Abundant Life: June 2008

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Who Can Change Your Heart?

While preparing to teach my Bible class in Jeremiah I ran across the following quote. Warren Wiersbe is an evangelical who does a pretty good job in his commentaries of being practical, as he writes more for the "common man" than the scholar. I enjoy reading his material - most of the time. As he writes on Jeremiah 40, discussing the punishment of the Jews by the Babylonians, he says "Even a severe chastening like the one Babylon brought to Judah didn't change their hearts, for the human heart can be changed only by the grace of God" (from his commentary on Jeremiah, Be Decisive, (Wheaton, Ill.: Victor Books, 1996, c1995). I believe what Wiersbe writes represents very common thinking in the religious world, but a line of thought that Scripture challenges. Let's think a little about who and what can change your heart.

The House of God

The "church" and the "kingdom" are different terms, describing the same group of people. The "church" refers to those called out by the gospel (II Thessalonians 2:14). The "kingdom" is composed of people who have submitted themselves to the reign of heaven. Every one who has submitted to the reign of heaven, has been called out by the gospel.