Tags
Ezekiel 36:26-27, Grace Alone, Hebrews 1: 1-3, Jeremiah 17: 5-10, Jonah 9:4, Machen Science Camp, New Heart, New Spirit, Obeying God
Another amazing year of Machen Science Camp is over. I had the privilege of working with an super staff and an awesome bunch of kids. We spent a week in the mountains of Virginia, learning about God and how He reveals himself in both Science and His Word. The writing I did in the weeks leading up to camp was mainly for nighttime devotionals for the campers. The focus was on how all of creation obeys God, because He is both creator and sustainer.
Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed the heir of all things, through whom also he created the world. He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature, and he upholds the universe by the word of his power. (Hebrews 1:1-3a)
Creation glorifies God by obeying Him. Man was created to do this to. So I asked the campers, “What about humans? Do all of them obey God?”
This is kind of a trick question, because God is Omnipotent. Nothing in the Universe is outside of his control. He can act and use any person he chooses. We are told over and over again in Exodus how he hardened Pharaoh’s heart so he did not let the Israelites go. And as Jonah aptly says
“He (God) is wise in heart and mighty in strength
—who has hardened himself against him, and succeeded?”(Jonah 9:4)
This heart that can be hardened or quickened by God is what sets us apart from the rest of creation. The heart is what makes us in God’s image. It is not referring to a physical organ that pumps blood, but rather to the inner essence of our thoughts and minds. And since the fall of Adam, our hearts, in their natural state, are not to be trusted.
Thus says the Lord:
“Cursed is the man who trusts in man
and makes flesh his strength,
whose heart turns away from the Lord.
He is like a shrub in the desert,
and shall not see any good come.
He shall dwell in the parched places of the wilderness,
in an uninhabited salt land.
“Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord,
whose trust is the Lord.
He is like a tree planted by water,
that sends out its roots by the stream,
and does not fear when heat comes,
for its leaves remain green,
and is not anxious in the year of drought,
for it does not cease to bear fruit.”
The heart is deceitful above all things,
and desperately sick;
who can understand it?
“I the Lord search the heart
and test the mind,
to give every man according to his ways,
according to the fruit of his deeds.” (Jeremiah 17:5-10)
This does not seem fair. Does God require us to trust, yet tell us we cannot trust? He does, but He Himself renews our hearts so we can trust him. We, of course, don’t realize He is acting as our hearts are transformed. But we cannot heal our own hearts or renew them to have faith in God. Only God, working through His Spirit can do this.
And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes and be careful to obey my rules. (Ezekiel 36: 26-27)
This is part of the good news of the Gospel. Not only did God send his son, Jesus, live a perfect life, and die as a sacrifice for our sins, so that we might be forgiven. He also gives us new hearts that are indwelt by His Spirit, so that we can have faith in this good news. There really is no work we can do to conjure up this faith. It is a gift from God. And this is glorious.
And it is a joy for me to share this news with my campers, and now with you!
Soli Deo Gloria,
Diane