Ezekiel 36:25-27
I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean; I will cleanse you from all your impurities and from all your idols. 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. And I will put my Spirit in you and move you to follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws.
Scripture Insights
Today, most of us know the importance of a healthy heart. We receive advice on heart-healthy diets, we see food items advertising their health benefits for the heart, and we also have health professionals promoting physical exercises that strengthen and help the heart function well. The heart is integral to our physical well-being and indeed our very existence!
Even more important, from an eternal perspective, is the condition of our spiritual heart. Scripture reminds us of that in many places. It is estimated that the Bible refers to the heart around 850 times, including references from Jesus himself when speaking about discipleship, devotion, and holiness.
How can we keep our spiritual heart, the center of our lives, holy and pure, healthy and well? By the cleansing, washing, and renewing of the Holy Spirit. There is no other way. Today’s passage in Ezekiel reminds us that God himself cleanses our hearts when we live in obedience to him. But thankfully, it is not by our efforts alone; the Spirit helps us, as he does in many things, enabling us to have clean, pure, and healthy hearts before the Lord.
Today’s Prayer
Therefore, my prayer for today is this: “Change my heart, O Lord, fill me anew, cleanse me afresh, and may I be holy and pleasing in your sight now and forevermore.”
— Jim
Ritchie Global Missions Director, Church of the Nazarene
