O Come to the Altar Devo
Sara Beth Thompson
O come to the altar.
Taking the first step into coming forward, closer to the Lord, can be difficult. It can be scary. Vulnerable. Unknown. Often we find ourselves making excuses for why we shouldn't hand our struggles over to God or admit we need Him. Often we . believe what others have said about us and how they have treated us to be just and true, altering our view of who we are to be seen through the lens of lies. Lies that have been reinforced by experience. Lies that the enemy has crafted and used to manipulate, persuade, and destroy. Lies that have held us captive and away from truth. Away from healing. Away from freedom. Away from the altar. But lies are lies. No matter how long we believe them. No matter how long they convince, deceive, and defeat. They are an unreliable source for us to live by.
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Where we are beckoned and called, they have no power. At the altar.
"The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly." John 10:10
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What is inhibiting you from experiencing the plans, purposes, healing, redemption, everlasting life, relationship, and wholeness He has for you? What is keeping you from Him?
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The Father's arms are open wide.
God is ready to receive us. All of us. Just as we are. No matter the weight of our sin. No matter the fears, doubts, or shame that plague us. No matter what has happened to us. No matter what we've done ourselves. No matter the hurt. NO matter how inadequate, unready, ill-equipped, not enough, or unworthy we feel and are tempted to identify as our true identity. No matter how overwhelmed we are by it all. Our brokenness doesn't define us, nor does inhibit or change the Lord's love for us. Because He is our Father, Creator, and Savior. The One who knit us together in our mother's womb (Psalm 139:13-14). The One who delights in us with gladness (Zephaniah 3:17). The One who is ready and willing to do life with us, carrying us further than we could ever go alone (Matthew 11:28-30). The One who's greatest joy is when we return home to Him (Luke 15:6-7).
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His arms are open wide. To embrace. To comfort. To still. To carry. To heal. To restore.
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"No in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loves us. For I am sure that neither death nor life, angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord." Romans 8:37-39
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Nothing can ever separate us from the Love of Christ. None of this is ever going to change. And none of this is a reason to wait to run into our Father's arms.
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Forgiveness was bought with the precious blood of Jesus Christ.
"For He has rescued us from the kingdom of darkness and transferred us into the Kingdom of His dear Son, who purchased our freedom and forgave our sins." Colossians 1:13-14
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"It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery." Galatians 5:1
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"There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. For the law of the Spirit of life has set you free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death. For God has done what the law, weakens by the flesh, could not do. By sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin, He condemned sin in the flesh, in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not according to the flesh but according to the Spirit." Romans 8:1-4
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This is truth. Whether we choose to believe it or not. Whether we take hold of our freedom or not, embracing and embodying the most sacred and life-giving offering as our own.
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Jesus was born to the virgin Mary. He lived among people just like us. He experienced and struggled with everything we experience. When His time had come, He shared about our Father, teaching others about His character, and performing miracles to display his power and mercy. The Lord then sacrificed His one and only Son, giving His life as payment for our sins, so that we have the opportunity to experience everlasting life and everlasting relationship with God. He offered His life, paying the ultimate sacrifice because of love. (John 3:16)
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There's nothing we can do to earn or repay such love. And we aren't required to, because it was and is a gift.
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The price has been paid. The gift already purchased.
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And the sacrifice would be made, the price paid a million times over, even if just for you. (Matthew 18:12-14)
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This is the Gospel.
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Come to the altar, to Christ, always, int he good, the difficult, the beautiful, the heartbreaking. Receive all He has for you. He is always calling, fighting on your behalf, remaining with you, pursuing your heart, and beckoning you near. Give God your cross, because He can handle it and wants to walk with you. Go and make disciples, sharing the Good News of Jesus Christ with all and the joys and treasures you've found in him.
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So what are you waiting for? What is standing in your way of experiencin and emracing His everlasting love for you, His beautiful creation? What is inhibitinh you from sharing the joys you've found?
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Jesus is calling.
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