2015-11-13
Good Morning Dear Ones,
Last week I was directed to write about forgiveness, and the wonderful ways that God wants us to be forgiving, as He forgave us [CO 3: 13]. Being forgiving is an important part of a person’s covenant renewal. Holding grudges is never constructive. Today, the Holy Spirit leads me to write about the meaning of one’s “circumcision of the heart.” We see this phrase first used in RO 2: 29. In this chapter of Romans, Paul had been calling hypocritical Jews on the carpet, ones who have claimed not to be judgmental of others when they actually were. Then, he wants to define what a real Jew should be in this verse. “No, a man is a Jew if he is one inwardly, and circumcision is circumcision of the heart, by the Spirit and not by the written code. Such a man’s praise is not from men, but from God.”
Legalism has been a very unfortunate result of the emphasis of traditional Judaism on form and not on the content [Spirit] of God’s teaching. This is exemplified by the practice of wearing long, fancy tassels by Pharisees, by the outward practices of such modern groups as the Orthodox Jews living in Brooklyn, N.Y.’s Williamsburg neighborhood, and other such behavior. This legalism has resulted in ostracism, both socially and economically, and even to deportation and death for some. Faithful obedience in spirit and practice to God’s teaching requires a real understanding of His will and willingness to make it one’s own. God will indeed have His way in the end. IS 1: 19-20, “’If you are willing and obedient, you will eat the best from the land; but if you resist and rebel, you will be devoured by the sword.’ For the mouth of the Lord has spoken.” PS 111: 10, “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom; all who follow His precepts have good understanding. To Him belongs eternal praise.” Why can’t these notions be easily understood? It’s the sinful nature of mankind that leads to their rebellion. It’s the refusal to “let go and let God,” i.e. to trust and rely on God.
Having said all of that, we need to return to the meaning of having “circumcision of the heart.” If the best and wisest people in God’s sight could iterate what it is that makes them this way, they would have to say, “my willingness to put God first, and no, it doesn’t come naturally!” This has to be a matter of mind over inner instincts, a decision to learn God’s will in each situation and to act on it. Only Jesus can do this to perfection. That’s no reason to give up. The old adage that if you fall off a horse, you should get back up on it and try again to ride successfully, certainly applies here. The only way to get better at doing this is through practice. Despite our sinful natures, we were created to be able to obey God’s commands. No one is saying it’s easy, but it can be done.
Motivation to be faithfully obedient to God is certainly here. RO 6: 6, “We were therefore buried with Him through baptism into death, in order that just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life.” COL 3: 3-4, “For you have died and your life is hidden with Christ in God. You real life is Christ and when He appears, then you too will appear with Him and share His glory.” What greater motivation can there be for taking on a new covenant identity, one that reflects the Lord’s work in circumcising your heart? Imagine how wonderful it will be to be in the company of the Lord in heaven for eternity. It’s the very reason Christ died on the cross, so that we can be saved! [JN 3: 16; RO 3: 24-25]. Consider the fact that the Lord will rejoice over us, if we live righteously in Christ. ZEPH 3: 17, “The Lord your God is with you; He is mighty to save. He will take great delight in you; He will quiet you with His love; He will rejoice over you with singing.”
Righteousness leads to rewards from the Lord. 1 PET 2: 24, “He Himself bore our sins in His body on the tree, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; by His wounds you have been healed. You were like sheep going astray, but now you have returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls.” In so many ways the Lord has told us that our return to Him in heaven for eternity is a first priority for Him [JN 6: 39-40; GA 3: 13; EPH 1: 4-5; HE 9: 11-12]. As a person gets older, he must face his own mortality. Younger people feel they are invincible, but the truth is that our lives are like dead leaves carried away by a wind gust unless we have made the choice to live righteously in God’s sight. What we are dealing with is our legacy, our cosmic purpose. Have you personally ever considered what kind of legacy you will leave behind? It’s a profound question and one that God wants us to consider. How do you want to be remembered? God has commented on His point of view. PS 112: 5-6, “Good will come to him who is generous and lends freely, who conducts his affairs with justice. Surely he will never be shaken; a righteous man will be remembered forever.” A man who is only interested in his own welfare and/or in material things will soon be forgotten. Each of us must decide what kind of legacy we will leave behind, and that is tied closely with the nature of our covenant relationships with God and each other.
