No, a person is a Jew who is one inwardly; and circumcision is circumcision of the heart, by the Spirit, not by the written code.Such a person’s praise is not from other people, but from God.
TO PONDER:
Is your head spinning trying to work out what this text is all about. For the people to whom Paul was writing, it would have made their head spin too! .
Paul is turning things on their head. He basically says that there are some uncircumcised godless Gentiles that are closer to God than the the Jew who is circumcised. Still confused? Paul says, "It's not just a matter of the outward things that you do, it's what on the inside that counts." It's not going through the motions of getting circumcised, circumcision was a seal of someone's commitment to the Lord, in the same way that the wedding ring on my finger announces to everyone that I am married. But what Paul is saying is that you can be circumcised and still not be devoted to the Lord, you could wear a wedding ring, but live in a way where your heart and affection is for someone else. Faithfulness to God is that the desires, the affections of your heart, are devoted to the Lord. You delight in, you desire, you treasure God's ways. What is happening on the inside will reveal itself on the outside. The change of heart, the new heart, that the Spirit gives to us, will lead to changes on the outside which people can see. So take some time today to reflect on how you have changed inwardly over the past six months...and how is that showing on the outside?
PRAYER
Change my heart O God, make me ever true. Change my heart O God, may I be like you. Amen.
How priceless is your unfailing love, O God!
People take refuge in the shadow of your wings.
TO PONDER:
"Priceless!" It was a meme before there were memes. The tagline of the Mastercard campaign, "There are some things that money can't buy. For everything else there's MasterCard." It became one of the most successful ad campaigns, going viral before social media ever existed. and it changed the fortunes of the company.
The campaign creators picked up on the things that are priceless and cannot be bought. The relationship between a father-son, a family watching a movie together...things which, when all is said and done...are priceless.
But they missed the most priceless thing of all. The relationship between God and his people. " How priceless is your unfailing love, (your devotion to us your people), O God." A devotion that made you willing to give up your only Son so we could experience the fullness of your faithful, kind, loyal, merciful and perfect love. Priceless! It can't be bought, because it is worth far more than anything in all the world, more precious and rare than the greatest human version of love we experience in this world. What's more it's a love that is for all people...whether you are someone, no-one or anyone in between, God calls you his 'people' and offers you a place of safety, security and protection in his unfailing love. That's priceless and you get to enjoy that love today...and everyday...as his gift to you!
PRAYER:
How priceless is your love for me, O God. Help me never take it for granted, but to live fully in the beauty of your unfailing devotion for me. Amen.
Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love.
TO PONDER:
Love. It's the most overrated word in our English language. Just think about how we use the term. We love our football team (and hate them with they disappoint us). We love holidays. We love food. We love what people are wearing. We love a post on instagram or LinkedIn or Facebook! You hear people all the times saying as they say goodbye to someone they know, "love you". Love...it seems...is a word that we use whenever we feel good about something and, as a culture, we are obsessed with feeling good.
One of Jesus' closest friends tells us in his first letter, that love is not a feeling, it is not feeling good. But love is experienced, known only in relationship to the source of love...God himself. God is love. It's not something he does, it's not something he feels, it's his very being. In his presence, we experience the fullness, the wonder of what it means to be truly known, accepted, desired...loved. Forever and completely.
When that love fills you...it flows from you!
PRAYER:
Loving God, may your love in me overflow today. Amen.
No longer will they teach their neighbor,
or say to one another, ‘Know the Lord,’
because they will all know me,
from the least of them to the greatest,”
declares the Lord.
“For I will forgive their wickedness
and will remember their sins no more.”
TO PONDER:
From dependence to independence. That's something we have all experienced in life. From needing help to get dressed and tie our shoes, to learning to dress ourselves and tie our own shoes. As parents, our goal is to raise independent children who can do things themselves. Yet many times in life, in raising our children, or when there was frustration about how long things were taking, there were times when we would just have to say, "let me do it for you."
In many ways, this is exactly what God is saying here to his people. "Just let me do it for you." He had tried so many times to tell his people to return to him, to repent of their ways, to live in the relationship that he had established with them. But they failed to listen, They refused to listen. They thought they could find political solutions to their troubles without changing their ways while continuing to sin and all that God them was misery and time in exile.
