Hebrews 10:16: “This is the covenant that I will make with them after those days, says the Lord: I will put My laws into their hearts, and in their minds I will write them,”

July 31st, 2022 by Pastor Ed in devotional

The writer of Hebrews quotes God’s promise from Jeremiah 31:33, that His new covenant will be much different from the old one. The new covenant is one that works from the inside out, as God implants His thoughts and desires into our hearts. The old covenant worked from the outside in, meaning it consisted of a list of dos and don’ts that pointed out the failings of carnal man, but didn’t change man in any way. It provided a mirror that convicted the humble and sometimes even moved the rebel to sin more.

Since the fall, our black human hearts seem to be attracted toward any thing that is rebellious. If it wasn’t so serious a matter, it would be comical the way a wet-paint or wet-cement sign draws people, like a moth to a flame, to put their finger in it. But in the new covenant, God promises that if we surrender to Him, He will change us from the inside out, giving us a new heart (desire) toward godly things. The change is permanent, but it takes an entire lifetime for His heart-transplant work to be brought to final completion.

Pastor W. E. Sangster used to tell the story of a blue-collar factory worker he knew who was harassed by his co-workers because he lived a life free of the common vices of man and spoke reverently of the Bible. “If you believe in the Bible,” they said, “you must believe that water was turned into wine.” “I believe more than that,” he said, thinking of who he had been before he had given his life to Christ. “I have seen,” he said, “beer turned into furniture, betting slips turned into food. I have seen a woman miserable because she was married to a gambling addict made radiantly and permanently happy because her man was changed before her eyes. Of course I believe in miracles, I am one.” When God changes a person, they get a new heart, new values, and a new destiny.

“LORD, please conform us a little more into Your image this day.”