Ezekiel 36:26 - Summer of Scripture

It's a Wishbone Kitchen in Jo Malone, London. Holiday ginger biscuit is back. You guys. I have my brand new holiday scent. It literally smells like a fresh baked ginger cookie. I mean, who wouldn't want this? Notes of ginger, roasted hazelnut and vanilla. The kind of gift that's as fun to give as it is to receive. I am so excited because they now have it available in a travel spray. Fits right in your bag. Shop ginger biscuit only at Sephora. Happy holidays from Meredith in Jo Malone, London.

Welcome to Summer of Scripture on the Naked marriage podcast. For 66 days in a row, we're releasing a short daily devotional for your marriage. Over these 66 days, we'll be sharing one scripture from each of the 66 books of the Bible and talking about how it applies to your life and marriage. Listen to all 66 episodes of these and you'll have a better understanding of God's word and his perfect plan for your marriage. Let's dive in to today's scripture. Hey there and welcome back to our Summer of Scripture on the Naked Marriage podcast. We are on day 26. I can't believe it. It's just flying by.

Time is flying.

It is. And we're in the book of ezekiel. In chapter 26, verse 36, it says this. And I will give you a new heart, and I will put a new spirit in you. I will take out your stony, stubborn heart and give you a tender, responsive heart. And I love this verse so much. We've already touched on the heart and how it can be deceitful above all things. But with God's help, we can have that heart of flesh we've talked about before? And I love how it says stony and stubborn heart because don't we all have seasons of life where we're having a stony and stubborn heart, where it's like nothing can penetrate our heart, not even our spouse. And we just kind of, you know, we just kind of shut down a little bit towards maybe even God and the people we love in our life. And it just shows us that with God's help, that. That he can transform our heart.

He wants to do that. He wants to give you a whole new nature, you know, and not just like your physical heart, but the heart representing the core of who you are.

Yes. And it says a new spirit.

Yeah, a new spirit, a new way of thinking. You know, a rebirth. That's what being born again. That's why the Bible says we need to be born again. It's a spiritual rebirth that really changes our nature. From our old sinful nature to now having a nature that's being led by Christ and guided by his spirit. And so that's got to be our goal. And if two people are both committed to that kind of spiritual heart transplant in their lives, then that marriage is going to thrive.

It is. And you know, I think that we need to realize that we are flawed human beings. You know, there's a lot of debate over this. And even in kind of parenting circles, there's all this debate over the nature versus nurture, nature versus nurture. And like, are we born with a sinful nature or are we born blank slates? You know, there's all this kind of different theory on it, but I think the Bible is very clear that we, you know, not that like a precious innocent baby is just all of a sudden just completely sinful, but just as human beings, the longer we're here on earth, like we have that pull towards sin. We have that pull.

We're born with a sickness, we're in.

A broken world, you know. You know, just like a child can be.

We're born spiritually with the sickness of sin. And you see it as soon as, like a kid and start talking and walking, doing anything, they'll do rebellious things. It's just inside of us, you know. And now there's a lot of precious stuff in there too, of course, because we're created in God's image and we're precious and we're, you know, we're beautifully and wonderfully made and all those things. But the sin nature's a real thing. Like we're, we're struggling against just this sin sickness that has been passed down since the very first couple.

Well, exactly. You know, at the very beginning of summer of scripture, we talked about Adam and Eve in the fall and just how, I mean, here they had, they had a perfect life here on earth. Like the way that God created it, it was perfection and yet it wasn't good enough for them. Our human kind of reality and the sinful nature is that we feel like God's holding out something on us. We do. And it's just the reality we live in. I mean, like Dave said, you can see it in your own children. And so I think there's no debate about that. And the Bible keeps on coming back to it. And so we have a need, like there is a void in our life without God. And you know, back in the 90s when we were in church, they'd always say there's a God sized hole in your heart, you know, And I know that sounds so cheesy, but it made sense to me. Like, I remember being a teen and being like, yeah, yeah. I felt like something's missing. You know, some people say it's that part of us that longs for heaven. We never quite feel totally at home here because we want to be. We're made for heaven. We're made for the garden. Like, we wanna go back to the garden. We wanna go back to that union with God where there's perfection and we're not perfect. Like, we serve a perfect God and God knows while we're here on, it's not gonna be perfect. Right? That's why he sent Jesus. That's why he's our ever present help in our time of need and he's with us. But I think that the first thing we need to do as Christians, but also even as married people is realize our own frailty and realize our need for God and not, you know, like, not be so prideful to think that we don't need God. Because I think that that pride is such a dangerous zone. And I think if I learn anything from this verse in Ezekiel, it's just like having the humility to recognize the need for surrender to God and the need for God to fill. This is a Bose moment. Work. Holiday parties can be a drag until someone hits play on a Bose speaker. Rich sound takes you from cubicles to club vibes as Bose decks the halls with bass. And suddenly, hey, even your boss is in the holiday spirit. Holidays deserve music. Music deserves Bose. Find the perfect gifts and Holiday deals@bose.com Spotify Fill that void in your life. I mean, that's huge.

