A Heart Marked For Jesus
A simple snip that stops the snag, a picture of the heart set apart to God.
Devotional Credit: Open Windows, T. Austin-Sparks
Photo Credit: Unsplash
Philippians 3:3 reminds us that true worship is by the Spirit of God, that our confidence rests in what Jesus has done, not in human effort. In today’s Open Windows reading, T. Austin-Sparks points to the biblical picture of circumcision as an inward reality. It is the heart set apart to God, the self-reliant life closed off by the Cross, so that life in the Spirit can be our new normal.
I appreciate how he clears the fog. He is not calling us to chip away at personality, he is inviting us to say a clear no to self-dependence and a glad yes to the risen Lord who indwells us. The Cross says the old way of independence is shut. The Holy Spirit says, walk with Me in a new way.
This is good news for ordinary days. When reasoning from the patterns of the old life tries to run the show, we do not wrestle it into submission with willpower. We look to Jesus, and we rely on the Spirit who marks us as God’s people. Confidence shifts from “I can do this” to “He is my life,” and the heart grows quiet.
Thank you, T. Austin-Sparks, for the reminder. Spiritual circumcision is not a badge we earn, it is a reality we receive in union with Christ. The abiding life is simply living from that reality, step by step.
Journal Entry - Voice of the Holy Spirit Through Scripture
I mark your heart as Mine. I cut away the claim of self-reliance through the Cross, and I teach you to worship by the Spirit. Put no confidence in the flesh. Rely on what Jesus has accomplished. In Him you are a new creation. Your old man was crucified with Him. Consider yourself dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus.
I seal you with a new heart and a new spirit. I write My law within you. I cause you to walk in My ways. I lead you to present yourself to God as one alive from the dead. As you set your mind on things above, your steps align with My purpose. Walk by the Spirit, and you will not carry out the desires of the flesh. Put to death the deeds of the body by My power, and let the peace of Christ rule in your heart.
I delight to center your confidence in Jesus. Count all self-merit as loss that you may be found in Him. I work in you to will and to do according to My good pleasure. Abide in Me. Keep in step with Me. Your life is hidden with Christ in God, and I will finish what I began.
Scripture references. Philippians 3:3, Romans 2:28 to 29, Deuteronomy 30:6, Colossians 2:11 to 12, Romans 6:6 to 11, 2 Corinthians 5:17, Ezekiel 36:26 to 27, Jeremiah 31:33, Romans 12:1 to 2, Colossians 3:1 to 4, Galatians 5:16, Romans 8:13, Colossians 3:15, Philippians 3:7 to 9, Philippians 2:13, John 15:4 to 5, Galatians 5:25, Philippians 1:6.
Real-Life Analogy
I think of a loose thread on a shirt cuff. It snags on things and keeps pulling until the fabric looks ragged. A quick snip with small scissors stops the snagging at the source. Spiritual circumcision is like that. The Holy Spirit cuts off the pull of self-reliance so the old snag does not keep catching your day. You are not managing frayed threads with constant fussing, you are living from a clean cut God has made in Jesus.
Try this today. When you notice the old tug to prove yourself or to argue from pride, pause and look to the Lord who lives in you. Say, Lord, I trust You to cut off the pull of self and to express Your life through me right now. Then answer the email with gentleness, or step into the meeting with honesty and calm, expecting His grace to show.
Prayer of Confidence
Father, thank You that in Jesus my confidence is not in the flesh. Thank You for the inward work You have done, for the Cross that has closed the door on self-rule, and for Your Spirit who leads me in a new way. I receive this day as a place to rely on Your Son and to walk by Your Spirit. Lord, I trust You to live Your life in me and through me in this moment.