"New Life"

Scripture:

Ezekiel 11:19-20
“And I shall give them one heart; and put a new spirit within them.
And I shall take the heart of stone out of their flesh and give them a
heart of flesh, that they may walk in My statutes and keep My ordinances
and do them. Then they will be My people, and I shall be their God.”

Observation:

We are all borne into this fallen world with a deceitful heart (Jeremiah 17:9) and with time these hearts become hardened with self preservation because of all the difficulties we face in order to survive. But in spite of these dysfunctions, many of us go through our lives thinking that we do have a heart of flesh and that we are “good enough” in the eyes of God. But the truth is, my friends, none of us will ever be good enough (Psalm 14:2, 3) to stand in the presence of our Holy God without the covering of Christ.

Application:

We are all borne with a sinful nature and until Jesus takes us home, we will live with our sinful nature. But the “Good News” is; God has replaced His old covenant with us when He came into our world to renew our lives in Christ Jesus, because now we have the opportunity to walk in His Holy Presence once again. The apostle Paul tells us in his second letter to the Corinthians that when any person begins to live their life in Christ they become a different person, for the old-self has given way to a new-self and the old life will soon fade away (2 Corinthians 5:17). Unfortunately, this does not mean we become exempt from the troubles of this world and our lives will become easier, but what is does mean, though, is that along with this new life there comes renewed Hope in spite of our circumstances. When we accept the Son of God as our Lord and Savior, the Holy Spirit will take up residents in our hearts and our sanctification begins immediately. We will begin to view this life through the eyes or our Savior and He will equip us with good and righteous ways of dealing with this fallen world and its never ending assault on us. This new life in Christ does not mean that our lives will automatically get easier and wonderful, but the LORD will give us the means to overcome this fallen world; giving us a true and purposeful meaning so that we can lead a godly life-style that is pleasing to Him. And all this newness we receive through Christ Jesus our Lord, will then give us an encouraging picture of the glorious transformation that is yet to come when Christ returns to restore His creation—the final and complete transformation that will be well-worth any and all the hardships we will inevitably face until that day arrives!

Prayer:

Thank You, dear LORD, for coming and rescuing Your children from certain death. I ask You in the Name of Your Son, Jesus, to help me shine with this Good News of Hope that is for everyone. Please renew in me each day the everlasting hope that You promise, because it is this hope that will help me live the righteous and holy life You have called me to live.

Amen