Day 11 - Separate yourself

"God’s grace unveiled his Son in me so that I would proclaim him to the non-Jewish people of the world. After I had this encounter I kept it a secret for some time, sharing it with no one. And I chose not to run to Jerusalem to try to impress those who had become apostles before me. Instead, I went away into the Arabian Desert for a season until I returned to Damascus, where I had first encountered Jesus. I remained there for three years until I eventually went up to Jerusalem and met the apostle Peter and stayed with him for a couple of weeks so I could get to know him better. The only other apostle I met during that time was James, the Lord’s brother."   Galatians 1:16–19 (TPT)

Saul, who met Jesus on the road to Damascus and became a disciple, separated himself from the disciples that walked with Jesus when He was alive on earth. He chose to do this for a number of reasons. The foremost reason was that his conversion was so radical and dramatic that people had a hard time believing that he had been converted. After all, he was finding and killing Christians one day and the next week he was telling everyone that Jesus is the Son of God. People were hesitant.

Another big reason that Saul chose to separate himself was to spend time with God and confirm those things that he had just experienced. As a disciple of Jesus the best thing you can do after you meet Him is to find out more about Him.

There are things that Jesus wants to show you personally about Himself through prayer and studying His word.

Remember back to what Jesus said to Peter when He asked the disciples, "Who do men say that I am?". He didn't just stop there, He asked the more important question, "Who do you say that I am?" Because you need a personal revelation of who Jesus is that will come directly from the Father. You can't live off someone else's revelation of Jesus just like you can't become born again off someone else's faith.

Of course, as believers we need to join a local church and fellowship with other believers. Submit to a Pastor and find a mentor in the faith that can help us develop spiritually. But we must spend time personally getting to know the person of Jesus from the word of God and through fellowship with the Holy Spirit in prayer. There is no substitute for studying God's word for ourselves and spending time in prayer.

Would you say that you do a good job of setting aside time everyday to study the word of God and pray? What obstacles do you need to remove in your life to have more quality time with the Lord?

Say it: I place a high value on my personal time with the Lord. I make time to come away from everything to fellowship with the Lord in prayer and studying the word of God.

Pray it: "Heavenly Father, show me today how important it is to spend time with You. I give You permission to stir up the desire within me to know more about You. Holy Spirit draw me into a deeper walk with You. I am choosing to separate myself from all distractions to spend more time with You. In Jesus Name"