Sandals

Joshua chapter 5:

“¹³Now when Joshua was near Jericho, he looked up and saw a man standing in front of him with a drawn sword in his hand. Joshua went up to him and asked, “Are you for us or for our enemies?”

¹⁴“Neither,” he replied, “but as commander of the army of the Lord I have now come.” Then Joshua fell face down to the ground in reverence, and asked him, “What message does my Lord have for his servant?”

¹⁵The commander of the Lord’s army replied, “Take off your sandals, for the place where you are standing is holy.” And Joshua did so. “

I Corinthians 6:19:

“Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own…”

Pastor Jeff Blaine said:

Joshua was about to face his first battle in the Promised Land.

Joshua is confronted by an individual…some have called this an OT Christophony; our Christ in the OT.

The man commands Joshua to do something insignificant but profoundly significant: Joshua is commanded to remove his sandals because the place were Joshua is currently standing is holy.

How did that moment, in that spot, come to be holy?

The moment in that spot is holy because of Who is there – Jesus.

It is the same for me; as a New Testament Christian I am a temple, indwelled by Jesus.

I at times fail to acknowledge the significance of who I am in the present…a person indwelled by Jesus…Holiness personified.

I must in each present moment and place of my life acknowledge His holy presence inside me… this is profound!

This truth helps me see that regardless the place or the moment I am in the present that place or moment is always holy as I acknowledge Him. Through my acknowledgment of His holy presence makes each present moment holy for Him.

How do I acknowledge His Holy Presence to be preeminent?

“…remove your sandals”.

What do our shoes represent?

Our shoes represent our will, our agenda, our direction for the present place or moment that we are in.

What is the greatest impediment to Jesus’ holiness in my present place or moment?

My will, my agenda, my direction I want in my present place or moment…

The solution? Repent by taking off the “shoes” of my will, my agenda, my direction in each present moment and place…

The choice is obvious: do I want the holiness of Jesus to reign in each moment?

Then what are you going to do with your “shoes”…?