Pastor Ralph Posted October 7, 2004 Report Share Posted October 7, 2004 Q3. What does it mean to have your heart circumcised? Why is this a necessity for all true believers, both Jew and Christian? How can we keep our faith active as an inward expression of love rather than become only an external religion? Have you ever struggled with this? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cct1106 Posted October 17, 2004 Report Share Posted October 17, 2004 Having your heart circumcised means to cut away and make it pure and obedient. To be able to receive the knowledge and to worship in spirit and truth. Must seek accurate knowledge and clean our hearts of worldly things that are not acceptable/pleasing to God. Just being externally religious and not internally you are basically being a hypocrite. Never struggled with external and internal. What I felt internal I acted what was internally outwardly. I never played with my faith. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
peggysue Posted October 23, 2004 Report Share Posted October 23, 2004 a true yearning heart for God,faith,repentance,loyalty.love Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
heatherdills Posted October 24, 2004 Report Share Posted October 24, 2004 To have your heart circumcised means that the junk has been cut out of your life and the remainder of it is wholly devoted to God. This is a necessity for all true believers, both Jew and Christian to be able to be in the will of God. We can keep our faith active as an inward expression of love rather than become only an external religion by reading scripture ans participating in active prayer. I struggle with this every day. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sunilbernard Posted October 25, 2004 Report Share Posted October 25, 2004 Q3. What does it mean to have your heart circumcised? Why is this a necessity for all true believers, both Jew and Christian? How can we keep our faith active as an inward expression of love rather than become only an external religion? Have you ever struggled with this? Circumcision is cutting a portion of your body. Spiritually, it signifies that we should trim our branches as Jesus told in John 15. Unnecessary weight will hamper fruit bearing and will not contribute to spiritual growth. This is mandatory for all Christians, whether Jew or Christian. Because unless one is stripped of all unnecessary baggage, fruit bearing doesn't take shape. Circumcision of the heart is required to make the heart owe allegiance only to the living God and no one else. It is also a sign of the covenenat that we have to make on our part to be eligible for God's blessings. The heart is inside the body. It is the main source of life for the body. When the heart is circumcised and surrendered to the Lord Almighty, the body is dedicated to the Lord inwardly and from the inside, good things come out such as in Gal 5:22. My life, as most Christians, is full of struggles. Always there is a tussle going on in the spirit world for my allegiance. I am up and down but not out. I always spring back and take the Lord's help in not getting drowned. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kim E. Posted October 26, 2004 Report Share Posted October 26, 2004 The believer's heart is totally Christ's, to use as he wills -- all his emotions, mind, intellect, and will are dedicated and available, ready at the command of Jesus Christ to be used for his purposes. Paul says to the Philippians, "We are the circumcision, who worship God in the spirit, and rejoice in Christ Jesus, and have no confidence in the flesh," {Phil 3:3 KJV}. We are to have no reliance upon ourselves, but rely totally upon him. Every thought, every imagination, is brought into captivity to Christ. That is the circumcised life. We are to love the Lord with all our heart, mind and soul and to be essentially different we must recognize the right of Jesus to be the Lord of our life. To continually discover the glory of the circumcised life, we must turn to God everyday in prayer, we must go to the Scripture, we must remind ourselves of what our life was like before Christ. We must grow in intimacy with God. Which one of us can say that we have come to fathom the doctrine of the grace of God or of the atonement? Who would be willing to claim that he had seen all of its implications? Not me. I know that there are times in my life when the cares of the world seem to come down around me. I have to come to grips with my desires and my desire to rely on God. God continues to return me to the great truths He would have me know and respond to, testing me, and revealing more of that truth than I had known before. It seems simple to say but it is much harder to grasp and some days I will feel