2 Corinthians 5:17, "Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!"

Think

God is not in the duct tape and band aid business. He doesn't do temporary repairs or a casual covering of our hurts. God is in the replacement business, and it starts with our heart (Ezekiel 36:26). The fact is, we all have a diseased and depraved heart that needs to be changed. When we give God access, He gives us a heart transplant that brings new life. God changes a lot about our lives with this heart transplant. We get to exchange:

• Our Sin for the Savior
• Our Guilt for His Grace
• Our Mistakes for His Mercy
• Our Hate for His Holiness
• Our Lust for His Lordship
• Our Greed for His Generosity
• Our Pride for His Pardon
• Our Envy for His Enlightenment
• Our Critical Spirit for His Compassion
• Our Jealousy for Jesus

This heart transplant brings new life, and with that new life comes a choice! We can continue to live in our old, unhealthy ways before our transplant; or we can live the new way God intended. The choice is ours. We can fill our new heart and life with old, unhealthy decisions or we can embrace the newness that God wants to give us. Choose today to live God's way!

Act

Go back to the list above explaining what we get to exchange, and ask God to show you if you are holding on to anything that God intended for you to turn over to Him. If He shows you something, ask God for the strength to let go of the old and embrace the new He has for you!

Pray

Dear heavenly Father, thank you for providing a way for me to have a new heart and a new life. Please show me any place where I am hanging on to the old and strengthen me to embrace the new that You have given me so that I can live out this new life with You.