The altar

Father God, thank you that You are good. Thank you for Your Word that is life and truth. In the Light of Your Word, we see light. Thank you for Your Word that contains the power of redemption, salvation and healing. We give you all the glory and praise in the name of Jesus, Amen.

Exodus 20:24 (NKJV)

"An altar of earth you shall make for Me, and you shall sacrifice on it your burnt offerings and your peace offerings, your sheep and your oxen. In every place where I record My name I will come to you and I will bless you."

Amen, thank you LORD.

These words of instruction were spoken by the LORD God to Moses after he led the children of Israel out of bondage and captivity in Egypt. Building an altar with the earth materials as seen above usually got God's attention and as a result, blessing His people as commonly seen in the Old Testament. In Genesis 9, we see Noah building an altar to the LORD and offering sacrifices of thanksgiving after he and his family had been exempted by the LORD from the destructive flood waters that covered the earth. Genesis 8, says this sacrifice was pleasing to the LORD. Genesis 8:21 NKJV "And the LORD smelled a soothing aroma. Then the LORD said in His heart, "I will never again curse the ground for man's sake, although the imagination of man's heart is evil from his youth; nor will I again destroy every living thing as I have." Later on Genesis 9:1, indeed the LORD blessed Noah, his sons and asked them to be fruitful and multiply. Genesis 8:21 also shows us that God is the God of the heart.

However, in the new Testament, we see God re affirm another type of altar. In this new covenant, whoever calls on the name of the LORD would be saved (Romans 10:13) when they believe in their hearts and confess with their mouth that Jesus Christ is LORD (Romans 10:9).

In the new covenant, that is founded on the precious blood of Jesus Christ, there is no longer need for offering animal sacrifices because when we receive Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior, His blood that was shed on the cross for us is the foundation of our life. As a child of God, your entire born again life is built and founded on the powerful blood of Jesus Christ. As a result, God is no longer pleased with animal sacrifices and altars made with man's hands and from earth. In fact, they are an abomination to the LORD.

As a child of God, the altar in the new covenant is your heart. As seen above, it is with your heart that you believe into salvation. While this truth is made clear in the New Testament, this truth was understood by some prophets and men in the Old testament like David who was anointed king to replace Saul because the LORD said, He found a man after His own heart. That is, the LORD told Samuel the prophet to tell king Saul in 1 Samuel 13:14 that, "But now your kingdom shall not continue. The LORD has sought for Himself a man after His own heart, and the LORD has commanded him to be commander over His people, because you have not kept what the LORD commanded you."

I believe the LORD is showing us here that obedience starts with one's heart.

I'll end with this Word found in Romans 2:28-29 (NKJV)

28. "For he is not a Jew who is one outwardly, nor is circumcision that which is outward in the flesh;

29. but he is a Jew who is one inwardly; and circumcision is that of the heart, in the Spirit, not in the letter; whose praise is not from men but from God."

    
    

Amen, thank you LORD.

Invitation to salvation: If you would like to be born again into God's Kingdom, that is have a personal relationship with God as Your Father and you as His child by receiving His Son, Jesus as Lord and Savior of your life, I invite you to say this confession with me:

"I believe with my heart and confess with my mouth that; Jesus Christ, the Son of God came in a human body to die for my sins so that I could have a new life where I am dead to sin and alive to God. I repent of my past sins and enter the Kingdom of light where I choose relationship with Jesus Christ as my Lord and Saviour and with God as my loving Father today and forever." AMEN.

Congratulations, YOU'VE BEEN REDEEMED by the precious blood of Jesus Christ. To the glory of the Almighty God. Amen. In case you do not already, please join a church community and get water baptized!