Ezekiel

August 16th – Ezekiel 36:26

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Week 3 – Embracing Renewal (Ezekiel 36:26)

Before we receive Jesus as our Savior we walk around with hearts of stone. They’re hardened against God, resistant to His will, and entrenched in disobedience. But the moment we make Jesus the Lord of our lives and accept His free gift of salvation, a miraculous transformation begins. God replaces our stony hearts with hearts of flesh. The Holy Spirit of God moves into our hearts and starts the beautiful process of renewal. Painstakingly, He chips away at the sinful layers, breaking down the hardness that once defined us. With each chisel of grace He softens our hearts, molding them to reflect the love and compassion of Christ. What was once rigid and unfeeling becomes tender and responsive to God’s Word. Our hearts, once cold and distant, are now alive. They beat with the warmth of God’s love and the desire to live in obedience to Him. This transformation is not just a change of heart but a complete renewal of our entire being, aligning us with God’s will and filling us with His Spirit.

Questions For Reflection –

  1. How can we actively invite the Holy Spirit to continue transforming our hearts from stone to flesh, allowing God’s love and grace to soften us and guide our actions?
  1. In what areas of our lives do we still hold onto a hardened heart, and how can we surrender those areas to God, trusting Him to replace them with a heart that reflects His love and obedience?

God takes our hearts of stone and carves them into hearts of love, shaping us with His grace. 🙏🏻❤️

August 16th – Ezekiel 36:26 Read More »

January 27th – Ezekiel 11:19

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Ezekiel 11:19

When it comes to making a change, receiving Jesus as our Savior is the very best one we can make. For it not only transforms our present, but most importantly our future. The moment we accept the Lord’s invitation and welcome Him into our hearts, a most wonderful thing begins to happen. The Holy Spirit immediately sets up shop within us. He gets to work chipping away at our heart of stone, and lovingly mends the broken pieces. Breathing new life into our spirits, God’s Holy Spirit replaces our hardness with tenderness and infuses us with His divine presence. The result is a masterpiece of grace, love, and redemption, where the old is replaced by the new, and the beauty of Christ radiates from within us. Embracing this change is to step into a life overflowing with the richness of divine transformation and the joy of living in the light of God’s glory. For in the hands of the Holy Spirit, we become vessels of His love, grace, and power, radiating His light and reflecting His image to a world in need of redemption.

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January 21st – Ezekiel 36:26

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Ezekiel 36:26

We are all born selfish. Self preservation, and self interest are hardwired into our biology. As babies we cry to have our needs met. And as children we throw tantrums when we don’t get our way. Sadly, some people never grow from this state of self centered to selflessness. Sadder still, the attitude of “me first” is celebrated by the world in which we live. But that’s no way for Christians to live. We follow Jesus Christ. The One who sacrificed everything to give us everything. And our hearts should overflow with gratitude for the love He so generously gives. Because the love of Jesus is amazing. It has the power to change us from selfish individuals to selfless servants of others. It inspires us to look beyond our own needs and see the struggles and pain of those around us. And as we experience and His love and compassion, we’ll find our hearts grow with empathy, kindness, and a genuine desire to serve and uplift others. We’ll be reshaped into His image and lead a life of love that truly glorifies Him.

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June 8th – Ezekiel 18:31-32

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Ezekiel 18:31-32

“Rid yourselves of all the offenses you have committed, and get a new heart and a new spirit. Why will you die, people of Israel? For I take no pleasure in the death of anyone, declares the Sovereign Lord. Repent and live!”

During the Jewish festival of Rosh Hashanah, a musical horn called a “shofar” is blown. And the sound is a wake-up call to “Teshuvah”. Teshuvah is the act of repenting and turning back to the Lord. To give up the destruction of sin and live! Of the many awesome attributes of God, one of the greatest is love. And no more is His love demonstrated than in His gift of repentance. From the beginning, it has always been God’s desire that we all practice “Teshuva” and receive His gift of forgiveness and restoration. His heart aches for the wicked to turn aside from the path of sin which leads to death, and back to Him and everlasting life. Repentance isn’t always easy, but through the power of Holy Spirit, doable. That means we have the ability to not only feel sorry for our sin but to turn aside from that sin. So wake up! The Day of the Lord is near! Blow the Shofar! Repent and Live!

