HAPPY WEDNESDAY!
Today's scriptures are about circumcising your heart. According to an Author Mr. Michael Glass, "Circumcision cuts off the foreskin, the sexually sensitive sleeve of tissue that normally covers and protects the head of the penis." Mr. Glass’ definition of the physical act of circumcision gives us a little more detail than the dictionary. According to the early Law, circumcision was started with Abram as a covenant with God, it's written: This is My covenant which you shall keep, between Me and you and your descendants after you: Every male child among you shall be circumcised; and you shall be circumcised in the flesh of your foreskins, and it shall be a sign of the covenant between Me and you. (Gen 17:10-11) According to other biblical scholars, circumcision was performed as a witness, to permanently remind the people of Israel the need to Obey God's laws. This author goes on to say: For example, the covenant between Jacob and Laban was witnessed by a stone marker (Genesis 31:46-48). God's covenant with Noah and the world was witnessed by the rainbow (Genesis 9:12-16). In Abram's case, God asked that he and all his male descendents who entered into the covenant carry the reminder of the covenant in their own flesh. (~La Vista Church)
The act of circumcision is still a controversial subject today, but most people practice it on their newborn sons, but not all do it because it's the Law of God. It's argued to be medically safer or cleaner for the male, but there are just as many pros as there are cons in certain medical journals. Biblically, it no longer matters whether you're circumcised or uncircumcised. Just as I mentioned a few days ago, people still stress over the laws of what they should eat, or whether a woman should cover her head in church, etc. None of these matter because we will not be judged upon those things, but we'll be judge on our heart, and how much we love. We have the Holy Spirit as a witness of the sacrifice of Jesus Christ, and He's more than enough. I'm not telling you to abandon you're culture, or the way you've been taught to dress, eat, circumcise or not to circumcise, but I am telling you make sure to focus more on the Love of God.
I remember a time when I was torn between paying my tithe to the church and helping someone in need. I went to my Pastor, and asked him was I wrong for taking the money that I intended to sow into the church, and use it for someone in need. I was taught to bring your tithes into the storehouse, and to sow into God's work and ministry, so I didn't want to disobey that command. My Pastor told me that he thought it would be wrong for me to skip over a person in need, in order to follow that law. Jesus taught us to love our neighbors as we love ourselves, and I couldn't be wrong for sacrificing one act of love for another.
Instead of focusing so much on God's commandment of physical circumcision, we’re now commanded to circumcise our heart. In my opinion, we experience so much evil, hatred, bitterness, and anger in life, that our heart builds a shield of sorts, to protect itself. If Jesus taught us to "love God with all our heart", how could we honestly do so, when we've built up all of this extra "skin" around it? This skin is naturally there for protection, but in most cases what’s meant to protect things from getting in, also protects them from coming out.
In order to circumcise our heart we must examine it. We must be sure that we've confessed and repented for all sins. We must also forgive those who have wronged us in the past. It hinders us more to hold on to grudges, than it does to let them go, and forgive. Shedding the victim mentality, and learning how to acknowledge God in everything, allows us a better opportunity to love. For example, if you lose your job, instead of asking, "what am I going to do now?” try to asking, "God what do you want me to do now, and how is this going to make me better person?" Changing your outlook on life comes with circumcising the heart.
Paul taught us that those who willfully sin against God try to hold on to old laws and old traditions, thinking that they're justified because of them. However, if you don't believe in Jesus Christ, but you were circumcised according to the Law, you still will not see the Kingdom of God. If that were the case you’d have to follow each law to the letter, including all Ten Commandments, which we know we've all broken at least one. Paul said it best: You who are trying to be justified by law have been alienated from Christ; you have fallen away from grace. But by faith we eagerly await through the Spirit the righteousness for which we hope. For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision has any value. The only thing that counts is faith expressing itself through love. (Gal. 5:4-6 NIV)
If you don't know Jesus, you don't truly know God, because Jesus opened that gateway directly to the Father. Through Christ, you could go to God for anything, at anytime, and He will be open to you, no matter your circumcision status, or anything else for that matter. Without Jesus, you run the risk of your heart growing cold and filled with so many unnecessary hurts and pains. All you have to do is to let go, and allow Jesus carry those burdens for you. He died to set us free! Say that very important prayer today, if you need my help let me know! My favorite verse today is: Jesus Christ was a minister of the circumcision for the truth of God, to confirm the promises made unto the fathers. (Romans 15:8)
ENJOY! http://www.bible.com/scripture-detail.php?juli=2455399&dtype=Scripture
http://www.intouch.org/broadcast/today-on-radio
http://www.intouch.org/magazine/daily-devotional
I love you!
