Laws Written on Our Hearts

March 16, 2015
Opening Hymns:
341 I Sought the Lord http://www.hymnsite.com/lyrics/umh341.sht

Scripture Reading:
Jeremiah 31:31-34
31:31 The days are surely coming, says the LORD, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Judah.

31:32 It will not be like the covenant that I made with their ancestors when I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt--a covenant that they broke, though I was their husband, says the LORD.

31:33 But this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the LORD: I will put my law within them, and I will write it on their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people.

31:34 No longer shall they teach one another, or say to each other, "Know the LORD," for they shall all know me, from the least of them to the greatest, says the LORD; for I will forgive their iniquity, and remember their sin no more.

Message:
Have you ever felt guilty for doing something you shouldn’t have done? Did you tell a lie to someone you love, steal a cooking before you were supposed to, or cheat on a homework assignment? Whenever I’ve thought of, or done something wrong, I always feel guilty. Perhaps the guilt comes from disobeying one of the laws that God has written on my heart.

Jeremiah is creating a powerful image with the words in today’s scripture reading. A new covenant, but this time instead of carving the laws onto stone they will be carved into our hearts! Instead of following laws because we are told to we begin to follow the laws because we desire to. The rules that God has laid forth become a part of who we want to be.

How much more beautiful is our relationship with God when we follow His commands because we want to… instead of because we have to. How much closer can we draw to God when we see the reasoning behind “thou shalt” and “thou shalt not”?  It amazes me that Jeremiah wrote this scripture over 500 years before Jesus’ ministry. I have no doubt in my mind that Jesus has fulfilled this covenant. Through Him the law has been written on each of our hearts, through Him our sins are forgiven, and through Him we can proclaim “we know the Lord!”

Time of Prayer
Dear Heavenly Father, thank You for sending Jesus Christ to save us from our sins, and teach us how to know and love You. May we always remember the lessons He taught us, and may we never forget the laws that You have written on our hearts. Amen.


The Lord’s Prayer


Closing Hymn
189 Fairest Lord Jesus http://www.hymnsite.com/lyrics/umh189.sht

May the Lord bless you and keep you: May the Lord make His face shine upon you, and be gracious unto you: May the Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace." Amen.

Go in peace, serve the Lord
Thanks be to God