as a volunteer in youth ministry and shared my “Thoughts on God” with those girls. For a while I have been rewriting and posting them on this blog. I have realized when I am in the Word or move through my day focusing on God's presence that I have wonderful opportunities to Meet God in the Everyday. The Everyday can include storms, blessings, hard things, scary things, exciting things...just any where, anyplace, any time. I hope that you will be able to engage with what I write with both your head and your heart. I also hope you will be challenged to love, trust, and know the God of the Scriptures. It is my prayer that as you read you will experience Him at a deeper level and share pieces of your journey in the comments. It is my desire that we form a safe community of believers who pursue the God who loves us radically, eternally, and without reserve. As a precious pastor once told me, "Don't forget, Wendy, God is Good!" I find myself compelled by His Goodness and His Love to share so others can know Him through all the ups and downs of life. Please feel free to dialogue back and to share how each passage impacts you. If if there is a passage you would like me to write on or if you would like to be a guest blogger, please let me know. I am just learning to navigate this blog and appreciate the kind comments you have made in the past...I promise I will even try to respond if you leave a note. If you are blessed please share the blog with friends!