Issues of the heart are heavy in my own heart today.
Is there an area in your life where you are not where you want to be? An area where you just cannot get a break regardless of your efforts?
I think I’m hearing a resounding YES and I’ll add my YES into the mix too!
I have several struggles and as I learn to rely on Jesus as my Counselor to help me sort them out, I find out they are all matters of the heart.
We are not where we want to be financially. I ask God why and guess what the answer is? My heart.
Our hearts are the very core of our being.
All life flows out of our hearts. The heart is complex with many parts and pieces that have to be in full working order at all times.
The heart never gets a break from beating and flowing blood and oxygen through our bodies. That is the physical heart. The spiritual heart is no different. The Bible tells this truth.
Above all else, guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life.
Proverbs 4:23
So if there is an area in our lives where we are not experiencing victory and freedom, we need to take a look at the condition of our heart.
To dig a little deeper and understand this more fully, let’s look at the covenant of circumcision that God gave to Abraham. This promise is also given to us as well because we are heirs to all the promises of Abraham (see Galatians 3:29). The covenant with Abraham is recorded in Genesis 17.
Abram fell facedown, and God said to him, “As for me, this is my covenant with you: You will be the father of many nations. No longer will you be called Abram, your name will be Abraham, for I have made you a father of many nations. I will make you very fruitful; I will make nations of you, and kings will come to you. I will establish my covenant as an everlasting covenant between me and you and your descendants after you. The whole land of Canaan, where you are now an alien, I will give as an everlasting possession to you and your descendants after you; and I will be their God.”
Then God said to Abraham, “As for you, you must keep my covenant, you and your descendants after you for the generations to come. This is my covenant with you and your descendants after you, the covenant you are to keep: Every male among you shall be circumcised, including those born in your household or bought with money from a foreigner – those who are not your offspring. Whether born in your household or bought with your money, they must be circumcised. My covenant in your flesh is to be an everlasting covenant. Any uncircumcised male, who has not been circumcised in the flesh, will be cut off from his people; he has broken my covenant.”
Genesis 17:3-14
This is the Old Testament but God clearly states that this covenant is an everlasting covenant with Abraham and all of his descendants. If we are believers of Jesus Christ, we are descendants of Abraham.
BUT let’s not forget about Jesus.
Yes, while we are descendants of Abraham, the minute Jesus died on the cross for all of us, everything shifted from the natural to the Spiritual.
We live by faith, not by sight.
2 Corinthians 5:7
The burden of “doing” shifted from man to Jesus the minute He switched places with us in death.
Do you see that awesome truth? You’ve probably heard these words before but really listen, “HE TOOK OUR PLACE.”
- He took our death.
- He took our sin.
- He took our guilt.
- He took our shame.
- He took our regret.
- He took our lack.
- He took our sickness.
- He took our rejection.
- He took our punishment.
- He took our past.
He became circumcision for us.
The circumcision of the flesh automatically shifted to a spiritual circumcision that HE now performs on our hearts!
This is the truth I want to share today.
A man is not a Jew if he is only one outwardly, nor is circumcision merely outward and physical. 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 2:28-29
We are all grafted in as God’s people (see John 15) so Paul is not just speaking to his fellow Jews in these two verses but he is also speaking to us.
For us today (post-Cross), circumcision is the inward working of our hearts when we give them fully to Jesus.
Jesus is the surgeon performing open heart surgery on all areas of our hearts where we give Him access.
However, just like in physical surgery, if we do not sign the consent form allowing the surgeon to do the surgery, it’s not going to get done. We must sign the consent form allowing Jesus into ALL crevices of our hearts so that He can truly circumcise all.
Circumcision in the natural means cutting away the flesh, correct? So circumcision in the spiritual heart is cutting away all those walls we’ve erected from our past experiences, hurts, mindsets and wrong thinking.
He will cut away all that hinders our walk if we will only let Him in.
Let Him in today to start doing open heart surgery in your heart. I promise you will experience true transformation if you do!
Stay in the Light and Love always,
Eva
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