Showing posts with label Circumcise. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Circumcise. Show all posts
Wednesday, July 21, 2010
Tuesday, July 21, 2009
Daily Devotional Day & Night
HAPPY TUESDAY!
I pray all is well with everyone, and you're enjoying your day. I'm doing well, but really, really sleepy. I had to breakdown and have a cup of tea today, but I'm still sleepy, just fidgety. I'm seriously going to need to figure out how to get to bed at a reasonable time. I've been talking about this for the last few months, but I still haven't figured it out, pray for me. I'm sitting here wondering what I'm going to do for my birthday. I want to take a nice trip, but I'm afraid to go to the Caribbean, because my birthday falls in the heart of hurricane season. I was thinking Italy, if I could find a nice deal, or Las Vegas. The hardest part will be finding someone to go with me, so who's in? I'm going to start planning now. My birthday is September 20th by the way, so check and see if your weekend will be open, I've already put in my vacation for a long weekend. If you have any suggestions let me know. Have a wonderful day!
Today's scriptures are about circumcising our hearts. When we begin our Faith walk, our hearts are filled with sin. Over the years, we've picked up bad habits, and evil ways of thinking. You ever know someone who's always trying to beat the system, or get over? Well most of us are, or were, like that before we were saved. We learn today that we're supposed to start a circumcision on our hearts. We know that God starts the refinement process, but He needs our participation. We have to conscientiously make efforts to change our ways. It’s been studied that if we keep doing things a certain way, for 21 days, they becomes a habit (good or bad) that we must work to break. Just imagine if you've been living in sin your entire life, then you have a lot of work to do to break that habit, and start forming better, more Spiritual habits. Circumcision started with a covenant between God and Abraham found in Genesis 17, and verses 10-11 say: This is My covenant which you shall keep, between Me and you and your descendants after you: Every male child among you shall be circumcised; and you shall be circumcised in the flesh of your foreskins, and it shall be a sign of the covenant between Me and you. As we know the male organ is really sensitive, and to voluntarily endure such pain to remove skin that serves no purpose, shows great commitment to God. He wants us to do the same with our hearts. We have a lot of evil, sadness, un-forgiveness, anger, etc, built up in our hearts. That pain is there for a number of reasons, yet so unnecessary to have, and could cause pointless heartache and pain. It's written in Deuteronomy 30:6: And the LORD your God will circumcise your heart and the heart of your descendants, to love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul, that you may live. When we focus on God, He'll start to circumcise our hearts, and cut away all of the unnecessary pain we endure. Through the blood of Jesus, we have access to go to God anytime we need to, and ask for anything we want. Not just material things but help to overcome our burdens. We're growing, and some of the things we go through are out of ignorance, or things that we cannot control. Just as men are born with extra foreskin that could be removed, we're born into sin. There's nothing we could do about being born into sin, however, Jesus has been sacrificed to give us freedom from sin. When we're growing, we still have the urge to sin. We still have a carnal mind, and it takes some time for us to shed the sin that was so prevalent when we were lost. It's up to us be open to the circumcision God is performing on our hearts. It's up to us to circumcise our lifestyle, by eliminating the things or people that will hinder our growth. We must turn away from our old habits, by letting go of worldly attitudes and ideals. At the present time being a Christian isn't the status quo. In today's society it's cool to be bad, as we see in most movies, televisions programs, and hear in the most popular music. According to the world, it's okay to dress provocatively, fornicate, get drunk, commit adultery, worship money, lie, and anything else that you could think of; it's actually promoted. This is why it's so important for us to cut certain things out of our lives, to avoid the temptation. The only way to become perfect is to practice at it. We must learn how to overcome peer pressure and temptation, by saying no to certain people, and committing to learning the ways of the Lord. According to scripture physical circumcision is no longer required to be close to God (Acts 15), but circumcising our hearts is most important in building a strong relationship with Him. To start your circumcision process you have to admit that you're a sinner, then pray and ask God for forgiveness, and ask Jesus to come into your heart as Lord and Savior. After that, be proactive instead of reactive. Start praying without ceasing, studying the word regularly, and making some sound changes in your life. Get rid of all of the darkness, and focus on God's light. We have a lot of unnecessary mess in our lives, which need to be cleaned up, so we could live a peaceful life. My favorite verse today is: Circumcise yourselves to the Lord, and take away the foreskins of your heart. (Jeremiah 4:4)
ENJOY! http://www.bible.com/scripture-detail.php?juli=2455034&dtype=Scripture
http://www.intouch.org/site/pp.aspx?c=cnKBIPNuEoG&b=4943197
http://www.intouch.org/site/apps/nlnet/content2.aspx?c=cnKBIPNuEoG&b=5283727&ct=7162587
I love you!
