Why does God feel so distant?

I hear this question all the time. As a matter of fact I even remember asking this question a several times myself. Well here is my devotional from this morning, and Blackaby knocks the answer out of the park. I love the experiencing God day by day devotional which is free at http://www.blackaby.org/.

The only time you ever see Jesus distant from God is on the Cross, when he is bearing the sins of the world. What a great reminder to always draw near to God.

Draw Near to God

Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded.
(James 4:8)

There
may be times when God seems far away. You may feel as if your prayers
go unheard. James said there is a simple reason for this and a
solution. If you are far from God, it is because your sin has separated
you from Him.

God is unchanging. His character stays absolutely holy. His
faithfulness remains constant; it is we who change. We allow sin into
our lives. We choose our own direction. We spend less and less time
with Him in Bible study and prayer. Then one day we realize that we
have gradually grown distant from God. The solution, according to
James, is straightforward. We are to draw near to God. As we realize
our need to be closer to the Father and we begin to return to Him, He
meets us even as the father hurried to greet his prodigal son (Luke
15:20).

Drawing near to God requires you to take two actions. First, you must
cleanse your hands (Isa. 1:15). You must cleanse your way of living. If
you have been actively engaged in sin, you must renounce it. If you
have done anything to offend or hurt someone, you must make it right.
Second, you are to purify your heart (Ps. 51:10). You must make certain
your attitudes, thoughts, and motives are right in God’s eyes and are
in harmony with God’s word. Jesus warned that you cannot serve two
masters (Matt. 6:24). It is impossible to love anything else as much as
you love God and still please Him.

If God seems distant, do what is necessary to cleanse your hands, purify your heart, and draw near to Him.

As iron sharpens iron

As iron sharpens iron,
So a man sharpens the countenance of his friend.
(Proverbs 27:17)

There are over 31,000 verses in the Bible… how amazing is it that this verse has shown up in my life three times this week. So I pull up my devo on line (www.blackaby.com) and the when the screen pops up I immediately get goose bumps. Monday night some high school guys, a couple of leaders, and myself got together to start a Bible study. We ended up talking about loving Christian friends enough to hold them accountable to their Christian lives. It was amazing to hear what the guys had to say about their struggles with it. Some of the guys didn’t like doing it, because they felt unworthy to. Another guy felt he was to strong in his “discipline”. It was great discussion. That night on my way home Proverbs 27:17 flooded my heart just thinking back through the conversation. I had been sharpened. Tuesday, I had the opportunity to share about accountability at the First Priority club at Coral Glades High School. Not really knowing what to talk about I cheated a bit. I looked up the South Florida First Priority website to see what accountability week was all about. Low and Behold the verse popped up on the screen was proverbs 27:17… As Iron sharpens Iron. A solid verse for accountability. So here I am Thursday morning sitting on my back porch, I pull up my devo and there it is in bold, “As Iron Sharpens Iron.”

My Father in Heaven… I love you, thanks for filling my mind and heart with your word. Help me to both sharpen and to be sharpened by my brothers and sisters, that we might display Your love in our World. Amen

A beautiful morning with the Lord

Just about every morning I wake up early and head to the gym work out with the faithful four (Fred, Russell, Doug, and myself), although we missed Fred this morning. Then I make a little breakfast and head out to my back porch to remind myself what I’m here for. This morning is beautiful, just like most mornings in South Florida. It makes it even better to hang out with my Lord as I seek direction and wisdom. Most mornings I open up Blackaby’s Experiencing God devotional either online or the actual book. I’ll reflect on that and then stick nose in God’s word (mostly in Johns, the gospel and the 1,2,3). It’s amazing how God speaks to you right where you. This mornings devotional is Faithful Wounds based off of Proverbs 27:6. Check it out if you get a chance, but absolutely don’t miss out on the beautiful daily journey with our Lord Jesus.
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