June 16 - Written on Their Hearts

Today's Reading:
Jeremiah 31:27-32:44
Revelation 19:1-21
Proverbs 6:30-35 
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Focus Verses: Jeremiah 31:33-34
33 "This is the covenant I will make with the house of Israel after that time," declares the LORD. "I will put my law in their minds and write it on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people. 34 No 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," declares the LORD. "For I will forgive their wickedness and will remember their sins no more."

Insight:
Jeremiah's message of restoration and renewal includes God's promise to make a new covenant with his people. This new covenant includes transformation of the heart. God promises he will not only forgive the sins of his people, but will also renovate their hearts in such a way that their desires and wills are in line with his desires and will. The writer of Hebrews tells us that Jesus is the fulfillment of Jeremiah's prophecy (Hebrews 10). Forgiveness and transformation of the heart are found in Jesus.

Response and Action:
I want to take hold of God's promise and experience the new covenant by surrendering my heart to Christ and putting my faith for life in him. God has given me more than a list of rules and expectations; he has given me the gift of his Holy Spirit. The Spirit will guide me into truth and strengthen me to live according to God's will and purpose for my life. I will draw near to God through prayer, reading and meditating upon the Scriptures, and fellowship with Christian friends who encourage me and spur me on toward love and good deeds.

O God, I have confidence in you and your promises to forgive, renew, and transform me. Thank you for the new and living way I have found in Christ. By the power and grace of your Holy Spirit, lead, teach, transform, shape, and strengthen me that I might delight in your will and walk in your ways to the glory of your name. Amen.

Spiritual Formation Verses: Hebrews 10:19-23
19 Therefore, brothers and sisters, since we have confidence to enter the Most Holy Place by the blood of Jesus, 20 by a new and living way opened for us through the curtain, that is, his body, 21 and since we have a great priest over the house of God, 22 let us draw near to God with a sincere heart and with the full assurance that faith brings, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and having our bodies washed with pure water. 23 Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful.

Resources:
Renovation of the Heart: Putting on the Character of Christ
by Dallas Willard