Bible in 90 Days - Day 59

I almost forgot about posting this evening. I really should write my thoughts immediately after reading instead of waiting until hours later.

This morning I read Lamentations and Ezekiel 1 through 12. I don't want to take things out of context, but I really hope this promise can be applied to me personally as well as having applied to Israel in the past.

And I will give them one heart, and I will put a new spirit within you; and I will take the stony heart out of their flesh, and will give them an heart of flesh:

That they may walk in my statutes, and keep mine ordinances, and do them: and they shall be my people, and I will be their God
Ezekiel 11:19-20.

I've been praying lately that God will give me a new heart. This passage shows that the order of our spiritual walk is: 1 - A new heart. 2 - Keeping God's commandments. We don't keep God's commandments in order to gain a new heart. Instead, we can pray that God will give us a new heart so that we can keep His commandments. I think that order is very important because otherwise humans tend to focus on works and what we can do to earn our way into heaven. But we have it backwards. We can ask God for a new heart and that will enable us to keep His commands. It's much easier and keeps us from taking pride in our own accomplishments. All I have to do is ask.