Dr Paul Allen

Molnár József: Ábrahám kiköltözése (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) “And the LORD appeared unto Abram, and said, Unto thy seed will I give this land: and there builded he an altar unto the LORD , who appeared unto him.” ( Genesis 12:7 ) This is the first reference to Abraham building an altar in Scripture. Building an altar and making sacrifice to God denotes total dependence and reliance on Him. It implies saying no to self and yes to God—in effect presenting one’s self in submission to God as a sinner, trusting Him for gracious handling of one’s sin, and discounting one’s value apart from His work. Building altars became a habit with godly Abraham, the “friend of God” ( James 2:23 ), and he practiced it many times during his life (see also Genesis 12:8 ; 13:4, 18). We can surmise that at an early age, Abraham’s son, Isaac , was taught this same practice. It doesn’t seem that Isaac misunderstood or debated the situation, even when he himself was identified as the sacrifice to be s...

And he…pitched his tent , having Beth-el on the west and Ai on the east: and there he built an altar. — Genesis 12:8 (RV) Worship is giving God the best that He has given you. Be careful what you do with the best you have. Whenever you get a blessing from God, give it back to Him as a love gift. Take time to meditate before God and offer the blessing back to Him in a deliberate act of worship. If you hoard a thing for yourself, it will turn into spiritual dry rot , as the manna did when it was hoarded. God will never let you hold a spiritual thing for yourself, it has to be given back to Him that He may make it a blessing to others. Bethel is the symbol of communion with God; Ai is the symbol of the world. Abraham pitched his tent between the two. The measure of the worth of our public activity for God is the private profound communion we have with Him. Rush is wrong every time; there is always plenty of time to worship God. Quiet days with God may be a snare.  We have...

English: Sanctuary of Senhor Jesus da Pedra (Lord Jesus of the Stone) "If thou lift up thy tool upon it, thou hast polluted it." Exodus 20:25 God 's altar was to be built of unhewn stones, that no trace of human skill or labour might be seen upon it. Human wisdom delights to trim and arrange the doctrines of the cross into a system more artificial and more congenial with the depraved tastes of fallen nature ; instead, however, of improving the gospel carnal wisdom pollutes it, until it becomes another gospel, and not the truth of God at all. All alterations and amendments of the Lord's own Word are defilements and pollutions. The proud heart of man is very anxious to have a hand in the justification of the soul before God; preparations for Christ are dreamed of, humblings and repentings are trusted in, good works are cried up, natural ability is much vaunted, and by all means the attempt is made to lift up human tools upon the divine altar.  It were well ...

English: English translation of hebrew version. Map of the twelve tribes of Israel, before the move of Dan to the North (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) “Therefore we said, ‘Let us now prepare to build ourselves an altar , not for burnt offering nor for sacrifice , but that it may be a witness between you and us and our generations after us, that we may perform the service of the LORD before Him’ ”  ( Josh. 22:26–27a). In their fear of exclusion from the worship of God before the altar at Shiloh , the remote, eastern tribes of Israel considered how they might symbolize their inclusion in the covenant and assert their right to bring their sacrifices to God. They settled on construction of a replica of the altar , “ ‘not for burnt offering nor for sacrifice, but that it may be a witness between you and us and our generations after us.’ ” God had commanded Israel to make sacrifices to Him only at the altar of His choosing. When the eastern tribes built their altar beside the Jord...

Ministry of the Apostles, a complex multi-figure icon with a full-height image of Jesus Christ, surrounded by sectors with scenes of His disciples' calling, ministry and martyrdom. Icon from the Yaroslavl Museum Preserve. (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) A good image for seeking the fullness of the Spirit is the concept of “building a life altar ." In the Old Testament , an altar was built and a sacrifice placed on it, and then God sent his fire to burn up the sacrifice (e.g., 1 Kings 18 ). This is a great illustration of the dynamics of personal revival and spiritual renewal. Paul uses it when he tells us to make ourselves a “living sacrifice” ( Romans 12:1–2 ). We cannot create spiritual renewal—we can only prepare the altar and the sacrifice. Only God can send the fire. If we look at Acts 1 , we see Jesus helping the disciples build an altar. There are at least four parts to this process. A RENEWED CHURCH IS VISION -DRIVEN In Acts 1:6–8 , Jesus repairs their faulty visio...

Image via Wikipedia "And look that thou make them after their pattern, which was shewed thee in the mount." ( Exodus 25:40 )   Nothing that God does is capricious or accidental. A remarkable object lesson of His attention to every detail in the plan of salvation is the tabernacle in the wilderness. The divine blueprint for this structure and its attendants, followed by its construction and dedication, occupy no less than thirteen chapters of Exodus. Then the exposition of the symbolical meaning of "the pattern" shown to Moses "in the mount" occupies a major part of three chapters in the book of Hebrews . At least in terms of space allocated to the tabernacle, it seems to constitute the major "type" of the Bible, speaking in many ways of the Lord Jesus Christ . Numerous authors have devoted entire volumes to its exposition. The brazen altar , the laver, the mercy seat, the high priest--all "serve unto the example and shadow of heavenly th...

Image via Wikipedia Image via Wikipedia Image via Wikipedia Image via Wikipedia "And the LORD appeared unto Abram, and said, Unto thy seed will I give this land: and there builded he an altar unto the LORD, who appeared unto him." ( Genesis 12:7 )   This is the first reference to Abraham building an altar in Scripture. Building an altar and making sacrifice to God denotes total dependence and reliance on Him. It implies saying no to self and yes to God--in effect presenting one's self in submission to God as a sinner, trusting Him for gracious handling of one's sin, and discounting one's value apart from His work. Building altars became a habit with godly Abraham, the "Friend of God" ( James 2:23 ), and he practiced it many times during his life (see also  Genesis 12:8 ;  13:4, 18 ).   We can surmise that at an early age, Abraham's son, Isaac , was taught this same practice. It doesn't seem that Isaac misunderstood or debated the situation, ...