Holy Ground

Have you ever noticed at most churches, there is a room that seperates the outside from the sanctuary. Some folks call it a vestibule, or an atrium, or a lobby. Whatever you call it, its the room you enter before you enter the sanctuary. Have you ever wondered what that room was for? I had not thought much about it until I started thinking about a song I am going to sing soon. The song is Holy Ground, and the words start out....as I walked thru the door I sensed His presence....and it made me stop and think once again about just what a Sanctuary really is. It is defined as a sacred or holy place, the holy of holies, a place of refuge for the weary. Makes ya think...do I treat the sancuary as such? Or do I treat it as just another room in just another building? If it is the holy of holies....should we bring in our sin with us...riding proudly on our backs, as we walk thru those doors? Or do we continue to act the same way we did in the parking lot? Don't get me wrong, God doesn't care about how you look.  He's not worried about what you're wearing.  God is looking at the condition of your soul.  He wants to know, are you there to worship, or there to make a list of your complaints? Are you there to praise God, or are you there to be entertained, to gossip, to stir up mischief or just to be seen? What are you thinking about during the music or the sermon. Are you thinking...this song it too long and I'm tired of standing, or I don't even like this song, or he just pronounced that word wrong, or how long is he going to preach, etc. Are you paying attention...or texting your best friend, passing notes, making other people laugh, and goofing off? When you walk into that little room before the Sanctuary I want you to think about it very hard before you walk through those doors. Take off all the sinful nature, put away from you the wordly things, the things that would distract you from what God is going to say to you. Stop worrying that you have to stand up too long, you don't like all the songs, or the message goes a little over. WHY ARE YOU THERE?? You are stepping into the Holy of Holies because Jesus made it possible for YOU to approach the throne of God! You are entering God's house, and even though you cannot actually, physically see Him...He is there. Now...how are you going to act? What are you going to do? What are you going to be thinking about in the presence of God? "As I walked through the door, I sensed His presence, and I knew this was a place where love abounds. For this is the Temple, Jehova God abides here, and we are standing in HIS presence on Holy Ground!"