Welcome to another day the Lord has made that we should rejoice and be glad in. (Psalms 118:24)

Today we’ll close out the week of appreciating Jesus, who is the Great Physician, by acknowledging that He is the cure for sin.

Today’s scripture, Isaiah 53:3‭-‬11 (NLT) acknowledges…
He was despised and rejected— a man of sorrows, acquainted with deepest grief. We turned our backs on him and looked the other way. He was despised, and we did not care. Yet it was our weaknesses he carried; it was our sorrows that weighed him down. And we thought his troubles were a punishment from God, a punishment for his own sins! But he was pierced for our rebellion, crushed for our sins. He was beaten so we could be whole. He was whipped so we could be healed. All of us, like sheep, have strayed away. We have left God’s paths to follow our own. Yet the Lord laid on him the sins of us all. He was oppressed and treated harshly, yet he never said a word. He was led like a lamb to the slaughter. And as a sheep is silent before the shearers, he did not open his mouth. Unjustly condemned, he was led away. No one cared that he died without descendants, that his life was cut short in midstream. But he was struck down for the rebellion of my people. He had done no wrong and had never deceived anyone. But he was buried like a criminal; he was put in a rich man’s grave. But it was the Lord’s good plan to crush him and cause him grief. Yet when his life is made an offering for sin, he will have many descendants. He will enjoy a long life, and the Lord’s good plan will prosper in his hands. When he sees all that is accomplished by his anguish, he will be satisfied. And because of his experience, my righteous servant will make it possible for many to be counted righteous, for he will bear all their sins.

Consider…
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Heart Disease and Cancer accounted for 21% and 18% respectively, of the deaths in the United States.

That makes me think of Jeremiah 17:9-10 (NLT), which declares…
“The human heart is the most deceitful of all things, and desperately wicked. Who really knows how bad it is? But I, the Lord, search all hearts and examine secret motives. I give all people their due rewards, according to what their actions deserve.”

I don’t think it’s a coincidence that the deadliest disease in the world is heart disease. That’s because the heart is also the number one cause of death spiritually. You see according to Romans 10:10 we’re made right with God by believing in our hearts.

And Jesus explains in John 3:18 (AMP)…
Whoever believes and has decided to trust in Him [as personal Savior and Lord] is not judged [for this one, there is no judgment, no rejection, no condemnation]; but the one who does not believe [and has decided to reject Him as personal Savior and Lord] is judged already [that one has been convicted and sentenced], because he has not believed and trusted in the name of the [One and] only begotten Son of God [the One who is truly unique, the only One of His kind, the One who alone can save him].

This deadly lack of belief reminds me of Psalms 14:1‭-‬3 (NLT) which admonishes…
Only fools say in their hearts, “There is no God.” They are corrupt, and their actions are evil; not one of them does good! The Lord looks down from heaven on the entire human race; he looks to see if anyone is truly wise, if anyone seeks God. But no, all have turned away; all have become corrupt. No one does good, not a single one!

Ouch 🤕!!! God said no one does good. And no one includes religious people. In Matthew 15:7‭-‬9 (NLT) Jesus said…
You hypocrites! Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you, for he wrote, ‘These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. Their worship is a farce, for they teach man-made ideas as commands from God.’ ”

Wow, Jesus called out lip speaking versus heart seeking as a religious farce. Unlike the world suggests, the Holy Spirit is admonishing us that we can’t fake it til we make it. We have to have sincere hearts for God.

Further examination of the heart reveals, it’s main function is to pump oxygen- and nutrient-rich blood around the body. This circulation of blood around the body results in the continuous exchange of oxygen-rich blood with oxygen-poor blood, providing all systems of the body with the oxygen and nutrients they need to function properly.

Similarly, Jesus explains…
A good person produces good things from the treasury of a good heart, and an evil person produces evil things from the treasury of an evil heart. What you say flows from what is in your heart. – Luke 6:45 NLT

It’s our spiritual heart that determines how we function spiritually. That’s why Proverbs 4:23 (NLT) advises us to…
Guard your heart above all else, for it determines the course of your life.

The reason I am so fixated on the heart, is because I believe we are all born with spiritually defective hearts. I say that because Psalms 51:5 (NLT) declares…
For I was born a sinner— yes, from the moment my mother conceived me.

The cancer of sin, infected our hearts at birth. Thus we’re physically born in need of a spiritual heart transplant. In Ezekiel 36:26 (NLT) the Lord said…
I will give you a new heart, and I will put a new spirit in you. I will take out your stony, stubborn heart and give you a tender, responsive heart.

Notice, God didn’t say He would fix the heart, He said that He would replace it.

Which brings us to today’s recognition. Jesus, the Great Physician, is the cure for sin because He gives us a new heart. More specifically, Jesus gives us His heart. He describes it this way…
Remain in me, and I will remain in you. For a branch cannot produce fruit if it is severed from the vine, and you cannot be fruitful unless you remain in me. “Yes, I am the vine; you are the branches. Those who remain in me, and I in them, will produce much fruit. For apart from me you can do nothing. – John 15:4‭-‬5 NLT

Remember our explanation that the heart pumps oxygen- and nutrient-rich blood around the body? And that it’s this circulation of blood around the body results in the continuous exchange of oxygen-rich blood with oxygen-poor blood, providing all systems of the body with the oxygen and nutrients they need to function properly? That’s the same thing a vine does for the branches of a tree.

We need to recognize that Jesus is the source of both our physical and spiritual life’s blood. Without Him we cannot function properly.

As matter of fact, Jesus declared Himself to be Life! John 11:25 and John 14:6

I don’t know if we fully understand that it’s in Jesus that we live, move and exist. Acts 17:28

The Apostle Paul explains it best in Galatians 2:20 NLT…
My old self has been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me. So I live in this earthly body by trusting in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.

Maybe we are starting to appreciate the Great Physician’s heart transplant. However, I still wonder if we fully understand. In order for a heart transplant to work, the donor, who’s heart is being given, must die!

Today’s scripture is providing the death story of our Heart Donor. Always remember Jesus had to die for us to live! 💔 God had to replace our defective sinful heart, with Christ perfectly pure and holy one.

I like the way Romans 5:6‭-‬11 (NLT) explains this life exchange…
When we were utterly helpless, Christ came at just the right time and died for us sinners. Now, most people would not be willing to die for an upright person, though someone might perhaps be willing to die for a person who is especially good. But God showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners. And since we have been made right in God’s sight by the blood of Christ, he will certainly save us from God’s condemnation. For since our friendship with God was restored by the death of his Son while we were still his enemies, we will certainly be saved through the life of his Son. So now we can rejoice in our wonderful new relationship with God because our Lord Jesus Christ has made us friends of God.

Christ died a sinner’s death in order for us to live a righteous life!

Today, as you feel your heartbeat, pause and reflect on the wronful death that your Spiritual Heart Donor endured so that you could live right with God.

Let each heartbeat set the tempo for us loving and appreciating Jesus more and more!

Today’s song is…
By His Stripes

Blessings 4HG (1 Corinthians 10:31)