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Colossians 2:23

²³These have indeed an appearance of wisdom in promoting self-made religion and asceticism and severity to the body, but they are of no value in stopping the indulgence of the flesh.

Religion and rules alone can't change the heart of a man, woman, or child. Think of some of the many programs designed to change one's desires. There are rehab units for those who want to get rid of an addiction. There are self-help books galore that teach many different ways to change. There are numerous religious formulas and lifestyles that claim they will tame our passions. Most of these things sound like they would certainly be successful if we really tried our best to do them.

In the end, we find all these plans fail to change the heart. There is only one way to have our hearts reprogramed. That is to go to the Maker and ask for a reboot. Beginning a relationship with God in humility and sincerity, through Jesus, can completely change our hearts. He will reveal the wrong motivations and the false assumptions behind them. Then He replaces those motivations with unselfish ones that are based in reality.

While we may struggle for a while with our old patterns, the love relationship continues to deepen, and we find the motivation of love powerful enough to override those old patterns with new, meaningful ones. The power to change the heart is only found in a relationship with Jesus.

Remember: Jeremiah predicted the day would come when there would be a New Covenant between God and man. He foresaw the changing of the heart through a relationship with the coming Messiah (Jeremiah 31:31-33).