How can we have a heart for God?  On our own we can’t.  Everyone is born apart from God, dead in their sins, with cold, hard, rebellious, unresponsive hearts.  We follow the sinful ways of our world, the temptations of the devil, and our own sinful desires.  We stand under the judgment of a holy God.  That is the conclusion of Ephesians 2:1-3.  We are dead.

But v4 begins with two glorious words – “But God.”  On our own we are dead…but God!  God, rich in mercy, with great love, and immeasurable grace, makes us alive in Christ.  He does for us what we can’t do for ourselves. As God powerfully raised Jesus physically from the dead, so God powerfully raised us spiritually from the dead.  Other pictures in Scripture for this miracle of being made alive are: born again, new creation, new heart.  God makes us alive and new by giving us a new heart.  And all of it comes by faith alone apart from works.

And yet the works follow.  Once we are made alive with new hearts, we no longer want to live as we did before in sin.  We have new hearts.  Now we want to live for God, doing the good works he gives us opportunities to do.

Have you received this new life?

If so, let us live the new life he has given us!