Thursday, September 3, 2009

Heart of Flesh



Ezekiel 36:26
And I will give you an heart of flesh.


A heart of flesh is known by its tenderness concerning sin. To have indulged a foul imagination, or to have allowed a wild desire to tarry even for a moment, is quite enough to make a heart of flesh grieve before the Lord. The heart of stone calls a great iniquity nothing, but not so the heart of flesh.
"If to the right or left I stray, That moment, Lord, reprove; And let me weep my life away, For having grieved thy love"
The heart of flesh is tender of God's will. My Lord Will-be-will is a great blusterer, and it is hard to subject him to God's will; but when the heart of flesh is given, the will quivers like an aspen leaf in every breath of heaven, and bows like an osier in every breeze of God's Spirit. The natural will is cold, hard iron, which is not to be hammered into form, but the renewed will, like molten metal, is soon moulded by the hand of grace. In the fleshy heart there is a tenderness of the affections. The hard heart does not love the Redeemer, but the renewed heart burns with affection towards Him. The hard heart is selfish and coldly demands, "Why should I weep for sin? Why should I love the Lord?" But the heart of flesh says; "Lord, Thou knowest that I love Thee; help me to love Thee more!" Many are the privileges of this renewed heart;
"'Tis here the Spirit dwells, 'Tis here that Jesus rests."
It is fitted to receive every spiritual blessing, and every blessing comes to it. It is prepared to yield every heavenly fruit to the honour and praise of God, and therefore the Lord delights in it. A tender heart is the best defence against sin, and the best preparation for heaven. A renewed heart stands on its watchtower looking for the coming of the Lord Jesus. Have you this heart of flesh?

Devotional by Charles Spurgeon

Image courtesy of All Posters

8 comments:

Denise said...

Beautiful, so beautiful.

Teresa @ Grammy Girlfriend said...

Great post..I had a few hours to blog hop tonight and enjoyed yours

Hope you will stop by and visit my new Christmas blog. There is a great giveaway this week. http://grammyababychangeseverything.blogspot.com

Karen said...

This should be a constant prayer...for a tender heart and loving spirit...beautifully worded, Cathy!

Maxine said...

Please Lord, give me a heart of flesh.

Cathy said...

Oh, Karen, I certainly did not write something like that! I forgot to add that Charles Spurgeon wrote it! Glad you enjoyed it.

Adrienne said...

Hi, my friend -
I'm trying to sit down and catch my breath in the middle of a busy morning as we head out for the Oregon Coast. This was like refreshing rain on my weary soul. Yes, give me a tender heart that seeks His will!
~Adrienne~

TO BECOME said...

I loved this post. Such great words and I want always to have a heart of flesh toward the Lord, my Saviour and Lord.

Cherdecor said...

"help me to love Thee more"
That is my prayer too!
Have a wonderful holiday weekend, Cathy!
Blessings,
Cheryl