There is a piece of petrified wood in my office that weighs about ten pounds. It measures about 8"X5"X4". Measured against the scale of some petrified trees it's pretty small, but it fascinates me none the less. Petrified wood has always fascinated me. To see something that was once alive and growing, that has become stone truly is a miracle. I know there is a natural explanation for it, so perhaps marvel is a better word than miracle.

There is much debate in the science/creation science community as to how old the earth is and how old things like petrified wood are. The age ranges from billions of years for some scientists to perhaps ten thousand or less for some creationists. Personally, I subscribe to a young earth theory believing the Bible to be literally true. However that's a topic that is way to huge to discuss in detail in the short space we have for Gleanings.

Whether the petrified wood I was holding was a few thousand years old or millions of years old doesn't take away from the marvel of a transformation from living into stone. One my desk is also a small piece of copal. It's petrified tree sap. In this piece you can even see the tree bark. Another marvel of life turned to stone.

In the Bible we read of the judgment of God on Sodom and Gomorrah. We also read of Lot's wife disobeying God and being turned into a pillar of salt. Living flesh turned to stone again.

There's a bigger marvel than living being tuned to stone. That's the miracle of stone being turned to life. God promised to do just that for His people.

" `For I will take you out of the nations; I will gather you from all the countries and bring you back into your own land. I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean; I will cleanse you from all your impurities and from all your idols. I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my Spirit in you and move you to follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws. You will live in the land I gave your forefathers; you will be my people, and I will be your God. I will save you from all your uncleanness. I will call for the grain and make it plentiful and will not bring famine upon you. I will increase the fruit of the trees and the crops of the field, so that you will no longer suffer disgrace among the nations because of famine. Then you will remember your evil ways and wicked deeds, and you will loathe yourselves for your sins and detestable practices. I want you to know that I am not doing this for your sake, declares the Sovereign LORD. Be ashamed and disgraced for your conduct, O house of Israel!
Ezekiel 36:24-32 NIV

Now their hearts weren't truly made of stone, but they might as well have been. They were hardened to God's truth and that made them resistance to His saving grace and freedom. Their hard hearts keep them from receiving their greatest gift in the world ... a personal relationship with the Living God.

Stone hearts don't get heart as often as hearts of flesh. Many people have purposely hardened their hearts because of past wounds and the desire to never be hurt again. Stone hearts feel no joy. The joy that they miss out on far exceeds the potential for hurt. It's always a tragedy when someone allows their heart to petrify.

There are even many believers who allowed their hearts to be softened enough to accept Christ, but somewhere later hardened them. they have salvation but no peace and no joy. They're perpetually walking wounded. The door to healing is open but their hearts won't permit them to enter. I'm saddened when I see these people.

What's your heart made of? Is it alive and walking in the fullness of Jesus. Was it once alive but you've allowed it to harden? Has it ever been alive or has it always been stone? If it's hardened again or never been made flesh, cry out to God to break and remake it.

Until next time may your heart be alive and praising God's holy name.

Hallelu Yah (Praise God)

Be blessed

Kevin