Ezekiel 36:22 Therefore say to the house of
Israel, Thus says the Lord GOD: It is not for your sake, O house of Israel,
that I am about to act, but for the sake of my holy name, which you have
profaned among the nations to which you came. 23 I will sanctify my great name, which has been
profaned among the nations, and which you have profaned among them; and the
nations shall know that I am the LORD, says the Lord GOD, when through you I
display my holiness before their eyes. 24 I will take you from the nations, and gather
you from all the countries, and bring you into your own land. 25 I will
sprinkle clean water upon you, and you shall be clean from all your
uncleannesses, and from all your idols I will cleanse you. 26 A new heart
I will give you, and a new spirit I will put within you; and I will remove from
your body the heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. 27 I will put
my spirit within you, and make you follow my statutes and be careful to observe
my ordinances. 28 Then you shall live in the land that I gave
to your ancestors; and you shall be my people, and I will be your God. 29 I will save
you from all your uncleannesses, and I will summon the grain and make it
abundant and lay no famine upon you. 30 I will make the fruit of the tree and the
produce of the field abundant, so that you may never again suffer the disgrace
of famine among the nations. 31 Then you shall remember your evil ways, and
your dealings that were not good; and you shall loathe yourselves for your
iniquities and your abominable deeds. 32 It is not for your sake that I will act, says
the Lord GOD; let that be known to you. Be ashamed and dismayed for your ways,
O house of Israel.
Buried
in the middle of this passage of Scripture is the key to everything: “I will remove from your body the
heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh.” This is the sole purpose of religion – to change
hardened hearts into loving hearts. No amount of erudite philosophy, or religious
knowledge, or organizational excellence can replace a loving heart and a
renewed spirit.
Make this a daily prayer:
“Create in me a clean heart, O God, and put a
new and right spirit within me”
Psalm
51:10
Ordinary 31 /
Pentecost +24
53 God Can
Change Lives
The Scripture
passage for the day is drawn from Reuben Job and Norman Shawchuck, A Guide
to Prayer for Ministers and other Servants, (Nashville, The Upper Room 1983),
323.
This reflection is from my own devotional exercises for the
day.
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