Altars to God

The other day when trying to figure out what to write and looking for some inspiration I asked my mom what she had been reading in her Bible. She came back with a wonderful verse that had jumped out at her. 

Exodus 20 in the last part of verse 24. "Build my altar wherever I cause my name to be remembered, and I will come to you and bless you."

That got me thinking. "Wherever I cause my name to be remembered" God says. Where is that in our lives? What are the things that God does that cause us to remember His name? Often we see it in times of trouble. I was only ten years old when the 9/11 attack on our country happened in 2001 but I still clearly remember how thousands of people flocked to churches in their communities. Our nation turned to God in a way I had never seen before. Isn't that how it often goes? Something bad happens, or something scares us, we realize that we don't have control and we turn to God, desperately seeking His comfort and help. Then the danger passes and we go on our way again. We're a lot like the lepers in Luke 17:11-17.

Ten lepers cried out to Jesus, asking for healing. He gave them instructions to show themselves to the priests and as they went they were healed. But only one man came back to thank Him.

Wouldn't you think that would be an occasion where God caused His name to be remembered? I mean healing of leprosy! That's a huge deal! And yet only one man came back and thanked Jesus for what He'd done. I think that the fact that he came back shows that the man was building an altar, a memorial, in his own heart that he would look back on in his life and remember to be grateful for what Jesus had done for him. But what about the other nine? Where was their altar?

And where is ours? So often in those times of trouble we do turn to God, begging Him for help and deliverance but how often, after He helps us, do we remember to thank Him? How often do we build an altar to Him in our hearts so that we can look back and remember His faithful deliverance? At least in my own life I know it's not often enough.

Then there's the second part of the sentence "I will come to you and bless you". Oh what a verse! But be careful. To quote a favorite song "Blessings" by Laura Story 

"Cause what if your blessings come through raindrops 

What if your healing comes through tears

What if a thousand sleepless nights are what it takes to know you're near 

What if trials of this life are your mercies in disguise?"

God's blessings don't always look like pretty Christmas packages wrapped with a bow and placed under the tree but that doesn't make them any less important. Our good and perfect Father gives us the blessings we need even when they're not the ones we want.

So what altar do you need to build in your heart today to remember where God has made His name known? And what blessings has He given you that you may have overlooked? 

Zach Williams "Old Church Choir"

Over a year ago my friend told me about this wonderful song. Now I keep Zach William's album "Chain Breaker" on my Spotify account so when I'm having a bad day and need to lift my spirits (or if I want something besides Disney music to dance to at work- please don't judge) I can turn that on. About halfway into the album "Old Church Choir" comes on and I never fail to smile when I hear it. Here's the lyrics.

"There's revival, and it's spreading
Like a wildfire in my heart
Sunday morning, Hallelujah
And it's lasting all week long"

Wouldn't it be great if we routinely took what we've learned on Sunday morning and actually carried it through the whole week? Letting it grow and spread through us until that love and joy spread to others? After all isn't that what God calls us to do?

"Can you hear it?
Can you feel it?
It's the rhythm of a gospel song
Oh, once you choose it, you can lose it
There ain't nothing, there ain't nothing gonna steal my joy

I got an Old Church Choir singing in my soul
I got a sweet salvation and it's beautiful
I've got a heart overflowing 'cause I've been restored
There ain't nothing gonna steal my joy
No, there ain't nothing gonna steal my joy"

Okay I admit that finding a way to keep from losing your joy is ridiculously hard but it's also super important. I believe that's one of the main ways that Satan tries to attack us- by stealing our joy. Find a way to keep that from happening, whether's it's a song like this one or a friend who can cheer you up, maybe a favorite Scripture verse. Ask God to help you find a way that you don't lose your joy when life gets you down.  

"When the valleys that I wander
Turn to mountains that I can climb
Oh, you are with me, never leave me
Oh, 'cause there ain't nothing, there ain't nothing gonna steal my joy"

Life isn't easy. Without a doubt those valleys are going to get you feeling low and those mountains are going to be impossible but that's when it becomes even more important to cling to God and find His joy in your life.

