LIFE TO THE FULL w/ Nancy Campbell

EPISODE 310: Altar Building, Part 3

Satan hates the family altar. He will use “good” things to stop you doing it in your home. But if you press through, you will become a nation-changing and world-changing family.

Announcer: Welcome to the podcast, Life to The Full, with Nancy Campbell, founder and publisher of Above Rubies.

Nancy Campbell: Hello, ladies! We are continuing to talk about altar building. There is so much more to share with you. Here is a quote before we start.

This is from James Alexander:

“The daily regular and solemn reading of God’s holy Word by a parent before his children is one of the most powerful agencies of a Christian life. We are prone to undervalue this cause. It is a constant dropping, but it wears its mark into the rock.

“The family thus trained cannot be ignorant of the Word. The whole Scriptures come repeatedly before the mind. The most heedless child must observe and retain some portion of the sacred oracles. The most forgetful must treasure up some passages for life. No one part of juvenile education is more important. To deny such a source of influence to the youthful mind is an injustice, at the thought of which, a professor of Christianity may well tremble.”

All right, ladies. We are up to point number four.

No. 4. WE DON’T BUILD AN ALTAR UNTO OURSELVES BUT UNTO THE LORD

Genesis 8:20: “And Noah builded an altar unto the LORD.”

Genesis 12:7-8, 13, 18: “Abram builded he an altar unto the LORD.” So, we continue, ladies, with nearly every Scripture talking about altars. It says” “And they builded an altar unto the Lord.”

I think this is a most amazing point. We’re not building this altar. We’re not making this time and place each day to gather for ourselves. Ultimately, we are the ones who get blessed, but our aim is that it’s for the Lord. It’s unto the Lord. That’s what the patriarchs did. They didn’t do it for themselves. They did it unto the Lord.

Then we read in Deuteronomy 27:6: “Thou shalt build the altar of the LORD thy God.” Did you get that? It’s not our altar. It’s God’s altar. I think that makes such a difference. Don’t you? When we’re building this altar in our family, when we’re establishing this habit of coming together each day to read God’s Word, and when we realize that we’re doing it unto the Lord, well, not a moment, not a moment is wasted. It’s unto the Lord. It’s in His presence. I trust that blesses you.

No. 5. WHEN WE BUILD AN ALTAR TO THE LORD, HE WILL COME TO US

Oh, I love this passage. Let’s go to Exodus 20:24: God is speaking: “An altar of earth thou shalt make unto Me, and shalt sacrifice thereon thy burnt offerings, and thy peace offerings, thy sheep, and thine oxen: in all places where I record my name I will come unto thee, and I will bless thee.”

Oh, isn’t that wonderful? You couldn’t get anything better than that, could you? God says, “When you make an altar unto Me, I will come unto thee.” That’s not all. “And I will bless thee.” What a wonderful promise! Who wouldn’t want to make a family altar? This is so amazing!

We need to give this vision to our children. When we’re drawing them together, it’s not, “OK, children, we’re having Bible reading now.” Oh no! “Children! Let’s come together! We’re going to meet with the Lord! And guess what, children? God has promised that when we come, He’s going to come to us. He’s going to bless us! Isn’t that wonderful?”

Oh, that carries onto the next point, number six.

No. 6. WE BUILD AN ALTAR TO MEET WITH GOD

Yes. That was why the early patriarchs built altars. Let’s read these Scriptures.

Genesis 12:7: “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 35:7: Talking of Jacob, “And he built there an altar, and called the place El Bethel: because there God appeared unto him.” That word “appeared” means “to be visited, to be seen, to show.”

As we come each day, each morning and evening, when we come to hear God’s Word, we can believe that He will reveal Himself to us. He reveals Himself through His Word. He shows Himself to us through His Word. This is how we get to know Him, through His Word. We will never understand and know everything about God, but He has chosen to reveal something of who He is, so we can know something of Him. Because He is God, we can never comprehend all of Him, but we can know Him. He will reveal Himself to us.

Let’s look at some more Scriptures. We see that God promised to reveal Himself at the brass altar. Exodus 29:42: “This shall be a continual burnt offering throughout your generations at the door of the tabernacle of the congregation before the LORD.” Whenever you read that phrase, “before the Lord,” in the King James Bible, it means literally, “In the presence of the Lord.”

“Where I will meet you, to speak there unto thee. And there I will meet with the children of Israel, and the tabernacle shall be sanctified by My glory.” That was in the outer court, where they came to do the sacrifices. God said, “When you come to this altar, I will meet with you.” Oh, I love that! And God’s Word, we can take every word. It’s not in vain.

We can claim that promise. When we come together, we can come to the Lord, and say, “Thank You, Lord. We have come here to meet with You. You have promised to meet with us. Show Yourself to us today.” You can encourage your children. “Dear children, when Daddy reads the Word of God this morning, or this evening, listen with all your heart. Because it’s not just Daddy reading. These are the Words of God. And God wants to speak to you. Listen! Listen to God speaking.”

At the end of your reading, you can ask your children, “Children, what did God say to you?” Because God speaks to children and you will be amazed at what they will say, at what God spoke to them in their hearts. This is how you’re teaching your children how to hear God. This is something we must do, mothers. We must teach our children how to hear from God.

There are many Christians who are adults. Maybe they are in middle age. Maybe they’re even older, and they still do not know how to hear from God personally. They come to church on Sunday. They listen to the sermon and that’s what they hear. They haven’t learned to hear personally.

We must all get into the habit, every time the Word of God is read, every time it is spoken in our family devotions, we open our inner ears. We say, “God, I’m listening. I’m here to meet with you. Please meet with me. Show Yourself to me. Speak to me.” So, as we come in faith, and listen, we will hear God speaking to our hearts. And our children will too. Teach them. Remind them to keep listening, and to keep hearing what God will say to them.

Then we go to Exodus 30:6, 36: two times. This is at the altar of incense, where they had to burn the incense which speaks of prayer and praise and worship. Two times it says: “where I will meet with thee.” It’s in our times of prayer and worship that God wants to meet with us. He’s promised to meet with us as we spend time in prayer.

Of course, we pray on our own, in our personal times with the Lord, but there’s something about family prayer and corporate prayer. There is such power in corporate prayer when more people are praying together. I am amazed at how often I hear God speak to me during corporate prayer, because the more who are praying, it seems that more of the presence of God is in our midst. God’s promised to meet with us.

Do you remember the time when God came to Zacharias to tell him that he would have a child? In Luke 1:8-13, you can read it there. It says: “And the whole multitude of the people were praying without,” that means outside in the courtyard, the outer court. “At the time of incense.” Zacharias was a priest, and it was his season of duty to light the incense. So, he was there, at the altar of incense.

“And there appeared unto him an angel of the Lord standing on the right side of the altar of incense.” And then the angel spoke to him, these words that God was going to give them a child, even though Elizabeth was in her old age. That happened. God does speak.

Even in the most mundane times, we can hear God speaking to us. You can hear Him speaking to you as you’re doing the dishes and vacuuming the floor, just in your daily duties in the household. I remember one time when I was a young mother in New Zealand. I had just come home from getting the groceries. I was walking over the threshold of the door. There I was. I’d just arrived home. And I wasn’t even thinking about anything. And God spoke to me!

It just came other of the blue! I heard these words: “Nancy, how can I reveal to you the needs of others if all your thoughts are about yourself?” Wow! God arrested me. I have never forgotten those words. I learned that I have to give room in my mind and in my heart for others. We cannot think of ourselves all the time. If you’re thinking of yourself, and you’re filled with self-pity, you have no room for God to speak to you about others, of people who He wants you to speak to, to minister to, to bless.

So, God gave me that word in the most mundane place. But God specifically comes in the places where He has said He will come, in the place of prayer and worship, that is, the altar of incense. We read how He came to Zacharias there too.

In Exodus 25:20-22, it also speaks of how He will meet. He was speaking to Moses, and how “I will meet with you between the cherubim in the holy of holies.” Now I have to confess, I don’t quite understand that Scripture in its context because God was speaking to Moses. Only Aaron the High Priest was allowed in the Holy of Holies. Whether God spoke to him from there because that was where God was dwelling, between the cherubim, in the holy of holies. Maybe He spoke to him from there, wherever Moses was.

But the wonderful thing is, of course, that now we have access through the death of Jesus and His blood that was shed. When Jesus died upon the cross, that curtain that separated the holy of holies was torn from the top to the bottom. Now we are blessed to have access into the throne room of God, where God says, that in this place, in the holy of holies, in the throne room of God, He will meet with us. Isn’t that so amazing?

Yes. So, that’s what happens when we make an altar. He has promised to meet with us. Don’t forget to share these beautiful truths with your children so they also know and understand.

No. 7. WE BUILD AN ALTAR TO CALL UPON THE NAME OF THE LORD

That’s what the patriarchs did. We see that in Genesis 12:8, and again in Genesis 13:4: “There, Abraham called on the Name of the Lord.”

Genesis 26:25: “Isaac, and he builded an altar there and called upon the Name of the Lord.” The patriarchs called upon the Lord.

What does that word “call” mean? The Hebrew is qara, and it means “to call out, to cry out, to cry for help, to utter a loud sound.” So, the patriarchs did not only pray at their altars, but they called upon the Lord. There are many types of praying. We can pray, we can intercede, we can supplicate, we can give thanks, we can pray in many, many different ways, and in many, many different positions. But there is also calling upon the Lord. That is different from just praying.

Sometimes we pray. Yes, we’re talking to the Lord, and we’re praying. But there are times when we’re desperate. We’re desperate because of something that is happening in our own life, or in the lives of our children. We have to call upon the Lord. We cry out to Him. There are times when things are happening in our nation, even as they are at the moment. If we’re burdened enough, we won’t be just praying. We’ll be calling upon the Lord, crying out, even using a loud voice. That is part of calling upon the Lord.

