Today's Reading:O.T. - Ezra 9 - 10
N.T. - Hebrews 8
Focus Verses: Hebrews 8:10-12
10This is the covenant I will make with the house of Israel after that time, declares the Lord. I will put my laws in their minds and write them on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people. 11No longer will a man teach his neighbor, or a man his brother, saying, 'Know the Lord,' because they will all know me, from the least of them to the greatest. 12For I will forgive their wickedness and will remember their sins no more."
Insight:
External laws are not able to transform the heart and mind that opposes and resists them. Because God desires to forgive our sins, make us his people, and be our God, he declares that he will put his laws in our minds and write them on our hearts. Instead of doing good things to become God's people, God will make us his people in order to help us do good things. This is the covenant he makes with all who place faith in Christ Jesus.
Response and Action:
I need to surrender my heart and mind to God. I should expect him to change me and guide me. I must meditate on the Scriptures and prayerfully ask God to help me apply them to my daily life. I can't settle for a "behavior modification" approach to following Christ; I need my heart and mind to be changed so that Christ-like behavior will flow out from what I am in Jesus.
O God, you are my rock and my salvation. Forgive my wickedness and forget my sins. Save me from the inside out. Heal and transform my heart and mind. Be my God, and make me one of your people. Make me new by the power of your Holy Spirit. Amen.
Proverbs: 1:22-23
"How long will you simple ones love your simple ways? How long will mockers delight in mockery and fools hate knowledge? If you had responded to my rebuke, I would have poured out my heart to you and made my thoughts known to you."
Resources:
Renovation of the Heart
by Dallas Willard
