Circumcision of the Heart

Most people think that the concept of "circumcision of the heart" is a purely New Testament idea. In fact, for years I have been guilty of thinking that myself. Jeremiah 4:4 shows us differently. I have known for a long time that what God desired in the Old Testament was more than mere rituals yet I did not know that He was specific about the concept of a circumcised heart. To some this may not seem like a big deal but I think that is because we are so far separated from the time and culture of the Israelites.

For the Israelites circumcision was the sign of their special covenant with God. It is was separated them from the cultures around them It became so important to them that an intense debate arose in the early church as to whether or not new Christians had to become circumcised. Eventually this debate was settled and Paul addresses the issue in Romans 2:28-29. Here he asserts that it was never really about the outward circumcision and more about the focus of the heart. So why does all of this matter?

First, it further shows the continuity of Scripture. Many, including myself, have struggleed with seeing how the two testaments present a consistent and uniform picture of God. On a surface level they seem to present two different gods. The Old Testament seems to present a God who judges with great severity while the New Testament presents a god who shows nothing but grace, compassion and forgiveness. A further study of the Bible shows this perception to be untrue. This issue of circumcision once again shows us how the God of the Old Testament and the God of the New Testament are the same and that He is consistent in how He deals with humanity.

Second, this shows us that gentiles have always been a part of God's plan. Yes there is a focus on the Jew in the Old Testament and a focus on the Gentile in the New Testament but neither is ignore in either Testament. God has always had a heart for all of mankind. His desire was Israel (His relationship with them) to be an avenue through which all would come to worship Him as the one true God. Sadly, the Israelites never fully appreciated this part of their relationship with God. They saw it more in terms of how it could benefit them and not how it could benefit others. Christians have many times fallen into this same trap. We see how God can help us and provide for us and we forget how God desires to bless others especially those outside of the body of Christ.

So how is your heart today? Has it been circumcised? Have you allowed yourself to enter into that relationship with God that will define and impact all other relationships? If not why not? If you have, are you fully submitting to His will? Are you doing all that you can to allow God to use you to change the lives of others?

Returning from Embarrassment

If you have been or are currently apart of a church that is going through embarrassment there is hope and there is a light at the end of the tunnel. That hope is not simply about being removed from embarrassment but it is a hope towards prosperity and great fulfillment. In Jeremiah 3 God condemns Israel for their adultery and for abandoning God but it does not stop there. Beginning in verse 11 God opens the door for forgiveness for them. This forgiveness comes with a multitude of promises not the least of which is the return of shepherds who, like David, are after God's own heart.

So take heart my friends. There is no sin or situation that is beyond God's sight, love or control. Take hope in that God desires to see you prosper but only if you will fully submit yourself and your desires to Him. If you and I are willing to do that then we will begin to see His blessing, restoration and peace in ways we could never have imagined before.

Church Embarrassment

When a church gets shamed or embarrassed in the community is that wrong? Better yet, does that mean it was the work of the Devil?

Not necessarily. In Jeremiah chapter 2 God tells the Israelites that because they have turned from Him and become like a whore under a tree that He will shame them in Egypt and Assyria. This shame was meant to bring them back to God and to help them understand the consequences of their actions. This shame was orchestrated by God. It was the result of their sin.

In my little world it would only make sense that some times God would use the same types of consequences with those churches who refuse to follow Him. I am not saying this is what is going on every time a church find itself in an embarrassing situation but I believe it still happens and if you ever find yourself in that kind of place it is something you most definitely need to consider.

Age, Position and Calling...

Many in the church today seem to have this attitude that age should some how be at least a highly determinative factor when it comes to church position and leadership. On the surface their logic makes sense. Many of us look around and we do not see how it is that a teenager or college student could be "good enough" to lead a church, worship service, or committee (or council). Those who hold fast to this kind of logic ignore what the Bible has to say about this.

The Bible is clear that it is not age that is the determining factor for leadership, rather it is calling. God calls different people of different ages to a variety of leadership positions. In fact, Paul clearly states to Timothy that he should not allow anyone to discredit him simply because of his age. We also see Jeremiah being called as prophet as a teenager and Jesus was attending to His Father's business at the the Temple at the age of twelve. Who are we to think that we would know better than God. To think that somehow teenagers and college students are unfit for true leadership simply because of their age lowers the standard for them. It allows them to continue to live a life that is short of the calling God has placed on them. Truth be told I know a number of young people who have a greater depth of spiritual insight than do many of the older leaders in our churches. They are able to see things with a clarity that is nothing short of miraculous.

