Topic: Circumcision is a Matter of the Heart [Tuesday November 21, 2017]

John 18:14 “Now Caiaphas was he, which gave counsel to the Jews, that it was expedient that one man should die for the people.”

The physical nation of Israel still has a very important part to play in God’s plan. They have a prominent role in end-time prophecy. However, the physical nation of Israel has been displaced in importance by the spiritual seed of Abraham, that is the church of Jesus Christ.

Christians are the true circumcised people of God. In Romans 2:28-29, Paul reveals that true circumcision is a matter of the heart, not the flesh, and that true Judaism is through new birth, not physical birth.

In Colossians 2:11, Paul says that spiritual circumcision was done by God without the hands of man. This circumcision, that was made without hands, proves that it was not done in the physical. Paul is referring to the spiritual circumcision of the heart. The sins of our heart were cut away and discarded through the sacrifice of Christ in a similar way that the foreskin is removed from a male. The physical act of circumcision is a picture of the spiritual circumcision that is now a reality in every born-again believer.

The condition of a person’s flesh is not the important thing. It doesn’t matter if the flesh is circumcised or holy. It is the condition of the spirit that matters with God. Those who put faith in their circumcision to save them are putting confidence in the flesh and not in God. Today, the act of circumcision is not the issue, but acts of holiness are still deemed by many as essential for receiving salvation. That is just as wrong as those in Paul’s day who believed that being circumcised granted them salvation.

This message was written by The Association of Related Ministries International (ARMI) is an extension of Andrew Wommack Ministries (AWM). ARMI is a unique partnership committed to providing resources to help like-minded ministers succeed in a spirit of excellence and to draw from the experience and expertise of both the AWM and Charis Bible College staff. (www.awmi.net).

Topic: Life Worth Living [Tuesday November 21, 2017]

. . . ye might have life through his name. — John 20:31

“Is life worth living?” To scores of people life has ceased to be worth living. To all of you I have good news. God did not create you to be a defeated, discouraged, frustrated, wandering soul, seeking in vain for peace of heart and peace of mind. He has bigger plans for you. He has a larger orb and a greater life for you.

The answer to your problem, however great, is as near as your Bible, as simple as first-grade arithmetic, and as real as your heartbeat. Upon the authority of God’s Word, I tell you that Christ is the answer to every baffling perplexity which plagues mankind. In Him is found the cure for care, a balm for bereavement, a healing for our hurts, and a sufficiency for our insufficiency.

Prayer for the day: Teach me, Lord, as today I read Your Word, that the life You would have me live is one of joy and fulfillment.

Written by Billy Graham, Founder of Billy Graham Evangelistic Association(BGEA). BGEA exists to proclaim the Gospel of Jesus Christ by every effective means and to equip the church and others to do the same.

Topic: Our Watchword — Tuesday November 21, 2017.

Text: Luke 12:1-12

Key Verse: “It “In the mean time, when there were gathered together an innumerable multitude of people, insomuch that they trode one upon another, he began to say unto his disciples first of all, Beware ye of the leaven of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy” (Luke 12:1).

Jesus identified the leaven as the insincerity and hypocrisy of the Pharisees. They observed outward ceremonies of religion without inner and character transformation. Many today have the appearance of obedience to codes and regulations without corresponding piety.

The Pharisees always gathered to listen to Jesus with sinister motives. Jesus knew and still knows what is in the heart of man. He knew that the multitude that gathered did not come to be helped out of their spiritual blindness. Most of them had come to find a word to ensnare Him. Jesus was not deterred by their schemes and wicked plots. He knew them and what they had come to do.

Jesus therefore, advised His disciples to be resolute in their faith in God and in their commitment to the work of the Kingdom. He urged them never to fear any mortal but only God who had the ability to deliver and destroy now and in the world to come. Most times, we misread the motives of those who attend our fellowship meetings; who come to spy out the simplicity of our worship and the commitment of genuine souls. They pretend they are with us but they come to cause division and to lead others astray. They come to criticise and water down the word of God.

They are those who point us to other churches, how strict we are and the need to lower the standard to accommodate others. It takes a spiritual eye to see such insincerity. Many people have been led out of faith and destroyed. As believers, we must not be drawn into any fellowship that is capable of corrupting our convictions in the Lord.

Thought for the day: Not all that glitters is gold.

Bible Reading in one Year: Ezekiel 18-21

DCLM Daily Manna was written by Pastor William Folorunso Kumuyi; is the founder and General Superintendent of the Deeper Life Bible Church situated at KM 42 on the busy Lagos-Ibadan Expressway, Nigeria.

Topic: Helicopter Seeds — Tuesday November 21, 2017.

Read: John 12:23–33, Bible in a Year: Ezekiel 16–17; James 3

Unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds. John 12:24

When our children were young, they loved trying to catch the “helicopter seeds” that fell from our neighbor’s silver maple trees. Each seed resembles a wing. In late spring they twirl to the ground like a helicopter’s rotor blades. The seeds’ purpose is not to fly, but to fall to earth and grow into trees.

Before Jesus was crucified, He told His followers, “The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. . . . [U]nless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds” (John 12:23–24).

While Jesus’s disciples wanted Him to be honored as the Messiah, He came to give His life so we could be forgiven and transformed through faith in Him.  As Jesus’s followers, we hear His words, “Anyone who loves their life will lose it, while anyone who hates their life in this world will keep it for eternal life. Whoever serves me must follow me; and where I am, my servant also will be. My Father will honor the one who serves me” (vv. 25–26).

Helicopter seeds can point us to the miracle of Jesus, the Savior, who died that we might live for Him.

Lord Jesus, we are amazed by Your love. Give us grace to serve You today as we long to do.

Jesus calls us to give our lives in serving Him.

Insight:

Our passage today occurs shortly after Jesus’s triumphal entry into Jerusalem. On that day Jesus rode into town on a donkey’s colt as a large crowd, who had traveled to the city to celebrate the Passover, threw palm branches on the road before Him shouting, “ ‘Hosanna!’ ‘Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!’ ” (John 12:12–15). Though Jesus came as a king, He knew that the people cheering Him on were expecting a savior to free them from Rome, not a savior who would suffer for their sins. He was the kernel of wheat who must die so His kingdom could grow (v. 24). Alyson Kieda

This message was written By David C. McCasland [Our Daily Bread Ministries.]