A New and Renewed Heart

by Wayne Cordeiro on September 14, 2022

Good morning. It’s Wednesday, September 14, 2022. We hear thousands of songs about letting your heart be your guide. After all, how can you go wrong if you are following your heart? Actually, you can go very wrong. People will say, “Let your heart be your guide…” but if the guide is lost, so are you! Every delicate instrument, from a microscope to a telescope — will require adjustment and recalibration. The human heart is no different. It is the most critical instrument of all! Read on …

Today's Reading:

Ezekiel 36,37; Psalms 110; Revelation 19

Scripture

“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. And I will put my Spirit in you and move you to follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws.” (Ezekiel 36:26-27)

Observation

The very core of our being is our heart — it will motivate us and have the final say. But, the heart of man is prone to corruption. Although we sing songs about it and write poetry about it, the Scripture teaches us that man's heart is deceptive.

But the good news is that when we come to God, the first step is this: He gives us a new heart. He removes the carnal "Look-at-me" and "What's-in-it-for-me?" heart and installs a new heart in us… one that leans toward His heart and will. Then He places His Spirit within, and one of the Spirit's primary roles is to constantly clean and renew our hearts. "… I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in my statutes" (Ezek. 36:27).

Application

I must cooperate with the activity of the Holy Spirit as He carries out His maintenance plan. God not only gave me a new heart, but each day, His Spirit is at work renewing my heart … for worship, my family, my devotion, the Word, and ministry. Revelation 2 defines this as “returning to my first love.”

Prayer

Father, thank you for my new heart and your work in maintaining that new condition by “renewing” it daily. I will recognize what You are renewing today and cooperate with You!

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About the Author

Wayne Cordeiro

Dr. Wayne Cordeiro is the founding pastor of the New Hope International Ministry beginning in 1984 in Hilo, Hawaii. In 1995, he relocated to Honolulu and pioneered New Hope Oahu. Within 10 years, NHO was listed among the ten most innovative churches in America. Outreach Magazine listed them as one of the “top five churches to learn from.” New Hope has seen over 110,000 first time decisions since its inception and has planted 153 churches on the West Coast and in Okinawa, Philippines, Taiwan, Japan, Myanmar and Australia.

Wayne is an author of over 14 books and speaks globally on ministry and leadership. He also designed the Life Journal and the SOAP method for daily devotions used by thousands of churches. He is also the general editor of the LifeConnect Study Bible. In 2017, he passed the leadership baton in Hawaii and relocated to Eugene, Oregon to be president of New Hope Christian College (formerly Eugene Bible College, his alma mater). New Hope Christian College highlights the development of both the message and the messenger. (For more information, go to Newhope.edu).

In 2020, he pioneered New Hope West which partners with New Hope Christian College. It has become a “lab church” for ministry and leadership development. Wayne’s life themes are emphasizing the Word of God, a daily devotion to Jesus, evangelism, church planting, leadership development, communication and redeeming the arts and technology for Christ.

Wayne and his wife, Anna have been married for over 49 years. They have three married children (Amy Hisaoka, Aaron Cordeiro, and Abigail Rivest) and nine grandchildren. His hobbies include music, reading, golf, pickleball, and riding his horse.