Abiding in His Holy Presence

God reigns over the nations! God sits on his holy throne!

(Psalm 47:8 NET)

To abide in the presence of God is to abide in the presence of infinite holiness, righteousness and perfection. It is a very sacred place, a place where sin cannot abide. The one and only way anyone can be accepted into the presence of perfect holiness and not be immediately consumed is if they possess perfect holiness. And so, the only way to enter into this sacred place is through the shed blood of the glorious Christ, clothed in His perfect righteousness. It is because of the perfect righteous ness of Christ given to us that we are not just accepted into the holy presence of God, but are actually invited and welcomed. We are told to come boldly before Him. How astonishing!

The LORD our God has shown us his great glory and we have heard him speak from the middle of the fire. It is now clear to us that God can speak to human beings and they can keep on living. (Deuteronomy 5:24 NET)

And so, dear brothers and sisters, we can boldly enter heaven's Most Holy Place because of the blood of Jesus. (Hebrews 10:19 NLT)

How astonishing! How incredible! How glorious! I can enter . . . I am invited and welcomed to enter into the presence of the consuming fire of God’s holiness and live to tell about it!

And as I enter into His holy, sacred presence, I am broken by the gift of His grace that provides me with the righteousness of Christ. And, I see at once that my practice does not match up with my position. I am deeply humbled, deeply grieved over my sin. I see that it is not just the big sins that I commit that make me unworthy of His grace, Christ’s righteousness, this welcome into His presence. It is the very reality that every moment of every day I fall short of the standard, the true standard, His perfection, His holiness, His righteousness. In my best moments, I am imperfect, I think less of God than I should, I love Him less than I should. And I am deeply, deeply humbled and broken and filled with incredible awe and wonder that I can come into His holy presence and be forgiven, be welcomed, be embraced by pure holiness.

You have set our iniquities before you, our secret sins in the light of your presence. (Psalm 90:8 ESV)

Abiding in the presence of His Holiness touches my heart and I come to see the ugliness of my sin. In the glorious light of His holiness I see the darkness of my sin. And I hate it! I want to forsake it. I want to be clean. I want to be pure. And I see so clearly why I desperately need His mercy and grace; why I so desperately need the righteousness of Christ. And I am so grateful. Grateful for His mercy that withholds condemnation in Christ. Grateful for His grace that welcomes me into His presence. Grateful for forgiveness.

Oh, holy God, forgive me! Cleanse me. Make me clean. Draw me into your holy presence where I see your holiness so clearly and am so overwhelmed that I am passionate about turning from sin, passionate about living a holy life, passionate about honoring your holiness, for you are holy.

May my words and my thoughts be pleasing in Your sight, my sheltering rock and my redeemer! (Psalm 19:14 NET)

 

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