Now, maybe you’ve never done that. Oh, you’ve prayed lots of times, of course. But have you ever really cried out to the Lord? That’s what the patriarchs did at their altars. Yes, at our altars, we will pray. What we do every day, at our altar, we will read the Word, and then we pray. We get everyone to pray. Everyone has a turn. I believe that is important, because this is where our children learn to pray. They learn to pray by praying.

Often, we have families come our table. It’s devotion time, and it’s time to pray. Because they are a Christian family, we just expect their children will be able to pray. So, we’re going around the table. It comes to their turn. They’re silent. Often we just have to move on, because they’re not used to praying. They’re not praying in their own homes. This is where children really learn to pray. So, I encourage you to do that with your children.

PRAYER BOXES

I think I have mentioned many times about our prayer boxes. I wonder, how many of you actually have prayer boxes? Or have you listened to me talk about them, and never done it? Well, ladies, perhaps I can remind you again. Because I have to confess, I find one of the greatest blessings in our prayer times is our prayer boxes, because especially for little children, they often don’t know what to pray about. Their prayers are very generic. “Lord God, please give us a good day. Help me.” And so on.

But we’ve got to expand their prayer life, and give them a vision of the needs to pray for. So we have our FAMILY BOX of everybody in our family. We have our PERSECUTED CHRISTIANS PRAYER BOX. Do you remember when we did the podcast about praying for Eritrea? Anybody praying for Eritrea? Who’s remembering?

Have you done something to help you to remember to pray for this poor downcast country which is governed by a total dictatorship? There is no freedom of speech. There is nothing. There is much persecution. Oh, we must keep praying for them and for so many countries where Christians are being very, very persecuted, and martyred for their faith.

We have our ISRAEL PRYAER BOX, and our NATION CHANGING PRAYER BOX, and our WORLD CHANGING PRAYER BOX, and our SALVATION AND HEALING PRAYER BOX, and our ABOVE RUBIES PRAYER BOX. So it goes, on and on. Well, you can have the prayer boxes you want, and the subjects you want in your family. You will find it’s such a blessing.

We usually only use box each time. You can change the boxes for each time, but they will help you. If you need any help, if you need any, “What do I write on my prayer card?” or for Israel, or for the persecuted church, just email me, and I’ll send you some ideas to help you get going, because we do need encouraging in praying for all these issues. Not only just our own little needs, but the needs of this nation, and the needs of the world!

Oh, lovely ladies, are you praying for our nation? Are you burdened? Are you burdened? I have to tell you, I’m burdened. This nation is going down the tubes. Now you see what’s happening at all these universities. All these young people rising up, standing for Hamas, and becoming Hamas themselves, and chanting, “We are Hamas!” They don’t even know what they’re talking about.

Hamas is one of the most violent terrorist groups in the world. The actions, what they did on October 7 to the Israelis can hardly be spoken or written. It was so horrific, so horrific. If you’re not devastated by it, you don’t know what happened. It was horrific. In fact, I was reading even this morning in Genesis. Let me go to it here. When God saw that evil in the land, Genesis 6, yes, here it is. Genesis 6:11: “The earth also was corrupt before God. And the earth was filled with violence.”

Ladies, do you know what that word “violence” is in the Hebrew? Do you want to know? It’s the word hamas. The exact word hamas. It means “violence.” When God saw such violence, that’s when He brought the flood upon the earth, to destroy it. Now we have our own young people in this nation rising up, not only standing for Hamas and their violence, but becoming violent themselves, speaking, “We are Hamas!” Now they’re becoming more and more violent.

Are you praying? No, not just praying. Are you crying out to the Lord? Every Christian family should be crying out to God. Oh, that the evil and the deception in this land will be exposed, and that God will, in His sovereignty bring us back to righteousness and bring a mighty revival! Ladies, we can see this happen if God’s people, and every God-fearing home in the country would begin to cry out to God. Oh, please be one of those families, and encourage others to be those families, because praying families are nation-changing families. Praying families are world-changing families.

Norman Williams, who wrote a book called The Family Altar, says in this book:

“God didn’t make the course and destiny of nations and of individuals dependent on the decisions of Congresses and Parliaments. Not did He lay this power in the hands of rulers and kings. But God placed it in the praying family. That is why the devil cannot ruin nations of men until he has destroyed the homes of prayer. That is why satan hates the family altar.”

And truly, ladies, that’s why satan does everything in his power to stop us having our family altar, because he doesn’t want us praying. I tell you, when every God-fearing family in this nation begins to pray, we will see mighty things happening. But there are very few families praying. Even though they go to church on Sunday, even though they say they’re Christian. And Satan’s very, very happy, because he knows he can have his way. But my, when families get praying, look out!

Let’s go over to Leviticus 26:6. We see a powerful Scripture here: “And I will give peace in the land, and ye shall lie down, and none shall make you afraid: and I will rid evil beasts out of the land, neither shall the sword go through your land. And ye shall chase your enemies, and they shall fall before you by the sword. And five of you shall chase a hundred, and a hundred of you shall put ten thousand to flight: and your enemies shall fall before you by the sword.”

What a powerful promise! You see, our greatest weapon against our enemies, and the works of satan, is prayer. That is our greatest weapon! We’re not fighting against flesh and blood; we’re fighting against these evil principalities and powers. And what does it say here? “That five of you can chase a hundred.” Just a little family, with three children, that’s five, can chase a hundred enemies as they begin to pray together.

And what else does it say? “A hundred of you.” Wow! Just 25 families with only three each can put 10,000 to flight. How many does it say? I’ll bet it’s 1,000. No, 10,000 to flight! Wow! That’s amazing! What about families with six, seven, eight, nine, ten children? Some have got 12, 14 children. You’ve got a prayer meeting right there! Wow! As you gather your children to pray and to cry out to God for this nation, and against the evil that is happening in this nation, we can put 10,000 enemies to flight! Oh, my.

How true are these words from this writing. No wonder Satan hates the family altar. And no wonder he will try to stop you. So, don’t let him. Oh, yes, it’s amazing. Even just legitimate things. You see, the enemy knows that some evil thing will never stop you from having the family altar. Oh, my! You’ll have nothing to do with that.

But he’s so subtle. He will use good things. Did you know that? Yes, he can get you doing very good things, but they can take the time at that family altar. So, Satan’s just as happy because you’re not praying. We have to watch out for his ways, don’t we?

No. 8. WE ESTABLISH A FAMLY ALTAR TO READ GOD’S WORD

Because at the altar, we pray, we read the Word, and we worship. Of course, we’ve got Scriptures for everything. We read this in Exodus 24:4: “And Moses wrote all the words of the LORD, and rose up early in the morning, and builded an altar under the hill, and twelve pillars, according to the twelve tribes of Israel.”

Verse 7: “And he took the book of the covenant, and read in the audience of the people: and they said, All that the LORD hath said will we do, and be obedient.” They were all saying, “Amen.” “And Moses took the blood, and sprinkled it on the people, and said, Behold the blood of the covenant, which the LORD hath made with you concerning all these words.” And so, Moses builded an altar and read the words of the Lord to the people.

We go over to the New Testament. It reiterates it in Hebrews 9:19-20: “For when Moses had spoken every precept to all the people according to the law, he took the blood of calves and of goats, with water, and scarlet wool, and hyssop, and sprinkled both the book,” that was the Book of the Law, the Word of the Lord, “and all the people, saying, This is the blood of the testament which God hath enjoined unto you.”

Of course, we are going to read the Word at our family altar. Deuteronomy 27:1-10, you can read the whole passage later. It says there: “Thou shalt build the altar of the Lord thy God.” There they read the Word of the Lord. We just read Joshua 8, where he read all that Moses commanded. That might have taken them a few days. It might have taken them a whole week actually. Reading every day for a week, you can read the whole of the Torah, the first five books of the Old Testament.

Let’s value the Word, and let’s make the Word of God BIG in the eyes of our children, that it’s never a bore. Never something, “Oh, we have to do this.” No! This is the most exciting time of the day! We are coming to hear God speak to us! Oh, that should be our personal attitude. When they see our excitement, and our longing to hear what God is going to say, our children will catch that. They will have the attitude that we have. It should always be an attitude of expectancy, believing that God is going to speak to us.

Now, you may be saying, “Well, where do I read in the Bible? I don’t know where to read.” Of course, that can be the most difficult thing for husbands who have never been brought up with the family altar or family devotions. There have been decades who have lost this in Christian homes. It’s time to get it back.

But it’s not easy when a husband doesn’t really know what he’s doing. He thinks, “Help!” A man doesn’t want to do something unless he feels confident and knows what he’s doing. He thinks, “Where will I read?” Well, let me tell you. In our home, we have done different things, and we have different seasons. Sometimes we will read through a book, and read through a chapter each time.

When our children were teens, for a while we would read a chapter of Proverbs every day because it was so practical for their lives. If it was the fifth day of the month, we would read Proverbs 5. If it was the 25th day, it was Proverbs 25. Because there are 31 days in the month, and 31 days in Proverbs. That’s a great thing to do.

But mostly now we read The Daily Light on the Daily Path. It is only the Word of God, but it is Scriptures put together on a certain theme for the morning and for the evening. It’s not many Scriptures, because you’ve got the morning and evening on one page! So, it’s not going to be too much, is it? But there it is. This becomes such a blessing for maybe a husband who thinks, “What will I do? I don’t know what I’m doing!”

If you get this book, all you have to do is go to the date. Every day my husband says, “OK, everybody! What’s the date?” We tell him the day, and he looks up the day. There it is! There’s the reading.

When he reads, of course, he doesn’t just read in a boring voice. He reads the Word, and he asks questions all the way through to keep everyone on their toes, because even in a short reading, it’s so easy to get into a dream. I’m trying to listen to every word, and I can still get into a little dream! You begin thinking about something, and away you are, off in fairyland. It is important for the husband, or whoever’s doing the reading, to ask questions.

