Sep 15 – REPAIR!

 “…all the people came near to him. And he repaired the altar of the Lord that was broken down” (I Kings 18:30).

When Elijah saw the broken altar, zeal of love filled his heart and he repaired it resolutely.

An altar is a place where one meets God. Your heart stays as an altar before God. Do your life and soul look like a broken altar? Is the relationship between you and God, your holy life and your prayerful life are in a broken condition? If you submit to repair your altar, God of Elijah will surely enable the fire to fall on it. The altar should be repaired for the fire to fall.

That day, God looked at the church of Ephesus and said, “Remember therefore from where you have fallen; repent and do the first works” (Revelations 2:5). It is impossible for the fire to fall on the altar unless it is repaired. The altar should be repaired.

Some people will fail to mend their own ways of lives but instead will be finding fault in the lives of others. They will fix others to be guilty but at the same time, their own lives will be in a fallen state. The Scripture says, “But let a man examine himself…..For if we would judge ourselves, we would not be judged” (I Corinthians 11:28, 31).

Ivan Roberts, an evangelist, was toiling for the revival of Wales in the year 1903. Once, he was travelling on a horse to some destination for preaching. The Holy Spirit stopped him on the way and said, “My son, stop the horse and evaluate yourself. Some portion of your altar is in a broken condition. Repair it first. After it gets repaired, I will put the fire upon you. If you go there after this and preach, your effort will yield good results.”

On hearing this, that devotee evaluated himself with a contrite heart for around three hours in the presence of God. The glory of the presence of God descended on him. God filled him with the Holy Spirit immeasurably. After this incident, he proceeded to the planned destination and preached there. Fire fell there and all the people were filled with the Spirit. Dear children of God, God of Elijah wants to put the fire through you. Will you repair the altar?

To meditate: “Then the fire of the Lord fell and consumed the burnt sacrifice, and the wood and the stones and the dust, and it licked up the water that was in the trench” (I Kings 18:38).