So God says, "Let me do it for you." Let me make a new covenant. Let me remove all the obstacles. Let me complete all that needs to be done, so you can be with me forever and live in freedom. Let me do for you what you can never do by yourself...live in relationship with me. That is what God has done...from the least to the greatest. That is what Christ has won...for the least and the greatest...through his finished work on the cross. Will you give up trying to do it all yourself and failing? Will you acknowledge your dependency on Christ and delight in that, grow in that and enjoy the blessings of that? That's the question God asks today, "I have done everything for you...will you receive it?"
PRAYER:
Faithful God, from the least to the greatest, you hear our cries. From the least to the greatest you know our need. Thankyou that from the least to the greatest you grant your forgiveness by doing everything for us so we may have a place in your presence. Help me live in that grace today. Amen.
The Lord appeared to us in the past, saying:
“I have loved you with an everlasting love; I have drawn you with unfailing kindness.
TO PONDER:
Are you a person who wears their heart on their sleeve? Does everyone around you know when you are happy, sad, passionate or angry about something? To wear one’s heart on one’s sleeve means to be transparent and open about one's feelings, emotions. It's obvious!
God wears his heart on his sleeve too. He never leaves us guessing about how he feels about us, about the the relationship he desires with us. God loves us with an everlasting love. He always has, always will. In the book of Jeremiah, we see God wearing his heart of his sleeve over and over again. It's a heart that aches to be in relationship with his people, that desires nothing more for people to return to ohm and the blessings he wants to to bestow on their lives. It reveals a heart that doesn't given up on people, despite their stubbornness, their stiff-necked behaviour, their refusal to walk his way. Despite everything, God's heart is there for all to see. It's a heart that culminated in giving his only son, that whoever believes in him will live forever.
Will you stop and see the heart of God on display in this world...in your own life. Will you see his deep desire to be fully engaged in your life, for you to be fully engaged in his life? His heart for you in plain to see...he never hides it!
PRAYER:
God, thank you that you never hide how you feel about me. Open my eyes to see your love, to experience your love and give me the courage to live in your love every day. Amen.
The human body has many parts, but the many parts make up one whole body. So it is with the body of Christ.
TO PONDER
Close to 30 years ago while rock climbing, I had a non-serious fall with serious consequences. I had to be winched out by the Westpac Rescue Helicopter and rushed to John Hunter Hospital where they discussed amputating my right foot.
Thankfully I kept my foot but my ankle no longer works properly and the pain ranges from a constant dull ache to I’m just going to sit here until the Panadol kicks in…
In today’s verse, Paul introduces the idea that the church is like a body, Christ’s body to be exact. He continues on to explain that every part of the body plays a different role, has different tasks, and abilities. Each part of the body is unique, designed with a specific purposes.
The chapter begins with a discussion about the “special abilities the Spirit gives” (Verse 1 NLT) and explains these gifts are given so we can help each other, so by extension they are not for our own benefit alone and definitely not to draw attention to how awesome we are as individuals.
My ankle shouts for attention frequently, causes a noticeable limp, requires special care, and at times disables the rest of the body but it still has a role to play, an important role… walking.
Everybody has a role to play in the body of Christ, in the church.
PRAYER: Mighty God, I give you thanks that even though I am flawed, at times broken, and can require special attention, I still play an important role within your body. Amen.
Today's devotion written by Danny Brock, LifeWay Westside
How good and pleasant it is when God’s people live together in unity!
TO PONDER
Most of us have probably heard the old saying; You can pick your friends, but you can’t pick your family.
Although there isn’t a common catchy saying for it, the same saying could apply to your church family.
Have you ever taken a good look at your church family, those people you worship with every Sunday and asked yourself, “would I really be friends with these people if it wasn’t for church?”
Today’s verse talks about the church sharing our lives together in unity is a good and pleasant, the New Living Translation calls it “wonderful and pleasant”, sounds nice doesn’t it? Is that how you would describe your church experience?
I think the important part of the verse is not so much the “pleasant” and the “good” but the crux of this verse is the “in unity”. Often we focus on the pleasant, good feelings when it comes to church life, it’s all nice until the pleasant, good feelings abate then we perhaps start looking for the exit.
