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Getting a Heart Transplant
Have you had a heart check lately? I am not referring to your physical heart which pumps lifeblood into your veins. I am talking about that invisible heart we refer to when we describe the center of our feelings, values, and character. Do you think you have a good heart, a kind heart? I thought my heart was okay until I read this startling passage in Jeremiah 17:19, “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick; who can understand it?” Another version says the heart is “beyond cure.” Wow, heavy words! Doesn’t that prick your pride? Desperately sick? Hey, I have my off moments but I can’t be that bad.
But the more I read the Bible, the more I realize what the verse is saying. It is about the natural condition of our hearts. Take a look at little children. We don’t have to teach them to fight with their playmates, throw tantrums, break things, or grab toys from their little sister. But we have to teach them to behave, listen to daddy, give, forgive, be nice to other kids. Without discipline and instruction, we will have runaway brats and anarchy. It is in our nature to be selfish, proud, jealous, or angry. Look at the world. It is overrun by crime, lust, wars, corruption, and greed. It all begins in the human heart. Romans 3:23 says, “For all men have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.”
But God so loves us that He sent His one and only Son to be our Savior, our donor to give us a heart transplant. Jesus took our hard, sinful hearts on the Cross, endured our punishment and pain, and suffered cardiac arrest in our place. But He rose again to offer us a new life and heart--His own gentle, gracious heart, able to love God and others.
God says in Ezekiel 36:26, “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 your heart of flesh.”
Would you want that? It can begin by saying a simple prayer like this: “Lord Jesus, forgive me. I surrender my life to you. Take away my sick, sinful heart and give me your good, pure and loving heart. Every day, teach me your ways and make me more like you.”
God bless your heart with His peace and joy!
Have you had a heart check lately? I am not referring to your physical heart which pumps lifeblood into your veins. I am talking about that invisible heart we refer to when we describe the center of our feelings, values, and character. Do you think you have a good heart, a kind heart? I thought my heart was okay until I read this startling passage in Jeremiah 17:19, “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick; who can understand it?” Another version says the heart is “beyond cure.” Wow, heavy words! Doesn’t that prick your pride? Desperately sick? Hey, I have my off moments but I can’t be that bad.
But the more I read the Bible, the more I realize what the verse is saying. It is about the natural condition of our hearts. Take a look at little children. We don’t have to teach them to fight with their playmates, throw tantrums, break things, or grab toys from their little sister. But we have to teach them to behave, listen to daddy, give, forgive, be nice to other kids. Without discipline and instruction, we will have runaway brats and anarchy. It is in our nature to be selfish, proud, jealous, or angry. Look at the world. It is overrun by crime, lust, wars, corruption, and greed. It all begins in the human heart. Romans 3:23 says, “For all men have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.”
But God so loves us that He sent His one and only Son to be our Savior, our donor to give us a heart transplant. Jesus took our hard, sinful hearts on the Cross, endured our punishment and pain, and suffered cardiac arrest in our place. But He rose again to offer us a new life and heart--His own gentle, gracious heart, able to love God and others.
God says in Ezekiel 36:26, “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 your heart of flesh.”
Would you want that? It can begin by saying a simple prayer like this: “Lord Jesus, forgive me. I surrender my life to you. Take away my sick, sinful heart and give me your good, pure and loving heart. Every day, teach me your ways and make me more like you.”
God bless your heart with His peace and joy!
About this Plan
Engage in a personal reflection and conversation with God as you read through His words. Join Peter Kairuz (host of The 700 Club Asia) and together let us examine our hearts today.
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We would like to thank CBN Asia and Peter Kairuz for providing this devotional. For more information, please visit: http://www.cbnasia.org/peterkairuz
