Day 24 of 35 Days of Christian Valentines
Ezekiel 11:19,20
"And I will give them one heart, and I will put a new spirit within you; and I will take the stony heart out of their flesh, and will give them a heart of flesh:
That they may walk ...in My statutes, and keep My ordinances, and do them: and they shall be My people, and I will be their God."
A heart of stone is unbendable and inflexible. It neither changes nor grows. It has no functioning capabilities. It just sits there, becoming harder and harder.
A heart of flesh bends and breaks and heals. A heart of flesh weeps, knows both grief and joy, sadness and hope. A heart of flesh has movement and growth. It changes with seasons of life, becoming stronger in adversity and peace.
A heart of flesh is obedient to the laws of God, adhering to His Word like glue. Psalm 63:8 "My soul follows hard after Thee: Thy right hand upholds me."
Early in life, early in the day, the heart of flesh seeks the face of God; to worship Him, to praise His Name, to draw ever nearer to the heart of God. The heart of flesh is glad in The Lord, trusts in Him, follows where He leads. The heart of flesh recognizes that The Lord God is Savior, and waits on His timing. I know that my Redeemer lives. The Lord God is my Savior, too. I have a heart of flesh.
Following close after God does not mean chasing and never catching up to. When we follow hard after God we are sticking closely to Him, walking closely with Him: side by side and hand in hand. When we hold our Bibles while reading them it is as if we are holding the hand of God. When our Bibles are positioned in front of us, as we read them, it is as if He is standing right in front of us, sharing Himself with us. When we wrap our arms around our Bibles to hold them close to us, perhaps when someone is trying to take it away or on a windy day, it is as if we are wrapping our arms around our God. The Bible is, after all, the written Word of God; as Jesus is the living Word of God.
Ezekiel 11:19,20
"And I will give them one heart, and I will put a new spirit within you; and I will take the stony heart out of their flesh, and will give them a heart of flesh:
That they may walk ...in My statutes, and keep My ordinances, and do them: and they shall be My people, and I will be their God."
A heart of stone is unbendable and inflexible. It neither changes nor grows. It has no functioning capabilities. It just sits there, becoming harder and harder.
A heart of flesh bends and breaks and heals. A heart of flesh weeps, knows both grief and joy, sadness and hope. A heart of flesh has movement and growth. It changes with seasons of life, becoming stronger in adversity and peace.
A heart of flesh is obedient to the laws of God, adhering to His Word like glue. Psalm 63:8 "My soul follows hard after Thee: Thy right hand upholds me."
Early in life, early in the day, the heart of flesh seeks the face of God; to worship Him, to praise His Name, to draw ever nearer to the heart of God. The heart of flesh is glad in The Lord, trusts in Him, follows where He leads. The heart of flesh recognizes that The Lord God is Savior, and waits on His timing. I know that my Redeemer lives. The Lord God is my Savior, too. I have a heart of flesh.
Following close after God does not mean chasing and never catching up to. When we follow hard after God we are sticking closely to Him, walking closely with Him: side by side and hand in hand. When we hold our Bibles while reading them it is as if we are holding the hand of God. When our Bibles are positioned in front of us, as we read them, it is as if He is standing right in front of us, sharing Himself with us. When we wrap our arms around our Bibles to hold them close to us, perhaps when someone is trying to take it away or on a windy day, it is as if we are wrapping our arms around our God. The Bible is, after all, the written Word of God; as Jesus is the living Word of God.
