Tuesday

Related Verses
Ezek. 36:26-27
26 I will also give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you; and I will take away the heart of stone out of your flesh, and I will give you a heart of flesh.
27 And I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes, and My ordinances you shall keep and do.

Psa. 57:7
7 My heart is steadfast, O God; My heart is steadfast. I will sing, indeed I will sing psalms.

Psa. 112:7
7 He will not be afraid of evil tidings; His heart is steadfast, trusting in Jehovah.

2 Cor. 4:16
16 Therefore we do not lose heart; but though our outer man is decaying, yet our inner man is being renewed day by day.

Titus 3:5
5 Not out of works in righteousness which we did but according to His mercy He saved us, through the washing of regeneration and the renewing of the Holy Spirit,

Rom. 6:19, 22
19 I speak in human terms because of the weakness of your flesh. For just as you presented your members as slaves to uncleanness and lawlessness unto lawlessness, so now present your members as slaves to righteousness unto sanctification.
22 But now, having been freed from sin and enslaved to God, you have your fruit unto sanctification, and the end, eternal life.

2 Tim. 4:10
10 For Demas has abandoned me, having loved the present age, and has gone to Thessalonica; Crescens to Galatia; Titus to Dalmatia.

Related Reading
Instead of having an established heart, most Christians have a changeable, movable heart. We need a heart that is solidly established, not a heart that is changeable. According to our natural birth, however, our heart is changeable…For example, in the morning a brother may be very kind to his wife. But during breakfast he may become bothered by something and treat her in an unkind way. This is an illustration of the changeableness of our heart. 

Our heart is changeable not only in relation to other people but even in our relationship with the Lord. God is the unchanging One; He never changes. We are the ones who are changeable, and we are changeable in our heart. For this reason Paul was concerned that the hearts of the new believers at Thessalonica would be set, built up, and established. (Life-study of 1 Thessalonians, p. 175) 

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First Thessalonians 3:13 opens with the words so that. The Greek word here actually means “in order that”; that is, it indicates an issue, a result, of the foregoing verses, especially verses 6 through 12…Paul’s concern is for the Thessalonians’ faith and love. His desire is that their faith would be perfected and that their love would increase and abound in order that the Lord may establish their hearts. 

As human beings, we all are changeable. Simply because we grow older does not mean that there is a basic change in our nature. For example, a piece of glass may be very fragile. After fifty years the glass will still be fragile. Age will not make it any stronger. The same is true in human life…I urge you, especially those who are not so young, not to have any confidence in your heart. Because our heart changes so easily, it is not at all trustworthy. 

In my ministry I have met thousands of people…Time after time I have seen someone have a change of heart. Because our heart is changeable, a crucial need in our Christian life is the establishing of our heart. 

Although we need our heart to be established, we are not able to do this ourselves. Only the Lord can establish our heart. Therefore, we need Him to cause our heart to be solidly established and built up. 

If your heart is set, built up, and established upon a solid foundation, it will then become blameless. An unchanging heart is a blameless heart. 

Sometimes we criticize others for being changeable when we ourselves are also changeable…In order to care for new believers, we may warn them not to trust certain people who are changeable. But how about ourselves? Are we not changeable? I must confess that in the natural life I am changeable. Further, most of the changes I am referring to are negative. Years ago I recorded certain things in my diary, for instance, a record of how I had dealt with a particular matter thoroughly before the Lord. But years later, I dare not read what I have written, for even after writing such a record, I experienced some change. 

We need to realize and admit that our heart is changeable. Therefore, we need to receive the mercy and grace from the Lord that we may give Him the permission to establish our heart. He is waiting for our permission before He works within us to do the establishing. When our heart has been established, it will become blameless. (Life-study of 1 Thessalonians, pp. 175-177) 

Further Reading: CWWL, 1990, vol. 2, “To Be Saved in the Life of Christ as Revealed in Romans,” ch. 1; CWWL, 1984, vol. 3, “God’s New Testament Economy,” ch. 27