Corona Devo 230

Every now and then, we have to get back to the basics of life.  We have to remember the core, important things that are for our good, and that keep us safe.  

We teach toddlers about hot stoves and wearing seatbelts because prudence and yielding can keep us safe.  

And if we need refreshed on another core principle: We mustn't forget that God is holy.

We sing about God being our friend, and He welcomes us to share our joys, sorrows and hopes with Him (this is called prayer), but in the back of our minds and always in our consciousness, we must hold a reverence for the holiness of God.  

Remember Moses?  He was a Jew born in Egypt during a time when Pharaoh was mistreating the Jewish population by overworking them harshly, and even ordering the deaths of newborn Jewish boys in an effort to downsize the Jewish population. 

But God had a special plan for Moses (just as He does for each of us), and his mom knew it (just as mom's do).  She had set him afloat in a basket down the Nile River, and one of Pharaoh's daughter's "found" him, and raised Moses in safety. As an adult, Moses felt the draw to his Jewish roots and left the Egyptian upbringing of the palace and to find his people (and eventually lead them to the promised land, by God's holy plan).

Moses "knew" about God.  We do too.  Moses had memorized scriptures, had been to church, and he had an awareness of God, but like us, He had forgotten about the holiness of God.  God reminded him.  Today, God also reminds us:

Now Moses was tending the flock... 2 There the angel of the Lord appeared to him in flames of fire from within a bush. Moses saw that though the bush was on fire it did not burn up. 3 So Moses thought, “I will go over and see this strange sight—why the bush does not burn up.”

4 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.” 6 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 3:1-6

Can you picture this?  Moses is out "doing his job", shepherding some sheep, and he finds it curious that a bush becomes engulfed in flames, but it does not "burn out", or burn up.  

Then, as Moses approached the "burning bush" (remember that God can and will use anything to speak to us/get our attention), the Lord spoke to him through the bush, and through the significance of the fire of the bush.  

Please, let's not miss that when God "calls" to Moses (even through the unorthodox method of a burning bush), Moses is immediately willing and accountable to God, saying, “Here I am.”  

We should be too.  When the Holy Lord speaks/whispers/nudges/or shakes us, we should be able to discern and identify His voice (however it reaches us), and may we echo Moses in saying, “Here I am.”

The last verses remind and caution us about Who God is.  He is holy.  His sovereignty, power and dominion are unequaled and deserve respect and reverence.  “Do not come any closer,” God said. “Take off your sandals, for the place where you are standing is holy ground.” 6 Then he said, “I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob.” ~Exodus 3:5-6

I like the refresher-lesson here, because society and culture has lost a degree of respect for the holiness of God.  We want a say in our futures/our dreams/our days, but we can never become confused about Who has written our life plan--the same God who wrote Abraham's, Isaac's, and Jacob's.   

We have to step back and realize that God is holy.   His ways in our life may seem foreign during the moment (like a bush burning), but God deserves (and must have) the separation that His holiness requires.  Getting in His way will thwart His ultimate (good) plan for us, and often will get us burned.  

God demonstrates this verbally and physically to Moses, and I like the King James Version announcement of: "Put off thy shoes from off thy feet, for the place whereon thou standest is holy ground."  (Exodus 3:5).

When we open the Bible, when we pray or talk or cry to the Lord: we are on holy ground.  God deserves our respect and reverence in more ways than our tiny human brains can even comprehend.  God is holy.  

Maybe it was the bush that would not burn up, maybe it was sensing the presence of God, but Moses got this "holy" message.  Humility overtook him and Moses hid his face, because he was afraid to look at God. (Exodus 3:6)

We need a higher dose of respecting-God's-holiness running through our veins and our lives.  The God of the universe does not need our input, and His life-plan for us is better/deeper/more powerful and impactful than any plan we are trying to spin for ourselves.  We have almost no frame of reference, compared to His omniscience. 

If we cannot imagine "hiding our face" in submission/reverence/respect/awe of God, then it's time to reevaluate our relationship with God, because evidently, we are not "getting" the magnitude of who God is.  

God's holiness separates us from Him.  The creation is not equal-to or greater-than the Creator.  The honor that He is due should be reflected in our hearts as we pray and worship, our tongues honoring Him (and not taking His name in vain), and our lives (as much as possible).

Every now and then, we have to remember the core, important things that are for our good, and that keep us safe: We mustn't forget that God is holy.

If we have been "wearing the boots" in our relationship with God, it is high time to "put off thy shoes from off thy feet" and give God the holy ground in our lives that He deserves.

Blessings,

sarah

https://sarahsundy04.blogspot.com