“Then Moses said to the Lord, ‘See, You say to me, “Bring up this people.” But You have not let me know whom You will send with me. Yet You have said, “I know you by name, and you have also found grace in My sight.” Now therefore, I pray, if I have found grace in Your sight, show me now Your way, that I may know You and that I may find grace in Your sight. And consider that this nation is Your people.’ And He said, ‘My Presence will go with you and I will give you rest.'”
(Exodus 33:12-14)

Gotta love Moses! Talk about attitude! I mean, Moses starts out with, “See Lord, You tell ME to bring up these people. Consider, Lord, that this nation is YOUR people!” Who does that? Is it wrong? I don’t think so.

I believe Moses honored God with such a comfortable relationship. Oh, that we were envious of Moses having such a personal relationship with God! And remember, Moses did not have the indwelling Holy Spirit like we do. Even so, Moses KNEW the Lord His God. He approached the Lord boldly.

But wait a minute.

We DO have a personal relationship with God through the Blood of His son, Jesus. In fact, His Spirit dwells within us. AND, because of Jesus, we can approach the throne of God boldly!

But do we? I say, “Not often enough.”

We crawl into our shells of self-righteousness, wanting people around us to see how holy we are. We put on a facade of organized religion and place God in His gilded box, embellished with pearls and sapphire and jasper.

Honestly, I wasn’t expecting this. I apologize for sounding so harsh, but I believe the Lord God is saying,

“Church, wake up! You’ve become so organized that you’ve left Me out of the picture. My Spirit cannot dwell where sin abounds. My Spirit is not welcome where I am not seen as Sovereign. My Spirit cannot thrive when contained within your gilded boxes.

Set Me free from your agendas and preconceived ideas. I AM the Lord and I faileth not. Do not be deceived in your self-righteousness. I AM the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords. I want to walk with you in the shade of fellowship. I want to whisper echoes of love into the yearning hearts of My children. Allow Me in. Allow Me to reveal Myself to you. Be honest with Me. Be bold with Me. I am not offended by honesty. I am offended by self-righteousness.”

Whoa! I hadn’t planned on that, but I believe it would be a mistake not to share the Word God placed in My heart. The scripture supports the fact that God speaks to His children, if we will only listen. Anything you believe He is speaking to you will be confirmed in His Word. He will not say anything contrary to His Word.

Prayerfully take this Word to heart. Our Father loves us. He wants us to tear down the barriers that prevent us from knowing Him. Sit at His feet. Talk to Him as you would your best friend. And then, listen. Listen to His precious Word.

You just might be amazed.

Father, Thank You for this strong Word of admonition. Let these words take root in our hearts and produce fruit for Your Kingdom. We humbly bow before You and ask Your forgiveness where we have sinned against You, where we have hidden behind the veil of self-righteousness. Father, cleanse us of all unrighteousness and set us free from the deceptions of the evil one. Thank You, Father. We love You and we praise Your Holy Name.