Circumcised hearts glorify God, and are blessed

Monday, June 8, 2014
Devotions: Ps 56, 57, 64, 65; Deut 30:1-10; 2 Cor 10:1-18; Lk 18:31-43

Lord, be gracious to me, because all day long, mortals trample me down.  I'm crushed, and only You can keep me functioning!  I know that the stress of this life comes from the consequences of sin--mine and others'; some is malicious, some is essentially mindless.  But I know You Are all aware; You keep count of my heartbeats and breaths; You know my every tear, shed and unshed.  I cling to this:  God Is for me.  And so I cry to You, Father; make me steadfast in obedience and service; let me sing Your praises whenever opportunity arises.  I leave my enemies to Your judgment and recompense, YHWH.  Let all the upright strive to glorify our God.  Blessed and awesome is our God, almighty and eternal, yet kind and merciful, holy and perfect in all ways.  We live by Your grace alone, Father Almighty. 

Moses neared the end of his concluding sermon to the Israelites:  When all the blessings and curses I have set before you come to pass, and you call them to mind, amid the nations where YHWH your God has driven you, then return to Him, you and your offspring.  Obey Him in all I have set before you, with all your heart and soul.  Then YHWH your God will restore your fortunes; He will have compassion on you and gather you from the ends of the earth to His own land.  And YHWH Elohim will circumcise your heart and the heart of your offspring, so that you will love the Lord your God with all our heart and with all your soul, so that in the end, you may live.  He will visit every curse on your enemies, and He will make you eternal prosperous in the work you do, the children you have, the livestock you manage, and the crops you raise.  He will delight in prospering you if you obey His voice and keep His commandments and statutes, as recorded in His book of the law.  Turn and return to God with all your heart and with all your soul!

Paul wrote to the Corinthian Christians:  I entreat you, by the meekness and gentleness of the Messiah: when I am with you, don't force me to use the power of God to enforce His will among you.  Though we live in the world, we are not of the world, and our conflict is not of this world.  The weapons of our warfare have divine power to destroy spiritual strongholds--arguments and every proud obstacle to the knowledge of God; we take every thought captive to obey Christ, and stand ready to punish every disobedience, once your obedience is complete and mature.  Look at what is right before your eyes!  If anyone is confident that he belongs to the Messiah, he should recall that we are His as well.  The Lord gave me authority to build you up, not to tear you down or destroy you.  But I shall not be put to shame.  Some say I'm strong in my letters but weak in my bodily presence.  They should know: what we write at a distance, we enact when present.  I have no interest in comparing myself with those who commend themselves; anyone who does this, using a human standard, is without understanding.  So I will stay within the bounds God set for me.  You are within the compass of God's mission assignment to me; and I was the first to come all the way to you, bearing the gospel of Christ.  I have no interest in getting your praise; my hope is that as your faith increases, our field among you may be greatly expanded, so that we may preach the gospel to the lands beyond you.  Human praise means nothing; the Lord's commendation means everything.

Jesus called the Twelve apart and told them: Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem, and there everything that is written concerning the Son of man will be accomplished.  He will be delivered to the Gentiles; He will be mocked, shamefully treated and spat upon.  They will scourge Him and kill Him.  And on the third day, He will rise.'  But the disciples did not understand what Jesus was telling them; it's meaning was hidden from them at that time.  As Jesus drew near to Jericho, a blind beggar sitting by the roadside heard the multitude passing by and asked what was happening.  When people told him Jesus of Nazareth was passing by, he began to cry out: 'Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!'  They tried to quiet him, but he shouted even louder, 'Son of David, have mercy on me!'  And Jesus stopped and commanded that the man be brought to Him.  When the man came near, Jesus asked him, 'What do you want Me to do for you?'  He said, 'Lord, let me receive my sight.'  Jesus answered, 'Receive your sight; your faith has made you well.'  And immediately, the man received his sight; and he followed Jesus, glorifying God.  All the people, seeing this, gave praise to God.