The shoe test

How many pairs of shoes do you own? Now a stranger question: when was the last time you deliberately walked somewhere barefoot? Shoes protect us. They make us comfortable. But they also do something else – they stop us feeling the ground beneath our feet. Perhaps that explains the Bible's first reference to shoes. At the burning bush, God tells Moses: "Take off your sandals, for the place where you are standing is holy ground." (Exodus 3:5) God was there. But Moses needed to remove what stood between him and the ground. Perhaps we wear spiritual shoes too. For Martha it was busyness. While Mary "sat at the Lord's feet listening," Martha was distracted by everything that needed doing. (Luke 10:39-40) For the rich young man, it was wealth. For the Pharisees, it was religion. What is it for you? Work? Possessions? Worry? Pride? Your phone? Even religion? Good things can become shoes that insulate us from actually experiencing God. Hebrews says, "Let us throw off everything that hinders… fixing our eyes on Jesus." (Hebrews 12:1-2) God isn't confined to churches or Sunday mornings. His presence surrounds us. God's invitation to Moses remains surprisingly relevant: take off your shoes. What is insulating you from God? And what might you discover if you finally took it off and walked barefoot with Jesus? (Craig B). Open Bible – bit.ly/exo3v5, bit.ly/Luk10v39-40, bit.ly/Heb12v1-2