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Sunday, March 08, 2009

2009 Lenten Devotional and Prayer guide

March 8

 

No, a man is a Jew if he is one inwardly; and circumcision is circumcision of the heart, by the Spirit, not by the written code. Such a man's praise is not from men, but from God.”  (Romans 2:29)

 

Circumcision” was the defining mark of the covenant.  It was intended to be the promise of an “outward sign of an inward grace,” much like baptism.  Trouble developed when the covenant became an external-only practice imposed on themselves and others.  Wesley defined this heart circumcision as “a right state of soul, a mind and spirit renewed after the image of Him that created it... it is that habitual disposition of the soul…” 

 

Does that mean a person can be a Christian outwardly but not have the reality inwardly?  Certainly.  We can be a “cultural Christian,” with every appearance of sounding like, claiming to be, acting like without the transformation brought by the Spirit of God.  How does this happen?  One possibility is we have accepted Christ as a child and never undergone the process of making our parent’s faith our own.  Others have just absorbed the externals of Christianity of their culture or people they spend time with, without transformation.  Today, be honest with yourself and take that “fearless moral inventory.”  Do you have both the outward and inward transformation, the habitual disposition that comes from knowing and being known by God?  [Written by: Pastor Dan]

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