The Greatest Distance

Tuesday, May 9, 2023

Good morning, Lord

Verse of the Day: And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.—John 1:14

Memory of the Month: John 10:27-28

27 My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me: 28 And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand.

Today's reading: 2 KINGS 7-9 JOHN 1:1-28

The Greatest Distance

It has been said that the longest distance between two hearts is pride. The question is, "How far do you feel from God right now?

We must note that any time we begin to talk about sin, we give that sin center stage and the enemy always wants center stage-pride always wants stage center.

I want us to consider our own honesty and how it affects the distance between us and God-the greatest distance in the human experience is that distance between man and God.

What makes the distance so great? Our own pride. Why is that? We refuse to face our own sin-to let it go-to confess it before God. Why? There are many reasons why we will not confess. Our sins are many and we have lived with some of them so long, again we are like the frog in the pot on low heat. We do not realize the sin any longer. We have justified it so long-made every excuse under the sun-'smoothed' it over so well-we live with it almost undetected.

What happens to us in this place of such great distance between us and God. We live in doubt. Doubt of one's own security in the hands of God by the Blood of Christ is ultimately debilitating.

We allow sin to stay unconfessed, we doubt. We worry if our salvation is real. It undermines everything God wants to do through us. We talk about Jesus and doubt shows in our eyes. We smell of doubt.

How do I know? It has plagued me. I speak from experience. I have to be truthful. When I hang on to unconfessed sin and will not confess because I feel shame, I doubt. Shame is straight from pride. Think about it. We do not want to feel the embarrassment of telling the truth of our sin. This is pride.

When I break all the pride down and confess and sit and meditate on God's glory, the doubt disappears because the distance between my heart and God is gone. Again, God's righteousness is the cure for all doubt-the cure for all that ails the human heart.

Doubting comes from having sin-confessing takes it away.

Consider this scripture:

' Philippians 2:3 Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves.'

The opposite of selfish ambition or vain conceit is humility. So, if we do all we do in humility and do not judge, the distance between ourselves and others is erased. By the same token, if we erase our vanity and confess in humility before God, the distance between us and God is gone-we are there-in His presence.

There is the ultimate difference between the feeling of unworthiness and humility. There is no argument that we are all unworthy to go before our divine and Holy God but staying in that place is rejection of the truth of Christ Jesus. Humbly accepting God's provision of His righteousness over us is obedience to Him.

I confess my feeling of unworthiness and accept the reality of His complete acceptance of my heart and soul in Christ Jesus and sit and watch all the glory He brings before my eyes.

While the greatest distance is a perception of the sinful heart, we are still in God's hands.

John 10:28-and I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, and no one shall snatch them out of my hand.

But, unconfessed sin makes us feel guilty and we condemn ourselves. That condemnation vanishes with confession.

1 John 3:21 Beloved, if our heart does not condemn us, we have confidence before God;

1 John 1:9-If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and remove all our unrighteousness.

The greatest distance is in our own minds-is our own fault-our own sin.

God's grace and love and mercy takes it away-- where we can know His blessed assurance.

Micah 6:8

8 He has shown you, O mortal, what is good.

And what does the Lord require of you?

To act justly and to love mercy

and to walk humbly with your God.

Get your 'humble' on and know God...

...because He loves us...

Father in Heaven,

I confess my vanity-my pride-have mercy on me and forgive me. Thank You for all Your glory!

Glorious God and mighty friend.

In the name of Jesus,

Amen