17“Therefore say: ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: I will gather you from the nations and bring you back from the countries where you have been scattered, and I will give you back the land of Israel again.’ 18“They will return to it and remove all its vile images and detestable idols. 19I will give them an undivided heart and put a new spirit in them; I will remove from them their heart of stone and give them a heart of flesh. 20Then they will follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws. They will be my people, and I will be their God. 21But as for those whose hearts are devoted to their vile images and detestable idols, I will bring down on their own heads what they have done, declares the Sovereign Lord.” (Ezekiel 11:17-21 NIV)
The Lord my God removed my heart of stone and replaced it with a heart of flesh. I just want to say, thank You Jesus. Before I responded to the Lord’s call upon my life, I viewed people simply as a commodity to be manipulated for my benefit. The way I saw it – we are all in it only for ourselves and the problems of others were just that – not my concern; as a matter of fact, I would think, those problems might just work to my benefit.
Over the past five plus years at Churchtown we have developed out own little tradition of slowing ourselves down during our time together and just checking in with each other. It’s more than prayer requests, more than “praise and prayer time;” we sit and talk with each other - sharing our hearts, and our triumphs, our concerns, and our fears, and today there was a great deal to talk about. It is comfortable and it is safe and it is a time inspired by Holy Spirit. We allow ourselves to be vulnerable, to be sad, to be angry, to be jubilant – and then we just pray… and pray…and pray.
I sat there today and was overwhelmed by love. The love of God and the love of people inspired by God; and I thought to myself that I do not believe that I could love people any more than I love these people today. Of course, the same thing and the same feelings happened last week also, and the week before, and the week before – and I simply can’t wait until next Sunday.
Life is hard, Pain is real – we get that; but we also get this… Redemption is real and Grace abounds. There is a bigger and if we open our hearts we will understand that it is beautiful and we are a part of it – regardless of our circumstances. The Lord my God removed my heart of stone and replaced it with a heart of flesh. I just want to say, thank You Jesus.
The Lord my God removed my heart of stone and replaced it with a heart of flesh. I just want to say, thank You Jesus. Before I responded to the Lord’s call upon my life, I viewed people simply as a commodity to be manipulated for my benefit. The way I saw it – we are all in it only for ourselves and the problems of others were just that – not my concern; as a matter of fact, I would think, those problems might just work to my benefit.
Over the past five plus years at Churchtown we have developed out own little tradition of slowing ourselves down during our time together and just checking in with each other. It’s more than prayer requests, more than “praise and prayer time;” we sit and talk with each other - sharing our hearts, and our triumphs, our concerns, and our fears, and today there was a great deal to talk about. It is comfortable and it is safe and it is a time inspired by Holy Spirit. We allow ourselves to be vulnerable, to be sad, to be angry, to be jubilant – and then we just pray… and pray…and pray.
I sat there today and was overwhelmed by love. The love of God and the love of people inspired by God; and I thought to myself that I do not believe that I could love people any more than I love these people today. Of course, the same thing and the same feelings happened last week also, and the week before, and the week before – and I simply can’t wait until next Sunday.
Life is hard, Pain is real – we get that; but we also get this… Redemption is real and Grace abounds. There is a bigger and if we open our hearts we will understand that it is beautiful and we are a part of it – regardless of our circumstances. The Lord my God removed my heart of stone and replaced it with a heart of flesh. I just want to say, thank You Jesus.
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