Hope for a Heart of Stone

By Kathryn Hoover

July 1, 2022

“Christ is become of no effect unto you, whosoever of you are justified by the law; ye are fallen from grace” (Galatians 5:4).

When Jesus died on the cross, He nullified the Old Testament laws and the veil that separated the Holy Place from the Temple was torn from the top to the bottom, opening the way for whoever wanted to come to the Father. The veil was estimated to have been four inches thick. No longer were sacrifices or all kinds of rituals needed. Instead, Jesus in His teachings, deals with the heart issues of man. He no longer emphasizes just the keeping of the laws on the outside. He now lifts the bar higher. No longer can we meet the requirements.

Our hearts are deceitfully wicked and only God is capable of changing a stony heart into a soft heart.

“A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you: and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you an heart of flesh” (Ezekiel. 36:26).

Jesus died on the cross to take our place so that we can be set free of all the outward things and come to Him so that He can change our hearts. For whosoever will. The sick. The hurting. The lonely. The poor. The struggling ones. The rich. The strong. All humankind. No one is exempt. All are welcome to come (John 10). How can I say that? Because I came to Him the best I could figure out and He turned my life around and kept me from taking my own life. Now I can say there is hope - not in traditions or religious rules, but rather because of Jesus. He is the reason I am still alive today.

 

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