“This is the covenant I will establish with the people of Israel after that time, declares 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.” (Hebrews 8:10)
I have now worked at Mary’s Song Restoration Center for Women for three years, and God’s redemption power in this place never ceases to amaze me. Mary’s Song is a community driven by God’s passionate love for the lost, and his never-ending Grace is evident in each one of these women’s lives as God begins to do a supernatural work of restoration in each one of them. This healing process of restoration would not be possible if it were not for the new covenant spoken about in Hebrews 8.
Salvation and our testimony of redemption comes through Jesus Christ, not the Old Testament of the Law which relied on gifts, sacrifices, and mere human efforts. If the women that came into Mary’s Song continued to attempt to change and “become a better person” based on her personal abilities, redemption would never be possible, and we would continue to fall short. However, the present day ministry of Christ is filled with better and new promises. No longer are we striving to change, based on legalistic guidelines. Yet, we are changed internally, based on a personal experience with Christ when we have an intimate revelation of his love for us. Once that happens, our heart is sealed eternally to his heart. The women come into Mary’s Song broken and wayward. However, once Christ lives inside them, the Holy Spirit begins to change them from the inside out while changing their desires from rebellion to a Christ driven obedience.
Countless people strive daily to “will” themselves into deliverance from addiction. In order for sinners to turn from their wicked ways, we must have a heart change and allow the Holy Spirit to take out our stoney heart and give us a heart of flesh. If our desires are not replaced with the desires of Christ, we will continue seeking fulfillment in what this world has to offer. In John Piper’s article titled, “Jesus: Mediator of a Better Covenant, Part 1, Piper discusses that we must have God’s will written on our hearts in order to change. Piper states, “We need for him to assert himself powerfully in our lives as our God. We need for him to see to it not that he is knowable, but that we know him.” The beautiful work of redemption that was finished at the cross is not meant for us to pick up in our own strength. He picks it up for us and seals our heart with his kiss while allowing the beautiful glorious work of sovereign grace to be his greatest testimony in us.