Good Morning Everyone,
Our theme for this month: “Change”
Our Bible verse for today: “The Lord your God will change your heart and the hearts of all your descendants, so that you will love Him with all your heart and soul and so you may live!” Deuteronomy 30:6 (NLT)
Our thought for today: “God Himself changes our hearts so we will love and obey Him.”
When a person experiences a change of heart that results in new or renewed faith, which is then followed by a new lifestyle that honors God, it is God Himself who brought about the change not the individual. It is the Holy Spirit of God how draws us to God, it is the Holy Spirit who convicts us of our need for Jesus, and it is the Holy Spirit who slowly and progressively transforms us into the person God wants us to be.
So does that mean that as individuals we have no role in brining about that change? No, it doesn’t mean that at all. We do have a role in it. It’s up to us to place ourselves in a position before God whereby He can bring about the change. It’s up to us to choose to go to that church service, or the evangelistic crusade, or to some other place where the Gospel will be presented, so that the Holy Spirit can get a hold on our heart and draw us to Jesus. It’s up to us to read the Bible and to pray every day so that the Holy Spirit can begin teaching us and transforming us. It’s up to us to attend and actively participate in Sunday school or a small group Bible study so we can interact with and learn from other Christians who are also in the process of changing and growing in Christ. It’s up to us to volunteer for ministry activities so the Holy Spirit can work through us and use us to be a blessing to others, thereby accelerating our spiritual growth as we are in the process.
Yes, it is God Himself who changes our hearts so we will love and obey Him and so we will be progressively change into the people He wants us to be. But it’s up to us to consistently and faithfully place ourselves in a position before God whereby He can change us.
As we conclude this month of thinking about “change”, I encourage you to be intentional about allowing God to change you. Pray it through, do your part, and then stick with it.
God Bless,
Pastor Jim
Oak Hill Baptist Church 