What would happen if we focused on the unity part, the being the church together instead of going to church alone…
I have asked the question I started with and the answer was “NO!” I would not be friends with some of the people who were part of my past church experiences because they were so different than me, we had nothing in common, often the picture of oil and water would explain it but friendship happened anyway.
In fact friendship was not strong enough, a better word would have been family. In the general everyday we wouldn’t have connected, our worlds were too separated but the connection happened as a result of unity, the realisation that God brought our church together created family.
We didn’t choose this family God chose us to become family.
PRAYER: Father God, I thank you that you chose me to become part of your family, Amen.
Today's devotion written by Danny Brock, LifeWay Westside
At this they wept aloud again. Then Orpah kissed her mother-in-law goodbye, but Ruth clung to her. “Look,” said Naomi, “your sister-in-law is going back to her people and her gods. Go back with her.” But Ruth replied, “Don’t urge me to leave you or to turn back from you. Where you go I will go, and where you stay I will stay. Your people will be my people and your God my God.
TO PONDER
Where is home for you?
I have had this conversation quite often lately with various people and realised I don’t have a “home” after living in 3 different countries, in well over 30 separate houses/apartments, and I am a citizen of 2 nations. Returning to Australia almost 10 years ago, after 17 years abroad I found I had not returned home.
Today’s verses are from a story about leaving, returning, heartbreak, faithfulness, and redemption.
Naomi had moved to Moab, an enemy kingdom, with her husband and their 2 sons due to famine, They settled in Moab with the sons even marrying local ladies, against the commands of both the Israeli and Moabite religions.
Naomi’s husband died leaving her a widow and then 10 years later both sons also died leaving their wives as widows and Naomi without the needed support of male family. Naomi decided to return to her homeland and encouraged her two widowed daughters-in-law to return to their families to and to find new husbands.
This is where Ruth stood against societal norms, religion, perhaps “common-sense”, and the strong advice of Naomi in an incredible act of loyalty and faithfulness, refusing to abandon her mother-in-law, committing to move to a strange land (where she found redemption).
Ruth the Moabite, the widowed outsider who chose faithfulness, is one of the 5 women recorded in the Genealogy of Jesus in Matthew 1:5 including a prostitute, the abandoned, the foreigner, the unwanted, and the unwed mother.
We find in the story of Ruth and confirmed within the genealogy in Matthew 1, home is where you find a grace filled, faithful community where the outsider, the outcast, the forgotten, the abandoned, the sinner are welcomed into community.
PRAYER: Faithful God, I thank you for your unreasonable love and for that love you demonstrated to me even while I was still an outsider help me show your faithfulness, love and grace to everyone around me , Amen.
Today's devotion written by Danny Brock, LifeWay Westside
Above all, you must live as citizens of heaven, conducting yourselves in a manner worthy of the Good News about Christ. Then, whether I come and see you again or only hear about you, I will know that you are standing together with one spirit and one purpose, fighting together for the faith, which is the Good News.
TO PONDER
In my family, I am child number two of four. So, I have one older brother who is about 14 months older than me. No big deal but he is also smarter than me, is more outgoing than me, is funnier than me, and… well you get the point!
My childhood was frustrating, our disagreements would start off small and would inevitably escalate to battles of Biblical proportions, just short of Cain and Abel (me being Cain). Due to his intelligence, quick-wit, and his early grasp of sarcasm my choice of repartee was violence.
Our brotherly discord was so legendary that friends would leave our sleepovers and refuse to return, ever.
Today’s verse is contained within a letter Paul is writing to the Philippian church from prison, he begins the letter giving thanks to God for them and their willingness to share the Good News about Christ within this Roman colony.
Paul continues then to share the results of his own sharing of the Gospel in prison before he switches to the brotherly discord evident within the Philippian church. The jealousy, selfishness, and factions hidden within the church family in danger of ruining the message being shared.
Paul reminds them to conduct themselves worthy of the love and grace they carry as representatives of Christ’s gospel message together.
As the church, the body of Christ, citizens of heaven we should fight using the weapons of love and grace both within our church community and to our neighbours in the world. Lead with the love and grace Jesus has shown to us.
PRAYER: Almighty Jesus, I thank you for showing me your love through grace even when I was at odds with you, I ask you to empower me to demonstrate that to my church, and my neighbours, in your name, Amen.
Today's devotion written by Danny Brock, LifeWay Westside