ESOCS Devotional 15 June 2024 – Another Heart
MEMORY VERSE: “And it was so, that when he had turned his back to go from Samuel, God gave him another heart: and all those signs came to pass that day.” 1 Samuel 10:9
TEXT: 1 SAMUEL 10:1-10
Then Samuel took a flask of oil and poured it on his head, and kissed him and said: “Is it not because the Lord has anointed you commander over His inheritance? 2 When you have departed from me today, you will find two men by Rachel’s tomb in the territory of Benjamin at Zelzah; and they will say to you, ‘The donkeys which you went to look for have been found. And now your father has ceased caring about the donkeys and is worrying about you, saying, “What shall I do about my son?” ’ 3 Then you shall go on forward from there and come to the terebinth tree of Tabor. There three men going up to God at Bethel will meet you, one carrying three young goats, another carrying three loaves of bread, and another carrying a skin of wine. 4 And they will greet you and give you two loaves of bread, which you shall receive from their hands. 5 After that you shall come to the hill of God where the Philistine garrison is. And it will happen, when you have come there to the city, that you will meet a group of prophets coming down from the high place with a stringed instrument, a tambourine, a flute, and a harp before them; and they will be prophesying. 6 Then the Spirit of the Lord will come upon you, and you will prophesy with them and be turned into another man. 7 And let it be, when these signs come to you, that you do as the occasion demands; for God is with you. 8 You shall go down before me to Gilgal; and surely I will come down to you to offer burnt offerings and make sacrifices of peace offerings. Seven days you shall wait, till I come to you and show you what you should do.”
9 So it was, when he had turned his back to go from Samuel, that God gave him another heart; and all those signs came to pass that day. 10 When they came there to the hill, there was a group of prophets to meet him; then the Spirit of God came upon him, and he prophesied among them.
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The Heart is the centre of human activities. Our Lord Jesus Christ likened the heart to the tree that bears fruits. He said, make the tree good and the fruit will be good. It goes too, that a bad tree bears bad fruits. The nature of the fruit is determined by the nature of the tree. He said, out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks. So, thoughts, words and actions are controlled by the state of the heart (Matthew 12:33-35).
The above explains the experience of Saul and the words of Samuel to him. Samuel told Saul that he shall be turned into another man and he told him the signs that will be fulfilled to show him that God had chosen him and that God was with him. The Bible records that when Saul turned to leave Samuel, God gave him another heart. Saul was chosen to serve God as a King. For him to fulfil this service, his heart had to be dealt with. Saul became another man because his heart was changed. There is no man with a carnal heart that can serve God acceptably. The heart has to be changed. It is an obligation we owe ourselves.
However, if we are to have our hearts changed by God we must be in the right spiritual atmosphere or environment. Saul was in fellowship with Prophet Samuel under the Spirit of God and also heard the word of God that proceeded from him. When we engage in fellowship with God via the Word of God, worship and prayer, we would develop a new heart. A Heart that loves God, obeys God, serves God acceptably and trusts God implicitly. A faithful heart.
This heart must be sustained and made active with constant fellowship with God. King Saul could not keep his new heart active for God. And that led to the loss of the kingdom. If you are to worship acceptably, your heart must be born of God and fed to grow in God. But that can only happen in Christ Jesus. Thank God for the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Therefore, turn to Jesus in repentance and faith in His finished work on the Cross. So that He can give you this new heart! For those who have received the new heart, what is required of them is to constantly feed it with the word of God in the Holy Spirit.
- Have you believed and confessed Jesus Christ as Lord and Saviour of your soul? Have you turned to Him in repentance and faith, so He can remove your sins and give you another heart?
- Father, thank you Lord for the opportunity to have another heart that loves, obeys, worships and is faithful to you. Thank You for Lord Jesus Christ who made it possible for me. Give me grace to sustain its purity and vitality to the end of time, in Jesus name. Amen!
Further Reading: Jeremiah 1:4-10; John 16:1-15; Romans 11:1-24
ESOCS Devotional 15 June 2024
