Jesus is the Christ

Jesus was a human being. He breathed, talked, walked, ate, thought, hurt, and lived on this earth for a time. He is also resurrected from the dead, which is an amazing fact. He is the most remarkable

human even though most people around where he lived didn't acknowledge it:

1Who hath believed our report? and to whom is the arm of the Lord revealed?
2 For he shall grow up before him as a tender plant, and as a root out of a dry ground: he hath no form nor comeliness; and when we shall see him, there is no beauty that we should desire him. 3 He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief: and we hid as it were our faces from him; he was despised, and we esteemed him not. Isaiah 53:1-3

Isaiah prophesied long ago of the man who would become the Christ. Men still don't believe this today. The world is so tied up looking in other directions to the point of twisting and discrediting the reality of Jesus's life. Even more so, people have concocted different ideas about his purpose.

4:1 Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world. 2 Hereby know ye the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesseth that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is of God: 3 And every spirit that confesseth not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is not of God: and this is that spirit of antichrist, whereof ye have heard that it should come; and even now already is it in the world.1 John 4:1-3

Peter knew full well who Jesus was. When Jesus asked him about it Peter answered accurately as to who Jesus was:

15 He saith unto them, But whom say ye that I am? 16 And Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God.17 And Jesus answered and said unto him, Blessed art thou, Simon Barjona: for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven.
Matthew 16:15-18

It is that simple. Jesus is the Christ.

Circumcision of the Heart- has nothing to do whether you are Republican or Democrat

It seems like the world is crazy and spinning out of control. In our country, we are seeing so much nastiness (and that's a good word for it!) and ridiculous rhetoric, faultfinding, blame and torrid name-calling.  Much (or rather all of it) is done in the name of boldness and 'telling it like it is'. It is popular to be snarky; it is cool to be obnoxious. Yes there is evil and yes there is good, but without God people confuse which is which.

I am reminded of a verse in Isaiah 5:20:

20 Woe unto them that call evil good, and good evil; that put darkness for light, and light for darkness; that put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter!

Circumcision is a theme throughout the Old Testament and New Testament. Under the old covenant it was a reminder and sign of God's relationship with His people:

10 This is my covenant, which ye shall keep, between me and you and thy seed after thee; Every man child among you shall be circumcised. 11 And ye shall circumcise the flesh of your foreskin; and it shall be a token of the covenant betwixt me and you. Genesis 17:10-11

In Deuteronomy, Moses explains the spiritual significance of circumcision:

6 And the Lord thy God will circumcise thine heart, and the heart of thy seed, to love the Lord thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, that thou mayest live. Deuteronomy 3:6

God told them to forget about their stubbornness, to break up the clods of self-worship, doubt, ego and hard heartedness and not to throw their lot in with the prickly ones:

3 For thus saith the Lord to the men of Judah and Jerusalem, Break up your fallow ground, and sow not among thorns.4 Circumcise yourselves to the Lord, and take away the foreskins of your heart, ye men of Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem: Jeremiah 4:3-4a

Bottom line? The New Testament hits it right on the head:

28 For he is not a Judean, which is one outwardly; neither is that circumcision, which is outward in the flesh:But he is a Judean which is one inwardly; and circumcision is that of the heart, in the spirit, and not in the letter; whose praise is not of men, but of God. Romans 2:28-29

Boldness must be in regards to the truth of God. The Word says that 'by their fruits ye shall know them". We too easily get caught up in what people say rather than by their fruits. Words are dangerous when used in the wrong way. They can drop a veil of control over the heart in a split second when they appeal to our base natures. It can ruin even the nicest among us.

The big message of Deuteronomy after all the desert wandering is:

12 And now, Israel, what doth the Lord thy God require of thee, but to fear the Lord thy God, to walk in all his ways, and to love him, and to serve the Lord thy God with all thy heart and with all thy soul,
13 To keep the commandments of the Lord, and his statutes, which I command thee this day for thy good? 14 Behold, the heaven and the heaven of heavens is the Lord's thy God, the earth also, with all that therein is.15 Only the Lord had a delight in thy fathers to love them, and he chose their seed after them, even you above all people, as it is this day. 16 Circumcise therefore the foreskin of your heart, and be no more stiffnecked. Deuteronomy 10:12-16

It works today!

♪♫ Little Drop of Dew, Like a Gem You Are ♪♫♪

RecentlyI heard a song the other day on TV that had been a favorite of mine some time ago. I hadn't heard it in a while. My mind was flooded with good thoughts automatically just hearing the lyrics:

Little Drop of Dew

Little drop of dew,
Like a gem you are;
I believe that you
Must have been a star.
When the day is bright,
On the grass you lie;
Tell me then, at night
Are you in the sky?

There is a beautiful song in Deuteronomy 32 that God wanted taught to the children of Israel as a lesson and reminder (Deuteronomy 31:19). It starts out like this:

32 Give ear, O ye heavens, and I will speak; and hear, O earth, the words of my mouth. 2 My doctrine shall drop as the rain, my speech shall distil as the dew, as the small rain upon the tender herb, and as the showers upon the grass: 3 Because I will publish the name of the Lord: ascribe ye greatness unto our God. 4 He is the Rock, his work is perfect: for all his ways are judgment: a God of truth and without iniquity, just and right is he. Deuteronomy 32:1-4

  What beautiful language! When God mentions doctrine here, the word 'leqach' is used referring to teaching that imparts learning. It is a beautiful image of God imparting His word. Rain falls from above to the earth below. The source of truth is God.

This teaching shall appear like dew. During the day the sun shines and water evaporates into the atmosphere.  The hotter the sun the more the earth dries out. At night when there is no sun the earth radiates it's collected heat up and away and the surface cools down. In the wee hours of the morning the evaporated water from the day condenses on the cooler surfaces of grass, leaves and herb revitalizing them. It seemingly appears out of nowhere and plants perk up in a refreshing preparation for the day ahead. 

The teaching of God will always 'ascribe' the greatness of God. He is the source of refreshing. Everything He does is perfect, just and has not even the smallest hint of evil! Any true teaching of God's word will emphasize the glory of God, not man. In Acts 2, the apostles shared the doctrine of Christ and the result was 'praising God and sharing grace' for those who heard.

God wanted future generations to continue to remember the goodness and life-giving vitality of God. He knew as people  grew, prospered and got comfortable in habit, they might forget The Source and become complacent. It is in that zone that people can get caught and evil tries to sneak in. Evil is always looking to scorch the earth, not refresh it.

The dew was an excellent illustration for the Israelite who all too well knew what it was like living in the desert, and the blessing of copious dew that dropped.  Dew was considered a wonderful gift
for fruitfulness of crops. Likewise, God's teaching is a wonderful stimulator of fruitfulness in our own lives.