So today I want to encourage you to maybe take a new look at young people. To look at them and not see them as someone who will some day be ready to lead but rather as someone who is ready to lead today. If you are one of those young people then I would like to encourage you to step out in faith and take some leadership in your church and to not allow those who would look down upon to discourage you from doing those things that God has called you to do.

Do the tears fall?

Do you look around your portion of the world and does sadness pierce your heart in ways that words can not describe? Do you see the destruction and just have a desire to weep uncontrollably? Do you ever just want to cry (more like yelling) out to God for change?

If you have been or are in that place today then you understand where my heart is. You can understand the mix of sadness and joy. You can appreciate being heartbroken for the lost souls that you see and for the poor choices that so many around you will make. You can appreciate the joy of knowing that you do have brothers and sisters in Christ who will make a difference in someone's life. You know what it is like to see so many opportunities to make a difference in this dark world. You know what it is like to have heavy heart and to be desperate for the Holy Spirit to come and change lives on a scale that seems impossible. You know the joy of watching someone finally get it (salvation or growth) and then seeing their lives forever changed. You understand where I am today.

If you have never been in that place then I think you need to ask the question of why not. Why have you never wept over the lostness that surrounds you?

God's Will and Answers

For the Lord of hosts has planned, and who can frustrate it? And as for His stretched out hand, who can turn it back?" Isaiah 14:27

Simple question today. If nobody can frustrate God's will then why do things happen that seem so far out of His will?

I wish I had an easy answer. I know sin plays a part in all of this and yet I know that God's power is absolute. For me I have come to realize that there are many things in this world that I will never understand. I have learned to accept what God's Word tells us and then simply let the chips fall where they may. Some will say that this is can lead to contradictions and that destroys the validity of Scripture. I can see how someone might begin to follow that line of thinking and I do not have the time to go into all of the problems with that today (maybe another time). In the end the valid of Scripture is not depended upon us and how we understand it, it is dependent on God and God alone. If we as sinful and fallen creatures miss what He has told us then that is our responsibility and our fault and does not prove or disprove anything about God.

So what do you think?

Words

Have you considered recently the power of your words?

I know I have. I have recently become reacquainted with how my word choice can impact what I am communicating. I have recently made some rather poor choices in this area and it has cause some pain to those closest to me. In light of this I wanted to share with you some of my thoughts after having read Isaiah 11 and 12.

In 11:4 we have an example of the power of words. When we look at this verse we should consider why these words are so powerful. As I thought about this I realized that the power of words is derived from their source. this lead to the following conclusion... evil words are powerful and have a source that is powerful but good (Godly) words have an even greater power as their source.

As you continue on with your day I hope you will remember this truth when you begin to hear the lies of Satan. Remember that the Truth of God is far more powerful than all of Satan's lies because God is far more powerful than Satan ever dreamed of being.

Being Angry with God

Have you ever been angry with God?

I know I have. Heck I was angry with Him earlier today and in some way a part of me is at least still frustrated with Him if not a tiny bit angry. If you have never been in that place then you may not be able to appreciate how difficult it can be. The church over the years has at the very least implied how sinful ti is to be angry. We have been taught that somehow our feelings of anger and frustrated are ungodly. This kind of teaching, in my opinion, is unbiblical. God does not tell us that and in fact through His own description of Himself we see how anger in and of itself is a God created emotion. Emotions in and of themselves are not the issue. What is an issue is how we allow them to dictate of actions and out relationship with God.

This does not mean that emotions should not 'separate' us from God. I think at some level when God's wrath came down upon Israel thy became separated from Him. So how can it be a bad thing? Having said that I think there must be a plan for the separation to be temporary. God was always looking to have a plan of restoration. He would also keep a remnant that He would call back to His side. We must have the same heart. We must be seeking to return to Him while we are in our time of being apart. We must be seeking Him with all that we can offer, no mater how small that may be at the time. We must be honest in our expressions of emotions and prayers with God. He already knows our hearts. He wants us to come clean with Him. If we can be honest with Him, He will begin to move in our hearts in ways that we could not ever begin to imagine. He is just that big and powerful!

