Pentecost - transformed inside out - by Theo

Pentecost – transformed inside out…
By the Rev Theo Groeneveld
Minister of Emmanuel Presbyterian Church.
Pretoria, South Africa.
http://emmanuel.org.za

36:24 " `For I will take you out of the nations; I will gather you from all the countries and bring you back into your own land. 25 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. 26 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. 27 And I will put my Spirit in you and move you to follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws. 28 You will live in the land I gave your forefathers; you will be my people, and I will be your God. Ezekiel36:24-28

This awesome promise is part of a greater promise of forgiveness, renewal and restoration. God is addressing the hope-depleted, faith-diminished and devotion-decreased Israelites in Exile in Babylon.

They had given up hope.
They had lost everything.
They thought that they were forgotten.

God promises
- forgiveness (sprinkled with clean water)
- renewal (heart transplant & Spirit filling)
- restoration (to the land and to being God's people)

The picture of renewal is awesome.
Their hearts were stone - because of their sin and because of their suffering. In Hebrew thinking the heart is not the seat of emotions but rather the control room of a person's life. Their control-centers were bitter, cynical and empty of grace. God promises that this can change!

But that's not all! The promise is that Holy Spirit will take up residence in them to move them in commitment and devotion that they might live according to God's ways.

Are you hope-depleted or faith-diminished? Has your heart turned to stone through the pain and disappointment you've experienced? God wants to forgive, renew and restore!

Prayer: Lord, I'm so tired out by trying to become a better person from the outside-in. Please soften my heart so that I can be transformed from the inside-out. Amen.