But what about God’s house? Do we try to enter it with muddy feet?

In Old Testament times, God commanded the priests to perform special cleansing duties in order to be purified and fit to enter the tabernacle or the Holy of holies of the temple to serve. They were to cleanse themselves in the laver or the molten/brazen sea before entering His presence, so that they would be pure and not die before a holy God. Die? Yes, die.

God appointed Aaron, his sons, and their descendants to be priests and said, “Aaron and his sons shall wash their hands and their feet in water from [the laver]. When they go into the tabernacle of meeting, or when they come near the altar to minister, to burn an offering made by fire to the Lord, they shall wash with water, lest they die.” (Ex. 30:19-20 NKJV)

This was serious business. And it was a forever statute.

The application for believers today is that we, too, have been made priests. Christ is our High Priest (Heb. 9:11) and, through His death, He “has made us kings and priests to His God and Father.” (Rev. 1:6a NKJV) In order, then, to serve the Lord, to minister before Him, or to worship Him, we need to be cleansed.

Therefore, “since we have a great High Priest who rules over God’s house, let us go right into the presence of God with sincere hearts fully trusting him. For our guilty consciences have been sprinkled with Christ’s blood to make us clean, and our bodies have been washed with pure water.” (Heb. 10:21-22 NLT)

As priests before a holy God, we cannot enter His presence with muddy feet…or a muddy heart, “For God did not call us to uncleanness, but in holiness.” (1 Thess. 4:7 NKJV)

To come before the Lord in holiness, to worship at His feet, to give Him glory and honor, being cleansed is mandatory. We are to worship in the beauty of holiness, as David reminds us (Ps. 29:2). Yes, the Lord always accepts us, but, to worship in holiness, we need to be cleansed. We cannot worship a holy God when covered in the mud of sin.

True worship, then, is contingent upon our offering ourselves as a living sacrifice and God cleansing our flesh and spirit. In other words, our heart condition matters more in worship than our voice, our good intentions or our actions. Without a cleansed heart, we simply cannot enter His presence or worship. (Nancy Missler)

Questions we need to ask ourselves:

*Do I allow the Lord to cleanse my heart to sanctify me, to purify me and separate me from the filth of this world that I might draw near to Him in true worship? James said, “Draw near to God and He will draw near to you.” (James 4:8a NKJV)

*Am I out traipsing through the sludgy side-roads of life, dragging my heart and feet through its muck? James continues, “Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded” (James 4:8b NKJV), “for your loyalty is divided between God and the world.” (James 4:8b NLT)

*Do I try to enter the Father’s presence with those muddy feet? Or do I allow Jesus to wash my feet? As Peter said, “‘You shall never wash my feet!’ Jesus answered him, ‘If I do not wash you, you have no part with Me.’” (John 13:8 NKJV)