“A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you: and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you an heart of flesh. And I will put my spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes, and ye shall keep my judgments, and do them”. – Ezekiel 36: 26 & 27
By changing one thing, the Lord changes everything. God says: “a new heart I will give you.” The scripture also says in Proverbs: “Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life.” By changing the heart, he changes the life.
With spring comes spring cleaning. Taking advantage of the nice weather and longer days to sweep through the house, garage, shed, and purge out the old so that the new can abide. For many, the standard of “clean” or “organized” simply means that you can find whatever you’re looking for, without tripping over something. Therefore, when it is time to clean, the task is daunting and overwhelming. Sin is much the same, and the devil is quick to point out how “messy” our lives are. Quick to tell us that we have sinned too much, disobeyed too much, and failed God over and over. That we are unloved and forgotten. Yet Christ is there, and ready to clean house. He is powerful enough to purge out every sin and come abide within. When Jesus moves in, he changes our heart. We love what He loves and hates what He hates. We love righteousness and hate evil. We love holiness and hate sin. By changing one thing, Christ changes everything. What you love defines you, drives you. Where you go, what you want, what you choose; it all springs from love. When Christ takes the old heart and gives you a new one it is one simple step that alters your whole life. Your life can be an absolute mess, but Christ can clean it up. This is not an impossible task, or a long-drawn-out process. It is an immediate, instantaneous, emancipation. When you humble and repent of your sins, Christ forgives and cleanses the heart, immediately. Then you pray to the Father to be filled with the Holy Ghost, and that Holy Ghost is Christ in you the hope of glory. The new heart within because Jesus is within.
God will take away the old stony heart, that old heart that is inclined to sin and “prone to wander.” Then he will give you a new heart. He will do it, in a moment, if you let him. There are some things that may not immediately change. Your bank account, weight, hairline, but the most important things will change: your perspective, desire, disposition, focus. Living in sin is a one-way ticket to hell, living with Christ within is the passport to heaven. Every Christian has a "once a sinner" part in their testimony. We were all once sinners, then Christ came and cleaned house. Once a sinner, now a child of the King. He will change one thing, which will change everything……If you seek, repent, and invite the Holy Ghost into your heart.
