I Have A Fleshy Heart

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 make walk in Mine statutes, 

and keep Mine ordinances, and do them:

and they shall be My people, 

and I will be their God.

     When God spoke of removing the stony heart and replacing it with a fleshy heart, He gave me a heart like His. God's heart is flexible:
His heart breaks when we sin (rebel against His Word and do our own thing). When we confess our sins to God and repent (turn away from) of our sins, God is faithful in His Word to forgive us; and we are saved from the punishment we would have had to bear had we not repented.

     Christ's heart was broken on the cross at Calvary, and His blood was poured out for us, and upon us, washing away our sins. We are made perfect in God's sight because we have the righteousness of Christ upon us; thus when God looks upon us, He no longer sees an unwashed sinner, but a sinner saved by grace. And that grace is only available through belief on The Name of The Lord Jesus Christ. 

     God gives me a flexible heart, too. My  heart breaks when The Holy Spirit convicts me of disobeying God. Each break reveals my weakness and Christ's strength drawing me back to God. My soul is renewed and refreshed in God's love, God's mercy. And what is the soul? Mind+Will+Emotion=Soul. 

     Keeping my mind focused on one thing at a time is difficult, but when I remember to keep Christ near, The Holy Spirit helps me cope. Like always. Philippians 4:8 tells me what I should focus on. With these things in mind, I am able to accomplish the most basic of tasks, including folding laundry, making dinner and sitting upright (even if I do tilt a little to the left).

     Submitting my will to God's is not always an easy task. Yes, I have surrendered my body a living sacrifice; but I keep taking it back and that will bring discord into my relationship with God. Therefore I must submit myself to His will, His Word and His Way every single day, not just once in a lifetime. 

     Holding my emotions in check is hard, but we are getting there. I would like to believe that I am getting better at not being offended over every little insult I receive. For awhile there I had what I thought was thick skin, but it was really just a thickening, a hardening of the heart, and I had to repent and ask God to forgive me for my sin of pride. 

     But my heart does not break just for myself and my failings. 
My heart breaks for you. So I pray for your salvation. For your healings. For you to desire God's Holy Spirit in your life. For your heart to be like God's heart: fleshy and flexible. 

Multiplied Greetings To You

Mercy + Peace + Love x To You

Mercy plus Peace plus Love multiplied To You.

Mercy is the eternal lovingkindness of God. It is grace in action: a compassionate heart combined with an outstretched arm or hand.

Mercy is more than RAK (random acts of kindness). With RAK we choose who we are being kind to. Mercy is given to all. The Mercy of God is manifested in the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. He died on the cross for all and rose from the dead to a new life for us. That's Mercy.

Peace that passes understanding is being able to live our lives regardless of circumstances beyond our control, situations we manage to find ourselves in. This Peace can only come from God, from a personal relationship with Jesus Christ, from obeying the convicting power of The Holy Spirit. This Peace is manifested, revealed, in us and made known to all who know us. This Peace means “prosperous soul”. Our souls prosper when we know Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior.

Love is Agape love, the unconditional love we have in us because Christ lives in us. This love is given without strings attached: even if you don't love Him, He does love you. Even if you don't know Him, He loves you. For God is Love. His Love is revealed to us in His Word and His Word is His Son: The Lord Jesus Christ. Love is more than an action: it is also a Person. In order to share this Love with others and have it multiply in us, we must first have Jesus Christ in our hearts.

To You. I may never know you in this life. I may never meet you face to face. I may never hear your voice.  I may not remember your name when I see you. I may never or seldom dial your number.  But when I fall to my knees in prayer, God knows you, God sees you and I pray God hears your voice. I pray for your salvation. I pray for your deliverance from sin and all its entanglements. I pray for God's Holy Spirit to breathe in you and make you stronger. I pray for your heart to be joy-filled and that you seek and serve God with a hungry heart.