Now, let me ask you, when you walk into the House of God today, what is the first thing you think of or do? Say hello, smile, and start chatting with someone? Have you prayed before you came? Do you understand whose house this is, and the honor and respect he requires from you (and deserves)? Have you dressed in your best, modest clothes, not to draw men's attraction or be noticed by people, but because you want to be presentable to the KING OF KINGS? I know clothes don't save you. It doesn't matter if tee shirts and blue jeans are all you can afford, or have. Are they the best you have? The cleanest? That's what I'm saying-this isn't about fashion or price, or name brand labels. It's about presenting ourselves to the Holy One of Heaven, in his house. Compare, for instance, how people are required to respect the Judge when they enter a courtroom. Everyone is sitting and talking until the Judge enters the room. Then everyone stands, and hushes their mouths, don't they? What if you got to go the White House? Would you act like you do when you go to your neighbor's house? Or would you dress up, and be on your best behavior-regardless of your political views, the leader of the greatest nation left on this earth, despite her faults, deserves your respect when you enter his home and his presence, right? Well, what about the Lord? He created us. He wants to reveal himself to us, he wants to help us. He has great things for us. But when we enter his house, what do we do? Do we speak to everyone else, and not acknowledge HIM first?

Oh, Lord, teach me how to serve you reverently and properly with all my heart in your sanctuary.............you are my wisdom. Ps. 32:8, and Is. 30:21, promises you will teach me.........thank you............for I truly want to serve you not half-heartedly or only out of fear of hell because I love you, first and foremost, because you loved me who was not worth loving...........I'm so glad you do...........Help me give you my best...........I want the life of Christ in me, I want to glorify you, if my life does not glorify you, my Maker, my Lord, my God, my ever present help, the Lover of my soul, what is the point of life? I don't want a life that doesn't please you, Lord. Nor, do I want to hurt you by neglect or by listening to the lies of the enemy and letting him defeat me or bring me down into guilt and condemnation. You are greater than my heart, greater than the devil, greater than anything or anyone. And my hope is in Christ, and his sacrifice, at Calvary, and his death on the cross, and his shed bled is on my soul. Thank you Lord!!!!!!!!!!!

And how can I enter your courts, your house, and not recognize and speak to you, but shake hands with everyone else there, exchanging mild pleasantries, but not be silent in the presence of the Most High God, not honor the fact that you would lower yourself to grace your people with your presence? I would not go to someone else's house and speak to everyone else but them. I would respect their stuff, and be on my best behavior. How much more should I be in your house, oh Holy One that inhabits the praises of his people? Should we not enter your courts with a desire to praise your presence down among us so rich that no sinner could sit unmoved or unconvicted. That none of your people having any sin or stain of the flesh could not find it hidden, but exposed under the awesome presence of the Lord. That people would either hit their knees or leave for the strength of your presence so rich everyone could feel it and sense it. How I wish we could all leave the talking out of the sanctuary unless it's to you. Why can't we wait until after the service, or keep the talking outside the sanctuary itself, and teach our children this, as well, from the time they are old enough to hear us talk to them?

This is what I want to see...his glory in the sanctuary, and people recognizing, no longer blind to how awesome, how precious, how totally wonderful he is. He has been so misrepresented by carnal Christians, the world's own image of who God is, and the devil. There are so many false teachers, that preach only prosperity and peace. Not about his holiness, his utter purity. Holy means pure, without mixture. And that is what he is. He needs and has no other source but himself. He's not made up of a bunch of different things. He is pure. Completely without mixture of any kind. Scripture says in him there is no darkness, no variableness, no turning.

Twice in different places, he said keep his sabbaths, and reverence his sanctuary.

I can't find anywhere in the scripture it says come into his house casually, and chit chat or exchange the week's news with others and make sure you shake hands with everybody so nobody feels snubbed. We need to get past this, and tell the enemy to hush when he tries to make us feel that way if somebody walks by and doesn't stop to shake hands and talk. If we want the presence of the Lord in our midst, shouldn't we prepare the sanctuary, and make ourselves ready for him, just as they did in the wilderness? He's given us the wisdom and the Word to show us how. We just aren't listening to the prompting of the Spirit, and digging into our Bibles enough. We can't say we want his presence and continue to come so casually to his house, unprepared. We need to get rid of the "bless me Lord," attitude, and come with the desire to bless HIM first, and secondly, those around us. I want to be more sensitive to the needs around me, and not ignore my brothers and sisters, he said the least are the more comely, and deserve the most honor. There are none of us that are not needed in the Body of Christ. But oh I want to see us be strong enough and mature enough and LOVE HIM enough to set everything aside when we enter his house, it's his courts, and we should praise him, ask him to help us get rid of pride or self-consciousness, and don't listen when our mind cringes if we raise our hands, and know, that NO you don't look silly giving praise with uplifted hands and hearts to your Maker. I fight that same battle. I've got kids that want to walk around inside the sanctuary and talk, and when I've tried to tell them we need to go straight to our seat, my teenager gets mad, and my 4 year old daughter gets mad, because although she was dedicated to the Lord before she was born, she has learned to do this when she walks in his house. People ooooh and ahhh over how cute she is, and how she likes to shake hands, and she's learned that it gets her attention to do this in the House of God, and I'm just beginning to realize all this, and to my regret, and ask the Lord to help me change this behavior. I want to honor HIM first and foremost and I want his fear in the hearts of my children. Fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. I bet if you sat really still for just a moment, and tried to envision being actually physically in his presence, you KNOW you'd behave a lot different. His presence is so awesome it makes mountains shake, the cherubim can't stop crying HOLY HOLY HOLY, and when I consider how casually I have behaved in his house, it makes me want to cry OH, GOD You are SO Kind! So Merciful! Please forgive me! If we all started actually being obedient to his word, what might God do? Might he not come down and fill the House with his Glory once again, just like he did of old? That's what I am hungry for. His PRESENCE. I am preaching to myself here, too, saints. I'm guilty. God forgive me and help me be strong enough to stand and do better. To listen to you. To obey. I love you, Lord. I love your people I want to more and more, learn how to bless YOU, Lord. You are all the blessing I need.