And I will give you a new heart, and I will put a new spirit in you. I will take out your stony, stubborn heart and give you a tender, responsive heart. Ezekiel 36:26 NLT
Disciples have a heart that beats for God and desires what He desires. The moment we believe and put our faith in Jesus accepting Him as our personal Savior we exchange a spiritually dead heart for one of life (Eph. 2:1-10). A once dead heart comes to life and is renewed. As we follow Jesus, our affections (our desires, our values, where our passions lie, and tender attachments) are set on things of God, and those affections grow to supersede the attractions of sin and the things of this world. We learn to love what He loves, value what He values, and hate what He hates. They grow to obey God out of desire, not simply out of duty. Our renewed affections lead us to know more about Him through the Bible.