11/22/2023 – Prepare for an Encounter with God – He is Coming to You!
Exodus 19: 10 And the Lord said to Moses, “Go to the people and consecrate them today and tomorrow. Have them wash their clothes 11 and be ready by the third day, because on that day the Lord will come down on Mount Sinai in the sight of all the people.
People dream and plan many things in this life, but among them notably absent is an encounter with God. Most people are convinced that they will face God after they die, but they are not ready yet. What most fail to realize is that God does not want your first encounter with Him to take place after you die. He is coming to meet you…He wants to meet you before you die. He wants to reveal Himself to you and to enter a covenant with you. He wants you to enter the kingdom of God before you die. And you must prepare yourself for that. He wants to bless you now, in the land of the living, and He wants to protect you from the evil that is sure to come!
This ritual of washing their clothes had to be fresh in the minds and hearts of the people when John the Baptist appeared and called them to repentance and baptism. This washing is symbolic of our need to be cleansed of our sin to meet God.
God has made an appointment to meet with every person. Every day, every hour of your life brings you closer to that moment. You need to be ready for that encounter. How will you prepare? God did not ask the people to prepare offerings or rituals. God is not impressed with those. The only requirement was that the people would consecrate. What does that mean? It means that they would remove all sin from their lives and dedicate themselves to serve God only. God gave His people three days. This was symbolic of the death and resurrection of Christ. He redeemed us from our sin through His death on the cross, and on the third day, He justified us when He was raised from the dead.
Your faith in Christ and His work for your salvation is the only way to prepare for your appointment with God. If you believe in Christ, you will be ready.