ESOCS Devotional 3 November 2022
TEXT: EZEKIEL 11:14-20
MEMORY VERSE: “Then I will give them one heart, and I will put a new spirit within them, and take the stony heart out of their flesh, and give them a heart of flesh, that they may walk in My statutes and keep My judgments and do them; and they shall be My people, and I will be their God.” Ezekiel 11:19-20
0 And the apostles, when they had returned, told Him all that they had done. Then He took them and went aside privately into a deserted place belonging to the city called Bethsaida. 11 But when the multitudes knew it, they followed Him; and He received them and spoke to them about the kingdom of God, and healed those who had need of healing. 12 When the day began to wear away, the twelve came and said to Him, “Send the multitude away, that they may go into the surrounding towns and country, and lodge and get provisions; for we are in a deserted lace ”
The heart is the thing to look after. If we are able to take good care of our hearts, we would be able to prevent every problem in the relationship between us and our God. We owe ourselves a great duty in this matter. The heart is the storehouse of everything we send to the mind. The mind is the brewing pot of everything we store in the heart. It is the spot of our thought process, that is, the deciding point of what we do or say. Therefore, our hearts and minds are places we should guard meticulously. Our adversary, the devil always desires to fill our hearts with things that offend God. He is a very clever being and very subtle ways of trying to achieve his plans against us. He understands that if he gets our hearts he will be able succeed in all his schemes against us. This is the reason he makes our hearts his focal point. The scripture says, “Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour. Resist him, steadfast in the faith …” (1 Pet. 5:8-9).
One good we can do for ourselves is to cultivate a heart that is easily responsive to the word of God. Such a heart does not deny Him by our works (Titus 1:16). Such a heart is sensitive to the things of the Spirit of God. It is obedient; and not hardened or stubborn towards God. It yields to the leading of the Holy Spirit. It does not rebel against God. It worships Him in spirit and in truth. It submits easily to the will of God. It craves for the things of God and His kingdom. It does not have pleasure in the things of the world. It cannot be enticed to do what is wrong. It is glued to Jesus; and strives to continually commune with Him at all times. It stores up the word of God and would not let it go. It excels in the things of God and operates in the realm of the spirit at all times. People with such a heart live their lives in the spirit and not in the flesh. Such is the best heart to have. That is the kind of heart we should have and maintain. But to do that we need to protect our hearts from the evil one. Proverbs 4:23 says, “Keep your heart with all diligence, for out of it spring the issues of life.”
As we daily strive to be faithful to our God, we should pray to Him to take away the heart of stone from us and give us the heart of flesh. The best way we can offer this pray is to abide in His Son Jesus. Abiding in Christ is the greatest prayer anyone could pray. It is a prayer that is done with committed action; and not mere words. Abiding in our Lord Jesus is the best way to get anything from our heavenly Father. It is the best prayer anyone can pray for himself or herself. It is the easiest way to make ourselves dear to the heart of God. It is the fastest lane to the miracles we desire the Father to do for us in our lives. We need His help. We cannot do it on our own. He has told us: “I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing” (John 15:5).
CHALLENGES
- Map out a plan of action that would help you develop a heart that yearns for God.
PRAYERS
- Pray for the help of the Holy Spirit to achieve this goal.
Pray that God may grant you the heart of flesh.
Read Yesterday’s ESOCS Devotional here
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ESOCS Devotional 3 November 2022
