God's Holy Fire: 'A New Heart!'

Tuesday, March 5, 2024

[God, to the Israelite exiles in Babylon:] "I'll give you a new heart, put a new spirit in you. I'll remove the stone heart from your body and replace it with a heart that's God-willed, not self-willed. I'll put my Spirit in you and make it possible for you to do what I tell you and live by my commands."
— Ezekiel 36:26-27 MESSAGE

Key Thought

Sometimes, I'm afraid that "stone heart" and "self-willed" describe me. And when I check around, I find most folks don't believe that people can really change who they are, at least not deep down inside. But I've seen God move in me and change me through his Spirit. I believe he can and will do it again. And I believe he can do it in more than just me — he can move and change each of our hearts. So let's not just ask for our hearts to be softened, but let's ask to have our hard hearts replaced and remade by the Spirit of God. Let's ask that the Spirit work on us to mold our wills to be like the Father's and not like our own selfish yearnings. Then, I believe, we will see more practice in ourselves of what the Father wants rather than our pontificating on what others need to do!

Today's Prayer

Almighty God, remake me and form me to have a heart like Jesus. I confess that this request scares me a bit, but I do want your Spirit to hold sway over my life; so humble me gently and reform me consistently, and remake me from the heart to be who you want me to be. In Jesus' name, I pray. Amen.

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Illustration

Illustration of Ezekiel 36:26-27 MESSAGE — "I'll give you a new heart, put a new spirit in you."

About This Devotional

God's Holy Fire is a daily devotional about the work of the Holy Spirit in our lives.

The Thoughts and Prayer for God's Holy Fire are written by Phil Ware.

Scripture quotations marked (NIV) are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.™ Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide.
Scripture quotations marked MESSAGE are taken from THE MESSAGE, copyright © 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002 by Eugene H. Peterson. Used by permission of NavPress. All rights reserved. Represented by Tyndale House Publishers, Inc.

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