PRAYER: O Lord, You have so many reminders and lessons for us to help us become better believers, live more righteous lives. We thank and praise You for that wisdom. You have told us Your view, in PR 10: 25, “When the storm swept by, the wicked were gone, but the righteous stand firm forever.” You never left us swinging in the wind, but always have made Your word and prayer available to us, so that we might grow and mature in a way which pleases You. That way gives us the chance to walk through the “narrow gate” and along “the rough path that leads to eternal life” [MT 7: 12-14]. When we take advantage of all the direction and intervention You give us, we can rest assured that we will live eternally in heaven in sweet fellowship with You. We are a blessed people and acknowledge that all those blessings come from You. You are the Source of all that is good in our lives. As we approach the task of personal covenant renewal, we ask for Your direction and help. It is our hope that You will show us the way, and that we will have the courage and honesty to rely on You. PR 3: 5-6, “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make your paths straight.” Your words in our prayers are meant to guide us to these paths that are right in Your sight. We realize we can’t live righteously without Your guidance and intervention. You carry us when we can’t walk on our own; You love us when we hardly know how to love ourselves. We offer You sincerest praise and thanks for the blessings we have and those You will shower on us. We continue to pray to Your glory and look to You with devotion. In the holy/mighty name of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Amen.
NEXT WEEK: We will continue with the preparation for personal covenant renewal in next week’s devotion. RO 12: 2 is an overview of what God does to fulfill His end of the Covenant of Grace. We’ll look at that and also at what we need to do to fulfill our end of the covenant. This two-way promise is life-changing in the eternal sense. Every person, even those who are mentally or physically challenged, can choose to live righteously. I can’t tell you how moved I was when a group of mentally challenged young people were organized into a chorus and sang before our congregation. They have a special class, taught by loving and patient adults who are not mentally challenged. The love and service these young people provided in our service was amazing. That’s what the Lord can do for people willing to face life’s hardships straight on. And to think that the rest of us would have an easier time than these young people to decide to live righteous lives in Christ! But doing this is not easy for anyone, because we are called upon to think differently than ever before and to act accordingly. This often means stepping away from what is comfortable and familiar into what is unknown. My husband and I are both partially disabled, but the Lord put it on our hearts each year to participate in our congregation’s efforts to fill food bags for Feed My Starving Children. Most of the tasks required people to be on their feet the whole time, something I knew I couldn’t do. However, there was a need for labeling the bags, and that was a job tailor-made by God for people who can’t stand for a long time. The feeling of accomplishment that we both had afterward was God telling us He was pleased. Our church fills a remarkable number of meal bags each year for this charity, so we aren’t, by far, the only ones feeling like we are accomplishing our small part of the Lord’s Kingdom work. If any of us are willing to serve God, He will find the right way for us to do it. That’s due to His circumcision of our hearts and our cooperation with it.
Grace Be With You Always,
Lynn
JS 24: 15
© Lynn Johnson 2015. All Rights Reserved.
PS PS I have a new website on which all the messages I’ve written so far are archived. In addition, the message for the week will be posted on it. Those who receive these messages from me directly will recognize that the new message for the week is considerably farther ahead in the “Our Covenant” series. So, I will continue sending these messages directly to you in a plan that won’t cause you to miss the ones in between this link. The web address for my new website is:
http://weeklydevotional.com If you want to reach it from the church’s website, you can visit the church’s home page at: www.woodburylutheran.org and then click on this link.
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