This post is Day 23 in a series of studies about “Separation”. I strongly suggest you begin with the introduction to this study, please click here to read it.

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Separation – Day 23

The closer we as individuals get to the Lord, the more we recognise that our standards are nowhere near as high as His. And the more we realise just how much we have been forgiven. That forgiveness following repentance is so much more than a prayer at a church service.

Ezra 9:1

The leaders came to me and said, “The people of Israel, including the priests and the Levites, have not kept themselves separate from the neighbouring peoples with their detestable practices.”

The Thought

I have stayed with this verse a second day, in order to think about the “tell-tales”. There are always people who want to tell of the sins of others, but this is not the case here. The next verse says “And the leaders and officials have led the way in this unfaithfulness.”

On their return from exile the spiritual leaders of Israel had begun once more to seek their God much more seriously. And as they got closer to Him, they became aware of how much they had sinned against Him. They, like other prophets in the Old Testament were saying “I and my people have sinned” (Isaiah 6 & Daniel 9).

It is the same for most of us. The closer we as individuals get to the Lord, the more we recognise that our standards are nowhere near as high as His. And the more we realise just how much we have been forgiven. That forgiveness following repentance is so much more than a prayer on a Saturday evening, or Sunday morning (or any other day)!

God sees our hearts, and He also sees our heads and knows when we are genuinely seeking heartfelt help, and when we are just doing a mental exercise.

Action

Praise God that His standards are so much higher than ours. Praise Him that He is not a God of compromise, but of perfection.

Pray for those who criticise others without recognising their own sin. Pray for a spirit of repentance amongst God’s people world wide; that we would all realise the purity of God and be more aware of our own impurities.

Thank Him for His forgiveness.

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