Circumcise Your Heart

¹² “And now, Israel, ^(A)what does the Lord your God require of you, but ^(B)to fear the Lord your God, ^(C)to walk in all his ways, ^(D)to love him, to serve the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul, ¹³ and ^(E)to keep the commandments and statutes of the Lord, which I am commanding you today ^(F)for your good?

¹⁷ For the Lord your God is ^(A)God of gods and ^(B)Lord of lords, ^(C)the great, the mighty, and the awesome God, who is ^(D)not partial and takes no bribe. ^18 (E)He executes justice for the fatherless and the widow, and loves the sojourner, giving him food and clothing. ^19 (F)Love the sojourner, therefore, for you were sojourners in the land of Egypt. ^20 (G)You shall fear the Lord your God. You shall serve him and ^(H)hold fast to him, and ^(I)by his name you shall swear. ^21 (J)He is your praise. He is your God, ^(K)who has done for you these great and terrifying things that your eyes have seen.

¹³ For you were called to freedom, brothers. ^(A)Only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love ^(B)serve one another. ¹⁴ For ^(C)the whole law is fulfilled in one word: ^(D)“You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” ¹⁵ But if you ^(E)bite and devour one another, watch out that you are not consumed by one another.

Keep in Step with the Spirit

¹⁶ But I say, ^(F)walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify ^(G)the desires of the flesh. ¹⁷ For ^(H)the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh, for these are opposed to each other, ^(I)to keep you from doing the things you want to do. ¹⁸ But if you are ^(J)led by the Spirit, ^(K)you are not under the law. ¹⁹ Now ^(L)the works of the flesh are evident: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, ²⁰ idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, ^(M)divisions, ²¹ envy,^[a] drunkenness, orgies, and things like these. I warn you, as I warned you before, that ^(N)those who do^[b] such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. ²² But ^(O)the fruit of the Spirit is ^(P)love, joy, peace, patience, ^(Q)kindness, goodness, faithfulness, ^23 (R)gentleness, ^(S)self-control; ^(T)against such things there is no law. ²⁴ And those who belong to Christ Jesus ^(U)have crucified the flesh with its ^(V)passions and desires.

²⁵ If we live by the Spirit, ^(W)let us also keep in step with the Spirit. ^26 (X)Let us not become conceited, provoking one another, envying one another.