Post by forgiven on Feb 22, 2005 4:17:20 GMT -5
Title: A Heart to Know God
Author: Woodrow Kroll
Jeremiah 24:7
"Then I will give them a heart to know Me, that I
am the Lord; and they shall be My people, and I
will be their God, for they shall return to Me
with their whole heart."
A Heart to Know God
A few years ago Kelly Perkins could hardly walk
around the block, let alone climb a mountain. In
1995, however, she was the recipient of a heart
transplant. Two years later she became the first
heart-transplant patient to climb Mount Whitney,
the highest mountain in the 48 contiguous states.
Thanks to a new heart, the 36-year-old real
estate appraiser was able to reach the top and
return within three days. All this was done
without any ill effects. What the old heart could
never have accomplished, the new one did easily.
God promised that His people would someday
receive a new heart as well. In place of their
old, sin-clogged spiritual cardiovascular system,
they would receive a new heart that would enable
them to love the Lord and follow Him. This could
not be accomplished by "reworking" the heart they
already had, however. Israel needed a heart
transplant and only God could do it.
This promise was fulfilled in the Lord Jesus
Christ. When we receive Christ as our Savior,
whether we are a Jew or a Gentile, God doesn't
simply patch up the weak spots or plaster over
the cracks. He doesn't simply remodel our old
lives. He gives us new lives. He makes us into
completely new creatures in Christ (2 Cor. 5:17).
And that includes a new spiritual heart. What the
old heart couldn't do, the new heart is able to
accomplish with joy. Through the work of God's
Spirit in your new heart, you can know and obey
the Lord Jesus in a way that never could have
been achieved with the old.
Give thanks to God for your new heart. Rejoice
that now you can not only seek the Lord with all
your heart, but you can obey Him with all your
heart as well.
Only God can perform a spiritual heart
transplant.
Author: Woodrow Kroll
Jeremiah 24:7
"Then I will give them a heart to know Me, that I
am the Lord; and they shall be My people, and I
will be their God, for they shall return to Me
with their whole heart."
A Heart to Know God
A few years ago Kelly Perkins could hardly walk
around the block, let alone climb a mountain. In
1995, however, she was the recipient of a heart
transplant. Two years later she became the first
heart-transplant patient to climb Mount Whitney,
the highest mountain in the 48 contiguous states.
Thanks to a new heart, the 36-year-old real
estate appraiser was able to reach the top and
return within three days. All this was done
without any ill effects. What the old heart could
never have accomplished, the new one did easily.
God promised that His people would someday
receive a new heart as well. In place of their
old, sin-clogged spiritual cardiovascular system,
they would receive a new heart that would enable
them to love the Lord and follow Him. This could
not be accomplished by "reworking" the heart they
already had, however. Israel needed a heart
transplant and only God could do it.
This promise was fulfilled in the Lord Jesus
Christ. When we receive Christ as our Savior,
whether we are a Jew or a Gentile, God doesn't
simply patch up the weak spots or plaster over
the cracks. He doesn't simply remodel our old
lives. He gives us new lives. He makes us into
completely new creatures in Christ (2 Cor. 5:17).
And that includes a new spiritual heart. What the
old heart couldn't do, the new heart is able to
accomplish with joy. Through the work of God's
Spirit in your new heart, you can know and obey
the Lord Jesus in a way that never could have
been achieved with the old.
Give thanks to God for your new heart. Rejoice
that now you can not only seek the Lord with all
your heart, but you can obey Him with all your
heart as well.
Only God can perform a spiritual heart
transplant.