Welcome to another day the Lord has made that we should rejoice and be glad in. (Psalms 118:24)

Hello again, one of the things I have discovered in my Daily Blessings journey with God thus far is He will let me know when He has something to share with and through me. Thus after missing a week of blogging, the Holy Spirit is inspiring me to share conversing with God.

We’ll start today by sharing what we can learn from ear-jacking an exchange between the LORD and Moses.

Today’s scripture, Exodus 33:10-14 (NLT) shares…
[10] When the people saw the cloud standing at the entrance of the tent, they would stand and bow down in front of their own tents. [11] Inside the Tent of Meeting, the Lord would speak to Moses face to face, as one speaks to a friend. Afterward Moses would return to the camp, but the young man who assisted him, Joshua son of Nun, would remain behind in the Tent of Meeting. Lord [12] One day Moses said to the Lord, “You have been telling me, ‘Take these people up to the Promised Land.’ But you haven’t told me whom you will send with me. You have told me, ‘I know you by name, and I look favorably on you.’ [13] If it is true that you look favorably on me, let me know your ways so I may understand you more fully and continue to enjoy your favor. And remember that this nation is your very own people.” [14] The Lord replied, “I will personally go with you, Moses, and I will give you rest—everything will be fine for you.”

Consider…
As we unpack what we’ve just read in today’s scripture, the first thing we see is that God makes Himself known. Notice, the passage begins with when the people saw the cloud standing at entrance of the tent, they stood and bowed. Standing and bowing is what people do in the presence of royalty. Or said another way, to stand and bow is to give reverent recognition to someone deemed highly esteemed and worthy of our respect and attention.

As I imagine God’s appearance in the cloud, I hear background music of Psalmist Byron Cage singing…

The presence of the Lord is here
The presence of the Lord is here
I feel it in the atmosphere
The presence of the Lord is here, oh, oh
The presence of the Lord is here

The Spirit of the Lord is here, anybody feel it tonight?
The Spirit of the Lord is here
I feel it in the atmosphere
The Spirit of the Lord is here, oh, oh-oh
The Spirit of the Lord is here

What’s your response when you realize that you’re in the presence of God?

Psalms 33:8 (NLT) tells us what our response should be. The Psalmist Instructs…
[8] Let the whole world fear the LORD, and let everyone stand in awe of him.

The verse tells us that everyone should reverently recognize God and stand in awe of Him.

God the Father takes this reverent recognition expectation a step further to include just the mere mention of His Son’s name. Philippians 2:9-11 (NLT) declares…
[9] Therefore, God elevated him to the place of highest honor and gave him the name above all other names, [10] that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, [11] and every tongue declare that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

Two thoughts come to mind when I think of reverently recognizing the name of Jesus.

The first thought is scripture, specifically Deuteronomy 5:11 (NLT) that
says…
[11] “You must not misuse the name of the LORD your God. The LORD will not let you go unpunished if you misuse his name.

The Holy Spirit is emphasizing Jesus Christ name should only spoken in faith, never out of frustration. I admit, I cringe every time I hear someone use Jesus’ name, or God, in frustration.

The second thought is that God said every knee will bow at the name of Jesus. The emphasis of bowing that God is showing me makes it clear that humility is a prerequisite for engaging God.

James 4:7-9 (NLT) specifies…
[7] So humble yourselves before God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. [8] Come close to God, and God will come close to you. Wash your hands, you sinners; purify your hearts, for your loyalty is divided between God and the world. [9] Let there be tears for what you have done. Let there be sorrow and deep grief. Let there be sadness instead of laughter, and gloom instead of joy.

This passage immediately runs my mind to yet another scripture, which is Isaiah 6:5 (NLT)
[5] Then I said, “It’s all over! I am doomed, for I am a sinful man. I have filthy lips, and I live among a people with filthy lips. Yet I have seen the King, the Lord of Heaven’s Armies.”

The point that the Holy Spirit is making is conversing with God must begin with the reverent recognition of who He is.

This reminds me of my mother raising me to say ‘yes sir’ and ‘yes ma’am’ to my elders or people in authority. That brief pause and add of sir and ma’am reset my attitude and thinking of the tone and content of the the impending conversation. Those terms of respect reminded me to be respectful in my communication.

Funny, I just thought about people calling royalty ‘your majesty’, or calling a judge ‘your honor’, yet the King of Kings and Lord of Lord’s says just call me Jesus. I wonder if it’s because we’re given the privilege of calling our Lord and Savior by His name that we sometimes forget about the reverent recognition due Him at all times.

Which brings me to a realization that reverent recognition isn’t about physically standing and bowing before God, otherwise my crippled brothers and sisters in Christ would be in dire straits, rather it’s about the position of our hearts before the LORD God Almighty!

The Holy Spirit directed me to Psalms 51:16-17 (NLT) to emphasize His point…
[16] You do not desire a sacrifice, or I would offer one. You do not want a burnt offering. [17] The sacrifice you desire is a broken spirit. You will not reject a broken and repentant heart, O God.

Remember my reference to my mother making me add ma’am and sir to conversations with elders? Well, although my words were respectful, sometimes my attitude and actions weren’t.

Here’s the deal, God knows your heart so your words and actions mean nothing if your heart doesn’t mean them.

The Holy Spirit is telling me to pause here today and allow us to meditate on having the right heart posture for conversing with God.

We must develop hearts of reverent recognition and awestruck wonder that create attitudes of gratitude in the presence of God!

Once we have assumed that posture we are ready to converse with God.

Before you say a word to God, reverently recognize who He is and worship Him!

Today’s song is…
Because Of You Are

Blessings 4HG (1 Corinthians 10:31)