anglican devotional

The Daily Fountain Devotional of the Church Of Nigeria (Anglican Communion) 1 January 2021 – Circumcise Your Heart!

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Topic: Circumcise Your Heart!

Read: Luke 2:21-24 (NKJV)

  1. And when eight days were completed for the circumcision of the Child, His name was called JESUS, the name given by the angel before He was conceived in the womb.
  2. Now when the days of her purification according to the law of Moses were completed, they brought Him to Jerusalem to present [Him] to the Lord
  3. (as it is written in the law of the Lord, “Every male who opens the womb shall be called holy to the LORD”),
  4. and to offer a sacrifice according to what is said in the law of the Lord, “A pair of turtledoves or two young pigeons.”

THE MESSAGE:

In Genesis 17:4-12, God entered into a covenant with Abraham – He would make Abraham a father of a multitude of nations, and on the part of Abraham and his descendants, they must cut off the flesh of their foreskin. From generation to generation, every male child was to be circumcised on the 8th day after birth. The parents of Jesus took Him to Jerusalem and presented Him to the Lord and offered the sacrifices required in fulfilment of the law of the Lord though Jesus was the Son of God. As much as lies within us, let us keep the laws of God, and also the laws of men which are not against God; Jesus did not come to abolish the law, but to fulfil it.

God gave Abraham and his descendants the mark of circumcision as a physical reminder that they were cut off from the world and set apart to the true living God. For us, this covenant of God is symbolised by physical circumcision, but more importantly by circumcision of the heart. In Jeremiah 4:4 we are called upon to circumcise our hearts to the Lord and this refers to having a pure heart separated unto God. Inward repentance and change are needed in us in order to be right with God. In this New Year, let us reject all sin, compromise, unrighteousness, greed, covetousness, malice, bribery and everything that contaminates. Let us cling to Jesus, the fulfilment of the law and through Him, we are made right with God. Have a new year of peace.

PRAYER: Dear Lord, thank You for graciously bringing me into the New Year. I ask for Your grace to reject that which makes it hard for me to live for You.

HAPPY NEW YEAR 2021!!!