Heart Transplants
November 19, 2019 • Rosemarie Pagano • Jeremiah 17:9–10, Ezekiel 11:19–20, Matthew 15:19
You’ve probably heard the phrase, “Just follow your heart!” or “Listen to your heart!” These seem like cheerful, loving sentiments, don’t they? The only problem is, apart from Jesus, our hearts are sinful, and they are definitely not worth following or listening to. . In Jeremiah 17:9, the human heart is described as “deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked.” Later, Jesus said that it isn’t what goes into a man that defiles him, but what comes out of a man (Matthew 15:11). And these are not the only verses in the Bible that refer to the heart! Ultimately, some of the meanest and most evil things in the world come out of the human heart. That means we all have a kind of heart trouble because our personalities come from the heart, the center of our being. . Similar to how cardiac surgeons can remove a failing physical heart and replace it with a healthier donor heart, our Lord can give us new hearts through the Holy Spirit. When we come to Him through faith, He gives us new life. We are born again and given a new nature—a heart transplant (2 Corinthians 5:17). The Great Physician replaces our sinful and stony heart with a heart of flesh. He has been performing spiritual heart transplants for a long time, so no case is too complicated for Him! What good news! • Rosemarie Pagano . • What surprised you in today’s reading? . • If you have questions about what it means to have a new heart through Jesus, check out our "Know Jesus" page. . Then I will give them one heart, and I will put a new spirit within them, and take the stony heart out of their flesh, and give them a heart of flesh. Ezekiel 11:19 (NKJV)
The Valley of Silence
November 8, 2019 • Sarah Rexford • Jeremiah 17:7–8, Psalm 136:16
Sometimes it’s easier to ask where God is than to consider what the silence really means. . There are so many stories in the Bible of God using people in major ways. Moses led thousands of people from slavery, Joseph saved his known world from starvation, not to mention Jesus Himself making a way to save the world—past, present, and future—from sin and death. . What we often ignore are the stories before the story. God took Moses to an actual wilderness before taking him before Pharaoh. Joseph went to the wilderness of slavery before leading Egypt from starvation. Jesus fasted in the wilderness for forty days before starting His ministry, one that would make a way for salvation for humankind. . Often, Jesus takes us through a wilderness before using us. The key word there is through. He doesn’t just take us to the wilderness and leave us there. No, the wilderness is a training ground. And training grounds are meant for us to pass through, not to stay in. In His faithful timing, God will lead us not just to the wilderness but through it. . Wildernesses can feel like valleys of isolation and silence. But remember that even in the valley, the Holy Spirit is growing our roots into Christ (Romans 5:1-5; Colossians 2:6-7). . So, if God seems silent, draw in close to Him. Closeness with God requires dropping our walls and getting silent sometimes. It’s often in the silence that we hear God’s truth—the good news of Jesus Christ (John 14:6; Philippians 1:6). When we hear truth, we are trained in truth. And it’s only after we’ve been trained in truth that we can go out from the valley and onto the battlefield in confidence. . Psalm 32:7 says God surrounds us with “shouts of deliverance.” So, embrace the valley for the training ground it is, then go out and conquer as a member of Christ’s kingdom—God’s shouts of deliverance leading the way! • Sarah Rexford . • How has Jesus used valleys in your life to deepen your relationship with Him? . • We talked about how intimacy requires dropping our walls. What walls make it difficult for you personally to hear Jesus in your everyday life? . He led his people in the wilderness. His faithful love endures forever. Psalm 136:16 (CSB)