Time to Build an Altar

God is constantly revealing himself to you. But are you remembering all the moments? It's time to build an altar. Keep Reading...

Genesis 12:6-9 - Abram travelled through the land as far as the site of the great tree of Moreh at Shechem. At that time the Canaanites were in the land. The Lord appeared to Abram and said, “To your offspring I will give this land.” So he built an altar there to the Lord, who had appeared to him.

From there he went on toward the hills east of Bethel and pitched his tent, with Bethel on the west and Ai on the east. There he built an altar to the Lord and called on the name of the Lord. Then Abram set out and continued toward the Negev.

Do you find it difficult to remember all the times that God has spoken to you and rescued you? In the moment, you think you would never forget his goodness. But, time passes, and the memory fades.

As Abram travelled throughout the new land of Canaan he consistently built altars to God. Why? He was determined never to forget God's voice and his promises. The altar was a visual, tactile reminder of the moment of God's revelation.

Another kind of altar was built when Abram recognized the covenant between God and him. Genesis 15 Abram heard God's promise and made his response of faith. God did not want Abram to forget this important moment. So, he had Abram sacrifice a cow, a goat, a ram, a dove and a pigeon.

After the promised child, Isaac, was born to Abraham and Sarah, an altar was used to give this most precious gift back to God. The altar here was a sign of complete surrender to God. Abraham followed through with this obedient act and received his son back.

God is constantly revealing himself to you in words and actions. But, are you remembering all of these moments? What kind of altars could you build to remember his promises, his acts of mercy and call to commitment? Perhaps your altars are not made of stones today. But, the path of your life (i.e. where you go each day) could be dotted with altars calling you to stop and remember his goodness.

To start with, you could spend some time and write down short testimonies of God's moments of mercy in your life. You could keep a file of the many words of reassurance and guidance that he has spoken to you over the years. Pictures in your home and scriptures on the wall are also possible "altars" to remind you of God's intervention in your life.

Get creative. It's time to build an altar. Determine never to forget all that God has done in your life.