Have Yet to Realize God's Mercy & Grace

(A Post By Monica)Follow @KeeperofGodsWrd

"And have you forgotten the encouraging words God spoke to you as His children? He said: My child, don't make light of the LORD's discipline and don't give up when He corrects you. For the LORD disciplines those he loves, and he punishes each one He accepts as His child" - Hebrews 12:5-6 

Within the past year, a childhood friend of mine has been released from prison. He was there for over 14 years for burglary. He had a drug problem, which led to him burglarizing a home mid-day with no regard to neighbors seeing him. It was a relief that he was imprisoned because I just knew that he'd get the help he needed (for drug use, some type of job trade & h.s. diploma & if he were open for it, accepting Jesus Christ as His personal LORD & Savior - being spiritually intact & ready for God to make his latter life better than his beginning). During his time in, his grandmother died, his children went from toddlers to young adults, all of his childhood friends (including myself) moved & any obstacle that would remind him of the past (thus possibly being a "trigger" for ideas of returning to his old ways) was nowhere to be found when he was released from prison. Although he had a nice quiet home to return to, family that was willing to help him phase back into society, and children that forgave his past... he decided to go straight out & get high. In 2 months after his release, he got arrested for drug possession and spent 8 months there. Each time he was imprisoned/jailed, he was offered rehab, housing with sponsors (DHS Supervision) & job opportunities until being slowly brought back into society -after being released. Each time, he refused. It was painful & upsetting that he did not want to do better. Although I have accepted it, this is not something I wanted for him. Just imagine how God feels...


In Isaiah 1:18, God is pleading with his children to do right by saying "Come now, and let us reason together saith the LORD: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool" - God wants a relationship with His children but so often, His children refuse to turn to Him.


 It is always so tragic when the grace runs out & the person that decided to never come back to God, dies in their sin. 


There is another illustration of rebellion in the bible, which is not so lighthearted, which occurs in Revelation 20:1-8, when Satan is left on earth to ponder for 1000 years with nobody to tempt, kill or deceive. As we know, he doesn't learn his lesson because the moment God allows Satan to be loosed, he goes on to gather his army, trying to battle against God. However, we know how that turn out (v9-11). But Satan's foolishness didn't reveal to him that it was impossible to sin against God, never repent, continue on in his evil ways, and actually escape judgment & everlasting punishment. 


Although Satan has no chance of repentance because he committed the unforgivable sin of blasphemy against the Holy Spirit (Mark 3:29)... We still have a chance! And so does my childhood friend... It is imperative to take that unmerited grace that God gives & repent for all sins (remembered & forgotten, known & unknown, past & present) so that we can be sealed by Christ & be found blameless on the day of judgment, receiving everlasting life & not eternal punishment. 


Christ tells us in Luke 15:7 that all in the heavens rejoice if even ONE sinner repents! We actually have the entire host of heavens rooting us on... wanting us to ask Christ to come into our heart & change our wicked ways... wanting us to fully submit our will to God & verbally admit that our way is nowhere near the best way... wanting us to take the mask off and stop pretending that our lives are whole & complete without God. The moment we do this & continue to be humbled by who God is, having fear that He could (at anytime) have taken our lives and destroyed us because that's what we deserve - Christ will come in & help us change our wicked ways.. Now THAT is true security, love and assurance!


So please, understand it does not matter if you broke all 10 commandments... If you will just open your heart, accept responsibility for the sins you committed by repenting & ask Christ to cleanse you of your past.. You can know that Acts 3:19 which says  "Now repent of your sins and return to God, that your sins may be wiped away" - will apply to you!

Spiritual Circumcision vs. Physical Circumcision

(A Post By Nicey)
Follow @KeeperofGodsWrd

Listen I (Paul) tell you this. If you are counting on circumcision to make you right with God, then Christ will be of no benefit to you" - Galatians 5:2

WoW! This made many Jewish leaders in the early church upset at Paul! They were so mad, Paul was accused (and still is) of teaching AGAINST the Law. I too, was once one of those that accused Paul of such behavior. However, if we closely examine what Paul was saying, we will see that he taught just as our LORD. Physical circumcision does not make someone Holy or Righteous just as Water Baptism doesn't make someone Born Again or Saved. We are told in John 4:24 that "God is a spirit and those that worship Him must worship Him in spirit and in truth." So physical symbols of belief in God mean nothing. It is the spiritual manifestation of our belief in God that show rather we are wicked or righteous in His sight. 

In Deut 10, The LORD has turned his anger away from Israel & is giving instruction (through Moses) to the Children of Israel of how to remain His people by saying in v16  "Circumcise therefore the foreskin of your hearts and be no more stiffnecked." - The LORD is saying that anyone rebelling against Him must turn from their old wicked ways or be "circumcised' in order to please Him. He had already given them the law about physical circumcision, and to no affect because they continued in sin. The physical circumcision meant nothing if the heart was impure. 

The Old Covenant was physical. When a male-person was born to Jewish parents, or a male-servant for a Jewish Household - they were to be circumcised, rather they had a heart for God or were as wicked as Satan. The spiritual life & walk with God was not connected to circumcision. However, the New Covenant is spiritual. Circumcision of the HEART is to be done by both male & female. This circumcision is best described in Col 2:11 "When you came to Christ you were circumcised but not by physical procedure, it was a spiritual procedure, the cutting away of your sinful nature."

In Galatians, Paul is addressing the churches of Galatia, where both Jewish & Gentile believers in Christ attended. There were Jewish leaders that spoke to these churches beforehand, teaching the Gentile members them that they must be physically circumcised yet the leaders themselves were not walking in the way God would have them. In other words, they were hypocrites. So Paul tells the members, in Gal 6:12-13, that these Jewish leaders are making a show of their "belief" by teaching physical circumcision YET are not righteous themselves & are only teaching this so they can appear holy. Gal 5:6 tells us "For in Christ Jesus, neither circumcision or uncircumcision avails anything, but faith working through love."

So Spiritual circumcision is the importance & the only assurance we have of knowing we are pleasing God. Physical circumcision would be a choice of an individual & holds no validity under the new covenant. 

From a health perspective, circumcision helps lessen the risk or urinary tract infections, penal cancer, and a variety of STD's including HIV. The warm moist area under the foreskins of uncircumcised males can be a breeding ground for infections. However, behavior, lifestyle & proper/improper hygiene is more of a help/hinder to health.