Preparing for God's Presence

 There are always preparations to be made before someone comes over to our house for a visit. We try to make sure that the house is presentable. We want the floors and carpets to be clean. We want to make sure everything will be comfortable for their visit. Therefore, we look around and see just what we need to do in advance, and we do what is needed. It is even more important to make the correct preparations when we are desiring to be in God's presence.

When the Hebrew people arrived at Mt. Sinai, God met with Moses and told Him that He was planning to come down on the mountain, so the people could see His glory. (Exodus 19:10) Then the Lord told Moses, "Go down and prepare the people for my arrival. Consecrate them today and tomorrow, and have them wash their clothing." I believe we get some insights into what we need to do today, as we desire to be ready for God to reveal Himself to us today. 

I always love to emphasize the word "consecrate" because it really shows us what we need to do as believers. We need to consecrate ourselves to the Lord every day. We don't need to try harder to do His will, or to "rededicate" ourselves to Him. We need to submit to Him fully, and give ourselves completely to Him. To be consecrated is to be surrendered to God, and to make sure we do not have any sins or idols that are coming between us and God.

Of course, if there are any sins, we need to confess them and to be cleansed, at least on a daily basis, but really as soon as we are aware of any sin. I like how God told the people to wash their clothes. Of course, that did not remove any sins, but it was a physical act that reminded them of what they needed to do to be clean spiritually. Today, we can get on our knees, go to the altar at church, or do some other activity to remind us to stay clean and consecrated, ready to meet God at any time.

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Tomorrow, I intend to read Exodus 20-22.