Category Archives: Separation

Bible, Father, Love, Romans, Scripture, Separation

THE LOVE OF GOD

ROMANS 8:39

“nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

We throw around the word “love” so flippantly, don’t we? Our love of things can lead us into disaster. Our love for the wrong person can also cause us pain and suffering emotionally. Love is such a critical part of the human experience, yet we misuse it so often. Children need to be taught to love. For that matter, some adults do also. Loving well is something we can all get better at.

So, when Paul switches from the “love of Christ” in verse 35 to the “love of God” in today’s verse, that caught my attention. Is there a difference? Why did the Holy Spirit inspire Paul to change this love statement? I love how the Cambridge Bible explains this. “The ‘love of Christ’ is the Divine Love felt for us by the Eternal Son. And this, because He is the Eternal Son, is also the Divine expression of the love felt for us by the Eternal Father, who ‘sent His Son to be the Propitiation for our sins,’ and, in giving His Son, gave His Son’s love to be our bliss and light.”

APPLICATION

We can find passages all throughout the Bible of “the love of God.” Take a look at some of them.

1 John 4:9 “By this the love of God was revealed in us, that God has sent His only Son into the world so that we may live through Him.”

Romans 5:8 “But God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”

Jeremiah 31:3 “The Lord appeared to him from far away. I have loved you with an everlasting love; therefore I have continued my faithfulness to you.”

I could go on and list hundreds of other verses on the love of God, but you need to do your own study on that. Just do a google search on verses about the love of God. You could probably spend weeks on that study. But all the study in the world does not matter if we are not showing God’s love to others. That is why He gave us His love. He wants to use us as His vessels of love to others.

Share His love with someone this week. I am going to be traveling some in the next several days and am praying for opportunities to do that. Sometimes those pop up when you least expect it. Be ready to show it to others.

Lord, I know I did nothing to deserve Your love but You chose to show me Yours. I love because You first loved me.

If the Lord should lead you to support our ministry, check out our ministry page at Trans World Radio (www.twr.org/carl-willis). 

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Bible, Persecution, Romans, Scripture, Separation, Tribulations, Trouble

NO SEPARATION

ROMANS 8:35

“Who will separate us from the love of Christ? Will tribulation, or trouble, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword?”

Whenever I travel, I am physically separated from my wife and family. In days past, that meant a daily phone call from a motel room or complete silence. I remember my first trip after I got married was to Liberia. I left my wife who was seven and a half months pregnant for about 3 weeks. And her doctor was with me. Talk about crazy. But I was young and stupid, lol. On that trip there was a phone call when I arrived in Monrovia and one when I returned to Monrovia to fly home. The rest of the time, we were completely separated.

As followers of Christ, that will never happen with Him. Paul begins a five verse dialogue about this topic of separation in today’s verse. Notice how he starts. He says, “Who will separate us,” not “what can separate us.” Matthew Poole references this in his commentary. “he does not say what, but who; though he instanceth in things, and not in persons, yet it is expressed personally, because that these things do commonly do us hurt in the improvement of persons, whether of Satan or wicked men, who are instrumental thereunto.” All the things Paul’s mentions are brought on my individuals.

APPLICATION

The Greek word for “separate” here in today’s verse and also in verse 39 is chorizo. It’s translated as “leave” or “left” over half the times it used in the New Testament. But in Matthew 19:6 and Mark 10:9 where Jesus is talking about the bonds of marriage, it is translated as “separate.” That separation could only be caused by someone else.

So, Paul is saying in today’s verse that all these things – tribulation, or trouble, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword – are powered by others. Don’t forget that Paul knew how it felt to be separated from others. He was thrown into jail, put under house arrest, and struck blind on the Damascus road. He had felt the anguish of separation from others. But he is reassured that nothing can separate us from the love of Christ.

That love transcends time and place. Christ loves us wherever we are. I have read of the many followers who have faced intense persecution and torture for their faith. They tell of an unending reassurance of Christ’s love, even in the darkest cells or prisons. Christ is aware of every breath we take. His love will never leave us or forsake us. His love is secure.

O God, I thank You for the power of Your love in my life and the reassurance You will never leave me.

If the Lord should lead you to support our ministry, check out our ministry page at Trans World Radio (www.twr.org/carl-willis). 

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Attitude, Bible, Enemies, Friends, Scripture, Separation

PREVIOUS ATTITUDES AND BEHAVIORS

COLOSSIANS 1:21

“And although you were previously alienated and hostile in attitude, engaged in evil deeds,” 

As I get older, I realize I cannot do everything I used to could do. For instance, when I was in high school, I could bench press well over 350 lbs. Now, if I could do half of that I would be excited. What I could do previously is not possible today. But also, what I used to do behaviorally, I don’t do anymore. That previous lifestyle is dead to me. I don’t want to do those things anymore. That’s the point of today’s verse.

