Morning by Morning, January 27 - Circumcised in the Heart to Cross Over and Take Hold of the Promised Land
Good morning, Lord Jesus. King of Kings and Lord of Lords, rule and reign over my life and every moment of my day. ...
"At that time the Lord said to Joshua, 'Make flint knives and circumcise the Israelites at Gibeath-haaraloth. This is the reason why Joshua circumcised them: all the males of the people who came out of Egypt, all the warriors, had died during the journey through the wilderness after they had come out of Egypt. Although all the people who came out had been circumcised, yet all the people born on the journey through the wilderness after they had come out of Egypt had not been circumcised. For the Israelites traveled forty years in the wilderness, until all the nation, the warriors who came out of Egypt, perished, not having listened to the voice of the Lord. To them the Lord swore that He would not let them see the land that He had sworn to their ancestors to give us, a land flowing with milk and honey. So it was their children, whom He raised up in their place, that Joshua circumcised; for they were uncircumcised, because they had not been circumcised on the way" (Joshua 5:2-7).
A whole generation of warriors never entered the Promised Land. Their disobedience and lack of faith kept them out. "Not having listened to the voice of the Lord," they "perished."
And all that they experienced on their physical journey speaks to us of the spiritual principles and the ways of Your Spirit we are to learn on our spiritual journey -- out of our Egypts, through our wildernesses, and into our Promised Land. "Nevertheless, God was not pleased with most of them, and they were struck down in the wilderness. Now these things occurred as examples for us, so that we might not desire evil as they did.... These things happened to them to serve as an example, and they were written down to instruct us, on whom the ends of the ages have come. So if you think you are standing, watch out that you do not fall. No testing has overtaken you that is not common to everyone. God is faithful, and He will not let you be tested beyond your strength, but with the testing He will also provide the way out so that you may be able to endure it" (1 Corinthians 10:5-13).
You are "faithful" and You will provide "the way" for us to endure and pass every test You set before us. And "the way" You provided for Your people -- Your warriors -- in the Old Covenant of the days of Joshua to cross over and take hold and possess the Promised Land was to be "circumcised." It's the same for us under the New Covenant in Christ. Though theirs was a physical circumcision, ours is a spiritual circumcision -- a circumcision of the heart. "Real circumcision is a matter of the heart -- it is spiritual and not literal. Such a person receives praise not from others but from God" (Romans 2:29). "Moreover, the Lord your God will circumcise your heart and the heart of your descendants, so that you will love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul, in order that you may live" (Deuteronomy 30:6). "Circumcise yourselves to the Lord, remove the foreskin of your hearts, O people of Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem" (Jeremiah 4:4).
The old has to be cut away so that what is new can be revealed. The hardness of our hearts through the disappointments and disillusionments and disobedience of the past must be cut away so that our hearts are tender and surrendered to hear You and trust You and obey You. The flesh must die so that the spirit can arise (Galatians 5:16).
Our identity in God is not to be determined by our flesh but by our spirit. "For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision counts for anything; the only thing that counts is faith working through love" (Galatians 5:6). "For it is we who are the circumcision, who worship the Spirit of God and boast in Christ Jesus and have no confidence in the flesh" (Philippians 3:3). "In Him also (we) were circumcised with a spiritual circumcision, by putting off the body of the flesh in the circumcision in Christ" (Colossians 2:11).
Your Word warns us that if we resist Your Spirit we are not yet circumcised in our hearts. "You stiff-necked people, uncircumcised in heart and ears, you always resist the Holy Spirit. As your fathers did, so do you" (Acts 7:51). Father, in the name of Jesus, I repent of every time I've resisted Your Holy Spirit, every time I've failed to take time to listen so I could hear and trust and obey, every time I let my flesh rule instead my spirit in submission to Your Spirit.
Lord, cut away all that would hold me back from embracing all You have for me. Circumcise my flesh and awaken my spirit! Let me hear Your voice and sense Your Spirit. Let me trust You and obey You to cross over and press in to the promises and purposes of God. This is "the way" You have provided for me to come out of my wilderness and into my Promised Land. Give me Your grace to fully embrace all You've done for me and all You yet desire to do through me. The old generation of warriors "perished" "not having listened to the voice of the Lord." By the power of Your grace, I choose to learn to listen and live! In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.
Be encouraged today! In the Love of Jesus, Tommy Hays
My friend, may you be circumcised in your heart, letting the Lord cut away your flesh, to hear the voice of the Lord so you cross over and take hold of your Promised Land in Him, in Jesus' name. Please pray the same for me. God bless you, my friend!
I'm excited to be teaching the Healing Academy at Aldersgate Renewal Ministries again this year, the first week of February -- February 3-7, 2020 in Goodlettsville, TN just north of Nashville. Register today and come join us! Please spread to word to anyone who may be interested in this week-long equipping and experience of healing prayer ministry:
I will be teaching based on my book Free to Be Like Jesus-Transforming Power of Inner Healing and Deliverance, which I'm so honored to be endorsed by Max Lucado, Randy Clark, and Andy Reese.
Tommy Hays | Messiah Ministries
Healing from the Inside Out
Pastoral Director | Rapha God Ministries
4 Dominion Drive, Building 1
San Antonio, Texas 78257
Please share this word to encourage a friend!
