You Should Take Off Your Sandals In God's Presence

…having boldness to enter the Holiest by the blood of Jesus… —Hebrews 10:19

We must never lose sight of who God is.  You think, “Oh I know who He is.  He is the (fill in the blank). Yet we can become irreverent in our attitude and even references to God.  Have you ever heard someone call God “the man upstairs”?  Normally when I hear that I assume that the person is not born again, but that is not necessarily so.  

I was checking out of the grocery store this afternoon. I noticed the person at the register had Mateo on his name badge. He also had Hispanic characteristics - black hair, brown eyes, a brown hue to his skin. I had just purchased a Carmel apple for my wife - her favorite. I held up the apple and said "para mi esposa" meaning "for my wife". Then I apologized and told him it was presumptuous of me to assume he spoke Spanish.  But I was pretty sure he did when I saw his name. We both had a chuckle and he commended me for getting it right. But I might have been wrong. Same goes for someone who shows disrespect toward God. They may be a Christian but have not been taught reverence,

Do you remember reading about when God spoke to Moses on the mountain?

 “When the Lord saw that he had gone over to look, God called to him from within the bush, “Moses! Moses!” And Moses said, “Here I am.” “Do not come any closer,” God said. “Take off your sandals, for the place where you are standing is holy ground.” Then he said, “I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob.” At this, Moses hid his face, because he was afraid to look at God.” -  Exodus 3:4-6 

Why take off his sandals?  When you are in the presence of the Creator God, you must stand clean before Him.  Taking off his sandals represented all of the things that Moses had picked up from a sinful the world.  As Christians, we have access to the Holy of Holies – to be in God’s presence through the blood of Jesus – remember the veil was torn. But that does not mean that we can approach God with sin in our heart .. any way we want to .. like the relationship is up to us and not God. 

Years ago it was customary for people to dress up in the “Sunday-go-to-meetin’ clothes” when they went to church.  Then it was akin to taking off their shoes in the presence of God.  Today – there is a casualness with respect to church attire. Shorts and flipflops are considered acceptable.  It’s not really about the clothes you wear on the outside but the condition of your heart on the inside. Jesus said 

Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You clean the outside of the cup and dish, but inside they are full of greed and self-indulgence. Blind Pharisee! First clean the inside of the cup and dish, and then the outside also will be clean. - Matthew 23:25-26

A person may think their own ways are right, but the Lord weighs the heart. -  Proverbs 21:2

I want to encourage you to consider how you approach God.  How you refer to Him. He is not the "man upstairs. Jesus is not "JC". If you are going to talk with Him – your heart must be clean.  You should have a reverence toward Him.  Moses had to look away because of God’s glory. I have a pastor friend who stands in bare feet when he preaches.  When I first saw that, I thought it was a little quirky.  But on reflection, it is actually out of great reverence toward God.  A reminder to himself that what he is doing has eternal consequences as he is fulfilling his God-given purpose. A physical reminder that he has a great responsibility to a holy God and must stand clean before Him.  Something to think about.

Think about it – Pray about it – Believe it – Walk in it. Let your light shine and give God the glory.

By Faith Alone By His Grace Alone And For His Glory Alone