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And I will give them one heart and a new spirit I will put within them. I will remove the heart of stone and give them a heart of flesh, 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. Ezekiel 11:19-20 (ESV)
Happy New Year to each of you. We seem to always look forward to something new, be it a new outfit, a new piece of furniture, or a new vehicle. God plans to do new things for us if we are willing to let Him be in control. Our focus passage will help us understand more.
“And I will give them one heart,” God tells Ezekiel He will give to the people of Israel His heart. He will do this for us, His people, in today’s world when we allow Him to guide.
“and a new spirit I will put within them” Along with that new heart, God spoke of giving the Israelite people a new spirit. In our world, we receive a new spirit when we submit our lives entirely to Him.
“I will remove the heart of stone” God recognized the Israelite’s stubbornness and planned to remove their pride from them. Each time they chose to revere Him, it only lasted for a short time. In today’s world, each of us has to daily submit our lives, hearts, and emotions to our heavenly Father.
“and give them a heart of flesh,” Each time the Israelites worshipped God as He intended to be worshipped, events went well for them. In our present world, we see things happen because we live in a fallen world. All we have to do to see things turn around is to honor and worship God in a manner that befits Him.
“that they may walk in my statutes and keep my rules and obey them.” God tells Ezekiel what the children of Israel have to do for their part. In our world today, we still have His statutes and his rules to guide us through our days and our times of trial.
“And they shall be my people and I will be their God.” God wanted to have a relationship with His chosen people, the Israelites. In our present times, He wants to have a relationship with each of us, His children.
I love this. This goes along very well with my One Word for 2018: Renew. When God gives us a new heart and a new spirit, we are renewed and restored and revived to full relationship with Him. Praise God for this ongoing work in our lives, day after day, year after year. Happy New year!!
ReplyDeletePam: How are you doing? This weather has made me a slug. I have been inactive in so many areas of my life. However, I have returned to journaling. I've been able to do some important praying. My word for this year is OBEDIENCE, and my reading has told me things about obedience that I have glossed over in the past.
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