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Yesterday I wrote about Moses’ call while he was tending sheep as recorded in Exodus 3 and 4. When Moses turned aside (there’s a lesson itself–Moses was paying attention!) to see the burning bush, we have God’s response:

When the LORD saw that he turned aside to see, God called to him out of the bush, “Moses, Moses!” And he said, “Here I am.” Then he said, “Do not come near; take your sandals off your feet, for the place on which you are standing is holy ground.” (Exodus 3.4, 5, ESV)

Why was it “holy ground”? Because of the bush? No, as Ian Thomas wrote in Saving Life of Christ, “any old bush would do.” It was holy because it was the point that Moses turned aside to pay attention to God.

I was discussing this with Father Hanh Pham, who used to work at Regis University in Denver. In making the point that any place we choose to listen to God and be available to him is holy ground he told this story:

There is a room at Regis University that no one is allowed to go into without the permission of the university president. He has the only key. When you do go in, you see it’s a simple room, fairly small, containing a table, two chairs, and two water glasses. Why is it special? Because it was in that room that US President Bill Clinton sat down and talked with Pope John Paul II in 1993 during World Youth Day. If we honor a room like that where two human beings once talked, how much more should we honor the places where a human being can talk with the God of the Universe!

In other words, our daily time with God matters! And it helps if we have a daily routine and a place set aside. I have a recliner in my office area that’s becoming holy ground. The dog likes to sit with me first thing in the morning while we have “prayer in the chair.” It’s holy ground. In my Time with God handout, my first recommendation for implementation is, “Find a time and a place.”

And there I will meet with you, and I will speak with you… (Exodus 25.22, NKJV)

Blessed are those who listen to me, watching daily at my doors, waiting at my doorway. (Proverbs 8.34, NIV)