Paul says in today’s verse that that were “previously alienated and hostile in attitude.” Whew! That’s harsh, but it’s true. Just like the Colossians believers to whom Paul is writing, I also was alienated from God and hostile in my attitude towards Him. I was basically an enemy of God. But look what Paul says about that in Romans 5:10. “For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life.”

APPLICATION

You and I were alienated from God before Jesus. That Greek word translated “alienated” is apallotrioó. Notice the “-oó” at the end. Whenever you see that on the end of a Greek word, the emphasis is more on the result of the action of that word and not the action itself. What is the result of being alienated? We are cut off and separated from God.

Then Paul says we are “hostile in attitude.” We have all seen that, haven’t we? The Greek word here is echthros which means an enemy, someone who hates you. Paul is saying we were separated and hateful. That was our lifestyle before Jesus. But we didn’t stay there, did we?

Go back to the beginning of the verse. Paul says we were “previously” this way. That little adverb pote changes everything. It denotes a change in status or condition. You were once that way, but now you are different. You were enemies with God, but now you are friends. You were separated and, now you are joined together. Thank God for changes, amen?

O Lord, You have changed my heart and mind to be more in line with Your heart and mind. I am forever grateful.

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Bible, Demolition, Destruction, Eternity, Scripture, Separation, Wall

DEMOLITION

EPHESIANS 2:14

“For He Himself is our peace, who made both groups into one and broke down the barrier of the dividing wall,”

When my wife and I were away recently on vacation, we watched a crew of men over several days demolish a beach house. It was old and in need of a lot, so I guess the owner decided it was cheaper to tear it down and build a new one. The equipment they used to tear off the roof, the walls and the flooring was powerful. Nothing was going to stand in the way of that giant, metal claw that grabbed and destroyed.

Paul reminds us in today’s verse what Christ did for us. He “broke down the barrier of the dividing wall.” You are probably wondering what exactly Paul meant by that. We will look at that shortly. I guarantee you the recipients of this letter understood it. Paul also reminds us that Jesus “Himself is our peace.” No amount of peace talks between two groups is going to be lasting. One or the other will eventually break it. We see that time and time again. But the peace brought by Jesus is eternal.

APPLICATION

So, what was this barrier of the dividing wall all about? If you remember your Old Testament, the temple was built with an outer court and inner court. Gentiles were allowed in the outer court, but there was a dividing wall that separated them and the Jews who entered the inner court. There was an engraving found in 1871 called the Soreg Inscription that reads:

“No foreigner is to enter the barriers surrounding the sanctuary. He who is caught will have himself to blame for his death which will follow.”

It’s no wonder Jesus wanted to tear that down through His shed blood. Christ’s death opened up access to all men to enter the holy of holies, not just the High Priest. We all have a path to God’s mercy seat. That’s what brings us peace – His mercy, as shown through Jesus.

The Greek word used for “broke down” is luo, and it means to loose something so it no longer holds together. In other words, Christ’s demolition of this wall is permanent. No man can rebuild it. Aren’t you glad? I know a few people who would probably try. So, take off your hard hat off. The work has been done. Enjoy the peace.

O God, You have demolished the wall separating me from You. Thank You, Lord.

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Abiding, Bible, Blessing, Choices, Estrangement, Promises, Purpose, Scripture, Separation

SEPARATE FROM CHRIST

EPHESIANS 2:12

“remember that you were at that time separate from Christ, excluded from the people of Israel, and strangers to the covenants of the promise, having no hope and without God in the world.”

Separation from those you love is hard. Whether it is due to death, a move across the country or world or estrangement, it’s hard to deal with. Why? Because our love doesn’t stop just because the person(s) is out of our sight. We continue to love them, but now we can’t touch them (hug, kiss). We miss them. Our heart aches for them. If you have experienced this, you know the deep longing that is with you every day.

Paul reminds us in today’s verse that we were once separate from Christ. We had no part in Him. Most of us never even realized we were separate from Him. We were going on our merry way as if everything was fine. But we weren’t fine. Paul says we were “excluded” for God’s people, we were “strangers” to God’s promises and we had “no hope” because we lacked God’s purpose. No people, no promise, no purpose. That’s separation from God.

APPLICATION

Paul uses a Greek word in this verse for “excluded” which can be defined as “estranged.” The word is apallotrioó, which is only used two other times in the New Testament. Later in this letter (4:18) and in Colossians 1:21. All three times it refers to an alienation or exclusion from Christ before we were saved. What does that mean for us as believers? It means we should be grateful for what we have now. Amen? We should occasionally lookback and give God praise for all He has done for us.

