We
left off with the last blog New Beginnings Pt. 1 with historical biblical information about
the meaning or significance of the number eight (8) which signifies: new
beginning, new order and new creation.
We discovered that the crucifixion of Jesus Christ was perfect, not just because
he was the Son of God as I
had believed all these years, but his sacrifice was perfect because of the precise timing and implementation
of all of the events that led up to the crucifixion. For example:
· Theologians
state that Jesus was selected to be the sacrificial lamb (in the earth realm)
on Nisan 10 (April 1, 30 A.D. - John 12: 27-29). In John 12 we see
o Jesus asking the
father the rhetorical question of whether or not there was another way for the
price of redemption to be paid;
o Jesus answering that rhetorical question and reminding himself that he came to earth to die for our sins and so
the Father could be glorified; and
o The Father
audibly answering and selecting him openly before the world for the assignment
· He was crucified,
buried and resurrected as he foretold all within an eight (8) day period making
his sacrifice perfect and ushering in New Beginnings. How?
The redemptive work of Christ on the cross closed the chapter on the
dispensation (time period) of the Mosaic Law (e.g. the 10 Commandments with extended
emphasis added in the book of Leviticus) and ushering the dispensation (time
period) of Grace. Ephesians 2:8-10 (NLT): God saved you by his grace when you believed. And you can’t
take credit for this; it is a gift from God. Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of
us can boast about it. For we are God’s masterpiece. He has
created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us
long ago.
o We cannot put
salvation on lay-away, get a hook-up, buy, steal, charge or work for it. Going door to door, standing at supermarkets
giving magazines away will not earn you a spot.
Salvation is FREE. Jesus paid it
all. We are to work out our soul’s
salvation, building the kingdom, etc. but we cannot buy/earn it. Working for and working out salvation are two
different acts altogether.
Under
the Mosaic Law every male child was required to be circumcised on the eighth (8th)
day of life as an outward sign of the covenant between God and his chosen
people. Acts 7:8 (NLT) God also gave
Abraham the covenant of circumcision at that time. So when Abraham became the
father of Isaac, he circumcised him on the eighth day. And the practice was
continued when Isaac became the father of Jacob, and when Jacob became the
father of the twelve patriarchs of the Israelite nation. However, Colossians 2:11-13 speaks of the circumcised
heart. Once we accept Christ he cuts
away the old sinful nature (if we allow him to do so). The
outward sign of the covenant between God and us (his chosen people of the dispensation
of Grace) is the evidence in the change of lifestyle. Not because we have to, cause you don’t have
to do nothing but stay black (brown, white, red or other), die and pay
taxes. No ma’am, no sir, but because we
want to.
We
ended the blog mid-stream after hearing about the things we should no longer
do as heart circumcised believers, not based upon rules from a church or
religious organization, but based upon the Holy word of God. Now why is God imposing such strict
restrictions on us? Let’s examine that
question:
· God is not
imposing anything unrealistic on anyone.
We have a free will of choice. We
can either abide by the word of God and be blessed for everything we give up to
follow him or we can decline. The choice
is ours to make, however, everything costs something.
· God paid a very
high price for our salvation, his only son was offered as a ransom for us. What do I mean? Sin kidnapped us and had no intention of
releasing us until God said I love (what’s your name) enough that I’m willing
to pay the price for our freedom. 1 Corinthians 6:20 (NLT): For God bought you with a high price. So
you must honor God with your body.
· God has the very
best of everything you can imagine laid aside just for you, but it’s
conditional, you’ve got to be willing to give him your entire heart, broken,
guarded, shattered, torn as it is. All
of it. Even the little pieces of your
heart that are tucked away neatly out of sight, that piece too.
Rather
than ask why God would impose his will on you, a more appropriate question
would be, how much are you willing to pay to continue to live your life on your
terms?
But
what does any of this have to do with New Beginnings? Everything. This is actually where we left off
yesterday. To live as a new creation according to 2
Corinthians 5:17 we must be willing
to allow Christ to circumcise our heart and we must be willing to do our
part. What is our part?
·
Ephesians
4:25-32: 25 So stop telling
lies. Let us tell our neighbors the truth, for we are all parts of the same
body. 26 And “don’t sin by
letting anger control you.” Don’t
let the sun go down while you are still angry, 27 for anger gives a
foothold to the devil. 28 If
you are a thief, quit stealing. Instead, use your hands for good hard work, and
then give generously to others in need. 29 Don’t use foul or
abusive language. Let everything you say be good and helpful, so that your
words will be an encouragement to those who hear them. 30 And
do not bring sorrow to God’s Holy Spirit by the way you live. Remember, he has
identified you as his own, guaranteeing that you will be saved on the day of
redemption. 31 Get
rid of all bitterness, rage, anger, harsh words, and slander, as well as all
types of evil behavior. 32 Instead, be kind to each other,
tenderhearted, forgiving one another, just as God through Christ has forgiven you.
Notice
the text doesn’t blame any of the above activities on the devil, nor does it
say that God is going to “take” lies, anger, rage, bitterness, harsh words,
slander, all types of evil behavior, etc. from us. Instead we have to accept responsibilities for
our actions and stop the negative learned behaviors some of which are survival
tactics. When we STOP, when we
voluntarily give those things up, God will bless us for our obedience.
I
realize it’s a lot easier to blame our defeated lives and drama on the devil,
but as of today we can no longer do so because you have been enlightened. We have a role to play in our delivery but we
are not responsible for delivering ourselves.
What is the role? Ephesian 4:25-31
above. Once we stop that gives God
permission to go, meaning that, he can now completely deliver us from our
“stuff and put us in the vehicle bound for our journey to New Beginnings. Make
a decision to tell the truth, decide not to get angry, shut your mouth, we
don’t have to go so hard in the paint that they need paint thinner to dilute it
(the paint), cuss the world out and demonstrate you’re big bad Sally with an
even bigger attitude. What do we look
like fighting, cussing people out, telling people off with a complete neck roll
with a bible in one hand, I love Jesus scarf, bumper sticker, tee-shirt,
earrings and tote bag. Really? Do you realize how ridiculous we look and
sound goin’ ham on somebody because they got your McDonald’s order wrong, stole
your parking spot, cut you off in a passing lane, or whatever else could happen? At the end of the day as bad as you think
you are, there is somebody bigger, badder and crazier that can whip your
tail. But what is most devastating is
the fact that when we act up, we grieve the Holy Spirt, we put Christ to an
open shame.
I’m
still talking about New Beginnings, I’m not lost at all, but I am out of
time. We’ll pick it up tomorrow, but let
me close on this. God loves us right
where we are, he just doesn’t want us to stay where we are, which is why you
are (ON THIS CALL, READING THE BLOG).
Once you have been exposed to the truth, you no longer have the excuse
of “I didn’t know”. My job is to share
the truth with you. What you do with it
is left up to you, but the one thing you will not be able to do after today is
to use the excuse of “I didn’t know God.”
That excuse has been officially eliminated. Now it’s time to do something about what you
have learned.
In
His New Excellence,
Tania
Not Tanya
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