Sometimes my husband will stop in the middle of a Scripture and say, “Who can finish it?” Or maybe he will read the wrong word, or read the opposite word from what it says. If none of us say anything, why, he knows we’re not listening. He will have to say, “Hey! What did I read?” He will have to read it again, and we’re listening this time. We’ll say, “Oh no! No! No! Not that word!”

It’s quite fun, because then you learn what is the real word. You say the Scripture over together out loud, and you get to know it. This particular Daily Light on the Daily Path has been around for 150 years. You can get them in different versions, any way you like. But in this particular one I put together, because at the beginning of every month, I give an idea for families of how they can keep it exciting, keep their children on their toes, keep them listening. It gives you that.

It’s available through www.aboverubies.org if you want to order that. Some have their own ways of doing it, but this is a great help if you don’t really know what to do. We’ve been doing it for years and we use it all the time. We love it!

I think our time has gone again, so we will continue next week.

“Dear Father, we thank You for Your Word. We thank You that Your Word is true from the beginning, and from the beginning Your Word is true. It is true for all generations. We thank You that Your Word is up to date, right up to this moment. We thank You, Lord God, that every Word you speak is life to us. Lord God,

“I pray that Your Word will become life to every precious family who is listening today, and who establish their gathering of their children together. Lord, I pray that You’ll give them that excitement, Lord, as they come together to hear what You are going to say to them. I ask this in the precious Name of Jesus. Amen.”

Blessings from Nancy Campbell

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Transcribed by Darlene Norris

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“LIFE TO THE FULL w/ Nancy Campbell”

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LIFE TO THE FULL w/ Nancy Campbell

EPISODE 309: Altar Building, Part 2

It is important to have our personal time with God, but God wants THE WHOLE HOUSEHOLD to meet with Him. How does this work out in our homes?

Announcer: Welcome to the podcast, Life to The Full, with Nancy Campbell, founder and publisher of Above Rubies.

Nancy Campbell: Hello, ladies. Here we are together and continuing our series on “Altar Building.” As we begin, I’d love to read you a lovely quote. In fact, I have so many quotes from some of the old preachers of the faith, where family devotions were just the norm at that time. This is a quote from Arthur Pink.

He says here:

“It is not enough that we pray as private individuals in our closets. We are required to honor God in our families as well. At least twice each day, in the morning, and in the evening, the whole household should be gathered together to bow before the Lord, to confess their sins, to give thanks for God’s mercies, to seek His help and blessings. Nothing must be allowed to interfere with this duty. All other domestic arrangements are to bend to it.

“The head of the house is the one to lead devotions, but if he be absent, or seriously ill, or an unbeliever, then the wife would take his place. Under no circumstance should family worship be omitted. If we would enjoy the blessing of God upon our family, let its members gather together daily, for praise and prayer.”

We are up to point number three today.

No. 3. WE BUILD A FAMLY ALTAR FOR THE WHOLE HOUSEHOLD

This is a very powerful point. In fact, I noticed in this quote that I just read, he says here, “at least twice each day, in the morning, and in the evening, THE WHOLE HOUSEHOLD should be gathered together to bow before the Lord.”

Well, that’s a man writing, but let’s see what God has to say, and what the Word of God has to say. We’re going to go back to Genesis 35:1, to this passage when God told Jacob to go up to Bethel and build an altar.

Here we are: “And God said unto Jacob, Arise, go up to Bethel, and dwell there: and make there an altar.” Go down to verse two: “Then Jacob said unto his household,” there it is, ladies. “Unto his HOUSEHOLD.” The word is right there.

It doesn’t stop there. “And to ALL THAT WERE WITH HIM.” Now, I want you to hear these words again, because they are very powerful. “And God said unto Jacob, Arise, go up to Bethel, and dwell there: and make there an altar.” Go down to verse two: “Then Jacob said unto his household, and to all that were with him.” Then he tells them things they had to do. We’ll talk about them later. But this is our point at the moment.

Now, Jacob’s household must have been pretty big, because it was only a few years later, after this, that the famine came. Then eventually he went down to Egypt to save his whole family from the famine. The Bible tells us in Exodus chapter one that Jacob went down from Canaan to Egypt with 70 souls.

Now there’s not only Jacob, but there are his children, and his children’s children. There’s at least three generations, maybe more. Then, of course, there are his servants, and helpers, and shepherds for all their sheep, and maybe even his soldiers.

Remember his grandfather Abraham had his own army in his own household. Remember when Lot was taken by these kings and Abraham went out to rescue him? He went out with 318 trained warriors in his own household (Genesis 14:14). I am sure that Isaac and Jacob carried on that same pattern of having soldiers so that they could protect their whole families. There obviously were a lot of people but God didn’t allow any to be missing. The message is to the household, and to all that were with him.

We see an example of this in Abraham. Genesis 18:19: “For I know him, that he will command,” (that word “command” again. Do you notice it? “That he will command his children and his household after him, and they shall keep the way of the LORD, to do justice and judgment; that the LORD may bring upon Abraham that which He hath spoken of him.”

We already know that Abraham’s household was as very big household. We see here that this is the pattern that God gave and it is the pattern for us, lovely ladies. God wants everyone in the household to be there for our family devotions, or our family altar, or whatever you call it. Family Bible time. Everyone must be there. It is for the whole household.

Of course, it is important for us, as individuals, father, mother, and children who are getting to the age of reading, to establish our own personal time with the Lord. I remember growing up, that we were encouraged and instructed from the pulpit  that we must have our Quiet Time. I don’t know why they called it a Quiet Time but that meant a time when you personally got away with the Lord, to pray and to read His Word.

You did it the moment you got up in the morning. You started the day. Before you did anything else, you had your Quiet Time. Well, you don’t have to call it your Quiet Time. You can call it your “Bible Time. You can call it your God and Me Time or whatever you want to call it. But it’s important for us to do that.

Personal times with the Lord are very important. I think I was sharing this with you a few weeks ago and shared how I do have an article called, “How to Read the Word of God in Your Quiet Time.” If anyone wants to get that, just email me at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. I’ll be happy to send it to you.

It's very important to encourage our young people to have this time, and establish this time with the Lord. I was blessed that I did that as a young person. As a late teenager I began to do this. It became the habit of my life.

Of course, when I got married and children came along, it wasn’t so easy to do that. Maybe there are some of you lovely darling young moms, and you’ve got little ones all around you. You’ve got a little baby, and you think, “Oh, how on earth do I ever have time to get away with the Lord on my own?”

Oh, I know, it is so difficult to do that. I faced that as my children came along. First baby, and then second and third babies came at once. I had twins unexpectedly. Didn’t even know I was having them until they were being born! So I had three children in 17 months. Then I had four children under four. So, those were incredibly busy days.

I had been used, before I was married, to getting away and spending three hours with the Lord every morning, before I even went to work. That was my pattern. Now I couldn’t even find five minutes! I hardly had time to go to the bathroom! I said, “What on earth am I going to do? Help!”

I would put my Bible up on my windowsill where I was doing dishes and preparing meals. I would put it to Psalms or Proverbs. Every now and then I could look up and read one little Scripture. I would keep a Bible in the toilet and one where I was nursing the babies. Just to get a little bit here and there.

But God does understand our seasons, lovely mothers, and if you are going through that season at this moment, He understands. I love that Scripture in Isaiah. It says that He feeds His flock like a shepherd, and gathers them in His arms, and He gently holds them. He gently leads those that are with young.

I just hadn’t turned to it to read it to you properly. I’d like to get it exact. Here it is. Isaiah 40:11: “And He shall feed his flock like a shepherd: He shall gather the lambs with His arm, and carry them in His bosom, and shall gently lead those that are with young.” When you’re pregnant, when you have little babies, your Good Shepherd doesn’t expect you to be at the front of the flock. He doesn’t expect you to be up at five o’clock, having your three hours with the Lord in the morning. No, you’re still in bed, nursing your baby. Then your little ones are going to be waiting and all needing you.

God understands this time. He gently leads you. Gather what you can get. You know, just a verse here and there can give you sustenance. Listen to this podcast when you are doing something else and you can be getting fed and hearing the Word of God. But then there come seasons. Your children grow, and you’ll have time again to do that. But we don’t rely only on our personal time with the Lord. God is very concerned about the family, and the family gathering together, the whole household.

Let’s go over to Joshua 8. This is when Joshua came into the Promised Land with the Israelites. In fact, back in Deuteronomy 29:10-13, you can read there when God told them: “When you go into the Promised Land, I want you to make an altar and worship before Me there.” Now we’re reading from Joshua where they are fulfilling what God told them to do.

Here we go. Joshua 8:30: “Then Joshua built an altar unto the LORD God of Israel in mount Ebal.” He built it right there. That was Mount Ebal and Mount Gerizim. It was an amazing place, right there in the valley between those two mountains. It’s one of the most amazing places in the world to be able to hear. A man can speak and it echoes all around. So, God knew the right place  where He told them to read all the Words of the Lord.

Joshua 8:31-35: “As Moses the servant of the LORD commanded the children of Israel, as it is written in the book of the law of Moses,” that was Deuteronomy, “an altar of whole stones, over which no man hath lift up any iron: and they offered thereon burnt offerings unto the LORD, and sacrificed peace offerings. And he wrote there upon the stones a copy of the law of Moses, which he wrote in the presence of the children of Israel.

“And all Israel, and their elders, and officers, and their judges, stood on this side the ark and on that side before the priests the Levites, which bare the ark of the covenant of the LORD, as well the stranger, as he that was born among them; half of them over against mount Gerizim, and half of them over against mount Ebal; as Moses the servant of the LORD had commanded before, that they should bless the people of Israel. 

“And afterward he read all the words of the law, the blessings and cursings, according to all that is written in the book of the law. There was not a word of all that Moses commanded, which Joshua read not before . . . ” Listen to this: “ALL THE CONGREGATION OF ISRAEL, with the women, and the little ones, and the strangers that were conversant among them.”

