Neglect of the Holy Ground

“And the captain of the LORD’S host said unto Joshua, Loose thy shoe from off thy foot; for the place whereon thou standest is holy. And Joshua did so.” (Jos 5:15 AV)

The place here is unspecified.  It is somewhere outside of the city of Jericho.  We don’t know exactly the conversation that transpired here.  Other than the instruction above, there is little more that is known of this event.  This it the event wherein the leader Joshua was introduced to the captain of the LORD’s army.  Many concur this Captain of the LORD’s host to be none other than the LORD Jesus Christ.  The point being simple:  wherever we encounter the LORD Jesus Christ should be considered holy ground.

I know that it has been written before, but it bears repeating.  We have lost the sacredness of certain places and activities associated with the LORD.  A church is now a multifunctional building.  Prayer is offered without bowing the knee.  Bibles are treated as text books used once or twice a week.  Church is seen as nothing more than a mere appointment like all others.  The sanctity of that which surrounds the LORD is lost.  There used to be a time when this wasn’t so.

There used to be a time we came to church in our Sunday best because it was the LORD’s house and He deserved that respect.  There was a time when we didn’t run in the house of God.  There was a time when we held family altars or at the very least, prayed together.  There were times when our prayer life wasn’t so common that we forget who it was to whom we were praying.  There was a time when men would come to the altar and pray for the service, the preacher, and for souls to be saved.  There was a time when preachers had daily devotions and journaled.  There were times when we hung bible verses in our homes.  There is little to no consecration over what we do as Christians.  And we wonder why the world sees no difference.