Separate - Neh. 10:28; Acts 2:40

"...all who had separated themselves from the pagan people of the land in order to serve God..." Neh. 10:28

"Save yourselves from this generation that has gone astray!" Acts 2:40

I have been getting this overwhelming sense from reading the last couple of days, that God wants to emphasize that he wants us to distinguish ourselves from the world around us. That from the beginning, he created believers to be a people separated from the influences of the world to do God's work. The inability of the Jews of the O.T. to do just that was their downfall, and it is THE major affliction of the Christian church today. We just don't want to be different. We don't want to do anything that is difficult or inconvenient just because God may want us to. I believe that the bible, as well as recent church history, clearly shows that God really does know what he's talking about, and that he knows what is best for us. That if we will only turn to him he WILL RESTORE us; however, "If a person is ashamed of me and my message in these adulterous and sinful days, I, the Son of Man, will be ashamed of that person when I return in the glory of my Father with the holy angels." Mrk. 8:38 Wow! That's heavy I know! But Nehemiah recognized this and stated it very clearly in 9 and 10, then Peter virtually says the same thing in Acts 8:38! Could it be that Solomon was right?! That the whole duty of man is to "fear god and obey his commands..."? Hmmmm... there's that obedience thing again...

God, show me what I allow into my life that keeps me from being separate for your purposes. Give me the wisdom to make decisions that reflect your will and not mine.

Today's reading: Neh. 9,10; Acts 2