READ: EZEKIEL 36:16-38; PHILIPPIANS 2:5-8

Which is better: a heart of stone, or a heart of flesh? To be honest, some days I want to choose the stone. A heart of stone doesn’t feel pain, and it doesn’t have to bend to anyone else’s will. It seems strong and immovable, impervious to hardship and unchanged by anything it comes up against. But the truth is, a heart of stone is basically useless. Stone can’t pump blood or sustain life. A heart of flesh serves the body, nourishing and strengthening it with freshly oxygenated blood. A heart of stone serves nothing, nourishes nothing, and strengthens nothing.

In Ezekiel 36, God calls out Israel’s sin—their idolatry, injustice, and stubborn refusal to follow His commands. But He also promises to cleanse them of their sin. He says, “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” (verse 25-27). In ancient Hebrew, the word translated here as heart refers to more than one’s feelings. It refers to all of one’s internal life—thoughts, feelings, desires, and decision-making. All of these take place in the heart. So having a heart of flesh doesn’t necessarily mean we have a lot of feelings—though that can certainly happen. It means our thoughts, feelings, desires, and decision-making have been cleansed and forgiven and made alive by the Holy Spirit so we can put our faith in God and place our confidence and hope in Him. Then we can be moldable, humble, teachable, and willing to let ourselves be fully shaped by God and His good ways.

Having a heart of flesh feels risky. It requires opening ourselves up to pain. Jesus knows what that’s like. Jesus, God the Son, allowed all His desires, thoughts, feelings, and decisions to be shaped completely by God the Father, even when it led to the cross. We betrayed Him, and He still kept His heart soft because of His great love for us.

Jesus will never betray me, but other people have. And when Jesus tells me to love them anyway, it helps to watch Him do it first. I can walk forward with a living, soft, obedient, easily bruised heart because I’ve seen Jesus do it. And if we know Jesus, His Spirit lives in us, and He’s given us a heart of flesh so we can respond to His love. And that is way better than any stone. • Taylor Eising

• How can looking at Jesus help us live from the heart of flesh He has given us?

Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me. Psalm 51:10 (NIV)

READ: JOHN 1:1-14; COLOSSIANS 1:15-20; REVELATION 21:1-6

In my life, there are many starts and stops. I start a new hobby, and I finish a TV show. I wake up and start my workday, and I end the day by going to bed. At the start of my life, I came into being. And eventually my days on this broken earth will end.

In the last book of the Bible, Jesus calls Himself “the Alpha and the Omega—the Beginning and the End” (Revelation 21:6). This name signifies the completeness of God. Alpha and Omega are actually just the first and last letters of the Greek alphabet. These Greek letters work like a metaphor here. It’s similar to saying you sang the alphabet from A to Z.

Jesus was there at the beginning, before time began, and He played an important role in creation. John 1:3 says that everything was made through Jesus.

Jesus is also the end of all things. He is the end to sin and suffering. Jesus ended the power of sin and death in His own death and resurrection. And Jesus will be there at the end of time to bring justice down and right the wrongs of the world.

It’s important to remember that Jesus is God the Son, and when He calls Himself the Alpha and the Omega, He is helping us better understand who He is. God does not have a beginning, or a starting point. God has always been. Similarly, God does not have an end. God is eternal, and in Jesus, we can share that eternal life in His new creation. • Naomi Zylstra

• When Jesus returns and makes all things new, everyone who has put their trust in Him will live with Him forever! As we experience the many starts and stops of life, how could it be comforting to look forward to eternal life with Jesus, when sin and brokenness will finally come to an end?

• Are you starting something new? How have you seen Jesus present with you in this new beginning? Consider spending some time in prayer, asking God to help you see how He is working in and around you.

• Endings can be sad, scary, and difficult, but Jesus is always Lord, and He rules over every beginning and every end. How can this truth give us hope when we experience endings?

This is what the LORD says—Israel’s King and Redeemer, the LORD of Heaven’s Armies: “I am the First and the Last; there is no other God.” Isaiah 44:6 (NLT)

READ: PSALM 27; ISAIAH 40:31; LAMENTATIONS 3:25

Waiting for things to work out can be exhausting, scary, frustrating, and stressful. Sometimes it feels like there won’t ever be an end. Sitting in the uncertainty can be the hardest because we don’t know which way things are going to go. We don’t know if they’re going to work out like we hoped—or if they’re going to work out in a way that makes our world feel like it’s crashing down around us.

But God is with us no matter what. It doesn’t matter if what you’re facing is small or large. It doesn’t matter if the thing that’s weighing on you might seem silly to someone else. God is there by your side, and He’s going to walk through it with you.

In Psalm 27, David describes how God helps us in all kinds of troubles, and he concludes by saying, “I am certain that I will see the Lord’s goodness in the land of the living. Wait for the LORD; be strong, and let your heart be courageous. Wait for the LORD” (verse 13-14).

So keep seeking God. Keep trusting Him. Keep following Him, even when it doesn’t make sense, even when following God feels like it’s not making a difference. God loves you so much that Jesus died for you, and then He rose again to make the way for you to be with Him forever. He is right by your side through it all, and He’s never going to leave you on your own. Stay strong, and lean into Him, even when you don’t know what’s happening around you. Keep waiting. It’s not in vain. • Tynea Lewis

• Are you waiting to see how something works out right now? Consider taking a moment to talk to God about it. We can be totally honest about what we want and ask boldly, and we can also ask Him to help us trust Him no matter what the outcome is.

• Waiting in uncertainty can be a form of suffering. Thankfully, God has compassion on us in our distress, and He promises to work all things for the good of those who love Him (Romans 5:3-5; 8:28-29; Hebrews 13:5). In the midst of uncertainty, how could it be helpful to remember that everything will ultimately work out for our good when Jesus returns—and also to remember that God will still be with us, helping us, even if what we feared most were to happen? What is something you can do while you’re waiting that brings your focus back to God?

The LORD is good to those who wait for him, to the person who seeks him. Lamentations 3:25 (CSB)