A new heart . . . (Part A)

26“Moreover, I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; and I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh.27“I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes, and you will be careful to observe My ordinances.  Ezekiel 36:26-27

What do you do when you have been given a new heart?  What do you do when you have been given a new lease on life?  There have been times in my life that I have wanted to hit a “restart” button.  When I have messed things up so bad that in my opinion they can not be fixed.  You know those times, we all have them.  I feel like the old Robert Frost poem:

“Two roads diverged in a wood, and I, I took the one less traveled by, And that has made all the difference.”

When you reach my age you realize that each of the decisions you have been making along your journey truly has “made the difference.”  Unfortunately, you oftentimes do not realize the consequence of the decisions – long term; how they lead to others, limit some and set-up new ones.  You do not realize the shape that your life is taking, or how that little decision you made as you turned a bind in the road would really impact your life and those around you.  The word spoken or held in. The act done or not done.  The prayer prayed or not prayed.  They all affect where you are, and where you will be.

Here God gives the Israelites a “restart.”  When the Lord shows you this verse, and speaks it loud and clear to you . . . well . . . you get rather excited!  A “restart” is just what I needed!  And praise the Lord, the “restart” begins with a new heart!  From the heart all organs are nourished.  If the heart is sick, the whole body is ill.  If the heart stops, everything else dies.  The heart is the center.  I want to wax on about the heart.  I want to write something really deep.  But in all actuality After realizing that God was going to give a new heart, a heart of flesh (which can feel and live) from a heart of stone (which is dead), I wanted most to know HOW do I restart.

“I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes, and you will be careful to observe My ordinances.” 

Well like all things Godly it starts with Him.  Not surprised, for He says He is the one who gave you a new heart! So now He fills it!  Of COURSE! 

Oh Lord we magnify YOUR NAME! 

It starts and ends with HIM!  He fills us with HIS spirit and to what purpose?  To CAUSE us to walk in His statutes and to be careful to observe His ordinances.  A statute is the overall law.  An ordinance brings the law down to the individual in actions to do in fulfillment of the statute. 

Now before you start running around thinking that you will become little “Holy Spirit zombies” with God working all through you without you doing anything . . . stop.  The “cause” He is referring to is the overwhelming, impelling desire that rises up within you to do nothing BUT what God desires.  You cannot begin to imagine doing anything, going any direction other than the direction He sends you in!  Your desire is fulfilled by your doing JUST what HIS word says.  You stay in tune with Him.  You desire to read and understand His word.  You WANT to be in prayer.  You feed on His love for you.  You do what He does because being bathed in HIS Spirit is your continual desire and experience.  You are submitted to God.  You resist doing evil.  You are drawing near to Him and as such you experience what James writes about:

7 Submit therefore to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you.8 Draw near to God and He will draw near to you . . .  James 4:7-8

Awesome!  A new heart! A new walk! A new life! All in the presence of the one true living God, Creator of the Universe!  In personal relationship with you and I!

In Christ all things are new.  Hear His word to you this day.  Accept His new heart.  It is a gift you and I cannot afford to reject. 

Got it?

Got Word?

Love yah,