The Lord your God will circumcise your hearts and the hearts of your descendants. You will love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul, and you will live.
I will give them the desire to know that I am the Lord. They will be my people, and I will be their God, because they will wholeheartedly come back to me.
I will give them the same attitude and the same purpose so that they will fear me as long as they live. This will be for their own good and for the good of their children.
Be circumcised by the Lord, and get rid of the foreskins of your hearts, people of Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem. If you don’t, my fury will flare up like a fire. It will burn, and no one will be able to put it out, because of the evil you do.
I will punish Egypt, Judah, Edom, Ammon, and Moab. I will punish all who shave the hair on their foreheads or live in the desert. Even though these nations are circumcised, all Israel has uncircumcised hearts.”
In him you were also circumcised. It was not a circumcision performed by human hands. But it was a removal of the corrupt nature in the circumcision performed by Christ.
Blessed are those who endure when they are tested. When they pass the test, they will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love him.
Listen, my dear brothers and sisters! Didn’t God choose poor people in the world to become rich in faith and to receive the kingdom that he promised to those who love him?