Tuesday February 19, 2008

Text for the Day -- Ezekiel 38:24-28
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I will take you from the nations, and gather you from all the
countries, and bring you into your own land. I will sprinkle clean
water upon you, and you shall be clean from all your uncleannesses,
and from all your idols I will cleanse you. A new heart I will give
you, and a new spirit I will put within you; and I will remove from
your body the heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. I will
put my spirit within you, and make you follow my statutes and be
careful to observe my ordinances. Then you shall live in the land
that I gave to your ancestors; and you shall be my people, and I will
be your God.

Devotional
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God promised Israel a new beginning. It will include a cleansing
within and without. A new heart and a new spirit will be given them
when they return from their exile. They will be empowered to live out
God's teaching. All of us need renewal from time to time. The erosion
of our spiritual lives through sin calls for periodic cleansing and a
reigniting of the flame of the Holy Spirit within.

Prayer
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Help me hear your call of renewal when it comes, gracious God. Amen