Did you notice that? God wanted everyone there. This was not only a family, but a gathering of all the families. God did not leave one person out. Now, let’s see: “All the women, and all the little ones.” Oh, but the little ones! Oh, goodness me! How do we cope with them? In fact, even at our own family altar, how do we cope with the little ones? Oh, my, they don’t know how to sit still. Then they cry, or they want something. How do we do it?

Well, lovely ladies, little by little, we train them. But we never leave anyone out. When we gather, we gather as a family, father, mother, the oldest down to the youngest. Now, maybe the baby is sleeping in another room. But also maybe the mother is holding the baby and nursing the baby as father is reading the Word of God.

That is such a wonderful thing, because as the mother is sitting near the husband, she’s nursing her baby, that Word, that Word is going into him. Baby doesn’t know what’s being said, but the anointing of that Word is going in. The sooner the Word goes into your little ones, the greater it is. In fact, that Word can be going into them even when you’re pregnant. Especially in those last three months of pregnancy, the baby can hear. When the baby is near the husband, and he's reading the Word, the baby, even in the womb, can hear the Word of the Lord.

I remember when my beautiful granddaughter Meadow was born. She was born at home. She began to cry. Charlie, her father came right up to her and held her and began to talk to her. She immediately stopped and became aware of him. She knew his voice, because he had spoken to her over and over in the womb. She knew his voice as she came forth from the womb.

So, our little ones can hear the Word of the Lord. They may not understand it, but they’re getting the anointing of it. I love that Scripture over in 2 Timothy 3:15. Can I just turn to it here, and read it to you again, because I think it is so wonderful. “And that from a child thou hast known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make thee wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus.”

“That from a child,” that word in the Greek is brephos. That word is used of a babe in the womb. It was used of Jesus when He was in the womb of Mary. That word is used of a little baby that’s born. In fact, it was used when Jesus was born and lying in a manger. They said “You will find the Child,” and it was brephos, this newborn. It’s used of little ones.

Here the Word of God is saying: “That from a child thou hast known the Holy Scriptures,” even before the age of understanding. Even in the womb, even as a nursing babe, these Scriptures are going in. When the Scriptures are going into a little child, even from birth, those Scriptures prepare them for salvation.

Even as they get to three and four years of age, they can have an understanding of salvation. They can be ready for salvation because the Word says: “the holy scriptures, which are able to make thee wise unto salvation.” So, children in a godly home, hearing the Word of God, from a very young age, can come to know the Lord at three and four years of age.

Watch over your children. Be aware of what is going on in their hearts, especially when it’s your devotion time. Sometimes you can see God working in their lives, and you know this is a moment when they can open their hearts and literally receive Jesus into their lives because they are prepared. The Word of God has prepared them and they’re open and ready to receive.

They are not too young. No. All of our children came to know the Lord at four years of age, except our eldest. He was older. But it was only at that young age, and every single one of them, that moment is still real with them today. They have continued to follow the Lord. It’s been part of their lives.

Of course, someone from a non-saved home, even an atheist home, maybe they can come to Christ later in life, or even as a teenager, when they hear the gospel. But sadly, they don’t have that opportunity when they’re young, because they’re not hearing it. But you can expect that in your home, as you are daily reading the Word, because God wants everyone in the household there. The babies, the toddlers, yes, those toddlers! Yes, even those little ones.

Of course, the little toddler, a little one, can sit on your husband’s knee even as he’s reading the Word. If you have older children, they can hold another toddler or young one on their knee. When they’re little, you don’t have to make them sit up there in a chair, all on their own, with their back straight. No! Let father, or an older sibling, hold them and cuddle them, so they’re feeling comfortable and loved as they are listening to the Word of God.

It should be a beautiful thing. It should be something of such comfort and love as they are listening to the Word of God. Of course, they will be so much happier as they are being cuddled and being hugged, warm and close, as they are hearing the Word of God.

But God wants the toddlers there. The word in the Hebrew is taph  - T.A.P.H. It’s very interesting. This word refers to “the tripping gait of little children, their quick steps. It’s the toddlers.” It’s used 42 times in the Old Testament. Mostly it’s in the context of God bringing His people together to hear His Word being read and He will include the little ones. Isn’t that amazing? Of course, they’ve got to be there too.

NO EXCUSES

And, of course, all your older ones. No, they don’t have any excuses. It’s THE WHOLE HOUSEHOLD. Of course, that’s normal, if you have started family devotions when your children are little. They grow up knowing this is part of life. This is habitual. If you are starting it when your children are older, it is a little more difficult to perhaps get them used to this. This is a new thing and you will have to ask the Lord for wisdom to know how to encourage them so they will be part of it.

Of course, one of the main things is for them to see the Scriptures that God wants them to part of it, that everyone in the whole family is there. Sometimes, as children get older, they can make excuses, but we don’t allow excuses unless they are legitimate excuses. Someone is in bed sick, or as I found with our own children when they were getting older and they were still living at home and yet already out working. I would always make sure that they knew that they had to be home for the evening meal, and then devotions, unless they let me know that something had come up that was important, and they couldn’t be there. But otherwise, that was part of their lives if they lived in our home. Anyone living in your home does what you do in your home.

What about people who are visiting? Or visiting, or maybe even staying in your home. Maybe they have different values to you. They don’t even do family devotions in their home. What do you do about them? Well, you include them too. I often wondered about this, because we have always opened our home in hospitality. We always had people visiting us for meals but also staying with us. Often you face different situations.

At first, I wondered, “What should I do in this situation? These people are not really people who want to be part of family devotions, but what do I do?” Then the Lord showed me His Word. Oh, lovely ladies, God shows us everything in His Word. I want to give you some Scriptures, because this helps us to answer the problem. I think I’ve given you these Scriptures before, actually, but oh my! I think we need to hear them again. I need to hear them again, because they show you God’s heart.

Exodus 12:48-50: “One law shall be to him that is homeborn, and unto the stranger that sojourneth among you. Thus did all the children of Israel; as the LORD commanded Moses and Aaron, so did they.”

Leviticus 24:22: “Ye shall have one manner of law, as well for the stranger, as for one of your own country: for I am the LORD your God.”

Numbers 9:14: “. . . Ye shall have one ordinance, both for the stranger, and for him that was born in the land.”

Numbers 15:14-16: “And if a stranger sojourn with you, or whosoever be among you in your generations,” listen to this: “As ye do, so he shall do. One ordinance shall be both for you of the congregation, and also for the stranger that sojourneth with you, an ordinance forever in your generations: as ye are, so shall the stranger be before the LORD. One law and one manner shall be for you, and for the stranger that sojourneth with you.”

And I have so many more Scriptures. If you want them all, you’re welcome to email me, and I will send them to you. But I think you can see, I have read enough there, that God shows us. It doesn’t matter whoever is in our household, they must be part of what we are doing. It’s the whole household, not just the immediate family, but the extended family, and whoever is living in your home.

Of course, we will adjust and use wisdom. In our home, when we are having family devotions, after my husband has read the Word, we all pray. Everyone in the family and who is living in our home. But if we had some people who were not Christians who we invited to a meal, we wouldn’t do that.

But we would still have our family devotions. My husband would read the Word, and then he would pray for everyone. We wouldn’t put visitors who are not used to such a thing. We wouldn’t put them on the spot and expect them to suddenly pray. Maybe they’ve never prayed in their life. We can still do it, but we will do it in a way that can encompass those who are living in our home at the time.

Are you getting this message, wonderful ladies? This is such an important thing, that we include the whole household. I remember one time I had a young man staying with us. He was a Christian, but I have to say, he wasn’t really walking with the Lord. He was a Christian in name only. He’d been with us for a week or so, being part of family devotions. He had been part of it, because he knew he had to be. But it was his last day, and he came to me. He said, “Oh, Mrs. Campbell, I won’t have time to have family devotions with you this evening because I’ve got to pack. I’m leaving in the morning.”

But I had noticed that he’d been sitting around all day, so I said to him, “Well, I see you’ve had plenty of time all day. You’ll have plenty of time this evening after devotions, so, yes, you will have to be with us.” I didn’t let his little excuse, I didn’t let him get away with it because it was only an excuse, and he had plenty of time to pack that evening. We have to watch out for excuses, even with our own children, don’t we?

Scott Pauley says:

“True revival does not start at the church house. It starts at our house.”

In fact, I think back to one of the great Puritans. I was reading about him recently. His name was Richard Baxter, who lived back in 1615 to 1691. He lived for 76 years. Now, we are 400 years later, after this man lived. But people are still reading his books and his writings.

He was a great man of God, but I must tell you the story of one of the first churches that he went to be a pastor at. It was a very wealthy community, but as one author says, the people were very ignorant, rude, and a reveling people. He came to this church, and really, there was nobody left. Nobody came to church. He thought, “Well, what am I going to do?”

This man, Richard Baxter, really believed in the family altar, so he decided he would visit personally every home in this town. The town was called Kidderminster. He therefore went to every home, every family, and spoke to them about the family altar, and taught them how to have the family altar, how to read the Word of God, and where to read, and how to pray together. He spent time individually with every family. And then how to worship. He established this in every home.

When he started, there was hardly a person coming to his church. About three or so years later, his church was full. They say that when he arrived at that town, there was hardly a person doing family devotions, but when he left, there wasn’t hardly a family in the whole town who was not having the family altar. In fact, the whole town actually came to the Lord!

It’s quite amazing. I was reading here. When he arrived, hardly anyone had an altar. After three years, there was barely a house on every street that was not having a family altar, morning and evening. He saw the whole, nearly the entire town of 2,000 people converted just by the family altar. Isn’t that amazing?

And then there was another great Puritan preacher too. His name was Thomas Boston. He also went to pastor a church. It was very much like Richard Baxter’s. The whole church was empty. But it was a different kind of people. These people were poor people, and they were in a slum. But he did the same thing. He went to every home of these poor people, and established a family altar in every home.

It wasn’t long before the church began to see revival and the church was packed. The church was full, because it started in the home. “The way to save the church, and the community, is to establish religion in the homes of the community, and build the family altar” one great commentator wrote.

