Still reading Waking the Dead by John Eldredge.  I’m at the chapter where he talks about the human heart and how alot Christians have this weird “Christian” cultural view that our hearts are wicked beyond all get out.  and that we just have to keep trying to “get over” our sin, manage our weakness and pull ourselves up by our bootstraps essentially.  Now, as i read this i am thinking “Oh, i dont really believe that” but in my heart i am saying “I do that every day”.  Cuz as much as we (and i) would like to just ignore that shame we feel when we dont read our Bible everyday or pray as much as we should, we can’t.  There is this unspoken lie (well spoken by Satan into our hearts) that we are still sinful and cant help it even if we are “saved”.  So no matter how hard we try we just got some uncurable heart disease that wont be completely fixed till Jesus comes back.

and this is complete bull shit (pardon my french).

Ezekiel says: (36:26)”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.”

When we believe in hearts that Christ died so that we might live a life full of abundant life and that God raised Him from the dead, we are not just becoming “Christians”.  Remember when you were a little kid and you “asked Jesus into your heart” (if thats how it happened for you anyways)? Well thats not just some cute way your parents got you to buy into this whole Jesus loves you thing at a young age.  When accepting the sonship and life that Christ offers us in his Kingdom, we are turning our bodies into living temples (1 Cor. 3:16) and our heart is the Holy of Holies of that temple where God resides.

HOW AWESOME!

So how can we feel ashamed when the power of Christ lives in is (it literally lives in us, because God LITERALLY LIVES IN US)?

We just forget what we got.  We forget the promises of the life He died for. We have forgotten how to live TRULY out of a heart fully saved, fully healed, and fully alive and NEW.  a heart of flesh, beating with an eternal rhythm.

joyously His,

natalie