How Far Is The East From The West?
Saturday March 30, 2019
How far is the east from the west? It is a distance we can never travel and a destination we can never reach. Based on our acceptance of the death and resurrection of Jesus, God has removed our sins from us and sent them to that place we can never reach. We can leave the disgrace and damage of our destructive lives at the cross of Jesus and receive a completely new life from Him in exchange.
The Lord is compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, abounding in love. He will not always accuse, nor will he harbor his anger forever; He does not treat us as our sins deserve or repay us according to our iniquities. For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his love for those who fear him; As far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us. (Psalm 103:8-12 NIV)
When God separates us from our sins, we are washed clean from them, and they are removed to a place that is as far as the east is from the west. What then is going on within us when we continue to remember the guilt and shame, pain and condemnation? The simple answer is, the enemy of our soul is sitting on our shoulder telling us lies. The one who seeks to destroy us is deceiving us into thinking those dark things are still sitting some place in our soul. He's lying because the sins are gone. God says He remembers them no more so why should we?
What are we to do when we experience this kind of trouble? We are to remember that, Jesus paid our sin debt on the cross and because of that, God has forgiven us. We are to tell our thoughts and emotions to remember that our debt for sin has been “paid in full” by Jesus. We then tell the enemy to take his lies and take off because God has set us free. We experience the satisfaction of God's freeing work in us when we simply stand in the truth.
Jesus said, “If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” (John 8:31-32 NIV)
Prayer: Dear Jesus, Thank You for dying on the cross for my sins and removing them from me as far as the east is from the west. Help me to reject all shame and condemnation and live in the joy and freedom of full forgiveness. Amen
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