separation

Isaiah 59:1-2
“Behold, the Lord’s hand is not shortened, that it cannot save; nor His ear heavy, that it cannot hear. But your iniquities have separated you from your God; and your sins have hidden His face from you, so that He will not hear.”

Sin is missing the mark. Just as an archer aims at a target, lets his arrow fly, and misses; so we attempt to do our best, only to fall short of the perfect standard of God. The problem is, sin has grave consequences. Sin not only effects our emotions by making us feel guilty, it also effects our ability to have a relationship with God. Isaiah reveals, the real impact of sin is separation from God.

If we were hiking and came to a gorge where a bridge used to be, we would be forced to either fashion a new one or find another way across. When it comes to sin, the gorge is too wide. Our efforts can never bridge the gap between man and God. We must look for another way across. Fortunately, there is a way. Jesus went to the cross to make a way for sinners to be reconciled to God. We are told, “if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead youwill be saved.” (Romans 10:9).

Imagine the utter joy of sin being forgiven, and knowing God personally! This message so impacted the first generation of believers, they sacrificed all to travel the world, telling anyone and everyone that reconciliation with God was possible.

Thank God that while sin separates, Jesus restores.

Pastor Jim

Joshua 22:26-27

“Therefore we said, ‘Let us now prepare to build ourselves an altar, not for burnt offering nor for sacrifice, but that it may be a witness between you and us and our generations after us, that we may perform the service of the Lord before Him with our burnt offerings, with our sacrifices, and with our peace offerings; that your descendants may not say to our descendants in time to come, “You have no part in the Lord.” ’”

The tribes of Reuben, Gad and Manasseh chose to separate from the rest of Israel and live east of the Jordan River. Although the Jordan is not a large river, and crossing it during the dry season would not be a difficult endeavor, this division would prove to be very costly. It is clear from the event recorded in Joshua 22, the effects of this separation were felt immediately. Once they returned to their land, they attempted to create a connection with the rest of Israel by erecting an altar that resembled the one in Shiloh. In their minds, this would keep them connected to Israel, even when the Jordan separated them. Their actions were considered to be idolatrous by the other tribes, who pleaded with them, that rather than building an altar, why not cross the Jordan and join the nation. A religious symbol is not the solution for a wandering heart.

Idolatry is strictly forbidden by the Lord, because erecting an image gives us a false sense of the presence of God. When we begin to drift from Jesus, we do not need to get a larger bible or wear a religious symbol around our necks. What we need is to get back to spending time with the Lord in the pages of His word, and putting what we read into practice. Jesus explained that the secret to success for the Christian is to abide in Christ. He said, just as a branch derives its life from being connected to the tree, so the Christian will have a constant source of life, when he remains connected to Him (John 15:5).

It is important we do not let anything, no matter how small it may seem, create separation between us and the Lord. A little bit of compromise can have a large impact on our relationship with God.

Pastor Jim