And so, it wasn’t just preaching in the church. It was the family altar that changed the lives of these whole towns, in both these places where these ministers went.

I was reading recently something that really challenged me. It was about Lot. We know how Lot went down to Sodom and Gomorrah and lived there. Yet, he was a righteous man. The Bible says that Lot was a righteous man. Every day his soul was vexed by the evil that was happening in Sodom and Gomorrah (2 Peter 2:8).

But listen to what this commentary says, by John Morris: “Compare Abraham and his family to Lot and his family. Nowhere in Scripture does it say that Lot built an altar, and recognized God as worthy of worship. No doubt, as a direct result, Lot’s wife and sons and daughters totally rejected these ideas, preferring the sinful practices and mentality of Sodom.

“Lot was a true believer, but his lifestyle and lack of altar-building rubbed off on his family, to the detriment of himself and the people of God ever since.

“Here is the question: do we want to be Christians who ignore proper worship and total submission to God, and have families who do likewise? We don’t build physical altars today, but we do need daily times of prayer.”

I thought that was a powerful quote because it is so interesting. All the patriarchs builded altars, plus many, many other men of God in the Word. But never did it say that Lot builded an altar. And Lot was the one who lost his family.

Altar building is a way to keep our families walking with the Lord. Altar building, morning and evening, is the way to keep the fire burning in our hearts. Just as God says, if you’re going to keep the fire burning, you’ve got to tend to it morning and evening. Otherwise, it will go out. It’s so easy for it to go out.

So, be encouraged again, ladies. Be encouraged to keep your family altar as a household altar. This is the Scriptural understanding. May the Lord richly bless you.

“We thank You, dear Father, for showing us Your ways, and showing us that You have made this a household command. It’s not just individual. It’s household. You are interested in households, in families.

“Father, I pray that You will help each mother and father of each family listening to strengthen their families, to strengthen their family altar, to repair their family altar if they need to. Lord, I pray that You’ll give them great wisdom as they seek to gather their children and whoever else is living in their home, to gather them into Your Presence, to meet with You.

“I ask again that You will begin to, Lord, teach them more and more of Your ways. Give them such a heart to seek after You, and to know Your ways. Lord, we’re living in a deceitful age. Help us, Lord, to stand on Your Word, and not to be lured by the ways of this world. In the Name of Jesus, Amen.”

Blessings from Nancy Campbell

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Transcribed by Darlene Norris

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DON’T FORGET TO TELL OTHERS ABOUT THESE PODCASTS AND TRANSCRIPTS.

“LIFE TO THE FULL w/ Nancy Campbell”

DON’T KEEP THE BLESSINGS TO YOURSELF.

IT IS ENCOURAGING FOR ALL WIVES AND MOTHERS.

 

LIFE TO THE FULL w/ Nancy Campbell

EPISODE 308: Altar Building, Part 1

Maybe this is something you have not yet integrated into your family life. Maybe you have been doing it for years. Whoever you are, you are going to love this series as we look at 25 powerful points about “the family altar” that God reveals in His Word. Even if you have been doing it for years, you will learn new things!

Announcer: Welcome to the podcast, Life to The Full, with Nancy Campbell, founder and publisher of Above Rubies.

Nancy Campbell: Hello, ladies, always great to be with you again. Today I am starting a new series called “Altar Building.” I know that many times I’ve spoken about our gathering together as families to read the Word and pray together. But today, I want to begin giving you the whole counsel on this subject. Recently, I went into the Word of God, and I found 25 different points about altar building.

We have been doing this in our family for years, gathering together as a family, reading the Word, and praying together. People have lots of different names for it. Some people call it “family devotions,” which we do. We usually say, “Come on, we’re having family devotions now.” Some people call it “Bible time,” “worship time,” “getting together with God time.”

In fact, one time I was ministering with my husband over in Belgium. We were speaking at an Above Rubies family camp there. While I was speaking, I happened to bring up the word “family devotions.” I was speaking through an interpreter because there were loads of people, not only from Belgium, but Holland, there. They all spoke Dutch, so it was being interpreted into the Dutch language.

When I said the word “family devotions,” the interpreter hesitated, and wasn’t quite sure what I was saying, so I had to explain it a little more clearly. Later on, I talked to the lady who had convened this retreat and I said to her, “Wow, why didn’t she know what I was talking about? Because I know that you do family devotions in your home. Many of the families here do.”

She said, “Oh, no, we don’t use that word.” I said, “Well, what word do you use?” She said, “We call it ‘Finishing up the Meal.’” Well, I had never heard that before. But I thought, that is a very wonderful name, because they wouldn’t leave the table after feeding their physical bodies until they had fed their spiritual man and fed the inner man. So, they called it, “Finishing up the Meal.” We don’t leave this table until we have filled the whole man, body, soul, and spirit. I do love that name.

But back years and years ago, the name that was most familiar was the “family altar.” Some of you will be familiar with that term, the “family altar.” Others of you may not have even heard of that term because it’s quite forgotten now in these days.

By the way, ladies, can I ask you, please stay with me, will you? Even if you are one who faithfully does family devotions in your home each day, or even if you don’t, please stay with me, because even though we have been doing this for years and years and years, I guess so many more years that you’ve ever been doing it, I am still blown away, as I have just recently gone into the Word of God again to see how much God says about it. I think we need to know what God says, don’t you?

We can hear somebody say, “Well, you should be having this Bible time with your family every day.” You know in your heart that’s a good idea. But unless you have the Word, unless you have in your heart and your mind what God says, you can easily let it go. I was amazed. I learned new things. I know that you will learn new things as we go through these 25 points. So, stay with me. Keep with me.

In fact, remind others to listen in, because this is something that is very powerful. It is meant to be part of every Christian’s home. And yet, it is so lost today. It reminds me of that Scripture in 2 Peter 1:12, when Peter was writing to the Christians. He said to them, “Wherefore I will not be negligent to put you always in remembrance of these things, though ye know them.”

Now, you may say, “Oh, I know everything about this!” Well, if you do, you know more than what I did before I discovered what we’re going to share with you from the Word of God. But even when we know things, dear ladies, we need to be reminded. Yes, it’s so easy to let things slip. We need to remind one another.

It goes on to say: “Wherefore I will not be negligent to put you always in remembrance of these things, though ye know them, and be established in the present truth.” That’s an interesting phrase as well. “The present truth.” Every single truth in the Word of God is an eternal truth, from the very beginning to the very end.

Psalm 33:11: “The counsel of the Lord standeth forever, the thoughts of His heart to all generations.”

God’s truth is for every generation, but there are some truths that need to be brought out again, like “the present truth.” And why does that need to happen? Because it’s not happening! If there is a truth which is a truth which is in the Word of God from the very beginning, and it’s not being fulfilled in this time, it becomes a truth which is “a present truth” which must be spoken about.

I do believe that this is “a present truth,” a truth which we need to encourage one another in, because there was a time when it was normal, I guess, beginning really in the time of the Reformation, which began in 1517, way back then. But back then, in the time of the Reformation, it became the absolute norm, it became the habit, it became the requirement even, of every Christian family to  have their family devotions, both morning and evening.

That carried on for centuries, but it is lost in our century today. We do need to remind one another. I haven’t finished this Scripture yet. “And be established in the present truth. Yea, I think it meet, as long as I am in this tabernacle,” that means “in this body,” “to stir you up by putting you in remembrance . . .  Moreover I will endeavor that ye may be able after my decease to have these things always in remembrance.”

Then over in 2 Peter 3:1, he says: “This second epistle, beloved, I now write unto you; in both which I stir up your pure minds by way of remembrance.” So, lovely ladies, do you mind if I remind you about this wonderful subject? And also, at the same time, not only remind you, but give you new inspiration, new revelation and understanding, which I have been discovering myself. Isn’t it wonderful when we discover new revelation in old truths?

I was thinking about this the other day. In 1 Peter 1:23, and I was reading this in my daily reading the other morning, it says here: “Being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the Word of God, which liveth and abideth forever.”

The Word of God is a seed. It’s a seed which goes into our hearts, but we can’t leave it as just seed. That seed has got to grow. All seeds have to grow to come into their fullness. Every truth in God’s Word is a seed. It’s a seed which we take into our minds and our hearts but we’ve got to water it, and we’ve got to meditate on it. We’ve got to obey it, and we’ve got to apply it. It’s got to become part of our lives. The more and more that it does, the more it grows! We get more understanding, and more revelation. This truth grows into a glorious tree.

It’s always more and more as that wonderful Scripture I love to quote, Proverbs 4:18 says: “But the path of the just is as the shining light that shineth MORE AND MORE unto the perfect day.” It’s always more and more, isn’t it, ladies?

A few years back, Colin and I were speaking at a family retreat. We flew by plane to this retreat. When we arrived, we were a little bit late for our first meeting. As we came in the door, everyone was singing hymns. Then they began to sing this hymn called “God, Give Us Christian Homes.” I hadn’t heard it before. The words are so wonderful. But let me read to you the last stanza:

God, give us Christian homes,

Homes where the children are let to know,

Christ in His beauty,

Who loves them so.

Homes where the altar fires burn and glow.

God, give us Christian homes.

 

As we were all singing those words, I was arrested by the words “homes where the altar fires burn and glow.” I knew what the hymn was talking about. I thought to myself, “I wonder if everyone else knows what this hymn is talking about? It’s an old, old hymn, and maybe they don’t even know what it’s talking about.”

So, when I got up to say hi, I said to them, “We’ve just been singing this hymn, “Homes where the altar fires burn and glow.” Who can tell me what it’s talking about?” Well, there was no answer. Nobody put their hand up. Nobody knew what they were singing about! I had to tell them.

It was speaking about the family altar because that was the norm back in those days, where every Christian family had their family altar, not only once a day, but every morning and every evening where they gathered around the Word of God and prayed together.

The actual phrase, “the family altar,” comes from a Scripture in Leviticus 6, where God is speaking to Moses about the brass altar, and how it was to be made, and what they were to do.

