ICS Daily Devotions
A New Heart

God has continuously commanded us to love; to love Him, to love our neighbors and to love one another.

In the Old Testament, He commanded us to love our neighbors. However, the root of our sin nature is self-centeredness and to live a life apart from God. The first reaction from our sin nature after we are hurt, offended and sinned against, is to take revenge and bear a grudge. It is not part of the natural man to want to walk in love and forgiveness. Our inability to love unconditionally is because of the natural reaction of hardening our hearts in order to protect us from being hurt again. Consequently, it is impossible to love our neighbors unconditionally as we love ourselves in the Old Testament. This is also true for those who are not born again today.

Thus, God prophesied that He would do something new in us, for us to be able to do what He required of us.

Ezekiel 36:26-27 I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; I will take the heart of stone out of your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes, and you will keep My judgments and do them.

2 Corinthians 5:17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.

He then gave us new hearts, hearts with His Spirit, and we became new creations.

There is a huge difference between the Old and New Covenant living because of the redemptive work of Jesus Christ, the born-again experience with the new creation and having the Holy Spirit dwelling in us. The fulfilment of the prophecy enabled us to do what the people in the Old Covenant were not able to do.

The Holy Spirit will empower and enable us to love one another despite the resistance of our flesh. We need to learn to yield to Him as He speaks to us, so we will be able to love our neighbors as ourselves just as the Lord loves us.

Romans 8:4 so that the [righteous and just] requirement of the Law might be fulfilled in us who do not live our lives in the ways of the flesh [guided by worldliness and our sinful nature], but [live our lives] in the ways of the Spirit [guided by His power].

Therefore, when we are hurt, offended and sinned against, we should not react from the flesh or the mind, rather, from the spirit or the new heart that has the abundance of God’s love endowed by the Holy Spirit to love that person.

Sermon Series: CG Campaign – Spiritual Gifts Can Help Your Church Grow