1st of many

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas. Okay not really, but every year around this time I start to ponder what the future could hold and to me that is what Christmas is. Christ coming to earth was not the whole story but just the beginning of His journey to the cross, his death, and the ultimate glory of his resurrection.  So last year when I began to pray about 2012's direction (spiritual theme) the word journey kept coming to mind. In the past 9 months this word journey has definitely proven itself to be a common theme in my life. 

In February I had a revelation that like Christ, we all on a journey to the ultimate purpose of glory. It's not my own glory that I seek but Christ's. Because of this I have fought against so many spiritual sins this year. Each battle has proven that I am surrounded by God's gracious hand leading and directing my journey towards indescribable blessings and transformation. In fact, I have learned that the connection between battling your sin and receiving tremendous blessings from the Lord goes hand in hand.

Battling ones sin and accepting God's grace can sometimes cause a tension within those of us that desire to bring ourselves into alignment with glorifying Christ in our lives. The pendulum seems to swing between a strict approach and a lackadaisical approach to dealing with the sin in our lives. We want to experience the joys of walking with Christ and the power of His Holy Spirit, but we don't want to have the discipline it takes to make room for the inner workings and transformation that should occur as a result of His very presence in our lives. 

I'm not talking about the sin that has become somewhat cultural to avoid or judge others for participating in like smoking, drinking, or even taking one political stance instead of republican. :) It is more the stuff that Jerry Bridges talks about in his book Respectable Sin. Ungodliness seems to run rampant in our lives because we struggle to see the sinfulness of anxiety, frustration, discontentment, unthankfulness, pride, selfishness, lack of self-control, impatience, irritability, anger, judgmentalism, envy, jealousy, and even our tongue. The list could go on but as I begin to ask God to help me wrap up this years spiritual transformation I have a feeling that my journey is leading me down a path of tackling some of these. 

These sins seem to only become more prevalent as we head into the holiday season. Although we have three more months in this year I know that the journey that God has me on is not going to end come January 1. This year has marked the beginning of something great in my life and has I continue to strive to bring God the most glory with my life I know that the journey is not going to be one of ease. But it is more than worth fighting for. 

Jared Anderson has a song that has meant a lot to me over the years. 

This Is Life

Brace yourselfThis is going to take every part of youThis is going to make God believe in youAnd you believe in Him
Pace yourselfEternity is not a fairy taleThe in between can be your heavenOr just another day in hell
'Cause the road we walk is straight and narrowAnd the times we have they're ours to borrowSo give a little understandingThis is life and it's hell if you only live[ Lyrics from: http://www.lyricsmode.com/lyrics/j/jared_anderson/this_is_life.html ]Calm yourselfThe fear that's in your heart must surely dieYou always say its hard and you don't know whyWell welcome to everybody else's life
And lift yourself 

You're bigger when you're on your knees againJust look above and look withinDon't look around its all just been
'Cause the road we walk is straight and narrowThe times we have they're ours to borrowSo give a little understandingThis is life and it's hell if you only liveOh, give a little understandingThis is life and it's hell if you only live for yourself

More lyrics: http://www.lyricsmode.com/lyrics/j/jared_anderson/#share

Circumcised at 8

Have ever given much thought to circumcision? I’m not talking about the actual act itself. but the purpose and the reason behind it. What does it all mean? Why in the world would God require this of the Abraham and all of his descendants? Looking at the first few passages where the word circumcision is mentioned, we see that it comes from a promise. A promise that God would be God to Abraham and his descendants and that he would make Abraham a father at the age of 100. He got all of this for in exchange for keeping His covenant. At 8 every male was to be circumcised as a sign that he was dedicated to also keeping the covenant, along with that the slaves were to be circumcised too. And what was the consequence of not being obedient in the area of circumcision, being cut off from the covenant. (Gen. 17)

In Deuteronomy we continue to see the covenant’s requirements revealed. We see that the ten commandments were also included in the expectations of obedience to God. The question is posed, “Now, Israel, what does the LORD your God require from you, but to fear the Lord your God, to walk in all His ways and love Him, and to serve the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul, and to keep the LORD’S commandments and His statutes which I am commanding you today for your good?” (Deut. 10:12-13) For our good? Interesting that from the very beginning these laws and expectations were never just suppose to be ticket items to get you into the “men’s club”. They were to be inward displays of how well you understood the goodness of God.

