Is This Holy Ground?

15 May Is This Holy Ground?

I have been thinking about last week’s letter, and how we talked about how the things that we consume, affect our faith. I was reminded of the magnificent story of Moses in a book I am reading (hello, audible!) and that got me to thinking about the concept of Holy Ground. Stay with me, and I will connect the dots as we go.

Did you know that the phrase “Holy Ground” only shows up two times in the Bible?” Once at Exodus 3:5 where Moses’, who was hiding from his past and avoiding his future, is met by God, who comes to him through a burning bush and with an audible voice. And it is at this moment that God instructs him by saying, “Do not approach here. Remove your sandals from off your feet, for the place on which you are standing is holy ground.”

And once in Joshua 5:15 where Joshua (Moses’ successor) was commanded to remove his sandals because “the place where you are standing is holy.”

Let us think about this. What we know about these men is that they:

1. were leaders of people,
2. were met by God (bush and the spirit of God in human form) and,
3. although leaders, their reverence was still shown by removing their shoes because they were subordinate to God.

When you look up the definition of Holy Ground, it is defined (Wikipedia) as an area that considered holy or sacred.

I petition that Holy Ground is anywhere God’s presence resides. I would even say that He created the earth and, therefore, can be and is present everywhere.

Women of Judah, I am ready for you to hear this.  Throughout our lives, the presence of the Holy God is with us, but we are missing something that is required. The presence of our reverence.

At God’s command, Moses immediately removed his sandals and covered his face to show respect. Listen. When you ask the spirit of the living God, to come in and dwell within in you, do you take the time to show reverence His presence? Do you “take off your sandals”?  What do you shed to show respect?

Our Word says that “bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians 6:19-20), which means the spirit of the Lord resides in us.  The passage goes on to say,” you are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore, honor God with your bodies.”

We take off our sandals so that we do not defile His space with the yuck and the muck that we carry around. We take off our sandals so that we do not share the contamination that we picked up the world. We shed the unholy and the flawed, as we honor Him.

Think about it! We openly welcome the Holy Spirit into our homes and the places where we lead. We want His peace, His protection, and His guidance. But do we honestly also receive the presence of reverence? Do we look around and ask ourselves, “Is this Holy Ground?”

Did you know, that in Middle Eastern culture it is customary to remove one’s shoes when entering a house of worship because it is a sacred place?

And if you have small children at home who play on the floor or if someone in your home is immunocompromised, it’s essential to take your shoes off at the door, to decrease the spread of germs in your house from your shoes.

It is that way with reverence, too!

Do we cautiously and carefully check what we allow into our front doors and on the bottoms of feet?

Are we reverencing God with the things that we bring home on our devices and televisions? Are we allowing room for reverence with the items that we carry in our thoughts and the words that come from our mouths?

We have to keep His Holy Ground next level. To elevate the spaces that we inhabit and the respect we show our God as we walk through them. To let Him know that when he is ready to come to us, our reverence is ready to be given. Our bodies are not our own, and we are ready to serve when called.

Women of Judah, what do you need to shed, let go, take off to get to this point in your spiritual journey?

How can you become more ready to receive His presence?