Posted by Lisa Laree to Beer Lahai Roi
So. Much. Judgment in Ezekiel.
But...always the 'but' of God's mercy.
"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." -- Ez. 36:26-27
This is such a clear foreshadowing of the concept of the new birth that Jesus describes in John 3. The Spirit within prompts us to obedience. Not because that's what we have to do to be accepted, but rather, what we are enabled to do because we are accepted. Follow his decrees; keep his laws.
Instead of our own, you know. That's the crucial bit. Following our own wants/ desires/ ideas has brought about bad outcomes ever since Genesis 3. On our own, we're pretty much incapable of consistently making right choices because our own agenda inevitably infects our decisions. But with a new heart, and the Spirit within us, we can actually get the guidance we need to choose his ways.
And he provides it.
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