Today was one of those moments for me. I started out very angry and frustrated with God. I felt as though I could not hear Him or see His plan. I told Him how I felt. I told Him what I was angry and upset about. I told Him that I was not even sure that being angry was such a bad thing for me right then. Eventually though He began to open up my heart and change me. He started showing me things. He removed the anger that I needed Him to remove. He did in an instant. He removed those emotional blinders that were keeping me from seeing Him and hearing His voice. It was a miraculous morning!

Where is Your Yoke?

So here is the question I would like for you to ponder for just a moment. What has happened to the yolk that burdens you so much?




Many of you may have said or at least thought that I have at least tried to give it over to Jesus and let Him carry it for me. Some of you may have thought that it is right on my back and weighing me down. Some of you may have no idea what I am talking about.

Each of us has burdens that we carry around with us. We can become so weighed down with things such as guilt, fear, laziness and pain. These attitudes and feelings are a natural part of living in a fallen world. They come as a result of sin and how it has changed the perfect world God created. Thankfully though we do not have to live under the weight of these things. Many believers have this picture in their minds of Christ exchanging yokes with us and carrying our burdens for us. We get this picture from verses such as Matthew 11:29-30 and Galatians 5:1. However, I think this picture is only half right.

Jesus did NOT come to take our yokes and carry them for us while we carry His. He came to shatter them (Isaiah 9:4). He came so that they would exist no more for us. He destroyed their power when He was beaten, bruised and nailed to a Cross. I believe that if we can grab a hold of this concept and live as though we are no longer controlled by the power of our yokes then the world will once again be turned upside down. I believe this is what we saw happening in the early days of the church. Those early believers knew in the hearts that they had been set free. They were no able to become the creation God had intended them to be.

So what burdens do you hold on to? What yokes are you allowing to hinder you?

Pain and Control

As many of you know we did not see a heart beat at our last ultrasound. Needless to say this was an incredibly sad event in our lives. Since then we ran away for a couple of days. We went to St. Louis to take some time and be away from the pain as much as possible. Some may have problem with that. Some may think that was the wrong decision for us. I suppose that is their opinion. I of course would disagree. For me I was taking care of my family, in particular my wife. In the end we did some really neat and fun things. All the while Angie and I knew in the back of our minds that today we would be having another ultrasound. For me today is like a Day of Reckoning. Today will be the day in which we either confirm what we saw on Monday or the day when hope will once again be renewed.

If you have ever been in this kind of position then you may understand the feelings and thoughts that are running through me. You may have been in the place where you know that God can raise the dead but you do not think He would do that for you. That is where I am at. I know beyond a shadow of a doubt that God can do that but I am not so sure He would do that for my child or me. Along with this I have not wanted to hope for that kind of miracle for fear of being disappointed. I knew in my head that it was wrong to approach God in this way but my heart was just in that place. Today, God reached down past all of my fear and spoke to my heart.

I wish I could tell you that He said "I will raise this child from the dead." What He did tell me though was that He can raise this child, He understands my pain, He allowed His own son to die (and had the power to do something about it) and that He will carry my family through. Our God is a God who saves. He reigns now and forever. His awesome and mighty. Today I have begged God to bring my child back to life and there is a part of me that believes He will. There is a part of me that wants to hope with great passion that He will. The selfish/defensive part of me struggles to do this yet I am still trying to have that kind of hope. May God help in my unbelief and lack of hope.

Tough Day

Dash did not have a heartbeat today at our appointment. Please pray for us.

Thoughts From Sunday School

Today in Sunday School we learned:

1. Jesus talked on a mountain
2. How Rachel's tooth came out
3. Some Sign Language-"Hi my name is ________", "Church", "Rachel", "Snowman", "Blocks" & "Building"
   
4. How to do a crossword puzzle
5. How you can do good things
6. Jesus talked about attitudes
7. Taught Mr. Patrick how to spin
8. Taught Mr. Patrick how to organize your bed
9. 1 John 3:22 "Keep His commands and do what is pleasing in His sight"

We missed you Mrs. Angie in Sunday School today. We hope you feel better. Love, Angelina & Rachel.