like I Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jose Rivera Posted October 26, 2004 Report Share Posted October 26, 2004 Q3. What does it mean to have your heart circumcised? Why is this a necessity for all true believers, both Jew and Christian? How can we keep our faith active as an inward expression of love rather than become only an external religion? Have you ever struggled with this? Colossians 2:11 discusses this point well. It says: In whom also ye are circumcised with the circumcision made without hands, in putting off the body of the sins of the flesh by the circumcision of Christ I can share with you that this circumcision takes time and it is a work that is accomplished in you by God. I say this because I know that God has spoken to me through the Holy Spirit, His word, prayer, circumstances, and the church. From each one of these points God has removed worry, doubt, fear, lack of trust, and many other impurities in my heart. He has taken all of them away and asked me to follow Him. Therein lied the biggest problem, it was a crisis of unbelief at first. It was really my own lack of commitment that gave it birth. Many have labeled that condition, some call it a lie, others call it a Sunday Christian, some called it a non-Christian. I was one of many who wanted God...my way. You know, I will do this but not that. I will believe this but not that. God is this but not that. I am sure you understand. When God circumcised my heart He took all those things out. He reduced me to what He wanted, not what I wanted. He gave me what I needed while He was working on me too. I never lacked for anything, yet He took all that was not from Him away. I lost my job, went through my savings, became dependent on my wife's salary and just felt useless. Yet, He always provided for us and He has now restored me. I continue to thrive and much like a new growth continue to grow. I look for Him in all I do and I can point to Him for all I have. You see, not only did I lose material things for a period; I almost lost my wife and daughter to cancer. But you know what, He healed them and they are both cancer free going on 5 years. My daughter even got married and had a baby; something the doctors told her might not be possible because of the chemo-therapy. So you ask what it means to have your heart circumcised. Well, I believe it is the total removal of all that keeps you from being dependent on Him. It is the removal of all things that prevent you from looking to Him for all. It is a shedding of all man derived things. It is a cleansing of all things in your life. It is a rebirth of all things and there intended purpose. It is a beginning with God at the Helm, guiding you. It is a total obedience to Him and what His word reveals. That is what it means to me. My prayer for all people is that they find out what God means to them. I pray that they experience His power and love and move closer to Him. Keep looking up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ccs Posted October 26, 2004 Report Share Posted October 26, 2004 Q3. What does it mean to have your heart circumcised? Why is this a necessity for all true believers, both Jew and Christian? How can we keep our faith active as an inward expression of love rather than become only an external religion? Have you ever struggled with this? What does it mean to have your heart circumcised? It means a heart that is repentive and accepts Jesus Christ as Lord and Master. Why is this a necessity for all true believers, both Jew and Christian? For Salvation, so that you may love him with all your heart and with all your soul, and live" (Deuteronomy 30:6). How can we keep our faith active as an inward expression of love rather than become only an external religion? Stay connected to God by practicing holy habits. Such as prayer, meditation, Bible study, fasting, worship, Simplicity, Solitude, Submission, Service,Confession, Guidance, and Celebration. Grace + Spiritual Disciplines = GROWTH Towards Holiness Have you ever struggled with this? Yes, the flesh struggles with the things of the Spirit, but when we apply the things of the Spirit to our flesh we are renewed daily. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sgt_Z_Squad Posted October 26, 2004 Report Share Posted October 26, 2004 3.) What does it mean to have your heart circumcised? Why is this a necessity for all true believers, both Jew and Christian? How can we keep our faith active as an inward expression of love rather than become only an external religion? Have you ever struggled with this? 3.) The answers from all of you covered my thoughts and are great! I can't add any more to them. Thanks!