Heart Transplant Then And Now


Then I will give them one heart, and I will put a new spirit within them, and take the stony heart out of their flesh, and give them a heart of flesh”. (11: 19)

If this verse was written in 571 BC, then 2538 years later in 1967, Dr.Christiaan Barnard of South Africa transplanted a heart for the first time in the history of mankind.

Although Barnard’s father was a priest , it is not clear whether the above verse had any influence on the young Bernard. But what surprises me most is the fact that this particular verse gives the real image of a heart transplant surgery.

God says that Israel needed a new heart (thereby a new spirit).The existing heart has lost its tenderness and has become stony. And the only remedy is to fix a new, tender (fleshy) heart in the body.

The heart of the 53-year old Washkansky ceased to function as it became stony due to chronic diabetes and smoking. Christiaan Barnard decided that nothing can save him other than replacing his heart with a new one. The pulsating heart of a healthy young lady who died in a car accident was transplanted into Washkansky’s body. His life could be prolonged albeit for a short period of 18 days.

How can one read without getting goose bumps, about this first ever transplant and God’s prescription of a heart transplant for Israel thousands of years ago! We witnessed what God prescribed for spiritual transformation, physically happening in our times.

No need for any one with a heart condition similar to that of Israel or Washkansky to loose heart. God promises them a new, fleshy heart; not of any other human being but God’s alone.

If anybody is out there without knowing about this Grand Offer which is still open, isn’t it our duty to bring it to their notice?

George Joseph Trivandrum

Ezekiel 12:28 “This is what the sovereign LORD says: None of my words will be delayed any longer! The word I speak will come to pass, declares the sovereign LORD.’”

In Ezekiel 12. Ezekiel is prophesying about the destruction that’s coming upon Jerusalem because of sin and idolatry.

In the verse above Ezekiel is prophesying that the judgment of God is coming.

The Lord made it clear that Ezekiel’s words would be fulfilled very soon.
…. “The word which I have spoken shall be done” (Ezek. 12:28).

Six years later, the Babylonian army breached the walls of Jerusalem and Ezekiel’s predictions came true.

As we read these verses, think about the urgency for the gospel right now in the world.
There is a tendency among many people to think, …….
…………… oh, I’ll worry about that later. I’ll worry about my relationship with God when I’m older. I’ll worry about my relationship with God at another point in my life. I’m okay right now.
It’s one of the most consistent lies that Satan, that the adversary, sells and deceives with people thinking there’s more time.

How tragic it is when people deliberately ignore or reject the dependable Word of God and put their faith in the empty but soothing words of false religious leaders!

Today we are very busy with our churches with many affairs.
We are focused on many administrative issues.

Some of us are taking evangelism as a profession, hobby or a way to make money, rather than an actual team doing the work of evangelism.

Many of these concerns are needed….
But we should not become so preoccupied with so many diverse interests that we lose sight of God’s main interest – His desire that none should perish.

In 2 Tim. 4:2, it reminds that “Never lose your sense of urgency”
Nothing must discourage us in our planning for the Lord’s work now.

…*Hard problems, unsatisfying futures, may challenge but that should never discourage or dismay us.

“Never lose your sense of urgency” is God’s message to His children today.
May God use us as His instrument to share His love and Gospel to others, so that they have eternal hope by Grace alone, through Faith alone, in Christ alone.

Jooley Mathew Z
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