OPEN HEAVENS DAILY DEVOTIONAL FOR JANUARY 16, 2023 (RAISING AN ALTAR UNTO GOD)
TOPIC : RAISING AN ALTAR UNTO GOD
MEMORISE: “The fire shall ever be burning upon the altar; it shall never go out.” – (Leviticus 6:13)
READ: Genesis 28:11-19
11 And he lighted upon a certain place, and tarried there all night, because the sun was set; and he took of the stones of that place, and put them for his pillows, and lay down in that place to sleep.
12 And he dreamed, and behold a ladder set up on the earth, and the top of it reached to heaven: and behold the angels of God ascending and descending on it.
13 And, behold, the Lord stood above it, and said, I am the Lord God of Abraham thy father, and the God of Isaac: the land whereon thou liest, to thee will I give it, and to thy seed;
14 And thy seed shall be as the dust of the earth, and thou shalt spread abroad to the west, and to the east, and to the north, and to the south: and in thee and in thy seed shall all the families of the earth be blessed.
15 And, behold, I am with thee, and will keep thee in all places whither thou goest, and will bring thee again into this land; for I will not leave thee, until I have done that which I have spoken to thee of.
16 And Jacob awaked out of his sleep, and he said, Surely the Lord is in this place; and I knew it not.
17 And he was afraid, and said, How dreadful is this place! this is none other but the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven.
18 And Jacob rose up early in the morning, and took the stone that he had put for his pillows, and set it up for a pillar, and poured oil upon the top of it.
19 And he called the name of that place Bethel: but the name of that city was called Luz at the first.
MESSAGE
Abraham was a man who raised many altars for God (Genesis 12:7, Genesis 13:4, Genesis 13:18, Genesis 22:9). Little wonder why he had transgenerational blessings. An altar is a meeting place between God and man. In our Bible reading for today, we see how, even when Jacob was unaware that he was at an altar, he saw in a dream that the place was a meeting point between heaven and earth.
For example, an altar can be a corner of your room if you are living in a one-room apartment. You could set aside a corner in your room with a commitment to meet with God there regularly. You must treat the place as holy; because that is the altar of the Almighty God. The moment you set aside that place as an altar to God, any time you go there, God would be waiting.
When man goes to an altar, he does so to offer sacrifices to God and to worship Him. In Genesis 22:1-14 when God asked Abraham to offer Isaac as a burnt offering, He asked him to go to a particular place, raise an altar there and present a sacrifice.
When visiting a great man, because of how much you honour him, you don’t go empty-handed, so why do so when going to meet with the Most High God? Don’t go to God empty handed. If you don’t have anything at all, He will accept a sacrifice of praise (Jeremiah 17:26).
When God comes to meet man on the altar, He comes to bless. Psalm 67:5-7 tells us that when praises go up, blessings come down. In Genesis 22:15-18, when Abraham brought Isaac to the altar to be offered, God stopped him and said, “You have done your part, let me do mine, in blessing I will bless You, in multiplying, I will multiply your seed”.
God meets with His children during services to bless them, especially those who come with a sacrifice. I raised an altar in a small room inside the first house I lived in the Redemption Camp well over 20 years ago. The house is now called the ‘Open Heavens International Centre’. Since that place was marked out as an altar, up to today, people who go there to pray in faith receive mighty miracles from God that even I find amazing.
ACTION POINT: Identify a specific part of your house or environment that you will mark out as your altar and ensure you meet with God there regularly.
BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: Exodus 1-4
HYMNAL: Hymn 16 – Praise Him! Praise Him! Jesus our blessed Redeemer!
