1月29日

標　　題：預備朝見你的神

經　　節：耶和華又對摩西說：「你往百姓那裏去，叫他們今天明天自潔，又叫他們洗衣服。到第三天要預備好了，因為第三天耶和華要在眾百姓眼前降臨在西奈山上。」（出埃及記十九章10～11節）

朝見神需要預備自己。神是至高、至大、至可畏的，祂是完全聖潔。沒預備好就莽莽撞撞朝見神，是無禮的言行。當以色列百姓要朝見神，神命令他們得先花兩天準備。一旦百姓預備妥當，神以雷轟、閃電，外加煙、火與大角聲，向百姓說話（出埃及記十九：16～25）。藉著這次的相遇，神揭示奇妙的十誡真理。神設立十誡的標準，好讓祂百姓們的生活有所遵循。

你不可能日復一日在世界打滾，卻不受世界所影響。不消多少時間，人就會迷失方向。世界會使你的靈性敏感度遲鈍。神設立安息日，就是要祂的百姓在六日屬世生活之後，能夠花一整天再次專注於祂的身上與祂的旨意。

你是否預備心參加崇拜？主日崇拜的前一天，你滿腦子想甚麼？前一夜的思想，通常使你在隔天早晨還被那些事所充滿。真誠的敬拜需要屬靈的預備。主日崇拜的經驗能反映出屬靈的預備。現在就預備自己，好在下回主日崇拜中朝見神。

Prepare to Meet Your God!

Then the LORD said to Moses, "Go to the people and consecrate them today and tomorrow, and let them wash their clothes. And let them be ready for the third day. For on the third day the LORD will come down upon Mount Sinai in the sight of all the people." (Exodus 19:10-11)

Meeting with God requires preparation. God is awesome and perfectly holy. Barging into His presence unprepared is an affront. When the children of Israel were to meet with Him, God commanded them first to take two full days to prepare. Once the people were ready, however, God spoke to them with thunder and lightning, with fire and smoke and the sound of loud trumpets (Exod. 19:16–25). It was through this encounter that God revealed such marvelous truths as the Ten Commandments, establishing the standard by which God expected His people to live.

You cannot spend day after day in the world without its affecting your mind and will and heart. It doesn’t take long to become disoriented to the ways of God. The world has a dulling effect on your spiritual sensibilities. God established the Sabbath so His people could take an entire day to refocus on Him and His will for them after spending six days in the world.

How do you prepare for your times of worship? What fills your mind the night before? Often the last thing you put into your mind at night is still on your mind the next morning. Genuine worship requires spiritual preparation. Your experiences of worship reflect your spiritual preparation. Prepare yourself now for your next encounter with God.