A Call to Return!
Verse for Today: Sunday, September 30, 2012
Genesis 13:3 & 4 – From the Negev (Abram) went from place to place until he came to Bethel . . . . . . . . where he had first built an altar. There Abram called on the name of the Lord.
Departure from the presence of God and His altar is dangerous for the child of God. As in the case of Abram, such departure turns our eyes to the world and its riches and takes away our vision, call and commitment to the Lord. It tempts us to make filthy lucre and to lie to the world in order to earn reputation, honor and security. It takes us away from the Lord’s alter and tempts us to worship the world and its lords instead. It proves to us that whatever we make from the world will ruin our souls and all others who travel with us, as in the case of Lot. But there is a way back to God and it starts with the conviction of our sins and the foolish decisions that we have taken. Such convictions of our hearts lead us to true repentance. When God forgives a truly repentant believer, he is led back to His altars. Our repentant worship at the altar of God is the testimony that we have rejected the claims of the world on our souls and that we have forsaken the popularity, prestige, possessions, positions and prominence that the world offers us. There is joy in heaven when we thus come back to the Lord in utter confession and repentance and submit ourselves as true worship and to sacrifice all that we have and are to the Lord. Today we are confronted with the lessons of confession and repentance of Abram and His subsequent return to the Lord’s altars. The Lord wants to teach us valuable lessons from the failures of Abram and warns us that if we do not repent, we cannot get back to His alters. It is an opportunity for us to once again hand our lives and our concerns over to the Lord at His alter and trust Him to lead us forward in His pathways.
Dear reader, are you confronted with the burden of your physical and social needs to consider going back to the world that you once left behind? Are your concerns so heavy as to make you feel that perhaps the Lord might lead you to the world to pick up some help and support? Remember, the Lord never tempts His children to choose the wrong things of this world. It is the world, our flesh and Satan who tempt us. One way by which we do not become susceptible to such temptation is to stay in the Lord’s presence and at His altar and lead a life of worship and service to Him. When we take our eyes off the crucified Savior, the enemies will try to expose and attract us to the world’s riches and honor which offers us temporary satisfaction. But soon we will see that these bubbles will break and we will be exposed to frustration, shame, embarrassment and ruined testimony and lead even our kith and kin to go to the world as in the case of Abram and Lot. But if we hold on to the horns of the altar of God and keep sacrificing all that we are and have to Him, He will see to it that our needs are met at His expense rather than from the filthy pockets of the world. He owns the cattle of a thousand hills and all the gold and silver of this universe. He will meet our every need and carry our every burden if we dwell in His shadow and shelter. Let us not give ourselves the opportunity to be tempted, but keep perennially dependent on our Lord and Him alone. Let us continue to worship Him and give ourselves to Him as holy sacrifice. Let us confess and repent of all the digressions and detours that we have taken to gain the filthy lucre of this world and keep leaning on to our Lord’s everlasting arms every day of our lives.
Psalms 91:14 – “Because he loves me,” says the Lord, “I will rescue him; I will protect him, for he acknowledges my name.”
Thought for Today
The Altar of the Lord opens the eyes of His worshipful children to His riches and glory which He wants to share with them.
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