Verse of the Day 10/2

Verse of the Day 10/2

Ezekiel 36:26-27   And I will give you a new heart, and I will put a new spirit in you. I will take out your stony, stubborn heart and give you a tender, responsive heart. 27 And I will put my Spirit in you so that you will follow my decrees and be careful to obey my regulations.  

New Living Translation (NLT)

This morning's verses came up in my daily reading in the Old Testament.  They reveal what God can do for a nation and us as individuals if we will turn to Him.  He will replace our hard, calloused heart with one that is tender and compassionate.

As you read through the Old Testament you can see how the nation of Israel had its ups and downs; sometimes following the Lord wholeheartedly but most often they were prone to wander.  But God did not abandon them and He will not abandon us as His children.  When we return to Him, answer His call on our lives He will cleanse and purify us and enable us to do what He is calling us to do, to love one another with a tender responsive heart.

It is interesting that in my study Bible there are no notes or explanations for these verses.  I believe that it is because it is so straightforward that it doesn't require in depth analysis.  We just need to let the Word speak to us, after it all it is "living and active" (Hebrews 4:12).

Read the passage below.  If you are "prone to wander", He's calling to you to answer His call and give you what you need, a tender responsive heart.

Come Thou fount of every blessing
Tune my heart to sing Thy grace;
Streams of mercy, never ceasing,
Call for songs of loudest praise
Teach me some melodious sonnet,
Sung by flaming tongues above.
Praise the mount! I'm fixed upon it,
Mount of God's unchanging love.

Here I raise my Ebenezer;
Hither by Thy help I'm come;
And I hope, by Thy good pleasure,
Safely to arrive at home.
Jesus sought me when a stranger,
Wandering from the fold of God;

He, to rescue me from danger,

Interposed His precious blood.

--   In Christ,  Mike    Folllow the Verse of the Day blog at http://mikesvotd.blogspot.com  Ephesians 1:7 In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins,  in accordance with the riches of God's grace.  NIV

Ezekiel 36:22-30 New King James Version (NKJV)

²² "Therefore say to the house of Israel, 'Thus says the Lord God: "I do not do this for your sake, O house of Israel, but for My holy name's sake, which you have profaned among the nations wherever you went. ²³ And I will sanctify My great name, which has been profaned among the nations, which you have profaned in their midst; and the nations shall know that I am the Lord," says the Lord God, "when I am hallowed in you before their eyes. ²⁴ For I will take you from among the nations, gather you out of all countries, and bring you into your own land. ²⁵ Then I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you shall be clean; I will cleanse you from all your filthiness and from all your idols. ²⁶ I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; I will take the heart of stone out of your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. ²⁷ I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes, and you will keep My judgments and do them. ²⁸ Then you shall dwell in the land that I gave to your fathers; you shall be My people, and I will be your God. ²⁹ I will deliver you from all your uncleannesses. I will call for the grain and multiply it, and bring no famine upon you. ³⁰ And I will multiply the fruit of your trees and the increase of your fields, so that you need never again bear the reproach of famine among the nations.