Hello November
Momma and I took a little side-quest road trip on the way to her eye appointment. The scenery is beautiful.
I took this one from the top floor of the eye appt building.
These two had fun dressing up
The hunter and the deer.
It is November; it is time to slow down and reflect on the year. Each year, I do a Give Thanks challenge where I post 3 thankful thoughts from each day. This year I am joining in with my church on a GiveThanks and Challenge called Yes’vember. If you want to join us: Coming in November – by Starla Smith – Starla’s Substack; the details are here. I switched my coffee cup to this beautiful and simple mug.
Sunday Nov 1
Our church family took time to “rebuild the altar.”
Noah built an altar to the LORD after the flood. Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob constructed altars as acts of worship and as markers of divine encounters. In the Temple, the altar was a place of atonement, where the blood of sacrifices was sprinkled to cover the sins of the people. The altar of the LORD was not just a physical structure but a symbol of God’s presence. Prophets throughout history called the people back to the true worship of the Lord and to restore the altar to God.
In the New Testament, the altar is transformed through the person and work of Jesus Christ. The sacrificial system no longer applies. But the altar of the Lord is a profound biblical symbol of worship, sacrifice, and divine encounter, pointing to the redemptive work of Jesus Christ and the believer’s relationship with God.
Our church leadership sensed the Lord was saying we needed to rebuild the altar, and a vision of the men replacing the stairs in the center of the platform. Those stairs were there when the building was built. They had been a place where the people of God leaned upon them and prayed to the Lord. They sat in the center and are symbolic of coming to the Lord, as they sit below and in front of the Cross in the center of our sanctuary.
On the Thursday before, the staff and a representative of our congregation entered the sanctuary; we anointed our lead pastor and his wife. We prayed over them, over the seats of the people, and over what we heard God calling us to do. Then we went outside; starting with a shout, we walked the perimeter of the property.
When he called for the men to come forward, many more than were asked came to move the stairs back. Men, young and old, from 13 to 80s – our pastor’s teen son to an elderly man who remembers crawling around on a straw floor when our church was young, in it 95 years. They replaced the steps and anointed them; they knelt before the Lord and rededicated the space to the Lord- not just the space but what it represents – our hearts rededicated and surrendered to the Lord.
It was powerful!
The Prayer: Heavenly Father, we say thank you. We say thank you for this space, God. This church body has weathered literal storms and floods. God, you’ve moved us and relocated us. Even being in this space is a sign of your miraculous power, God. To be able to meet in a space that’s dedicated to you, that functions in making disciples because it’s all for you, for Jesus.
And so Lord, we take this act, this restoration of stairs, that come to be a space of symbolism of the space of worship and surrender. God, we dedicate this to you. We have heard you, and we step out in obedience, and we say yes. God, we will worship and surrender to you here. God, may this be a space where revelation comes, where healing takes place, where those encounter you in a real and powerful way just because they simply stepped out, and they knelt down, and they worship and surrender to you.
And so, Lord, we say thank you. We praise you, and we glorify you. It’s in Jesus’ name we pray. Amen. Amen. Thank you.
It made me think of these verses:
19 Therefore, brothers and sisters, since we have boldness to enter the sanctuary through the blood of Jesus— 20 he has inaugurated for us a new and living way through the curtain (that is, through his flesh)— 21 and since we have a great high priest over the house of God, 22 let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, with our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed in pure water. 23 Let us hold on to the confession of our hope without wavering, since he who promised is faithful.
Hebrews 10:19-23
Thanks for listening,
Starla