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PressThrough Posted October 26, 2004 Report Share Posted October 26, 2004 Q3. What does it mean to have your heart circumcised? Why is this a necessity for all true believers, both Jew and Christian? How can we keep our faith active as an inward expression of love rather than become only an external religion? Have you ever struggled with this? To have your heart circumcised is what God meant by turning a heart of stone, into a heart of flesh. Woooo, something else is coming in here, but I haven't received the full message yet. Ohhhh, I'll tell ya when I know more It has to do with "the fall" and when "blood" entered the picture. That's all I know right now. We keep our faith active as an inward expression of love rather than it becoming only an external religion, through knowing. By knowing Abba. By, ohhhh, drawing near to Him always. Yes!!! By Understanding Him, what Love is. Who He is!!! All the rest well, finds it's place as a result of our Love & Desire to be with God, in Love, and for the sake of Love for Him & Eachother. I'm not going to try to purposely sit here and remember the struggles. God lifted me out of that, and I'm leaving those thoughts way back yonder. I don't think sharing my struggles is uplifting. Revealing the Truth is what counts, and that is that GOD IS EASY & HIS YOKE LIGHT!!! Hallelujah Amen I don't think I need to go backwards in order to go forwards, so no thanks on this part the question. God Bless You, With Agape Love, Lisa Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MyBeloved Posted October 26, 2004 Report Share Posted October 26, 2004 Circumcision of the heart is when we receive the Lord Jesus Christ as our own Savior. His shed blood cleanses the sin of our heart, the sin is taken away. Circumcision of the heart is necessary before anyone, Jew or Gentile can become a believer in Christ. To keep our faith active we need to be in GOD's Word, praying, confessing sin and seeking to walk in obedience and fellowship with Him each day. Every believer struggles with having victory over the flesh, it is part of having a sinful nature. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
grace Posted October 26, 2004 Report Share Posted October 26, 2004 a. To have your heart circumsized means to me that you have covenanted with God to serve Him with all of your heart, and to STAND FAST in His Word even when everything seems to be coming against you. b. To be circumsized is necessary to remove all the dross from your life, so that you will be refined like silver in a furnace of earth, to be made pure and holy for the master's use. c. To keep our faith active can only happen as we daily walk in the Word, pray, fellowship with other believers, and witness for Christ whenever the opportunity is given us. d. I am presently struggling with my belief inasmuch as I am uncertain where I fit into a ministry within the body of Christ to do service for God. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Magnus Posted October 27, 2004 Report Share Posted October 27, 2004 Circumcision was an outward, private symbol of God Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Helenmm Posted October 29, 2004 Report Share Posted October 29, 2004 A covenant is a two-sided agreement. Circumcision was like Abraham's signature to the agreement. Covenants were usually cut in blood, and this was Abraham's part. Jesus Christ was the gift of blood from God. However, God is spirit, not flesh. He is giving us a flesh and blood picture of spiritual things. He wants us to worship Him in spirit andin truth. He always pointed out to the Jews that sacrifice meant nothing if they did not consider and provide for the poor. The blessings God promised to Abraham were children and descendents - people. People need provision which is a function of love. Among Abraham's descendents there are to be no poor - all are to be provided for somehow, and several laws are about this. God is love. Abraham's covenant is with Love. When we look at the whole picture, Abraham has entered blood covenant with Love. Circumcision of the heart is the removal of any trappings that are unholy so that we can wholly unite with Father God and take on the Family values and inheritance, so reflecting the glory of God down here as is possible and necessary. Jesus said that true worshippers will worship Him in spirit and in truth. He said this to a gentile woman. Jesus said "Do unto others as you would have them do unto you". This can apply to Jesus too. He is a person with feelings longing for fellowship and personal relationship with us. Let us be careful not to offend the Holy Spirit, but sensitive to Him as to someone very important to us. I have been learning this for many years and I am still learning this! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