Leviticus 6:8: “And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, Command,” do you notice, “command”? It’s amazing when you read the Word of God how many times you read the word “command.” It doesn’t ever say, “I suggest to you,” or “It might be a good idea.” No, command. “Command Aaron and his sons, saying, This is the law of the burnt offering: It is the burnt offering, because of the burning upon the altar all night unto the morning, and the fire of the altar shall be burning in it.”

It goes on to talk more about how they were to attend to that altar every morning and every evening. Every morning and every evening they were to take out the ashes, speaking of all the junk, and all the stuff in our lives that is grieving to the Holy Spirit. They had to take that out.

Then they had to renew the fire, and build it up, and put on the wood. That speaks, of course, of the Word of God, which renews us, and sustains us, and builds us up.

In verse 12, it says: “And the fire upon the altar shall be burning in it; it shall not be put out: and the priest shall burn wood on it every morning, and lay the burnt offering in order upon it,” and so on.

 And then verse 13: “The fire shall ever be burning upon the altar; it shall never go out.” This was God’s plan for the altar, that the fire was never, ever, to go out. They had to keep it burning.

Now, the interesting thing is, He was telling them in this Scripture what to do. Of course, Moses obeyed, and they made the brazen altar, and everything else for the tabernacle. Then, when it came to bring everything into the tabernacle, and to have the consecration of it, that God, when they put the sacrifice upon the altar, God lit the fire. It was supernatural. Fire came out of the altar.

But then God gave the responsibility to the priests to then keep that fire going. We all know that was Old Testament. In the New Testament, we are now priests and kings unto God. We have now our priestly duties. We are now to keep our altar burning so that it never goes out. That was where the family altar saying actually came from. It was very, very biblical.

All right. Now we’re going to start looking at these 25 points. You know, I think by now, if you’ve been listening to my podcasts, that I can never, ever seem to be a point one, two, three preacher. Well, not that I’m a preacher anyway, ha-ha! That’s a job for the men. I am just an older woman, sharing with you younger women, and encouraging you in the ways of God, and in the ways of motherhood, and in the ways of the home, and in the ways of marriage, according to God’s Word.

Before I even get to point one, altar building is very, very much part of the Bible, from Genesis right throughout the whole Bible. The very first altar that’s mentioned in the Bible was the altar that was built by Noah. Genesis 4:4. No, it wasn’t Noah, of course, it was Abel, wasn’t it? Actually, yes, it was Noah, that the first altar that was mentioned, but obviously Abel did build an altar, although it’s not mentioned.

Genesis 4:4: “And Abel, he also brought of the firstlings of his flock and of the fat thereof. And the LORD had respect unto Abel and to his offering.” They only did offerings at altars, so obviously both Cain and Abel built an altar. Of course, at Abel’s altar, there was obviously the shedding of blood, because he brought the first fruits of his flock, of his lambs, or his goats, whereas Cain just brought what came out of the ground. There was no blood shed.

We know how God had respect. He looked upon Abel’s offering, and He had favor upon it. We don’t know what happened, but God did something to show that He received Abel’s offering. So, that was obviously the first altar, but the first time we read the word “altar” was when Noah built an altar unto the Lord. But then, that was only the beginning. As I read through the Scriptures, I found 17 other men of God who built altars in the Old Testament.

Not only do we find so much teaching from all those men who built altars, but also from the altars in the tabernacle, and later the temple. The altar, that’s the outer court of the tabernacle, the brazen altar which we’ve been talking about, and the altar of incense. From these, we find all these amazing truths that we can learn so we know how to do it in our own homes. Amen? Are you with me?

Okay.

No. 1. WE MUST FIRST TAKE ACTRION TO BUILD AN ALTAR

Altars don’t just happen; you have to make them happen. The early patriarchs built altars of earth or of stone. I’m sure it was hard work. They weren’t just little altars. They built big altars. It took effort. It took hard work.

Now, today, lovely ladies, we’re not building altars of earth or of stone. No, no. We are building an altar. What are we doing? We are finding and making a time and a place where we meet with God because that was what the altar was all about. To meet with God.

So, we read Genesis 8:20: “And Noah builded an altar.”

And then we read, “And Isaac builded an altar.”

Then we read, well before Isaac, of course, we read of Abraham: “And Abraham builded an altar.” Well, Abraham built many altars.

“And Jacob builded an altar.”  

You notice that word “build.” The word “build” is banah, which means “to build.” The word banah actually has three meanings. First of all, it means “to build.”

 It also means “to repair,” because we know every building always needs repair. It doesn’t just last forever. Things break. They fall down. They begin to corrupt. So, we have to keep repairing even our own homes. You know, we’ve got to repair the roof, we have to repair a door, we have to repair something that’s breaking down.

I’m so glad that my husband is able to fix things. I call him “Mr. Fix-it”! I’m so glad to have a Mr. Fix-it around who can fix things that break down because I’m hopeless at doing that myself. If anything breaks down, well, I really don’t know how to fix it. But we have to keep our homes repaired.

We also have to keep our altar repaired. Yes, we can sometimes let that go, and let that fall, and forget about it. We have to repair it again.

There is a third meaning of the word banah, but I’m not going to talk on it today. In this meaning of banah, it also means “to bring forth children,” because one of the biggest things of the word banah is to build a home and a family. It means “the bringing forth of children.”

But at the moment, we are talking about building altars. Let’s go to where Jacob builded an altar, shall we? I could give you all the references of the others, but maybe I’ll put them in the transcript for you.

Now, when Jacob builded an altar, it was in Genesis 35. Let’s read from verse 1: “And God said unto Jacob,” notice “God said.” It wasn’t Jacob’s idea. It was God’s idea. “Jacob, arise, go up to Bethel, and dwell there: and make there an altar unto God.” So, Jacob then went to all his family, and he said, “And let us arise, and go up to Bethel; and I will make there an altar unto God, who answered me in the day of my distress . . . So Jacob came to Luz . . . that is, Bethel, he and all the people that were with him. And he built there an altar, and called the place El Bethel: because there God appeared unto him, when he fled from the face of his brother.”

Now, we notice three things, well actually there are lots of things. And we will be coming back to this passage to see many more things about the altar in this passage. But the three basic things are here.

Number one, God told him to do it. Building altars is God’s idea, not our idea. It’s God’s idea.

Number two, he confirmed that he would do it. Did you notice that? God said, “Arise, and make an altar.” Then Jacob went to his family, and he said, “God has told me, so let us arise and go up, and we’ll make an altar unto God.”

Thirdly, he didn’t just say it. He didn’t only confirm it. He actually did it! Because we read, “And he built there an altar.” I love that. So, ladies, we get those three things there that speak to us personally. I hope that when you read the Word of God, you take it personally to you. It is a love letter to you, a personal letter to you. Yes, many times God is speaking about a person, or many times He’s speaking about promises to Israel.

But every word of God is alive and active. Every word has power to speak to us. Every word, every story, every Scripture . . . There is what God says on the surface, but there is what He is also saying to us personally. There are also deeper truths and more layers underneath, as we search, in every Scripture.

Here we get what God, He was saying it to Jacob, but He says it to us. “I want you to build me an altar.” If we are truly hearing God speak to us, we’ll say, “Yes, Lord,” and we’ll confirm it, and we’ll talk to our children about it. “We’ve got to make an altar to meet with God!”

You’ll talk with your husband about it. Well, you won’t tell him what to do. Oh, never do that! Because, have you noticed? If you tell your husband what to do, do you know what he’ll do? He usually does the opposite. Or, if he doesn’t do the opposite, he’ll just do nothing. No, somehow husbands don’t like to do things when they’re ordered by their wives. But we can talk to our husbands about it. We can ask our husbands.

After you’ve listened to this podcast today, if you haven’t got an altar in your home, you can say, “Well, I was listening today about building an altar in our home. Here’s some of the things that God says. What do you think about that? Do you think it’s something we could do in our home?” You have to approach your husband the right way.

And then thirdly, of course, he did it. We want to always be able to fulfill what God says to us. Everything God says to us in His Word is not only for us. It is for our children too.

Genesis 17:9: “As for you, you shall keep my covenant. You and your descendants after you, throughout their generations.” God’s Word is not only to us, but to our children, and our children’s children, and their children, and continuing generations. We must establish in our homes what God wants us to do so it will become part of their homes, and each following generation. Can you say amen with me?

No. 2. WE BUILD AN ALTAR TO THE LORD WHEN WE ESTABLISH A HOME

Yes, at the very beginning. If you’re a young married couple listening today, that’s one of the first things you do after you are married, to begin a family altar. You begin it before you ever have children. You start it as a married couple together. It will be something that establishes your children to come into this habit.

Let’s see some Scriptures here. Genesis 13:3-4, and this is talking about Abraham: “And he went on his journeys from the south even to Bethel, unto the place where his tent had been at the beginning, between Bethel and Hai; Unto the place of the altar, which he had made there at the first.” That was the first place he had stopped, and therefore the first place he made an altar.

We go down to verses 17, 18: “Then Abram removed his tent, and came and dwelt in the plain of Mamre, which is in Hebron, and built there an altar unto the LORD.” You notice, when he moved, and he came to a new place, he established the altar again. When we move, we’re often moving. I notice that with Above Rubies. Every day, we get changes of addresses. People seem to be moving from one state to the other. All over the nation, it’s just a moving nation. We are always changing thousands of addresses. 

But every home we move to, we establish the altar. Isaac, Genesis 26:25. Isaac built an altar, even before he pitched his tent. Listen to this: “And he builded an altar there, and called upon the Name of the Lord, and pitched his tent.” Do you notice what he did first? He actually built his altar first. Then he pitched his tent. That’s the priority Isaac put on the altar.

What about Jacob? Genesis 33:18-20. This is before the passage I was telling about, of how he went up to Bethel. “And he (Jacob) bought a parcel of a field, where he had spread his tent . . . and he erected there an altar, and called it Elelohe-Israel.”

