"I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; I will take the heart of stone out of your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes, and you will keep My judgments and do them." Ezekiel 36:25.



I believe that GOD told Ezekiel what happens when the Holy Spirit enters us. The change we experience is from within and rediates outward. Although we all share the same catalist in our belief in Jesus Christ, I think the change happens differntly for each Christian. In saying that, I can only relate how GOD changed my heart. It started with an increase in conscience and caring. Then an increase of awareness of sins and the desire for sobriety followed.

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Having been brought up in a Christian household, I always knew what was sinful but never really cared. So what if I sinned. I could always ask for forgiveness when the time came and all would be forgotten, right? Wrong! This was not the actions of a true believer and of one whom possesses the Holy Spirit. It was the behavior of one who didn't truly believe and because of the lack of belief, GOD hadn't changed my heart yet. I was aware of sin but didn't do anything to avoid it.



Even if one possesses the Holy Spirit, we will still fall from time to time. The difference for me now is that I immediately acknowledge my sin in prayer and confession and try to do my best to avoid it. In confrontation, I try to "take the high road" so to speak, which is the road Jesus wants us to take. The change is both immediate and gradual. In my case, I immediately began to have an increased conscience about sin but the effort to change sinful ways is a gradual process. GOD will change our hearts but it is up to us to act on the change.