POWs held by the Japanese during WWII were treated so deplorably and inhumanely they often resorted to doing things in order to survive that they would never have done otherwise.

A small group of prisoners, however, decided the only hope they had for survival was to depend on someone greater than themselves. That someone was God.

Many of the POWs had never claimed to be Christians. Some didn’t even believe — including Ernest Gordon. But because Ernest was a college graduate, they asked him to lead the group in reading and discussing the New Testament, chapter by chapter.

As a result, most of them accepted Jesus as their Lord and Savior. The group of scrounging, selfish, desperate, and hopeless men found a reason to hope and to help one another survive.

What a miraculous story of God’s love in action!

In today’s verse, God promises He will revive our stony hearts. Hold Him to that promise. Let go of whatever is making your heart hardened and stone-like and give it to God. Live the words of 1 John 1:9 that say, “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and righteous to forgive us the sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”

Let the cleansing power of Jesus’ blood make your life a miracle!