Ezekiel 36:22-29

For Reading and Meditation:     Isaiah 9:1-7

We continue meditating on the word "pure" as used by Jesus in His sixth Beatitude. I discovered when researching this theme that the word "catharsis" - meaning to cleanse or make pure - is derived from the same Greek root as the word "pure". In psychology, the word "catharsis" is used to describe the feeling of release...

For Reading and Meditation:     Matthew 15:1-20

Today we come to the Beatitude which is considered by many to be the most sublime of them all: "Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God" (Matthew 5:8). First we ask: What is meant by the term "heart"? According to the general use of the word in Scripture, it...

For Reading and Meditation:     Ephesians 2:1-10

A Hindu once said in my presence: "A man may change his acts but not his character." He was saying that a change is possible, but not a vertical change; there can be improvement, modification, a change of attitude, but no deep radical change. The Christian church is not without a sprinkling of what yesterday I called...

"Then will I sprinkle clean water upon you, and ye shall be clean: from all your filthiness, and from all your idols, will I cleanse you." Ezekiel 36:25

What an exceeding joy is this! He who has purified us with the blood of Jesus will also cleanse us by the water of the Holy Spirit. God hath said it, and so it must be, "Ye shall be clean." LORD, we feel and mourn our uncleanness, and it is cheering to be assured by Thine own...

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...

A sublime expression of sovereignty; but let none therefore say, " We must remain as we are until he puts his Spirit within us." For God observes a process in this as in his other works; and in every step of this process he requires the co-operation of man. He shows an individual that he is without the Spirit of God; that he is spiritually dead; excites in him desires after life and blessedness; shows him what he is not to trust in; what he is to trust in; teaches him to pray; answers his...

This stony heart is not what is commonly understood by a hard heart, an unfeeling heart. A person of a gentle tender yielding disposition may yet have what God regards as a stony heart. A heart insensible to the word of God is what is here spoken of The commands, the promises, the invitations all fail to make an impression upon one with such a heart; he refuses to see his sin, his helplessness, his danger, his need, the holiness, the grace, the love of God. The mighty and countless motives...

I will cleanse them from all their iniquity by which they have sinned against Me, and I will pardon all their iniquities by which they have sinned and by which they have transgressed against Me. § Then I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you shall be clean; I will cleanse you from all your filthiness and from all your idols.Unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. § If the blood of bulls and goats and the ashes of a heifer, sprinkling the...

I acknowledge my transgressions, and my sin is always before me. Against You, You only, have I sinned, and done this evil in Your sight.And he arose and came to his father. But when he was still a great way off, his father saw him and had compassion, and ran and fell on his neck and kissed him. § I have blotted out, like a thick cloud, your transgressions, and like a cloud, your sins. Return to Me, for I have redeemed you. § Your sins are forgiven you for His name’s sake. § God in...

I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you. § Good and upright is the Lord; therefore He teaches sinners in the way. The humble He guides in justice, and the humble He teaches His way. All the paths of the Lord are mercy and truth, to such as keep His covenant and His testimonies.That they all may be one, as You, Father, are in Me, and I in You; that they also may be one in Us, that the world may believe that You sent Me.I … beseech you to walk worthy of the...