Jessica Albritton, Family Connections Minister, LHBC
Exodus 19:7-11
So Moses came and called the elders of the people and set before them all these words that the Lord had commanded him. All the people answered together and said, “All that the Lord has spoken we will do.” And Moses reported the words of the people to the Lord. And the Lord said to Moses, “Behold, I am coming to you in a thick cloud, that the people may hear when I speak with you, and may also believe you forever.” When Moses told the words of the people to the Lord, the Lord said to Moses, “Go to the people and consecrate them today and tomorrow, and let them wash their garments and be ready for the third day. For on the third day the Lord will come down on Mount Sinai in the sight of all the people.”
Ok, confession time. I am one of those people… You know the ones, the ones that put their Christmas tree up before Thanksgiving. And you can go ahead and stop judging now because I don’t receive it. Ha. I just love it! Who cares if it’s 80 degrees outside, I can crank my air down and pretend! I love everything about the Christmas season, the weather, the cards in the mail, the music, the snow, it all just makes me so happy. There is just one thing about Christmas that I could do without, the prep. It just takes way too long… I think that’s why I decorate so early, because I know it will take forever to pull out all the decorations and set it all up. And then when it’s all over you have to do it in reverse. It’s so much work for just a few weeks so I put it all out at the tail end of October (I KNOW, STOP WITH THE JUDGEMENT ALREADY), and enjoy it for as long as I can. A few weeks ago when I was setting it all out, midway through fluffing my tree, I had a thought, “you know, this is a lot of work…” Christmas decorations don’t just put themselves out, someone has to take the time to do it. And it’s never a minor task either, but when it’s all put out and you can sit on the couch with a hot cup of coco, snuggled under a blanket, watching the twinkle of lights on the tree, it’s always worth it.
In Exodus 19 God speaks to Moses, “Behold, I am coming to you in a thick cloud, that the people may hear when I speak with you, and may also believe you forever.” The Lord goes on to tell Moses, “Go to the people and consecrate them today and tomorrow, and let them wash their garments and be ready for the third day. For on the third day the Lord will come down on Mount Sinai in the sight of all the people.” God tells Moses to prepare himself and the Israelites for worship. God doesn’t want them to just show up, He wants them to be ready to worship! And not in a “get dressed and grab all your things, we are going to church” kind of way. God wants the Israelites to prepare their hearts for worship, to prepare themselves to enter into His presence. So Moses does just that, he descends from the mountain and consecrates the people. Three days later thunder, lightning, and a thick cloud surrounded the mountain, a loud trumpet blasted, and Moses brought the people out of the camp to meet God. On that day the Israelites took their stand at the foot of the mountain and encountered God.
While decorating for Christmas this year and reflecting on this passage of scripture it got me thinking of my own encounters with God, specifically worship on Sundays. There are a lot of things we prepare for in life, but are we preparing for the most important thing? Are we preparing our hearts for worship? In Leviticus 10:3 the Lord says, “by those who come near Me I must be regarded as holy.” So how do we regard God as holy when we enter His presence? We do that first by remembering who God is, the holy and sovereign Lord, we read God’s Word, pray for His assistance to worship Him rightly, and thank Him for what He did for us through Jesus on the cross. When our hearts are right we can worship Him fully! Sunday morning worship is a decision to be made and prepared for long before we drive on the parking lot of the church on Sunday morning, it requires preparation that starts today! Let’s all begin preparing today to worship the King of kings and Lord of lords! See ya Sunday!
PRAYER FOR TODAY:
Heavenly Father, You are Holy and deserving of all worship! Lord, may I never enter Your presence to worship with an unprepared heart! May I remember today, and every day, of Your goodness and glory! Help me to prepare my heart today to worship You in a worthy and acceptable way! In Jesus name, amen!
MEMORY VERSE OF THE WEEK:
Proverbs 16:16
How much better to get wisdom than gold!
To get understanding is to be chosen rather than silver