Portable Praise

Psalm 98:4–9

Making a joyful noise to the Lord sounds good and right, doesn’t it? It’s a no-brainer—so much so that it’s easy not to engage our brains all that actively over a praise passage. We’re inspired and uplifted when we read such words. Our gait may even be livelier and our gaze focused higher for a while afterward.

The trouble is, our days are often characterized by an operative word other than praise. Despite our best intentions, that word too easily morphs into busyness. Author Cynthia Heald reflects on this issue:

One day when I was reading Oswald Chamber’s My Utmost for His Highest, I was struck by his insight about a rather obscure and easily overlooked verse in Genesis: “[From there he (Abram) 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.]” Chambers writes, “Bethel is the symbol of communion with God; Ai is the symbol of the world. 

Lord I Want to Know You

Renee Swope

"Those who know your name trust you, O Lord, because you have never deserted those who seek your help." Psalm 9:10 (GW)

I had heard great things about her, but it wasn't until we worked in the same office that I really got to know her. Yet, there were certain traits I only discovered by "doing life" with LeAnn, like her dry sense of humor and her unique way of making each person feel noticed and loved.

As our friendship deepened, LeAnn became someone I could depend on. But honestly, I only discovered she was dependable when I needed to depend on her and she came through for me.

I've found that our relationship with God grows closer in the same way. We may have heard things about God, but we won't really know Him until we spend time with Him - talking, listening and observing who He is and depending on Him.

We learn to trust His heart by interacting with Him and experiencing His character in personal ways.

A Time of Altars

by Jack Hayford

Abram passed through the land to the place of Shechem, as far as the terebinth tree of Moreh. And the Canaanites were then in the land. Then the Lord  appeared to Abram and said, “To your descendants I will give this land.” And there he built an altar to the Lord, who had appeared to him. And he moved from there to the mountain east of Bethel, and he 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. So Abram journeyed, going on still toward the South. – Genesis 12:6-9

...to the place of the altar which he had made there at first. And there Abram called on the name of the Lord... Then Abram moved his tent, and went and dwelt by the terebinth trees of Mamre, which are in Hebron, and built an altar there to the Lord. - Genesis 13:4, 18

Altars are a memorial to the place where God meets us

Altars represent the occasion and place where we have had a personal encounter with God. We may not always be able to make a physical altar, but there can be one established in our hearts. When we celebrate communion, we are celebrating the grandest altar of all--the Cross of Calvary upon which the Son of God was laid forth as the sacrifice: To reconcile all humankind to God; and to  make possible the infusion of our lives with meaning, the forgiveness of all sins and the promise of eternal life.

Altars appear throughout the Bible in many different forms. They are: 

From Grapes to Wine

Why have you broken down its walls
so that all who pass by pick its grapes?" —Psalm 80:12

In Psalm 80, the Psalmist has a question for God. Using a grapevine as a metaphor, King David describes how God took the children of Israel out of Egypt and planted them in the Promised Land. There, they took root and flourished, covering the land with their sweet fruit. Yet, over time, the situation changed, causing the Psalmist to write: "Why have you broken down its walls so that all who pass by pick its grapes?" After all that work, why has God allowed his precious vineyard to be pummeled and ravaged? Why has the God of Israel allowed His people to be all but destroyed?

The prophet Hosea, as if answering King David’s question, had this to say: "Israel was a spreading vine; he brought forth fruit for himself. As his fruit increased, he built more altars; as his land prospered, he adorned his sacred stones. Their heart is deceitful, and now they must bear their guilt" (Hosea 10:1–2). Translation: While the Israelites blossomed and thrived in the land of Israel, their abundant blessings led them toward idolatry instead of toward God. In the place of thankfulness, they substituted forgetfulness. They forgot who had blessed them and what they were supposed to accomplish with all that they had been given.