June Posted October 31, 2004 Report Share Posted October 31, 2004 IT IS TO HAVE YOUR HEART CLEANSED AND BE REPENTED OF SINS AND ABIDING IN GOD'S WORD. YOU MUST LOVE HIM WITH ALL YOUR HEART,MIND, AND BEING AND LIVE ACCORDINGLY. CHRISTIANS SHOW THEY ARE IN AGREEMENT BY BEING BAPTIZED, AND THEN THE HOLY SPIRIT GOES TO WORK INSIDE TO CLEANSE. BY DOING DEEDS DAILY WE CAN SHOW OUR FAITH. KEEPING OURSELVES PURE IN HEART. A GOOD WAY TO KEEP OUR FAITH ACTIVE IS THE OUTREACH MINISTRIES OF THE CHURCH. OF WHICH, THERE ARE MANY. IT IS NOT A STRUGGLE FOR ME AS I COME FROM A LARGE FAMILY. WE ALWAYS HAD TO SHARE AND GIVE TO EACH OTHER, AND SOMETIMES NOT SO LOVINGLY TOO. I LOVE TO GIVE OF MYSELF AND WATCH THE EXPRESSIONS LIKE---YOU'D DO THIS FOR ME,LOOK!! GOD ALWAYS BLESSES IN RETURN. IT IS SATISFYING TO HELP SOMEONE!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peggie Posted November 14, 2004 Report Share Posted November 14, 2004 What does it mean to have your heart circumcised? It means that your works are out of love for God, not just going through the motions for show or just to say you did the right thing. Why is this a necessity for all true believers, both Jew and Christian? Because it shows our love for God. How can we keep our faith active as an inward expression of love rather than become only an external religion? Through prayer and reading of God's word. Have you ever struggled with this? Yes, at times I have been so busy serving God that I did not take the time to ask Him how HE wanted me to do it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TennLady01 Posted November 14, 2004 Report Share Posted November 14, 2004 It is the cutting away of the worldly things that are in our hearts that are not pleasing to our GOD. It show a way of getting the things that are not pleasing to GOD out of you. We talk to God today and believe what he says in his word, we keep it alive through faith in him and the knowing Jesus was the son of the living GOD. We have to read his word and learn from it to be pleasing to him. I have to say I am not always right where GOD would have me to be. I strive to be perfect but we know none is perfect no not one the word says. We should love our neighbor more than ourselves I can't say I show that all the time but I pray God will help me with this. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chobson Posted November 14, 2004 Report Share Posted November 14, 2004 Q3= TO HAVE MY HEART CIRCUMCISED MEANS THAT I AM NO LONGER THE PERSON THAT I USED TO BE I AM A NEW CREATION IN CHRIST WHO HAS COME TO MAKE HIS ETERNAL HOME IN MY HEART, WHO ABIDES WITH ME ALWAYS. THE OLD ME (THE FLESH) HAS BEEN CUTT AWAY BY THE HOLY SPIRIT OF GOD AND THE NEW ME LIVES TO BRING GLORY TO GOD AND TO FURTHER HIS KINGDOM SO THAT AS MANY AS POSSIBLE WILL PARTAKE IN THE ETERNAL CANAAN LAND. JESUS SAID THAT "YOU MUST BE BORN AGAIN" THIS CIRCUMCISION OF THE HEART. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kas Posted November 21, 2004 Report Share Posted November 21, 2004 To desire in your spirit to obey the Lord. To find out His will (reading the Bible) so you know Him. You can't love someone with all your mind, heart and soul if you don't know them. The bible is God's invitation to us to get to know Him. We must have a willing desire to know Him otherwise it will be onesided. God loves us and doesn't change. We must fulfill the other half of the covenant by willfully obeying Him (reading, praying and walking with Him). If we truly believe in Christ, we will obey His words. Belief is synonymous with obedience throughout the entire bible. If we confess with our mouths and do not do anything to back it up. We decieve ourselves only, because God will not be mocked. We will be the one to whom the Lord says " Go away, I never knew you". All believers (Jews & Gentiles) must willfully grow to love God thru Christ. No one can come to the Father unless it is through Christ. We keep our faith active by daily reading the word, daily prayer and sometimes fasting and by fellowshipping. If we don't feed our spiritual man our flesh man will become stronger. In order to withstand the fiery darts of the evil one, our spiritual man must be fed. We do this by reading, praying and fellowshipping DAILY. Yes, I struggle because I sometimes rely on my feelings. Well I don't "feel" saved, or "feel" forgiven. It is a faith walk and to not believe/act on God's word is to call Him a liar. It's a constant struggle between my flesh and spirit to walk by faith and not by sight, sense, smell etc.. If faith was easy - every one would do it and there would be no hardships which equals spiritual growth. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AngelOnLine Posted December 21, 2004 Report Share Posted December 21, 2004 Q3. What does it mean to have your heart circumcised? Why is this a necessity for all true believers, both Jew and Christian? Having your heart circumcised means it has been cleansed, making it pure and holy, and totally acceptable to God. How can we keep our faith active as an inward expression of love rather than become only an external religion? By regular Bible Study, Prayer, and Worship. Have you ever struggled with this? I Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