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May 17th – Ezekiel 36:8

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Ezekiel 36:8

The land of Israel was nothing more than a malaria filled swampland. It suffered years of destruction and desolation. Yet God promised to bring His people back home. And in 1900, He did just that. Now today there are over 5 million, and growing, Jews living in their homeland. A homeland that is longer uninhabitable. Instead, God has made it beautiful and bountiful again. Once more a land of milk and honey, God kept His promise to His people. Because God keep His promises to all of His people, including us. So when He pledges a great transformation in our lives when we receive Jesus as our Savior, He means it! Once we too were as desolate as Israel. Full of dead bones and withered branches that produced no fruit. But just like He did with the promised land, God will do for us. No matter how useless, barren, or broken we feel, if we let Him, the Lord can and will turn us into lush, bountiful, abundant fruit trees who produce a surplus of good fruit for His kingdom.

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May 11th – Ezekiel 11:19

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Ezekiel 11:19

I used to be confused by Ezekiel 11:19. I mean I understood why God would remove our hearts of stone. But why would He replace them with hearts of flesh? After all, isn’t the flesh the very thing we fight against? Then I learned that when God speaks of a heart of flesh, He’s referring to a heart that is soft and receptive to His will. One that is eager and willing to obey and follow the Lord. And a heart that loves others with a true, Christlike love. That’s the heart I want. Which is why everyday, I pray for a heart transplant. For God to remove my wicked heart of stone, and replace it with the heart of Jesus. To make me a new creation in Christ, and to give me the power to live a life that glorifies Him. Why? Because I once read that our human hearts were created to mirror the heart of our Creator. And since the attributes of God’s heart include love, mercy, compassion, and justice, those are the attributes I want!

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September 17th – Ezekiel 3:9

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Ezekiel 3:9

In times of old, watchmen were placed on city walls and in towers overlooking fields. Always at their post, these watchmen were ready to sound the warning bell when danger was near. God called the prophet Ezekiel to be a watchman for the unrepentant house of Israel. A call He gives to us as well. We are to be on constant guard, blowing the trumpet of warning to an unrepentant world. Cautioning all about the danger of rejecting God’s gift of salvation, choosing instead to live in rebellion and disobedience. Not a popular message in today’s society of “if it feels good, do it!” But a message desperately needed all the same. God gave Ezekiel strength harder than flint to see His will done, and the courage to deliver His message. And when we walk in obedience, God will do the same for us. Because the Lord never asks anything of anyone without providing the means to accomplish the task at hand!

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Reporting For Duty – Ezekiel 1-5

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Ezekiel, whose name means “God strengthens, was a priest who, along with his fellow Jewish captives, lived in exile by the river Chebar. He was called to prophecy after receiving visions from God. Ezekiel saw the heavens opened and the divine glory of the Lord shining so brilliantly, that when Ezekiel saw it he fell on his face in awe and worship. (vs. 1:28)

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Profaned No More – Ezekiel 38-42

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Ezekiel 38-42

In these chapters of Ezekiel, God tells of a final attack that will happen against Israel in the last days. After the Jewish people have been regathered to their homeland and are living in peace, they come under attack. Gog, the leader of a great army, comes up against Israel in war and in turn is utterly destroyed by God. …

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March 12th – Ezekiel 11:19

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Ezekiel 11:19

Once we had sinful hearts of stone hardened against God. But when we receive Jesus as our Savior, through the work of the Holy Spirit, our hearts soften in Christlike love for our Heavenly Father. Now our hearts long not for the things of the world, but instead long to see God’s will done in all things. These new hearts are a gift from the Lord, purchased with His precious blood. And out of thankfulness, should be tender, loving, and eager to glorify the Lord. For we place our faith in Christ knowing He alone fills our hearts with a peace nothing else could ever offer!

March 12th – Ezekiel 11:19 Read More »