Heartfelt

‘Now, this is the covenant that I will make with the people of Israel in the days to come, says the Lord;
I will put my laws in their minds
   and write them on their hearts.
I will be their God,
   and they will be my people …
I will forgive their sins
and will no longer remember their wrongs.’
(verses 10,12)

Read Hebrews 8:1-13

In God’s first covenant with his people the laws were written on slabs of stone which were stored in the ark of the covenant. This covenant was continually read out to the people so that they wouldn’t forget it. It didn’t work. The people forgot and wandered away from God, and the promises were lost.

Then God told his people through the prophet Jeremiah that he was going to make his covenant with them an internal thing, something written on their minds and hearts. It would no longer be something out there but something in here – in me.

As a Christian you are a living example of this. Jesus doesn’t simply dwell in heaven now; he lives in you. The spirit of God dwells in you. Your faith is not just a matter of holding to a book, a Bible or some doctrines and traditions; it involves your whole life.

You have made me one of your people, Lord. Help me to live by the covenant you have written in my heart. Amen.

by Pastor Tom Peitsch, in ‘Living Water for each Day’ (LCA, Openbook, 2001)

Visit the Daily Devotion archives page.