"I got an Old Church Choir singing in my soul
I got a sweet salvation and it's beautiful
I've got a heart overflowing 'cause I've been restored
There ain't nothing gonna steal my joy
No, there ain't nothing gonna steel my joy

Clap your hands and stomp your feet
Till you find that gospel beat
'Cause it's all you'll ever need, all you'll ever need
Clap your hands and stomp your feet
Till you find that gospel beat
'Cause it's all you'll ever need
All you'll ever need

I've got an old church choir, singing in my soul
I got a sweet salvation, and it's beautiful

I got an Old Church Choir singing in my soul
I got a sweet salvation and it's beautiful
I've got a heart overflowing 'cause I've been restored
There ain't nothing gonna steal my joy
No, there ain't nothing gonna steal my joy
Oh, there ain't nothing gonna steal my joy"

Songwriters: Zach Williams / Ethan Hulse / Colby Wedgeworth

Old Church Choir lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Music Services, Inc

So there it is. One of my favorite songs to rock out to when I need to remind myself of the joy of God.

My Family

Since I'm spending the weekend with my family it seemed appropriate to talk a little bit about the wonderful, crazy people that make up my family.

Of course it starts with my parents. Married for over 40 years I talk about Mom and Dad on here a lot. They're the rocks that hold this group together, and of course, where it all started. They are our shoulders to cry on, a listening ear, sometimes a stern talking to and always our encouraging cheerleaders and wise advisers. We always know they're praying for us and ready to offer a helping hand or a warm meal and a place to crash whenever we need it.

Johnny is the oldest of our crew. He and Christine have been married for almost nine years now and have blessed our family with the addition of 7 year old E, 4 year old A and 2 year old M. These kiddos are the light of our lives and we all dote on them. Johnny's the typically overprotective big brother who still watches out for us and always will.

Cassy's next. Always an ambitious, driven person she has a heart of gold but still likes to tell us what to do. She keeps us on track and is typically the one jumping in to organize events and put things together, which I have no idea how she does that with her crazy busy schedule but she's amazing that way. And in every other way. She's a pretty incredible person all the way around and we wouldn't know what to do without her.

Benj is probably more laid back then the older two. He and Ashley have been married for 7 years now and we're so grateful to have her be part of the family. They're jokers but that just keeps things fun. Both in sales they're people persons and that means that they're pretty good at understanding the in and out dynamics of this crew. A useful tool with this many people together.

Toby joined our family as a teenager but he's as much family as those of us born into it. Legally he may not be a relative but any of would happily fight someone who tried to say he wasn't our brother. This year he brought his Ashley along and she's been a joy to get to know. Toby and Benj are the same age, just a few weeks apart, so it's been like having twins and the moment that they get together the laughter is sure to follow!

And then there's me, the baby of the family but you all know me already. So there it is, the crazy group that make up some of the people that I love most and always enjoy getting to spend time with. That's what makes this such a fund weekend! Hope you all have as great of a time as I'm having!

Heaven's Harmony

Have you ever tried to imagine what heaven will be like? Sometimes you hear it described as people worshiping together and enjoying fellowship in love and and harmony but that's hard to imagine in our broken world. Many of us have experience with churches and relationships that are broken and divided by malicious words, bitter feelings and hateful gossip that can separate us from each other and from the Lord, eventually leading us to ruin. It's not a pretty picture. But was it always this way? Has the church always struggled with these things?

The short answer is when you put a group of people together for any length of time problems are going to crop up because people are sinners and we live in a fallen world. Christians aren't sinless saints they're broken sinners who have seen their need for a Savior and started down the road to sanctification. In simpler terms, we're saints because we've repented and been forgiven, not because we've stopped sinning.

However I was reading in Acts about the very beginning of the church and I found a beautiful picture that I think must be a little like getting a sneak peek into heaven.

Acts 2: 42-47
"They devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. Everyone was filled with awe at the many wonders and signs performed by the apostles. All the believers were together and had everything in common. They sold property and possessions to give to anyone who had need. Every day the continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those were being saved."

Okay, so as far as I know in heaven we won't have property to buy or sell. There will be no one in need either. There's probably a few other things that means it's not a perfectly accurate picture of heaven but there's a theme throughout these verses that we will see in heaven. Unity. Love. Harmony. Fellowship.

These are things that we as humans crave, acceptance, belonging, and sometimes we are blessed to find that here on earth. We find that feeling in our friends, our relationships, even our churches. It's not perfect but that's why we look to the future because someday we will experience even more then what the apostles and early believers experienced in Acts 2. Someday in heaven we will be at peace with each other, find our true home, a place to belong, and a unity and harmony unlike any we see on earth.