In fact, in this chapter God chooses to reveal the first signs that the fleshly circumcision asked of Abraham and his descents weren’t the only type of circumcision asked of them. Deut 10:16 states that your heart was to also be circumcised. Additionally, Deut 30:6 says, “Moreover the LORD your God will circumcise your heart and the hearts of your descendants, to love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul, so that you may live.” Interesting that just like the sacrifice offered up to cover Adam and Eve’s nakedness in the Garden, God does all the work. He is the one that is circumcising hearts and causing them to be drawn to Him. But why? So that we can live!

In Jeremiah we start to see the consequences of not allowing this circumcision to occur in our hearts. “Circumcise yourselves to the LORD and remove the foreskins of your heart. Men of Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem, or else my wrath will go forth like fire and burn with none to quench it. Because of the evil of your deeds.” (Jer 4:4) This doesn’t sounds pretty to me, so how did generation after generation miss understand. Because God became cultural instead of transformational. Out of cultural obedience the nation of Israel continued to circumcise their children at 8 years old. Each time a nation was conquered the males were also physically circumcised; however, when we get to the Gospels we see a completely different covenant come into affect.

With the old covenant fulfilled by the birth, life, death, and resurrection of Christ’s perfect and eternally pleasing blood sacrifice, we see the promises made to Abraham fulfilled. His descendants would reign forever because Christ is our eternal King. He has taken his rightful place in the Kingdom of God and now as His children we are living under a new covenant, one of grace, mercy, and love. But does the sign for obedience change? Is there still an act of circumcision required from us?

Let’s look at Paul’s statement in Phil 3. First we see Paul’s list of obvious reason’s why he would have been considered a shoe in to God’s club.

“Beware of the dogs, beware of the evil workers, beware of the false circumcision: for we are the true circumcision, who worship in the Spirit of God and glory in Christ Jesus and put no confidence in the flesh, although I myself might have confidence even in the flesh. If anyone else has a mind to put confidence in the flesh, I far morel circumcised the eighth day, of the nation of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews; as to the Law, a Pharisee; as to zeal, a persecutor of the church; as to the righteousness which is in the law, found blameless.”

So why does he go on to count all of these things as rubbish? Is it not because on the road to Damascus his heart was finally changed. He saw the importance of allowing Christ to do the transformational work in his life, so that He could come to have first place in everything that Paul did.

“But whatever things were gain to me, those things I have counted as loss for the sake of Christ. More than that, I count all things to be loss in view of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them but rubbish so that I may gain Christ, and may be found in Him, not having righteousness of my own derived from the Law but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which comes from God on the basis of faith, that I may know him and the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death; in order that I may attain to the resurrection from the dead.”

The resurrection of Christ brought a completely different playbook into practice. No longer were the laws to be seen as a reminder of how we couldn’t enter into the Holy of Holies, but now as a reminder that all along God knew we couldn’t measure up. He wanted to prove once again to us how good He was and is. How he longs to bring good things into our lives by providing the ultimate sacrifice. So my question to you today is, are you allowing Him to do that.

Picture a living room that is definitely in need of some revamping. The furniture is old and ripped, all of the picture frames broken, and the coffee table has a ton of stains from years of hard abuse. Jesus walks in and says, “can I have permission to redecorate?” Why would you say no? It’s a mess and for free someone is offering to come and make it warm and welcoming.

That’s our hearts. Are you up for allowing him to come and make yours new. Yes, it may take some time to clear out the old junk and bring in the new. But what is left will only be good and we can have full confidence that it will bring about life within us.

Here are a few references if you want to check out just what Paul says about this transfer in covenants; Rom 2:29, Gal 5:2, Gal 5:11, Phil 3:3, Col 2:9-14, Titus 1:10.

Praying for you today to see the depth and breadth of the love of Christ for you personally.