Good morning -
I remember the first heart transplant. It took place on my birthday several years ago. A man with a badly diseased heart was given a fresh, healthy one. The procedure was considered successful even though the patient died a few days later. Medical advances since have allowed numerous people to live relatively normal lives with transplanted healthy hearts beating in their chests.
You and I once suffered from a serious heart condition. It was serious enough to be terminal if drastic measures were not taken. Nothing less than a transplant would save us, and that's exactly the procedure performed on us:
"And I will give them one heart, and put a new spirit within them. And I will 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." (Ezekiel 11:19-20)
We hear plenty today about the harmful effects of cholesterol on our heart and arteries. Over time cholesterol builds up and restricts our arteries and the vital flow of blood. Sin has the tendency to do basically the same to us spiritually. Over time the habitual practice of sin has a calcifying effect on our hearts; it diminishes spiritual sensitivity to the point of eventually causing us to be totally unresponsive. Nothing less than a heart transplant will save us.
The promise of God through Ezekiel has been accomplished through the life and sacrifice of Jesus our Lord. The most radical procedure of all was performed on us so that we might have new life. We have been saved from the certainty of death and given abundant, vibrant new life.
Heart by-pass procedures are routinely performed these days because of our dietary practices, but the benefits are often short-lived because lifestyle changes are not made. Radical surgery is ineffective if lifestyle changes are not made.
It is a great spiritual tragedy when the benefits of a heart transplant are diminished through the habitual practice of sin. This practice will eventually lead to death (Hebrews 10:26-27). Lifestyle changes must accompany the heart transplant that we have received.
All of us are prone to our favorite sin. There is a sinful practice that we each are especially vulnerable to, and that is the arena of our great personal spiritual battle. It is imperative that we master that habit by the Spirit of God if we are to avoid rendering the work of Christ in us ineffective.
I'm thankful for my new heart in Christ, and I seek to appreciate it by doing battle with sin through the Spirit. I know that I will not completely avoid sin today, but mastering the practice of sin is possible. The new heart within provides the life and power to overcome.
Rejoicing in spiritual life through the beating of my new heart,
Pastor Steve
I remember the first heart transplant. It took place on my birthday several years ago. A man with a badly diseased heart was given a fresh, healthy one. The procedure was considered successful even though the patient died a few days later. Medical advances since have allowed numerous people to live relatively normal lives with transplanted healthy hearts beating in their chests.
You and I once suffered from a serious heart condition. It was serious enough to be terminal if drastic measures were not taken. Nothing less than a transplant would save us, and that's exactly the procedure performed on us:
"And I will give them one heart, and put a new spirit within them. And I will 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." (Ezekiel 11:19-20)
We hear plenty today about the harmful effects of cholesterol on our heart and arteries. Over time cholesterol builds up and restricts our arteries and the vital flow of blood. Sin has the tendency to do basically the same to us spiritually. Over time the habitual practice of sin has a calcifying effect on our hearts; it diminishes spiritual sensitivity to the point of eventually causing us to be totally unresponsive. Nothing less than a heart transplant will save us.
The promise of God through Ezekiel has been accomplished through the life and sacrifice of Jesus our Lord. The most radical procedure of all was performed on us so that we might have new life. We have been saved from the certainty of death and given abundant, vibrant new life.
Heart by-pass procedures are routinely performed these days because of our dietary practices, but the benefits are often short-lived because lifestyle changes are not made. Radical surgery is ineffective if lifestyle changes are not made.
It is a great spiritual tragedy when the benefits of a heart transplant are diminished through the habitual practice of sin. This practice will eventually lead to death (Hebrews 10:26-27). Lifestyle changes must accompany the heart transplant that we have received.
All of us are prone to our favorite sin. There is a sinful practice that we each are especially vulnerable to, and that is the arena of our great personal spiritual battle. It is imperative that we master that habit by the Spirit of God if we are to avoid rendering the work of Christ in us ineffective.
I'm thankful for my new heart in Christ, and I seek to appreciate it by doing battle with sin through the Spirit. I know that I will not completely avoid sin today, but mastering the practice of sin is possible. The new heart within provides the life and power to overcome.
Rejoicing in spiritual life through the beating of my new heart,
Pastor Steve
posted by steve @ 9:23 AM
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