“For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days,” declares the Lord: “I will put my law within them, and I will write it on their hearts. And I will be their God, and they shall be my people. And no longer shall each one teach his neighbor and each his brother, saying, 'Know the Lord,' for they shall all know me, from the least of them to the greatest,” declares the Lord. “For I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more."
Jeremiah 31:33-34
God is always seeking converted hearts; hearts on which His Law is written so that living in loving obedience to Him comes from inside of us and doesn’t have to be imposed on us from the outside.
Ever since the fall of man into sin our hearts have been in rebellion against Him. We naturally resent His authority - and all other authority, because it reminds us of Him. We view His offered love with suspicion, suspecting there’s a “catch” somewhere. We try to manipulate God with elaborate religious systems, as though there were rules that He must follow if we do our part.
When the Lord Jesus comes into our heart, we receive His forgiveness and surrender to Him; His Holy Spirit creates a new heart within us, a converted heart, that Jeremiah is talking about in these verses.
Our new heart wants to do things God’s way. There is no rebellion in it; just a loving desire to please our Heavenly Father.
Of course we all know from experience that the old heart, the rebellious one, is still churning out rebellious ideas and sinful desires, but we can deal with that by God’s Grace and the power of the cross that is now at work in us. Just as Christ was raised from the dead, His resurrection power is working in us “so that we can walk in newness of life.”
Lord Jesus, let Your Holy Spirit work in me so that with my newly created heart I delight in Your will and live in the joy of knowing You, day by day. Thank You for Your patience and understanding as I learn to walk all over again. Amen.
Pastor Dan Giles