Reverence and Purity

OK, so as I write this I'm tired from a long day, and ready to go to bed. However, I received an email tonight from a friend who was encouraged by something I wrote on here. After rereading the post, I realized that God has once again used in my life our Tuesday night group to challenge me on something, and it needs to be shared.

This past Tuesday night, during the time of silent prayer, I was challenged that from the perspective of every person in the room, we were sitting in the presence of Christ. In this group, there is an emphasis on coming to the table of Christ only once one has confessed any sin that has dwelt in their lives, and then partaking together in purity. As we sat there adoring Christ's presence among us, I was struck with the idea/question of whether those in the room would feel as if there was a need for reconciliation before entering the chapel. Since it's the presence of Christ we adore, while this is in different forms in different places and experiences, even if we are not taking communion, should we ask Him to purify us before we even look upon His face?

This lead to another question: I wonder now at whether I should even enter the church on Sunday mornings before having asked for God to forgive my sins. I know that with a new life in Christ, I am made clean, but we are also expected to come before Him and make things right as time goes on, so we no longer live in our sins. I am challenged that I need to examine my heart before any time I enter into a place of worshipping our Lord, and by this I can continue to foster intimacy with Him and learn of His redemption more fully daily.