"And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes and be careful to obey my rules. You shall dwell in the land that I gave to your fathers, and you shall be my people, and I will be your God." -- Ezekiel 36:26-28

Hope springs eternal. Yet, there is no hope for those of the Stone Heart. History and tradition may hold a wonderful legacy, but without a heart of flesh all is cold and dark. Israel had all that any nation could desire in this life, but the people had fallen away from the Lord for so many generations that she walked in darkness.

The Lord has a future plan for His people. He will give them a heart of flesh and put His Spirit within them. He will cause them to walk in His statutes and ultimately, they will be His people and He will be their God. Such a day will come for all the redeemed as recorded in Revelation 21:3, "And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, 'Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God.'"

In the midst of your religious piety and zeal, do you still have a heart of stone my friend? The Lord calls to you today. Be wise and "Take care, brothers, lest there be in any of you an evil, unbelieving heart, leading you to fall away from the living God." (Hebrews 3:12) Come to Christ in faith and know... "Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come." (2 Corinthians 5:17) For those of the New Heart, hope always springs eternal.