Nougat 26

As one who is often on the move; I am aware that it is not always easy to find a place of worship that works for me. Nevertheless I try to make something work, given the variety of worship forms available to us all. But what’s to be done when our circumstances change and there seems to be no where to worship? Hmmmn. Consider today’s Holy Nougat

“He moved on to the hills east of Bethel, and he put up his tent—with Bethel on the west and Ai on the east. He also built an altar to the Lord there and worshiped the Lord.” Genesis‬ ‭12:8‬ ‭GW‬‬

Abram didn’t get that luxury of determining where to worship as worship houses had not yet been normalized. Undaunted, Abram simply raised another altar before God.

For that is what true worshippers do. We raise an altar to God wherever we are. It’s about us assuming the posture of thanksgiving in all spaces. For, we know Who is at the center of our lives and where our loyalties lie. One might reasonably ask, but what about Covid? Many worship spaces are closed – and that’s where Abram’s principles hold true – if we build an altar wherever we go, whether or not we are in Covid times; we will find it easier to ‘sing the Lord’s song in these strange times.’

Remember Jesus’ comment to the Woman at the Well of Sychar: those who worship MUST worship in Spirit and Truth; ie as a genuine heartfelt practice.

Abram’s decision was both.

The altar was an outward display of an eternal, spiritual inward decision to worship his God in all circumstances. When we recall that in Naaman’s time one had to worship the God of the territory one was in (the god of that land), it is reasonable to presume that that might also have entailed in Abram’s time. And if it did, we see Abram’s altars also as a mark of boldness, for he was claiming each territory as God’s, and staking his claim to each space. Are we prepared to do likewise?

For Abram raised an altar AND he worshipped; what a powerful tho natural combination! He gave his sacrifice; and he publicly gave glory to God. For better or for worse we praise God in the sanctuary and in the public spaces. And if God inhabits our praises, we too can stake a claim and establish God’s sovereignty wherever we go. Whether it’s Bethel (the House of God) or Ai (the ruins) or somewhere in between; let us always be ready to build an altar before our God.

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May all we seek be found in Christ