2017-12-22
Good Morning Dear Ones,
The Holy Spirit has charged me with the responsibility of writing about cultural practices and God’s will concerning them. As you already know, there are human-centered lives and God-centered lives. I would like to think that we all belong to the latter category. In ancient times, Abraham and all his male descendants through Isaac (his “son of the promise”) were commanded to be physically circumcised. This was a sign of their commitment to living by God’s principles. While this physical act is no longer required, there are certainly good cleanliness and health reasons for continuing to do this. It was seen, in GN 17, as a sign of the covenant made with Abraham [GN 12: 2-3]. God took on the responsibility of attempting to civilize mankind, while at the same time urging them to live by His teaching. Not an easy job!
If we fast forward in time to when Paul was writing to the Colossians, we can see God’s will in COL 2: 11. “In union with Christ you were circumcised, not with the circumcision that is made by human beings, but with the circumcision made by Christ, which consists of being freed from the power of the sinful self.” It was Paul’s reminder that we are all unified by the Covenant of Grace to remain faithful to God’s teaching and allow Him alone to determine what is acceptable and what isn’t. In addition, this is not only urging to be unified with His thinking, but to do so in the decisions we make and actions we take.
The Scriptures should be taken as a whole, rather than partitioned. So, it’s appropriate to go back to Romans for further reflection. RO 6: 4, 6, and 10-11, “By our baptism, then, we were buried with Him (Christ) and shared His death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from death by the glorious power of the Father, so also we might live a new life…And we know that our old being has been put to death with Christ on His cross, in order that the power of the sinful self might be destroyed, so that we should no longer be slaves to sin…And so, because He died, sin has no power over Him, and now He lives His life in fellowship with God. In the same way you are to think of yourselves as dead, so far as sin is concerned. This is because we are living in fellowship with God through Christ Jesus.” When these notions are combined with the mystery of God [COL 1: 26-27 and COL 2: 2-3], not only is God’s will for us clear, but we can have a deeper understanding of what our baptism really means. John wrote, in JN 8: 32, “You will know the truth, and the truth shall set you free.”
Does this mean that we can’t sin? Of course not! What it means is that if we do sin, the Holy Spirit will let us know and, except in cases where the sin is truly heinous, will give us a chance to readjust our attitude or behavior. This requires one to confess it honestly to God and stop the behavior. At this point, I must express my opinion that it doesn’t matter if one is baptized as an infant with parents and god-parents present and taking an oath before God to teach the infant to become a believer in Christ, or if one is baptized, as I was, as an adult by total immersion. And yes, I know some denominations insist on the latter. When Paul was inspired by God to write his letter to the Romans, he mentioned that a squabble erupted between those believers with a Jewish background [the Judaizers] and those who came to their faith in Christ from Paganism. It was over whether physical circumcision of males is necessary or not, which day of the week should be the Sabbath day, and if it should be required for all believers to follow the Kosher laws. In these matters, Paul settled the conflict by telling the people to follow whatever their choice is. God’s requirement that one day a week was taken to worship Him, and wisdom is used. RO 7: 6, “Now, however, we are free from the law, because we died to that which once held us prisoners. No longer do we serve the old way of a written law, but in the new way of the Spirit.” Two other citations really clarify what it means “to live by the new way of the Spirit.” 2 COR 5: 17, “Anyone who is joined to Christ is a new creation: the old has gone, and the new has come.” COL 2: 16, “So let no one make rules about what you eat or drink or about holy days or what festivals one celebrates. All such things are only a shadow of things in the future, the reality is Christ.”
PRAYER: O Lord, we come to You from many cultures, attitudes, and past histories. You have accepted us with gentle kindness and a genuine desire to bring us closer to you. You already know the state of our heart-attitudes, so you know the condition of our faith in Your Son, Jesus. We acknowledge Your superior wisdom and pledge to try to use it in our own thinking, decisions, and actions. Your knowledge of things that challenge us conforms to IS 55: 8-9, and we accept that. Your leadership is greatly valued by us, and we accept that, as well. You have taught us, in . , nor to judge others, lest we will be judged. This doesn’t come easily for us, but we will try to be the best we can be in following this direction. Martin Luther King said, “we shouldn’t judge a person by the color of his skin, but by the content of his character.” Those are words to live by, and I believe You gave it to him. The same applies for other cultural differences between us. We should do no harm to others. The wisdom and discernment to know when this is come from You in answer to prayerful pleas, found in PS 51: 6 and PS 119: 125. We thank and praise You for always being available to us, in the holy/mighty name of Your Son, Jesus Christ. Amen.
NEXT WEEK: There is more the Holy Spirit directs me to write on cultural practices, so that continues to be the subject for next week’s devotion. You, who read my writing, might laugh at this, but where food is concerned, my husband and I came from totally different cultures. I was used to eating Matzo Ball Soup, lots of chicken and fish dishes with the meat served on the bone, and wonderful delicatessen specialties, like white potato salad, lox, luncheon meats, bagels, and dill pickles. On the other hand, he and his family ate much more beef and potatoes. I soon learned that he doesn’t like fish, rice, noodles, and vegetable dishes that I loved. I must say that we’ve found ways around these differences over the last 41 years of marriage, but it hasn’t been easy. Never once did he judge me or I him, because of these differences. Although I must admit that I wish he would eat a much wider variety of foods than he does. In every other way, we have had a wonderful adjustment to living with our other differences. I fell in love with him because he is a gentleman and shares my values on the things that matter, especially our faith in the Lord Jesus. We both have grown deeper in our faith in Him and our desire to serve Him in our individual ways. Those and our shared ethics are the things that matter. Praise and thanks be to the Lord!
Grace Be With You Always,
Lynn
JS 24: 15
© Lynn Johnson 2017. All Rights Reserved.
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