A New Heart

"And I will give them singleness of heart and put a new spirit within them. I will take away their stony, stubborn heart and give them a tender, responsive heart," Ezekiel 11:19

Organ donation is a huge sacrifice. We hear about it a lot, where complete strangers offer up a kidney for someone they don't even know. Or a family who's lost a young life too early donates the vital organs to help another child. But something that we don't hear very often is a person who is alive saying to another "take my heart". It just doesn't happen, without a heart we can't live. But someone did do that once upon a time! About 2,000 years ago, God accepted the heart of his son Jesus and offered it to a sick and dying world. Jesus, by hanging on a cross, offered up his heart so that all may be saved.

According to the verse in Ezekiel we all need a new heart. Here are a few other verses about that.

"But my people have stubborn and rebellious hearts.
They have turned away and abandoned me." Jeremiah 5:23

“The human heart is the most deceitful of all things,
and desperately wicked.
Who really knows how bad it is?" Jeremiah 17:9

"Be careful then, dear brothers and sisters. Make sure that your own hearts are not evil and unbelieving, turning you away from the living God." Hebrews 3:12

But God promises to give us a new heart. He promises to give us his heart. AS we come to him for forgiveness, he promises to help us live a better and "morally excellent" life.

"In view of all this, make every effort to respond to God’s promises. Supplement your faith with a generous provision of moral excellence, and moral excellence with knowledge" 1 Peter 1:5

And by accepting God's new heart for us we can share in God's character.

"And because of his glory and excellence, he has given us great and precious promises. These are the promises that enable you to share his divine nature and escape the world’s corruption caused by human desires." 2 Peter 1:4

The heart transplant is only the beginning! As with a real heart transplant, we start with baby steps before we take off running. God has great plans for each and every one of us! But it begins with a new heart. Godly character and a moral life is just on the other side of a new heart. What are we all waiting for! We are spiritually in danger of a heart attack, and all we need to do is ask for that heart that Jesus sacrificed for us so many years ago. If you are ready for a new heart, all you need to do is ask God for it, and it will be given freely- no strings attached, and no charge to you. Free. If you think you are ready for the step of a new heart, check out this post about "no charge". Pray the simple prayer at the bottom and thank God for his son and the gift of a new heart.