THINK TOGETHER.
What does the Holy Spirit living in us look like?
READ TOGETHER.
Ezekiel 36:25-27. 25“Then I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean. Your filth will be washed away, and you will no longer worship idols. 26And I will give you a new heart, and I will put a new spirit in you. I will take out your stony, stubborn heart and give you a tender, responsive heart. 27And I will put my Spirit in you so that you will follow my decrees and be careful to obey my regulations.
God is the one speaking in these verses. He is speaking through Ezekiel, the prophet. God is telling his people about a great and glorious day when he will make them clean from all their filthy sins. He will give them a new tender and responsive heart. And, most importantly, he will put the Holy Spirit in them.
On Day 10 we read God’s promise to fill his Messiah with the Holy Spirit. The word Messiah is the same word as Christ. Jesus Christ had the Holy Spirit living in him. But so does every Christian (little Christ). Yes, Jesus had the Holy Spirit but so do you if you are a Christian.
Are you a Christian? If you are then all the promises of Ezekiel 36:25-27 apply to you.
Your filth has been washed away. Every sin you have ever committed has been forgiven. Everything that has ever embarrassed you or made you feel guilty God no longer sees.
You will no longer worship idols. When you are a Christian you worship Jesus and nothing else. You have chosen to trust him as your God and your Savior.
I will give you a new heart. When you trusted in Jesus you weren’t just cleansed of all your sin, you were given a new heart that actually wants to obey Jesus. We will never perfectly obey Jesus until we get to Heaven, but until then we will be learning and growing in our love for God and for others. Not because we HAVE to, but because we WANT to.
I will put my Spirit in you. This is the most important promise God makes to us. Do you remember that in the Old Testament the Holy Spirit would come and go like he did with Samson and King Saul? Bu for Christians, the Holy Spirit comes into our hearts and stays forever. He is why we are cleansed of all sin, and he is why we have a new heart that wants to obey.
If you are a Christian, if you are in Jesus, then the Holy Spirit is in you. You have been cleansed of all sin. God no longer holds any sins against you. And you have been given a new heart that wants to obey God.
Can you tell that you have this new heart? Can you tell that you have the Holy Spirit? Sometimes it can be really hard to tell that the Holy Spirit lives in us. And that’s OK, for now. That’s what we will talk more about as we spend more days with him.
Because of the Holy Spirit we are cleansed of all sin and have a new heart.
With the Holy Spirit we want to love and obey God.
DO SOMETHING TOGETHER
In Ezekiel, God contrasts the stubborn heart with the Spirit heart. Do some role playing together of real life situations. Act out the stubborn heart’s response, then the Spirit heart’s response?
PRAY TOGETHER
Father, thank you for taking away my sin AND for giving me a new heart that loves you. Amen.
TLICfamily 