I pray all is well with everyone, and you're enjoying your day. I'm doing well, but really, really sleepy. I had to breakdown and have a cup of tea today, but I'm still sleepy, just fidgety. I'm seriously going to need to figure out how to get to bed at a reasonable time. I've been talking about this for the last few months, but I still haven't figured it out, pray for me. I'm sitting here wondering what I'm going to do for my birthday. I want to take a nice trip, but I'm afraid to go to the Caribbean, because my birthday falls in the heart of hurricane season. I was thinking Italy, if I could find a nice deal, or Las Vegas. The hardest part will be finding someone to go with me, so who's in? I'm going to start planning now. My birthday is September 20th by the way, so check and see if your weekend will be open, I've already put in my vacation for a long weekend. If you have any suggestions let me know. Have a wonderful day!
Today's scriptures are about circumcising our hearts. When we begin our Faith walk, our hearts are filled with sin. Over the years, we've picked up bad habits, and evil ways of thinking. You ever know someone who's always trying to beat the system, or get over? Well most of us are, or were, like that before we were saved. We learn today that we're supposed to start a circumcision on our hearts. We know that God starts the refinement process, but He needs our participation. We have to conscientiously make efforts to change our ways. It’s been studied that if we keep doing things a certain way, for 21 days, they becomes a habit (good or bad) that we must work to break. Just imagine if you've been living in sin your entire life, then you have a lot of work to do to break that habit, and start forming better, more Spiritual habits. Circumcision started with a covenant between God and Abraham found in Genesis 17, and verses 10-11 say: This is My covenant which you shall keep, between Me and you and your descendants after you: Every male child among you shall be circumcised; and you shall be circumcised in the flesh of your foreskins, and it shall be a sign of the covenant between Me and you. As we know the male organ is really sensitive, and to voluntarily endure such pain to remove skin that serves no purpose, shows great commitment to God. He wants us to do the same with our hearts. We have a lot of evil, sadness, un-forgiveness, anger, etc, built up in our hearts. That pain is there for a number of reasons, yet so unnecessary to have, and could cause pointless heartache and pain. It's written in Deuteronomy 30:6: And the LORD your God will circumcise your heart and the heart of your descendants, to love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul, that you may live. When we focus on God, He'll start to circumcise our hearts, and cut away all of the unnecessary pain we endure. Through the blood of Jesus, we have access to go to God anytime we need to, and ask for anything we want. Not just material things but help to overcome our burdens. We're growing, and some of the things we go through are out of ignorance, or things that we cannot control. Just as men are born with extra foreskin that could be removed, we're born into sin. There's nothing we could do about being born into sin, however, Jesus has been sacrificed to give us freedom from sin. When we're growing, we still have the urge to sin. We still have a carnal mind, and it takes some time for us to shed the sin that was so prevalent when we were lost. It's up to us be open to the circumcision God is performing on our hearts. It's up to us to circumcise our lifestyle, by eliminating the things or people that will hinder our growth. We must turn away from our old habits, by letting go of worldly attitudes and ideals. At the present time being a Christian isn't the status quo. In today's society it's cool to be bad, as we see in most movies, televisions programs, and hear in the most popular music. According to the world, it's okay to dress provocatively, fornicate, get drunk, commit adultery, worship money, lie, and anything else that you could think of; it's actually promoted. This is why it's so important for us to cut certain things out of our lives, to avoid the temptation. The only way to become perfect is to practice at it. We must learn how to overcome peer pressure and temptation, by saying no to certain people, and committing to learning the ways of the Lord. According to scripture physical circumcision is no longer required to be close to God (Acts 15), but circumcising our hearts is most important in building a strong relationship with Him. To start your circumcision process you have to admit that you're a sinner, then pray and ask God for forgiveness, and ask Jesus to come into your heart as Lord and Savior. After that, be proactive instead of reactive. Start praying without ceasing, studying the word regularly, and making some sound changes in your life. Get rid of all of the darkness, and focus on God's light. We have a lot of unnecessary mess in our lives, which need to be cleaned up, so we could live a peaceful life. My favorite verse today is: Circumcise yourselves to the Lord, and take away the foreskins of your heart. (Jeremiah 4:4)
ENJOY! http://www.bible.com/scripture-detail.php?juli=2455034&dtype=Scripture
http://www.intouch.org/site/pp.aspx?c=cnKBIPNuEoG&b=4943197
http://www.intouch.org/site/apps/nlnet/content2.aspx?c=cnKBIPNuEoG&b=5283727&ct=7162587
I love you!
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