Stone or Flesh

As I was reading from a couple of my devotionals this morning, they began to intertwine and form a picture in my heart. The scripture from one devotion was Ezekiel 36:26- A new heart also will I give you and a new spirit will I put within you: and  I will take away the stoney heart out of your flesh, and I will give you a heart of flesh.

In Matthew 13:3-8 Jesus gives us the parable of the sower. He speaks of four different types of ground which are actually four conditions of the heart. The stoney heart is shallow and the seed of God's Word cannot survive when planted there. The hard heart cannot handle the trials and tribulation of this life. Persecution causes this heart to back down and allows the Word to die within it's breast. You cannot plant a garden on stone.

Is it any wonder that Hosea 10:12 says to "Break up your fallow ground." We must cultivate our hearts in order to receive what our Lord wants to plant there. It is up to us to prepare our heart that Jesus may enter there and find that what He has planted in us has produced. We prepare our hearts through worship, prayer, and time in His presence just to be still and listen. Then, when we read or hear God's Word, the seed is planted deep within us and nothing can snatch it away.

 This leads me to the second devotional scripture which is Song of Solomon 4:16- Awake, Oh north wind; and come, thou south; blow upon my garden, that the spices thereof may flow out. Let my beloved come into his garden, and eat his pleasant fruits.

The fragrances of the garden are released by the wind. I imagine Holy Spirit coming into my heart as a rushing, mighty wind. He carries the aroma of my love and my worship to my King who walks through the garden of my heart. How I pray He finds it full of the fruit of His Spirit. 

I long to be like Mary with her broken box of alabaster. How I love to sit at His feet and soak in His presence. I want to have His aroma permeate my life. I want to let go of the things of this world that prevent me from reaching out and grasping hold of more of Him.

She was not ashamed of her love for Him. She no longer cared what others thought of her. If all eyes were on her, "SO WHAT!!" Let them stare. What I do, I do for Him. I don't do it for you. So, if you don't approve of me, go ahead and talk behind my back or just loud enough for me to hear because you think it will control my actions. IT WON'T!! Not anymore. Because the closer I get to Him, the more gray this world becomes. It fades from view and I only have eyes for HIM.

I LOVE HIM AND I AM NOT ASHAMED!!!

I am my Beloved's and He is mine.
HE is My Dwelling Place.