Notice on a slight format change:

Except for July 2012, these are mostly a collection of current devotional notes.

July 2012 is a re-write of old quiet times. My second child was born Nov 11, 1987 with multiple birth defects. I've been re-reading my QT notes from that time in my life, and have included them here. They cover the time before the birth and the few years immediately after the birth. They are tagged "historical." I added new insights and labeled them: ((TODAY, dd mmm yy)).

Monday, May 2, 2011

QT 2 May 11

Col 2:9-12 (NIV) For in Christ all the fullness of the Deity lives in bodily form, 10 and you have been given fullness in Christ, who is the head over every power and authority. 11 In him you were also circumcised, in the putting off of the sinful nature, not with a circumcision done by the hands of men but with the circumcision done by Christ, 12 having been buried with him in baptism and raised with him through your faith in the power of God, who raised him from the dead.

NOTE: Verse 9 makes the case for Christ's deity very clear, "the fullness of Deity lives in bodily form, …."  And yet, there are groups that want to deny the deity of Christ, or the reality of his physical life.  But he lived among us, in bodily form.  God-man, somehow, emptied himself (Phil 2:5) to live among us.  How amazing! 

The second point is that we are circumcised in Christ, and the passage is very clear, the circumcision is not done by the hands of men, but is done by Christ' death and resurrection.  We identify with the family of God on the basis of baptism and not on the basis of circumcision.  Again, those who argue that the OT law is binding are clearly wrong, since circumcision is one of the defining characteristics of the OT covenant.  And if you can pick and choose from the OT law, who decides then what is required and what is not required?  For myself, it is clear, the NT covenant is defined by Jesus Christ and the Apostles.  The law of Christ (Gal 6:2), which is not heavy (Matt 11:30), is the requirement for me as a believer in Christ.  It is not done to curry God's favor -- I am already accepted as a son -- but it is an expression of my love to God (Jn 14:21) for my salvation.

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