A Spiritual Heart Transplant!

“And I will give you a new heart – I will give you new and right desires – and put a new spirit within you. I will take out your stony hearts of sin and give you new hearts of love.”
Ezekiel 36:26 (TLB)

As a Christ follower, you have been given a new heart! He didn’t come to just patch up your old one. It was beyond repair!  You needed a heart transplant!  In Ezekiel 36:26 (TLB), the Bible says, “And I will give you a new heart – I will give you new and right desires – and put a new spirit within you. I will take out your stony hearts of sin and give you new hearts of love.”

Look at the contrast between these two hearts. Your natural heart is described in this passage as a “stony heart of sin.” Another translation describes it as a heart that is “self-willed.” Your new heart has “new and right desires…” It is “God-willed.” Have you noticed the changes He is making in you? You have a new Spirit in you. Your desires and attitudes have changed. You have a heart for God, a new heart of love!

As a consequence, you are no longer called a “sinner” in Scripture. You are called a “saint.” Over 2,363 times, believers are referred to as “saints” in the Bible. For example, in 1 Corinthians 1:2, Paul addresses the church in Corinth as "those sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints". This term is used in the New Testament to describe all believers in Christ, not just a select few who have achieved some higher level of holiness. This is your new identity in Christ! Satan can do nothing about your position in Christ. But if he can get you to believe you are no different from a non-Christian, then that’s the way you will live. If you still think of yourself as a sinner, you will continue to confess your sin and strive to do better, but you will continue to live a defeated life. You will lack the assurance of the salvation Christ died to give you if you believe that you are only part saint and part sinner.

You are not trying to become a saint as a Christian – You Are a Saint! Trying to become a saint is like trying to become a person. You either are a person or you are not. We are not trying to become children of God; we are children of God who are in the process of becoming like Christ. Your inner change happened when God gave you a new heart and a new Spirit. It happened the moment you trusted Christ as your Savior from sin. Are you trying to become something you already are? Being a saint doesn’t mean you won’t ever sin. It means you don’t have to sin. You have a new heart now, a new Spirit within you – the Holy Spirit, giving you new and right desires! This is a work of grace!  God gave you a new heart! Why not pause for a moment in prayer and thank Him?

Thank You, Father, for giving me a new heart and taking out my stony heart of sin. Your Spirit has given me new desires and the power to live for Jesus. I am so grateful that I don’t have to try to become a Christian, but that in Christ I can now be the Christian I have become!

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To read this devotional online or catch up on past ones, visit https://kerryshook.org/blog.

Another important part of your daily devotional is spending time with God in prayer. The Woodlands Church Prayer Board lists prayer requests submitted by our members and provides a way to send them some encouragement by using a button on the page to let them know that you prayed for them. Whether you use the Prayer Board, or pray from your heart, the goal is to build the habit of incorporating prayer into your quiet time.

Need prayer yourself? Let us know by submitting a prayer request on the Woodlands Church Prayer Board.