Sometimes our exclusion, our estrangement is of our own doing. We decided to move away from Christ. We don’t live as if He has any part of us. We are actually shunning the Spirit of God that is in us as believers. Listen, beloved, that is dangerous territory. That puts you outside the umbrella of His protection. As for me, I choose to stay under that protection.

Paul says we are “strangers.” That Greek word is xenos.It is where we get “xenophobia” -the fear of people. I don’t want to be a stranger to Christ. I want to be family. Don’t you? We all want our families to be close. We all want to be able to share our love with one another. Christ desires the same with us. He is drawing you close today. Do you feel that tug? It’s Him!

O Father, thank You for drawing me into Your family so I am no longer an alien or stranger.

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Abiding, Passion, Satisfaction, Scripture, Separation, Thirsting

IMPATIENCE

ZECHARIAH 11:8

“‘Then I did away with the three shepherds in one month, for my soul was impatient with them, and their soul also was tired of me.’”

I have never been accused of being the most patient man. However, in the past few years that has gotten better. Chalk it up to old age, right? Impatience with people or with situations always gave me fits. I just couldn’t tolerate slackness in work or a lack of care about how things were done. Like I said, though, age will build your patience.

The three shepherds in today’s verse are explained well by Theodoret. He says, “He speaks of the kings of the Jews, and prophets and priests; for by the three orders they were shepherded.” God had lost His patience with them because of the way they had led the people astray. But they had also grown “tired” of Him. Actually, the Hebrew word there for “was tired” is much stronger. It means to abhor. That word is only used one other time in the Old Testament, in Proverbs 20:21.

APPLICATION

Do you ever get the feeling that God is tired of you? Honestly, I have had that feeling in the past. Do you want to know when I felt that way? When I wasn’t spending time with Him. Our hearts wander if we aren’t careful. We can get self-absorbed or busy with other things. Before we know it, we too have grown tired of God. What an awful feeling.

So, how do you combat that feeling? Psalm 143:6 says it well.
“I spread out my hands to you; I thirst for you like a parched land.” That’s how you deal with that feeling. You must thirst for God like a parched land. You can’t get enough of Him. You must long to spend time with Him and bask in His presence.

Now, let me say something quickly. God never tires of you. He is always ready to receive you. But He won’t beg you to spend that quality time with Him. If you are feeling distant from God, guess who moved. You did. So, stop and get close to Him. Snuggle up next to the God of the universe.

I am so thankful to know You are always ready to receive me, O Lord.

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Accountability, Bible, Confession, Consequences, Forgiveness, Grace, Heaven, Judgment, Redemption, Repentance, Salvation, Scripture, Separation

HORRIBLE OFFENSES

JOEL 3:3

“They have also cast lots for My people, traded a boy for a prostitute, and sold a girl for wine so that they may drink. 

The illegal sex trade of boys and girls is rampant in many parts of the world. It’s hard to believe that people could be so cold-hearted to sell little boys and girls into the sex trade. Having worked now over 42 years with children and youth, it especially breaks my heart. Only the Lord can change the heart of these sex traders.

This was one of the offenses of the nations God is judging. Not only did they defeat the Judeans, but they would trade or sell the children for anything. Here in this verse it says “a boy for a prostitute” and “a girl for wine.” How callous! How demeaning. The Lord did not overlook that. He held them responsible for these heinous crimes against humanity.

APPLICATION

We may not be committing such offenses against the Lord, but our sins are just as bad in the eyes of a holy God. I have often described our sins this way. Pretend you are flying over a city on a clear day. You can look down and see all the buildings below. From your altitude you can’t tell the height of the individual buildings. They may be one story or thirty. All you can see is the roof top.

Similarly, our sins in the eyes of God all look the same. They all end with the same result – separation from God. As a believer in Christ, those sins are forgiven but still need to be confessed. If you are an unbeliever, you need to come to Christ for salvation because any of those sins can keep you away from spending eternity with Jesus. Sin is sin – period.

I am so thankful my sins are forgiven. I try each day to live in such a way to honor my Lord. I don’t want my sins to come between me and my Savior. Daily confession for me is the key. I come before Him daily to cleanse my soul of any sins I may have committed that day. I don’t want any barriers in my line of communication with Jesus. Won’t you try that?

Thank You, Lord, for keeping my sins forgiven as I come to You daily. I know they were forgiven at the cross, but You desire for me to come to You to confess them. I will do that.

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Agreement, Bible, Compassion, Encouragement, Forgiveness, God's Will, Perseverance, Redemption, Safety, Scripture, Separation

REUNITED

HOSEA 1:11

“And the sons of Judah and the sons of Israel will be gathered together, and they will appoint for themselves one leader, and they will go up from the land, for the day of Jezreel will be great.”

Don’t you just love reunions? I have been to a lot of family reunions, both on my side of the family and on my wife’s. There’s just something about going back home to your hometown or to a family home place and seeing relatives you haven’t seen in a while. Hugs and kisses are all around. And it’s not long until the stories start being told about “the good ole days.”

