Inspirations: Rev. Vernon Ware, Living Purpose Class, The Books of Ezekiel, Hebrews, Ephesians, Philipians, and 2nd Thessalonians...
NOTE: This was actually a Lil' Son Chronicle, but fits perfectly within the LP Series... ENJOY!
Ezekiel 36: 26-38
26 I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh.
27 And I will put my Spirit in you and move you to follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws.
28 You will live in the land I gave your forefathers; you will be my people, and I will be your God.
29 I will save you from all your uncleanness. I will call for the grain and make it plentiful and will not bring famine upon you.
30 I will increase the fruit of the trees and the crops of the field, so that you will no longer suffer disgrace among the nations because of famine.
31 Then you will remember your evil ways and wicked deeds, and you will loathe yourselves for your sins and detestable practices.
32 I want you to know that I am not doing this for your sake, declares the Sovereign LORD. Be ashamed and disgraced for your conduct, O house of Israel!
33 " 'This is what the Sovereign LORD says: On the day I cleanse you from all your sins, I will resettle your towns, and the ruins will be rebuilt.
34 The desolate land will be cultivated instead of lying desolate in the sight of all who pass through it.
35 They will say, "This land that was laid waste has become like the garden of Eden; the cities that were lying in ruins, desolate and destroyed, are now fortified and inhabited."
36 Then the nations around you that remain will know that I the LORD have rebuilt what was destroyed and have replanted what was desolate. I the LORD have spoken, and I will do it.'
37 "This is what the Sovereign LORD says: Once again I will yield to the plea of the house of Israel and do this for them: I will make their people as numerous as sheep,
38 as numerous as the flocks for offerings at Jerusalem during her appointed feasts. So will the ruined cities be filled with flocks of people. Then they will know that I am the LORD."
The heart. An important organ in our bodies…yet if we don't take care of ourselves it can become damaged. Many things can cause a damaged heart. The worse; when we become bitter and cold to ourselves and others. A cold and harden heart is created when we are hurt or been wronged. And now because we want to protect ourselves from anything our hearts become even more harden and cold.
But here is the deal: How do you expect to rise above with a cold heart?
Hebrews 3:7-11
7 So, as the Holy Spirit says: "Today, if you hear his voice,
8 Do not harden your hearts as you did in the rebellion, during the time of testing in the desert,
9 Where your fathers tested and tried me and for forty years saw what I did.
10 That is why I was angry with that generation, and I said, 'Their hearts are always going astray, and they have not known my ways.'
11 So I declared on oath in my anger, 'They shall never enter my rest.' "
Here, Hebrews is saying simply that we refuse to hear from God, because of the hardened heart and when we refuse God, we can not receive the blessings that He has for us. Something as simple as saying hello to a person that you have an issue with or being a help to someone can open a flood gate of blessings from the Lord. But because of our stubborn ways, we hold ourselves back. So when we get to a point in where we are tired of this feeling, what do we do? In comes the transplant. Now the transplant isn't that easy. An organ transplant is the moving of a whole or partial organ from one body to another, for the purpose of replacing the recipient's damaged or failing organ with a working one from the donor site. And while this seems great there's a risk of rejection. Your body may reject the new heart because it is a foreign object.
But take it to a spiritual level. You ask the Lord to create in you a new heart and spirit. And that's great. But in turn you reject this new heart and spirit, because you are not willing to let go of the old ways and past oppression. This new heart and spirit is here to make you a new creature in the name of Jesus. But your body and mind are in the name of the world and the two can't function.
And yes the spirit of God will overpower, but you must make the decision to let go of the strongholds and to allow God's spirit to overpower and to take control. It's a lesson that is constantly being fine tuned. Once this occurs you notice that you are now seeing things and people in a different perspective and that you can't do everything that you did once before. And believe me this is a lesson that I am learning even now. It's hard and difficult especially with temptations of the world. But here's some Word to help.
Ephesians 3:16-20
16 I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being,
17 So that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love,
18 May have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ,
19 And to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.
Focus on verse 17. Being rooted and established.
Are we willing to take baby steps? As a baby, before you can form sentences you must first learn to speak. Before you can walk you must first learn to crawl.
When we come into the presence of God, before we can get to the blessings we must show ourselves approval. Meaning (and I say this to myself also) read the Word, study the Word, apply the Word to our lives. Pray, pray, pray and pray some more. And Praise and praise and yet praise even more. In doing this, the new heart and spirit in the vessel can then become relaxed and together can grow in the Lord.
Once we have got onto this routine or rather duty:
Philippians 4:7
7 And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
2 Thessalonians 2: 16-17
16 May our Lord Jesus Christ himself and God our Father, who loved us and by his grace gave us eternal encouragement and good hope,
17 Encourage your hearts and strengthen you in every good deed and word.
So now we won't have to be concerned with protecting our hearts, because God said that he would Guard our hearts and in addition to that He will encourage and strengthen our hearts.
But you gotta be willing to let go. Are you ready for the transplant? Will you reject the new heart and spirit?
THOUGHT: Unconditional love will guard, encourage, and strengthen a restricted heart, a broken vessel and a confined soul. ~ Vincent A. Davis, Jr...
Father God:
I thank You for all that You have done, doing, and will do. You woke us up this morning and started us out on a new day... full of grace, mercy and most importantly, Your Love. Father God, for a moment, clear our minds of thoughts of all kinds, so that we can make the decision to choose You. Lord those that are dealing with heavy hearts, I pray that You would lift them up and remind Your Children that You Love them first, the most, and always... Bless us on this day Lord with lessons; though tough, but will lead us to prosperity in the walk with You.
In Jesus Name... Amen.
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