Replacement!

Replacement!

‭Ezekiel 36:26 NIV‬

[26] I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh.

There is one statement that has been true for all ages, and will be true until the Lord returns and this earthly phase ends, and it is "God loves the sinner but hates sin". It does not matter how much you try to spin it; God's love for us is undeniable, yet His hatred of sin is also quite clear, both in the severity of the punishment that was prescribed for sin, and the high price He paid to secure deliverance from the power of sin. When you consider all these, you just have to hate what God hates and love what He loves. If He says He hates sin, and you want to enjoy His favour, you cannot afford to toy with sin. Men who have walked with God, like Joseph, will flee from any appearance of sin. 

The children of Israel were God's chosen people, kept by Him and given a beautiful land to inhabit, yet due to sin and familiarity, they rebelled against God. He punished them in line with His Word, and nations which had not been able to face them conquered the land and took them into exile. However, even in punishment, the mercy of God would not let go. He had punished, yet, He was seeking the restoration of the land. I must also be careful of taking the mercy of God for granted. What is the guarantee that there will be a second opportunity to repent and return? While I have time, I must check my ways, and deal with the root of sin, before it roots me away from eternal life with God. 

From the verse above, God acknowledges the issue with man's heart, and He promises a new heart and a new spirit. God knows that he cannot use the unbroken, unregenerated heart of man. In its natural state, the bible says the heart of mam is deceitful above all things and desperately wicked. The heart of stone is not malleable; it cannot be written on easily. The heart of flesh is one that can be written on with ease, and the work of God upon such a heart will be visible. It is only by total surrender that God can do such a work in me. He will not force Himself on me or go against the exercise of my freewill, but know this: there are eternal consequences for every choice made. Before it is too late, make sure your heart has been worked on by God. God's time of favour is here.