In today’s verse we see a prophetic statement about the two kingdoms, Israel and Judah. When they return from their exile, they will be one nation, not two. The people who return will not see themselves as separate people. They will be reunited as one nation. This is as it should be.

APPLICATION

How does this verse relate to us today? We must be united as one in Christ. It doesn’t matter if we have petty differences. We have to come together as one for the cause of Christ. The world is watching the church. They are wondering why the Baptists and Methodists can’t get along. If we all believe Jesus is God’s Son and died for our sins, why can’t we worship as one?

I know we have doctrinal issues among the denominations. Some of those are worth discussing. But many of them really are not crucial. We tend to major on the minors, don’t we? I wonder what could happen in the world if we all came together and worshipped our Lord. I believe revival would break out, don’t you?

How can you be part of this? Reach out to someone from another church. Find your common ground. We have to agree on the basics, of course. But I challenge you to come alongside your brothers and sisters in Christ. We need to reach the lost, and that can only be done if we fight together.

Reunite us, God. Bring us together as one to battle the enemy and proclaim the good news of Christ.

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Advice, Bible, Child Raising, Child Rearing, Commands, Courage, Disciplemaking, Encouragement, Judgment, Mentoring, Modeling, Parenting, Scripture, Separation

TEST THE SPIRITS

1 JOHN 4:1

“Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world.” 

Don’t you hate when you have batteries lying around and you don’t know if they are good or not? I hate that. When you need a battery, you need a battery. Most of us don’t have battery tester at home. So, what do you do? You put that battery in the device to see if it works. If it doesn’t, you throw it away.

John tells us to test the spirits. In fact, the word “test” means to test to see if it’s good. It’s not so much testing to see if it’s bad. You see, if it’s good, it’s from God. If it’s not, well… As John says, “because many false prophets have gone out into the world.” There are many who will try to deceive us. But if we are mindful to test the spirits, according to God’s Word, He will show us who to believe.

APPLICATION

Take some of those batteries you have lying around the house and get your children to help you test them. Come on, go buy that tester. You know you need it. Teach them how to test the different sizes – AA, AAA, 9 volt. Now, it’s important to teach them how to know what a good test is.

A weak battery is as no good as a dead battery. Did you get that? Do you believe that? Of course, you do. A spirit that tests “okay” is as bad as a spirit that does not test good. Your kids need to know this. They need to understand that. And the tester they will use throughout their life is the Word of God. It will reveal what is truth and what is not.

Do you struggle knowing what is true, what is good? You don’t have to. Measure everything according to His Word. It will never let you down. You will know instantly whether that spirt, that preacher, that evangelist, that speaker is of God or not by how they measure up to the Word. Trust it.

O God, I am thankful I have the “tester” necessary to test the spirits. You have given me Your Word as the instrument of truth.

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Advice, Affection, Bible, Child Raising, Child Rearing, Commands, Confession, Disciplemaking, Encouragement, Evangelism, Family, Following, God's Will, Harmony, Inspirational, Love, Mentoring, Parenting, Prejudice, Scripture, Separation, Witnessing

UNPARTIAL

ACTS 10:34

“Opening his mouth, Peter said: ‘I most certainly understand now that God is not one to show partiality,’”

These words of Peter should be music to our ears. God does not show favorites. The phrase “show partiality” is one Greek word that is only used right here in this verse. It means to be a respecter of persons. Think about it. What if God only picked a few people to save because of their skin color or eye color. Unfortunately, that is what we do.

If we are to live like Christ, we must also show no partiality. They say the most segregated time of the week is Sunday mornings. Whites go to their churches. Blacks go to theirs. Hispanics go to theirs and so on. Why? Wouldn’t it be wonderful if we could all worship together? Wouldn’t it be great if we were “color blind” on Sundays?

APPLICATION

Our children must be taught the no partiality thing early in life. In fact, we must teach them that God loves everyone – period. The world will begin to bombard them with prejudices early in life. This not only applies to skin color. It applies to any prejudice you can think of. The kid others make fun of is loved by God, so our children should too.

Let me encourage you, mom and dad, to nip this in the bud (to borrow a Barney Fife phrase). Don’t let prejudice remain in your household. God wants to use us, just like He used Peter, to reach people groups we might not normally be drawn to. You will be amazed at the response, if you will simply be obedient.

Do you battle showing partiality? Most of us do. It’s normal. It’s human. But we are called to live above that. I bet you could think of a dozen reasons God shouldn’t love you, but He does. He takes you just as you are and transforms you into something beautiful. Don’t you want to be a part of that in someone else’s life?

Father, show me my prejudices. I want to confess those to You as sin. And put those people in my life You want me to have relationships with, regardless of who they are.

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