Daily Affirmations - Day 6 - The Former Things - A New Heart
Day 6: A new heart
I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh (Ezekiel 36:26).
Sovereign Lord, long ago, by God's word the heavens came into being and the earth was formed out of water and by water (2 Peter 3:5). You are the only One who could create ex nihilo— from nothing:
By faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that the things which are seen were not made of things which are visible (Hebrews 11:3 – NKJV).
In [the Lord Jesus], all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things have been created through Him and for Him (Colossians 1:16).
So what is it to You, Almighty God, to renew, to restore, to rebuild, to recreate, in every sense, physical and spiritual— a world twisted and broken by sin: people, cities, individuals, nations, the heavens and the earth?
Long ago, You promised to do just this, working through the one nation... [You] went out to redeem as a people for Yourself (2 Samuel 7:23), so that Your covenant promise would extend over all nations (Genesis 18:18); and Your Messiah would offer hope and healing for all:
They will rebuild the ancient ruins and restore the places long devastated; they will renew the ruined cities that have been devastated for generations (Isaiah 61:4).
Lord, You do not offer the temporary and superficial "fixes" of the world. You designed a plan for thorough and complete cleansing, renewal, and restoration at every level of creation; at every point of human need.
Your own hands formed the first human, and Your own breath gave him life (Genesis 2:7). And to save humans from the utter and eternal ruin unleashed when they chose sin, You offer to form and place with Your own hands a new heart and a new spirit in them; in place of the stony heart hardened by rebellion against You (Ezekiel 11:19; 36:26).
God of creation, God of resurrection, God who connects joints and ligaments, muscles and tendons, and brings dry bones back to life, You offer to rebuild our lives— to repair the ruins, the brokenness and the devastation.
You offer us life through Your own blood and life-giving Spirit (1 Corinthians 15:45-49). You offer us rebirth— bought with the costly sacrifice of the Lord Jesus Christ (vs. 3-4).
Come, sacred Spirit, from above,
And fill the coldest heart with love;
soften to flesh the rugged stone,
And let thy Godlike power be known.
~ Philip Doddridge, pub. 1755
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