Do you see the pattern, lovely ladies? Everywhere they went, they built an altar.

Samuel. 1 Samuel 7:16-17: “And he went from year to year in circuit to Bethel, and Gilgal, and Mizpeh, and judged Israel in all those places. And his return was to Ramah; for there was his house; and there . . . he built an altar unto the LORD.” So, at his home, he established his altar.

Matthew Henry, the great Bible commentator, wrote, “Wherever man has a tent, God should have an altar.”

Now I am ready for point number three, but I think our time is running out. I think we will have to finish now, because when I start on point number three, I’ll be talking to you for a while. So, let’s get onto that point next week, OK? Please come back, because there is more, and there is more, and there is more to tell you about the family altar. Amen? Let’s pray.

“Dear Father, I want to thank You so much, that You show us Your heart in Your Word. Lord, already we’ve seen that to build an altar is not our idea. It’s Your idea. You’re the One who established the pattern of altars.

“I pray, Father, that You will help all of us to be faithful in our homes, as we gather with our families to meet with You. I pray, Lord, for those who may not have even started, that You will give them this vision, and You will help them. And especially as we continue to talk more about how to go about it.

“I pray Your blessing again on all the precious families listening. Lord, just bless them, provide for them, encourage them. Lord, just give them new vision, and a whole new stirring in their spirit to strengthen their families, Lord God, especially in this hour of the fragmenting of families. We ask this in the precious Name of Jesus. Amen.”

Blessings from Nancy Campbell

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www.aboverubies.org

Transcribed by Darlene Norris

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DON’T FORGET TO TELL OTHERS ABOUT THESE PODCASTS AND TRANSCRIPTS.

“LIFE TO THE FULL w/ Nancy Campbell”

DON’T KEEP THE BLESSINGS TO YOURSELF.

IT IS ENCOURAGING FOR ALL WIVES AND MOTHERS.

 

 

LIFE TO THE FULL w/ Nancy Campbell

EPISODE 307: A Project for Your Family

Sonia Ramsey joins me today, and we talk about an exciting project you can do in your home that can affect the destiny of a certain nation! Oh, I do hope your family will get involved. What amazing miracles we could see if we all got involved.

Announcer: Welcome to the podcast, Life to The Full, with Nancy Campbell, founder and publisher of Above Rubies.

Nancy Campbell: Hello, ladies! Today I have with me Sonia Ramsey. Sonia actually did a podcast with us quite some time ago. Today this is podcast 307, but when we did it together, Sonia, it was 150. That’s quite a while ago. In fact, back then, Sonia was still living in Oregon, but happened to be visiting here so I grabbed her to do a podcast with her.

But since then, they have come to live down here in Tennessee, and living not too far away from us, they’ve become very much part of our lives. We are so blessed. They are such a wonderful family. If you didn’t hear it, you would love to go back and hear Sonia’s testimony. She shares how she went into motherhood longing for children, but it didn’t always happen so easily. She had infertility, miscarriages, then a difficult adoption.

And then, well, they ended their family with a little Down’s Syndrome baby, little Noah. Well, little Noah has become just the delight of everybody who even sees him. He’s the most amazing person, as young as he is, isn’t he? You don’t need TV when you’ve got Noah!

Sonia: Oh, no! Oh, no, he entertains us a lot.

Nancy: Oh goodness me! And yet, there was a time when you first found out, you wondered, “How will I cope with a Down’s Syndrome child?” What would you say now?

Sonia: Oh, if I had known that he was coming, oh, I’d be so excited! I’ve enjoyed every minute of having him in our family.

Nancy: Actually, the word “exciting,” really, that’s how you describe Noah!

Sonia: Oh, yes, oh yes.

Nancy: Exciting!

Sonia: Never a dull moment for that guy!

Nancy: He’s exciting! Life is just so exciting to him. I could spend all my day just looking at the excitement on his face. Then his actions! It’s so amazing!

Sonia: He loves everyone. He loves to be with everyone.

Nancy: And all the children are so great with him.

Sonia: They are.

Nancy: And it’s amazing. How long have you been now in Tennessee?

Sonia: Two years in December.

Nancy: In that time, I’ve watched the children grow. I can’t believe Asher. Is he 15 now?

Sonia: He’s 16.

Nancy: 16! But I’ve watched him. It’s like I used to watch our grandsons. You’d see them, and then one day you’d say, “Help! You grew two inches last night!” And then by the next night, they’d grown another two! In fact, he has joined all the tall boys.

Sonia: Yes, he has! He shot up this year.

Nancy: Yes, all the tall young men around here. It’s so amazing, isn’t it?

Sonia: It is.

Nancy: Today Sonia and I are going to share another project with you. This is an exciting thing, because they came to live in Tennessee, the Ramsey’s do a special thing every year. Colin and I were so blessed that they invited us to join them. Actually, you’ve only been here two years, but we’ve been to three of your special meals. How come that worked out?

Sonia: When we moved, it happened very soon after we got here.

Nancy: Well, we’ve been to three, and they have been so amazing. You tell us, Sonia, what it’s all about.

Sonia: OK. When my children were younger, about nine years ago, we would always wonder what to do for Valentine’s Day. I wasn’t very excited about just getting them a bunch of candy and stuffed animals. I thought, “There’s got to be something else.”

Then I heard about Saint Valentine, that he was a martyr, and that the day was named after him. I thought, “Oh, that’s interesting.” I had heard somebody say, “You can use the day as a day to remember the persecuted church.” I thought, “Oh, now that’s something I would love to do.” I started thinking about what that could look like. Our first year . . .

Nancy: You’ve been doing it for how many years?

Sonia: Nine years now.

Nancy: Nine years. That’s amazing.

Sonia: We chose India. We decided to have them dress up as Indian as we could get. We had saris on, homemade ones anyway. We took the legs off of our table and set it on the floor in the living room. We set it up, and I found some Indian recipes. We made some food from India and had a really good time.

A couple weeks leading up to that, we studied the country and studied what it was like to be a Christian there. I found videos online, so we watched those. Leading up to it, we had India on our minds. Then we spent that evening eating the food and having a good time. But then after the meal, we would spend time praying for them and the church that’s there, and the difficulties that they have, and encouraging for them.

I wanted to instill in our children a love for the church everywhere, not just what we have where we can just go to church. It’s no big deal. Nobody’s going to fire us, or murder us, or do any of those things for our faith. But that’s not the case for Christians around the world. I wanted them to be able to love the other Christians around the world.

Nancy: Now, tell us which countries you have done so far.

Sonia: I’m not sure they’re entirely in order. We started with India. We did Viet Nam, North Korea.

Nancy: Now Viet Nam would have been interesting because you have an adopted daughter from Viet Nam.

Sonia: Yes. We did it pretty early on. Actually, that’s one that I don’t remember as much. She remembers the recipes that we did, but I don’t remember focusing as much on that one, so it might have been the second year. I do remember the North Korea one very well. That one we had by candlelight since the country is dark at night. We actually found some interesting videos online of people interviewing those living there. It was interesting. It was an unusual one to do.

Nancy: North Korea is the number one persecuting country of Christians.

Sonia: Right. We did that one. We did China. That one was funny, because that year . . .

Nancy: You had an adopted baby son from China!

Sonia: We do! I think we may have done this when he was either really little, or before he came, because I know I couldn’t cook that year. My husband went and got Chinese teriyaki bowls from a restaurant and brought them home.

We did Turkey which was wonderful. We did Egypt, which I think is our favorite, our favorite food especially. That was wonderful. Afghanistan was the first one that you came to. Last year was Nigeria, and this year we did Eritrea.

Nancy: Eritrea. You know, I love doing this with the Ramseys. It was so inspiring. Of course, we had such a great night. I love trying different foods. In fact, I think this year the food was so delectable.

Sonia: It was good.

Nancy: It made you want to go to Eritrea to eat it! It was so wonderful. You really associate with the country when you eat the food, and you dress up as much as you can like they would be dressing up. Fortunately, I have quite a lot of African clothes in my wardrobe that have been sent from Liberia from relatives of my adopted Liberian children. We were able to spread those around.

But this Eritrea really got to me this year as we began to find out more about this country, and what it’s really like. Here, lovely ladies, here in the United States, we don’t know we’re alive. We live so blessedly and although we face problems, and even financial things, in everything we think we’re hard done by. Really, we’re not compared to the rest of the world!

Even those of you living in other countries, Eritrea is an absolute totalitarian dictatorship. Of course, there is no freedom in this country at all. Imagine living in a country with no freedom at all. This president of Eritrea is named Isaias Afwerki.

Sonia: Do you remember that Eritrea was one of the “hermit nations”? It’s a nickname, similar to North Korea, where they’re very closed off from the rest of the world.

Nancy: That’s absolutely true.

Sonia: That was fascinating to me. I had no idea.

Nancy: They call Eritrea “The North Korea of Africa,” because it is such a totalitarian state, ruled by this president. Actually, they got their independence from Ethiopia. What year was that? That was 1993.

Since then, there have been no elections at all. No elections, no cause for any freedom of speech, or any other political party, or anything. Imagine, ladies, living in a country where you’re in servitude. That’s the last 23 years. Imagine that! It’s been bad enough living under Biden’s regime!

Sonia: That was 30-some, right? 1993. Is that 31?

Nancy: [laughter] 31, or something like that. You’re right! 31 years!

Sonia: That’s a long time!

Nancy: 31 years! It’s been bad enough living under Biden’s regime for three years. Goodness me! Help! We hope we can change that! But they have no recourse to change! There they are. They have to, as soon as they have finished high school, all males and females have to be enlisted into the military. Not for so many years. It could be indefinite. They give no time when it’s over. Their lives are completely ruled.

There is no legislature, no media outlets, no independence. In fact, the government shut down all independent media in 2001. That’s 23 years ago. Yes, that’s what I was getting mixed up with. Twenty-three years without any other social media except what the government tells you. Freedom of assembly is not recognized either. A public gathering of more than seven requires a permit. If people protest, they will be faced with deadly force. Food insecurity and malnutrition are common. About 66% of Eritreans live below the poverty line.

