Made Well . . .

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. And I will put my Spirit in you and move you to follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws.

(Ezekiel 36:26-27)

No one can change without the Holy Spirit! Many students have asked me recently how do we know someone is saved? My reply is simple . . .

only God really knows

. He has to do the surgery on our hearts Himself.

Living up to man's requirements does not get one into heaven. While it is good to follow our spiritual mentors and lead a good life, doing all the good things expected of a believer, even that does not translate into forgiveness of sin and eternal life with our Lord. It requires cutting, trimming, and even some removal.

One must be made well . . . transformed, from the inside out. Only God can perform the necessary spiritual surgery that changes the heart from stone to flesh.

Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit. You should not be surprised at my saying, ‘You must be born again.’

(John 3:6-7)

Having recently been through some minor surgery to repair damage done over years of sports and weight training, I better understand the process. Only the doctor could see the damage. I looked pretty good on the outside, but I felt the pain. Even on an x-ray, I could not make out the fragmented bone spurs on my shoulder, but the doctor knew. He had to go inside my flesh and grind away debris from years of activity.

It is similar with our spiritual heart. From the human perspective, we may appear holy, clean, and pure. We do the right things: church attendance, bible study, ministry events, giving . . .but God knows the motives and the real committment level! And we feel the pain deep inside . . .

While I still feel the pain of the surgeon's tools, I too want to feel the presence of God's hand upon my heart. I want His correction . . . His cutting and pruning . . . and His healing! May we all be made well by the Surgeon's hand and experience His total forgiveness.