Greetings in the name of Jesus, “the Author and Finisher of our Faith”(Hebrews 12:2) – THE Crucified and Risen Saviour! What a beautiful morning in the Kingdom – Praise the Lord and “Thank you to Him!” I will be praying for you today, asking Father to release ‘dreams and visions’ to you as He nurtures your spiritual growth.
For a few days God has been revealing an insight that I want to share with you. It has to do with coming into His presence for worship. I was thinking of Isaiah 6 where the vision of God-high and lifted up is seen by the prophet and he (the prophet) responds by saying: “woe to me!” I cried. “I am ruined! For I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips, and my eyes have seen the King, the LORD Almighty.” Isaiah 6:5 NIV. I thought of a favourite song: Wash from my hands the dust of earthly striving – Take from my mind the stress of secret fear – Cleanse though the wounds from all but Thee far hidden – And when the waters flow let my healing appear. – Albert Orsborn.
God seemed to say to me that many times I miss out on the fullness of his presence in worship because I did not prepare myself, my hands were dirty. I believe God was reminding me that since I had last been part of corporate worship, I had been in the world and involved, directly or indirectly, with people, attitudes, behaviours, words, thinking, and actions that were not godly or God-honouring. He wanted me to understand that if I want to receive a full measure of his presence and the joy, delights, and blessings associated with worship — I needed to be “clean” before him. I needed to repent for myself and all the ‘other stuff’ so that my heart was not crowded with “the dust of earthly striving” and “secret fears” and “wounds.”
God directed me to scripture and the words of a man after his heart: “Examine me, GOD, from head to foot, order your battery of tests. Make sure I’m fit inside and out, so I never lose sight of your love, but keep in step with you, never missing a beat…I scrub my hands with purest soap, then join hands with the others in the great circle, dancing around your altar, GOD, singing God-songs at the top of my lungs, telling God-stories…” Psalm 26:2-3, 6-7 The Message. I wonder – if this is a reality in my life, could it be a reality in someone else’s life as well? Could it be that there is a need to cleanse our hands, hearts, and mind before we begin to enter the presence of God to worship? Could it be that I/we would be more excited to worship God and benefit more from it if I/we practised ‘repentance’?
Something to think about…be blessed!