It really is. It's just. I mean, Jesus said, blessed are the poor in spirit. Which means, like, blessed are those who recognize that they desperately need a savior. They need that new heart, right? Because God wants to give it to you. He really, really does.

Well, and you know Jesus, when he came to Earth, who did he really, you know, who was really drawn to him and who did he really go to? Those people who were poor in spirit. He went to the lost sheep. He went to people who were like, I'm not worthy. You know what I'm saying? Like, it was the people who weren't prideful. Not that he didn't still love those people and die for those people. He did. But he got so angry at the Pharisees. You know, they referred to them as whitewashed tombs. Like, so here they are, void, still needing that God, you know, the God. They have the huge gaping God sized hole that needs to be filled. But they're all pretty on the outside, think they're holy, but they're dead inside.

Dead inside. And it's all about the heart. You know, I tell you a quick version of this story, but I grew up in a town where there was a young man named Brian. He passed away tragically and his organs were donated. And his parents went to visit the man who'd received their son's heart. And the mom hugged that man and just hugged him and hugged him and tears were rolling down her eyes. And she said, I've waited for this moment for so long because when I hold you close to me, I can feel my son's heart beating inside of you. And I feel like that's kind of a picture of what our first moments in heaven are going to be like. I feel like when we first get there, when we step from this life into eternity, I feel like God the Father is going to wrap his arms around us. The arms that created the universe are going to wrap his arms around us. And I think he wants to say to us what Brian's mom said, I think God himself is going to want to say to you. What? When I hold you close to me, I can feel my son's heart beating inside of you. I can feel the heart of Jesus. You've had that new heart. My son gave you a new heart. You've got his spirit within you. Welcome home, my son. Welcome home, my daughter. That's really what it's about, guys. I mean, that's what life's about. That's what God wants for you. He wants to bring you into his family. Jesus made that possible. He died on the cross, paying the price for our sins. And he conquered death, hell, and the grave by rising from the dead. And all authority is his. And if we'll put our faith in him, if we'll receive that gift of salvation that he has given us, it's a free gift that we don't deserve. We receive it by grace, then we're adopted into God's family. He gives us that new heart and life can be changed. And if you've never made that decision, then let today, let today be that decision. We're right here listening to a podcast. You just reach out to God. The Bible says all who call on the name of the Lord will be saved. If you just say, jesus, save me today. Forgive me of the way that I've lived. Give me that new heart. I know that you died for my sins. I don't understand why you love me. But I believe that you do. I believe that your word is true. And I'm asking you to save me. Make me into the person I was meant to be. Help me live my life for you. Give me a new heart today. And he will. And if you reached out in faith to do that, then welcome to God's family. Welcome. And just rest in the knowledge of knowing that God loves you, that you're part of his family forever and he wants you to thrive.

He does. And you know, if you are listening to this and watching this and you're like, I'm like a prodigal son or prodigal daughter, I just say, come on home. Don't feel like you can't come home. Because you know, you maybe made this decision that Dave just shared with people who haven't made that decision. Like you prayed that sinner's prayer and you accepted Christ maybe at a young age, but maybe life has just been hard and you've fallen away. I just encourage you to recommit your life to Christ today because he's right there. Literally turn around and he's right there. You call his name, he is right there. You are still his son. You are still his daughter. And you're never too far gone. And I just say it just takes that turning around and letting him wrap his arms around you saying like, welcome home. And we wanna welcome you home. And listen, all of us go through hard things, but, but we all, and we all need to be renewed all the time. I mean, that's why it's so clear in the Bible how much this isn't just a one time decision. It's every day, you know, picking up your cross, it talks about and how we're laying down our own plans and surrendering our lives to Christ. And so let today be a new day for you where you do have that heart, you know, that is soft, that is for Christ and that you have that renewed spirit and even the Holy Spirit. Like maybe you've not even been tuned into the Holy Spirit because you've been running away from Christ, but you're missing it. You know, the Holy Spirit is a gift that we, that we get when we are Christ followers. And one of the descriptors of the Holy Spirit is Him being a comforter. And I just want to encourage those of you who've fallen away. Let the Holy Spirit comfort you today. Come back home.

Come back home. I love it. Well guys, thanks for tuning in today. Share this one with somebody who might need it, maybe somebody that doesn't yet know the Lord. Or maybe they do know the Lord but they're just going through a hard time and they need to be reminded of his mercy. I think today's episode could be an encouragement to them. And join us tomorrow. We'll be on day 27 in the book of Daniel, one of the most adventurous, inspiring books in all the Bible. So we will see you tomorrow. Hey, Ryan Reynolds here wishing you a very happy half off holiday because right now Mint Mobile is offering you the gift of 50% off unlimited. To be clear, that's half price, not half the service. Mint is still premium unlimited wireless for a great price. So that means a half day. Yeah. Give it a try@mintmobile.com switch upfront payment.

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