Verse of the Day - 2 Corinthians 5:16-17

So we have stopped evaluating others by what the world thinks about them...What this means is that those who become Christians become new persons. They are not the same anymore, for the old life is gone. A new life has begun!
~ 2 Corinthians 5:16-17 (NLT)

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It's amazing what modern medicine can accomplish! Cardiac Cath Labs and Angiography Suites are commonplace in hospitals today, where doctors can radically alter the heart and associated arteries through minimally-invasive procedures that have people up and at 'em in no time! Just amazing.

But what can cure the spiritual heart of a person? Can a doctor take a catheter and hone out anger and bitterness from a person's heart? Is there a procedure to remove the buildup of arrogance and pride from the arteries of the mind?

Only Jesus changes the inside of a person, not where blood flows through veins, but where thoughts and attitudes flow through the spirit. And it is truly a divine miracle that can turn a heart of stone into a heart of flesh (Ezekiel 36:26). You probably know some people that were very hard of heart and yet the Lord softened them like butter in a microwave, and the change is radical. There is no other explanation except that God did a miracle in them. Or maybe that hard person was you.

Regardless of whether we are radically saved out of a hardened lifestyle, or gently persuaded by the Holy Spirit out of a "good" lifestyle, all are changed when the Lord comes inside to live! There are none good in this life -- I don't care if you never break the speed limit and always pray before meals and brush your teeth three times a day and never say a single swear word. None good...no, not one.

God looks down from heaven on the human race
to see if there is one who is wise
and who seeks God.
Everyone has turned aside;
they have all become corrupt.
There is no one who does good,
not even one. ~ Psalm 53:2-3 (Holman)

There is certainly no righteous man on the earth
who does good and never sins. ~ Ecclesiastes 7:20 (Holman)

All sin and fall short of God's glory (Romans 3:23). All need a Savior (John 3:16). All are changed from death to life, from old to new, by the power of God in Christ (2 Corinthians 5:16).

So, are you showing the change?

Well I got myself a T-shirt that says what I believe
I got letters on my bracelet to serve as my ID
I got the necklace and the key chain
And almost everything a good Christian needs, yeah
I got the little Bible magnets on my refrigerator door
And a welcome mat to bless you before you walk across my floor
I got a Jesus bumper sticker
And the outline of a fish stuck on my car
And even though this stuff's all well and good, yeah
I cannot help but ask myself--

What about the change
What about the difference
What about the grace
What about forgiveness
What about a life that's showing
I'm undergoing the change, yeah
I'm undergoing the change

Well I've got this way of thinking that comes so naturally
Where I believe the whole world is revolving around me
And I got this way of living that I have to die to every single day
'Cause if God's Spirit lives inside of me, yeah
I'm gonna live life differently

I'm gonna have the change
I'm gonna have the difference
I'm gonna have the grace
I'm gonna have forgiveness
I'm gonna live a life that's showing
I'm undergoing the change
~ The Change, by Steven Curtis Chapman

Love,
Joelene