obnubilate Posted January 20, 2005 Report Share Posted January 20, 2005 To circumcise my heart is to deny the sinful yearnings of the flesh, to set my body apart for God's purposes. This is necessity for anyone who is chose by God's divine will to be His people. We can keep out faith active as an inward expression of love by communicating daily with God, to learn his precepts and obey Him. Yes, I;ve so often taken His mercies for granted and live a disobedient life. It really makes me feel useless, like dust..and need God Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
egaray Posted January 21, 2005 Report Share Posted January 21, 2005 To have my heart circumcised means that Jesus washed my sins. The Word says that He creates in me a new heart. He removes layers of impurities as I develop my christian walk. This is a must for all (Jews and Christians) because Jesus died on the cross for our sins. Otherwise, His death would have been in vain. Jesus is Love. In our hearts, He is the Hope of Glory while religion takes us nowhere. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alicea Posted February 23, 2005 Report Share Posted February 23, 2005 Q3. What does it mean to have your heart circumcised? Why is this a necessity for all true believers, both Jew and Christian? How can we keep our faith active as an inward expression of love rather than become only an external religion? Have you ever struggled with this? To have your heart circumcised means that you are aware of the need to live a holy life in fellowship with our Lord. That you have promised to do so and you are in a covental relationship with Him. It is necessary for all believers because outward signs are not enough, outward work is not enough, it must be real and on the inside where no one but God can see. We keep our faith active as an inward expression of love by living a life of worship of our Lord. Prayer, meditation on scripture and bible study help but they do not necessarily keep our faith active. We need both the Spirit and the truth to truly worship Him. Yes, there have been times in my walk where all the outward trappings were there but inside my faith wasn't active like I needed it to be. Repentance restores it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sue Posted March 1, 2005 Report Share Posted March 1, 2005 Lesson 6 Q3 (a) To have your heart circumcised means to love the Lord your God with all your heart and soul. The only way is to allow the Spirit to come in. ( This is a necessity for all believers because it means we have allowed the Spirit to come into our hearts and have everlasting Life. So we can Live! © We can keep our faith active as an inward expression of love rather than become only an external religion by keeping our hearts cleansed. Our faith in Jesus Christ will allow us to bear good fruits of the Spirit: Love, Joy, Peace, etc. (d) I believe we all struggle sometime or another with keeping our hearts cleansed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
warrior Posted October 11, 2005 Report Share Posted October 11, 2005 Q3. What does it mean to have your heart circumcised? Why is this a necessity for all true believers, both Jew and Christian? How can we keep our faith active as an inward _expression of love rather than become only an external religion? Have you ever struggled with this? To be circumcised of heart is be seperated on a daily basis from the flesh and set apart for Christ. Be set free through pray and study everyday that the sin that our flesh might would cause would be put under the blood and even our thoughts made pure. By a active prayer life and active study of His Word and by offering praise and worship daily for the overcoming power we have through the blood of Jesus Christ we will have a communication with Him that will be inward and not just outward religious ritual of reading and a quick prayer saying in our hearts we have done our duty. Living for Christ is not a duty but a fulfillment of life itself. We all struggle with the flesh and alll have come short of the Glory of God but daily taking it back to the cross gives us daily overcoming power to keep attaining spiritual perfection. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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