Courageous Love

Date: Monday, November 17, 2025

Readings: Psalm 141 | Ezekiel 11:14-25 | Ephesians 4:25-5:2

Ezekiel delivers one of Scripture’s most stunning promises: God will replace hardened hearts with responsive ones. Not polished or perfect religious hearts, but living hearts capable of compassion, justice, and courageous love. In a culture addicted to outrage, it’s easy to let bitterness calcify us. But God insists that transformation begins inside.

Psalm 141 models this vulnerability. The psalmist asks God to guard his mouth, restrain his impulses, and protect him from becoming like those who harm him. It is a raw, modern prayer in a world where digital platforms reward unfiltered anger.

Paul makes this intensely practical: speak truth, release grudges before they rot your soul, and imitate Christ by walking in sacrificial love. None of this is passive spirituality, but gritty discipleship that confronts every instinct toward self-protection.

To live with a new heart is to resist the cultural current that tells us to perform, react, or retaliate. Instead, God forms a people who embody integrity in small moments: the word held back, the apology offered, the forgiveness chosen. New hearts create new worlds.

Devotional Prompts:

• Where has your heart begun to harden, and why?
• What practice this week could soften your reactions toward others?
• How can you imitate Christ’s love in a conflict you’re facing?

Prayer:
God who makes hearts new, soften what has grown rigid in me. Shape me into someone who reflects Your compassion and truth in every interaction. Amen.