As iron sharpens iron,
one person sharpens another. (Proverbs 27:17)
Conversation with a PETA demonstrator protesting fried chicken: “ ‘Well you had sure better be pro-life! Are you?’ She fumbled around a bit and said she was in favor of all life. I rephrased it to clarify that I meant specifically babies in the womb. She got angry, and the guy who was with here laughed at her. The light changed, and off we went.”
“Today, President Barack Obama continued the tradition of observing Religious Freedom Day with a presidential proclamation. But this year, the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty critiqued his use of “freedom of worship” rhetoric—a debate that first arose in 2010.”
“[M]edia personality Glenn Beck has announced that he will build a community based upon “Galt’s Gulch,” the libertarian community featured in Ayn Rand’s fictional work, Atlas Shrugged” Full story
“In 2012, 43 pro-life provisions went into effect in 19 states, the second highest number after states enacted 92 pro-life laws in 2011.In 2012, 43 pro-life provisions went into effect in 19 states, the second highest number after states enacted 92 pro-life laws in 2011.”
“Hobby Lobby discovered a way to shift the plan year for its employee health insurance, thus postponing the effective date of the mandate for several months.”
Read the series so far.
God commanded that Israelite males should be circumcised as a mark of their inclusion in the covenant that was made with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. This command was never rescinded. As a characteristic of Jewish people, it has been perpetuated to the present day.
In the Torah, however, Moses clearly implied that external circumcision was not a sufficient condition for enjoying the covenant blessings. Early in Deuteronomy he addressed the stubbornness of the Israelites by instructing them to circumcise their hearts (Deut. 10:16). Later in the book he spoke of a time when the nation of Israel would fall under the judgment of God, be driven into exile, and then be regathered into the land. At that time, he said, God would circumcise the heart of the entire nation to love the Lord God (Deut. 30:6). The circumcised heart of Deuteronomy appears to correspond to Ezekiel’s “new heart” or “heart of flesh” (Eze. 36:26) as well as the law written on the heart (Jer. 31:33).
All of these passages are focusing upon an inward change or transformation that accompanies repentance and results in devotion and obedience to God. This inward change is something that God Himself will work. According to the prophetic passages, God will someday accomplish this inward change within the entire nation of Israel. What would eventually be done for the nation, however, could be worked in the individual heart at any period of salvation history. This change is almost certainly the same thing that Jesus calls being “born from above” (John 3:3), and that Paul refers to as the “washing of regeneration” (Titus 3:5).
Discussion