SARAH IVILL|CONTRIBUTOR

Editor’s Note: the following is an excerpt from Sarah Ivill’s new book, Heart Matters: Teaching with Purity and Purpose, used by permission.

The book of Deuteronomy mentions the heart often. Perhaps most striking is the truth that “to the LORD your God belong heaven and the heaven of heavens, the earth with all that is in it. Yet the LORD set his heart in love on . . . you” (Deut. 10:14-15). Ponder that for a moment. We are “a people holy to the LORD . . . his treasured possession” (Deut. 7:6). Such status is not because of anything good in us, but “because the LORD loves you” and is “the faithful God who keeps covenant and steadfast love with those who love him and keep his commandments” (Deut. 7:8-9).

This status with God is an important truth for us to hold to not only for ourselves, but also to share with others. There will be times when we are tempted to fall into the performance trap. We may think we have to be perfect to be approved, by God or by others. We may be tempted to envy another’s capabilities or opportunities. We might compete with or compare ourselves to others. So, it does our hearts good to return often to the truth that the Lord set His love upon us, even when we were His enemies (Rom. 5:10; Eph. 2:4-5). Even if we do not measure up to our own expectations—and we seldom do—or even the expectations of others, the Lord is faithful to love us.

Circumcise Your Heart

How do we respond to such love? What is required of the redeemed? The Lord answers, “Circumcise therefore the foreskin of your heart, and be no longer stubborn” (Deut. 10:16). Such a command is covenantal. The sign the Lord gave to Abraham when He made a covenant with him was that of circumcision (Gen. 17:9-14). But in Deuteronomy 10, it is not circumcision of the male reproductive organ that is required, but circumcision of the heart, whether male or female. All God’s people are to circumcise their hearts. The surrounding context helps us understand what this circumcision means. To circumcise our hearts means to fear the Lord our God, walk in all His ways, love Him, serve Him wholeheartedly, keep His commandments, love our neighbor, hold fast to Him, praise Him, and acknowledge Him as our God (Deut. 10:12-13, 19–21).

We need to continually examine our hearts to see if we’re neglecting any of these important areas. It can be easy to rush through this list and say a glib yes, but it’s crucial we slow down and ask the Lord to reveal to us if we are withholding any of our heart from Him.

Are you holding fast to Him, even when your mind, will, or emotions tempt you not to? Does praising God come easily and often for you? Do you acknowledge Him as your God, even in the midst of unbelieving coworkers and neighbors who might ridicule you?

As you answer these questions and evaluate your heart, ask God to help you offer your whole self to Him, “to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship” (Rom. 12:1).

A Deeper Dive

Let’s reflect more deeply on the text of Deuteronomy 10:12-21.

Fear the LORD Your God (v.12)

To fear the Lord is to place Him at the very center of our lives, recognizing His sovereign authority over all things and humbly seeking Him for direction in all of life, knowing that He alone can give us knowledge, wisdom, and instruction (Prov. 1:7).

Walk in All His Ways (v. 12)

On this side of glory, we will not walk in all of the Lord’s ways perfectly. However, our lives should be characterized by walking in true beauty, compassion, holiness, light, love, peace, righteousness, and wisdom. The strength and power to walk in God’s ways comes from Him. As we look to Him for more grace, He supplies it (James 4:6). In times of temptation, He provides a way of escape (1 Cor. 10:13). In times of weakness, He gives strength (2 Cor. 12:9). In times of weariness, He gives power (Isa. 40:30-31).

Love Him (v.12)

To love God is the opposite of loving the world. To love the world is to derive our satisfaction, security, and significance from “the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride of life” (1 John 2:16). But to love God means to find our satisfaction, security, and significance in Him alone. It is to cry with the psalmist in Psalm 63: “O God, you are my God; earnestly I seek you; my soul thirsts for you.”

Serve Him Wholeheartedly (v. 12)

Too often we serve the Lord halfheartedly, failing to recognize that God wants our entire selves as an offering, “Present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship” (Rom. 12:1). Because Christ’s final and perfect sacrifice has secured our salvation, we no longer seek the things of this world but “the city that is to come,” and we are called to “continually offer up a sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of lips that acknowledge his name. Do not neglect to do good and to share what you have, for such sacrifices are pleasing to God” (Heb. 13:14-16).

Obey Him (v. 13)

Obedience to God’s commandments flows from a heart that loves God. Jesus said, “If you love me, you will keep my commandments” (John 14:15). Thankfully, the Holy Spirit, who is our “Helper” (v. 16) and “the Spirit of truth” (v. 17), dwells with us and is in us, giving us the strength and power to obey God’s commands. Although we will fail to obey God’s commands perfectly, we should be able to say, and others should be able to say about us, that we truly strive to obey God’s commands as summarized in the Ten Commandments (see Ex. 20:1-17).

Photo by Alexandra Fuller on Unsplash