So, ladies, it would be difficult to live in such a country. And yet, isn’t it sad? It’s such a beautiful country. If you don’t know where it is, you’ll want to go to your map of Africa and have a look. Go over to the eastern side, and you’ll see the Horn of Africa, as it is called. It’s right on the Horn of Africa. It is bordered in the east by the Red Sea, the beautiful Red Sea. They have such a beautiful long coastline of the Red Sea. Of course, opposite that is Saudi Arabia and Yemen. On the west is Sudan, and on the south is Ethiopia. On the southeast is Djibouti. That’s where it is.

Have a look at where this country is. Its’s a beautiful country, and yet people are living in poverty and servitude.

Then we get to the Christians. Actually, it was a Christian country. By the numbers, half the people are Christian, although it’s just by name. The other half are Islam. But if one wants to change from Islam to Christianity, they will be persecuted. Or even from their government Christianity, and they turn to really truly being born again, they’re going to be persecuted. The persecution is pretty horrific there.

Sonia: It was pretty intense, what we were learning about.

Nancy: You were sharing some about that, that night. Do you remember some of it?

Sonia: Well, yeah. We were talking about, and I can’t actually remember why this came about, but we were discussing holding containers. There were some holding containers for metal, like shipping boxes that were out in the jungle. It’s a very hot area. The Christians were left out there, locked in there to bake. Some of them survived. Some didn’t.

I can’t remember what the reasons for that were. This is the kind of situation where people might just disappear without having any word of where they’ve gone. Going against the government in their Christian faith is not tolerated.

Nancy: You have to toe the absolute line of the government. So, dear ladies, this is really the vision that the beautiful Ramsey family had, is to take a country, and then begin to pray for that country for the whole year. As we were there that night, I thought, “Wow, we’ve got to do a podcast about this. Imagine, if we could not only be praying but we could get all of you praying. We’re all praying for Eritrea, this country that is so desperate. Imagine what could happen!

We’ve been meaning to do this podcast for so long, but not getting on to it. But here we are.  I really want to give you a vision here, ladies. I want to give you, oh, such a vision, that you could take up as a family, a country. I’d love you to join with us for Eritrea this year. Then next year, you could choose your own country.

But I think the more that can be praying for this one country, I believe we could see God do something amazing, because you just think, since they got independence, 31 years of dictatorship. No freedom at all and persecution for Christians. It is on the top ten list of the persecuting countries of Christians. We do need to pray, don’t we?

What does the Scripture say? Hebrew 13:3: “Remember them that are in bonds as bound with them, and them which suffer adversity, as being yourselves also in the body.”

Let me read it from the New Living Translation. It makes it even clearer to us. “Remember those in prison as if you were there yourselves. Remember also those being mistreated as if you felt their pain in your own bodies.” Wow, that’s something, isn’t it?

Well, the sad part is, I think that many Christians don’t even get to pray for the persecuted church. That is the very least we can do, to pray for them. I believe we have a responsibility, even as the Bible says, and to pray for them in such an intercessory way that we are feeling their pain, the pain of their torture, and the pain of their hunger, and the pain of the evil things they’re doing to their minds and their bodies!

Oh goodness me. I remember once, maybe I’ve told you this story before. It was a couple of years ago, and Serene was coming down from their third story, I think, on a ladder. She had a long skirt on, and somehow it got caught, and she fell to the ground, on her back! She was in such agony. It could have been so serious, but God delivered her and healed her.

But while she was there on her back, in absolute pain, what did she do? I was amazed when she shared it with me. She said, “Oh, Mom, I was in such pain that I cried out and cried out for the persecuted church!” She said, “Usually I feel so good that I don’t know how to feel their pain in my body.”

Sonia: Wow!

Nancy: “At last I was feeling such pain in my body, so I was really interceding for them.” I was really challenged by that. In fact, it was only a few weeks later that I fell and broke my ribs! Of course, ribs heal, but they are painful when you break your ribs. I was in such pain. I thought, “Well, what am I meant to do? Oh, pray for the persecuted church!”

But don’t let’s wait until we’re in absolute agony and pain, lovely ladies. Let’s make it a part of our lives. You know so well how I encourage you, as families, to come together in the morning and evening, to read the Word and pray together as a family. I think this is such a great time to pray for the persecuted church. How have you guys been getting on with praying?

Sonia: Well, we’re working on it. [laughter]

Nancy: I’ve got a confession too. Because I came home from that lovely evening with you, and thought, “Right! Every single day we’re going to pray for the Eritreans!” I told everybody in the household, and we started off with a bang. But I have to confess, we haven’t done it every day.

And yet, I do have some help. This is what I find, ladies. I do believe that we need help in reminding ourselves to pray. I may have shared with you before, but we have prayer boxes here in our home, right by our table where we have our devotions. We have our hymnbooks that we sing from, and we have our prayer boxes that we pray from. I have about nine different prayer boxes.

Of course, one of them is our “Praying for the Persecuted Church.” In that box, I have all the different needs of the persecuted church, and what is happening to them, and the different countries that are being persecuted. I also have another prayer box called “Countries and Capitals.” I have in that box all the neediest capitals and countries of the world. Of course, that includes the persecuted countries too. So, I actually have two boxes with “Eritrea” in them.

We don’t use nine boxes every day. We will just usually pick up one box. Then we’ll often get Eritrea and we’re praying for it. But I’m now thinking I’ll have to think of another idea, to remind us to pray every day.

My dear sister, Kate, is living with us at the moment. She and her husband are building a house out here on the Hilltop. While it’s being built, they’re living with us. I have to confess, she is faithful. Since that night, she has prayed in own prayer time, before she gets up every day, for Eritrea. Somehow, she remembers. It’s really on her heart.

So, I pray that you can think about it. I hope you’ll make some prayer boxes too. It’s great to have them on all the different subjects we need to be praying for—the nation, Israel, the persecuted church, and all these different needs in the world. But think of some idea of how you can remember, because I just feel lovely ladies, and young people listening, and children listening! If we could all begin to pray every day this year, from now on, this year, for Eritrea, well, what could happen?

Sonia: That would be so amazing! You’re making me think of Pam Fields and her bracelets. I think she’s written that in the magazine before where she writes the bracelets with her children’s names on them to remember to pray for them.

Nancy: That’s a great idea. Pam Fields has done podcasts with me. She has made bracelets where she has the names of all her children, which she puts on one wrist every morning. Then, as she has prayed for each child, she puts it on the other wrist. By the end of the day, wow! It shows whether she’s got through them all.

Sonia: She knows who to pray for at the end of the day!

Nancy: Yes! Yes! We so need reminders, don’t we? We really do. It’s amazing. And I find even our prayer boxes are things that we pray for, we would never pray for them if we didn’t take that little card out of our prayer boxes. We just forget. We’re so prone to forgetting, aren’t we?

I was looking up again this morning in Open Doors, because they’re such a wonderful organization for reaching out to the persecuted church. I thought I’d share with you a little bit of what they say about Eritrea. They also call it the “North Korea of Africa.” Actually, Eritrea does recognize Islam and Christianity, but anything outside of government Christianity is open to their persecution.

I’ll read this to you: “Raids to round up unsanctioned believers are common with church leaders, especially with church leaders. Those seized in raids are often sent into Eritrea's notorious prison network, where they can be detained indefinitely.”

They believe there are at least 1,000 Christians in prison currently—and they haven't been charged with any crime. They’re just there and forgotten. They just forget about them. Nobody knows if they’ll ever come out.

“Members of some house churches have been in prison for more than 10 years, enduring shocking conditions, including solitary confinement in tiny cells. Women face rape and sexual violence. The government watches every citizen of Eritrea, promoting a stigma against Christians. Anyone who converts from Islam, or joins a non-approved Christian denomination is likely to come under intense pressure from their family and community, along with the government. Women are particularly vulnerable. They risk abduction, house arrest, forced marriage to a Muslim.” (that’s what happens in these countries) “Or removal of their children.”

Can I tell you about the testimony of one, Abdullah? They share his testimony.

“Becoming a Christian in Eritrea cost Abdullah everything. It cost him his job, his freedom, and eventually his life. This persecution could have ended if he had renounced Jesus, but that was something he refused to do. He knew Jesus was worth the cost.

“Like most Eritreans, Abdullah grew up in a Muslim home. When he decided to follow Jesus, he could have been a secret believer, but he was so passionate about his new faith that he couldn’t keep it quiet. He told everyone about Jesus. He wanted them to know the Good New too. But, of course, through that, he was arrested and imprisoned.

“In prison, he was only given food three times a week. His wife wasn’t allowed to bring him any extra food or clothes, or even see him. She did receive letters in which she learned that he was getting increasingly sick in prison. Tragically, he died. Those close to the family say that Abdullah was imprisoned to discourage his faith. Ultimately, they wanted him to deny Christ and convert back to Islam. He was told that, were he to do this, they would drop the charges. But no imprisonment, hunger, torture, or sickness could separate Abdullah from the love of God.”

I think of these Christians in these countries who know they’ll face torture, they’ll face death, they’ll face being thrown of out their families. They face prison, they face forgottenness for the rest of their lives, but yet, they won’t give up their testimonies for Jesus.

Wow! They put us to shame, don’t they? But our responsibility is to pray. Yes. To pray for them. I’m wondering, are you getting the vision? Will you join with us in praying for Eritrea? Oh, I think it would be so wonderful if every family would do this. Ask the Lord what you can do to help you remember to do it, because we do need that help. Maybe you could tell other families about it too. And then maybe you’ll want to do what the Ramseys did. Every year, you’ll choose another country.

Sonia: Even now, they could choose Eritrea, and have their friends over, and have dinner.

Nancy: Yes! Great! They do it on Valentine’s Day. You could do it on New Year’s Day. You could do it this week. It doesn’t matter when. As Sonia was saying, what a great idea! Just look up the foods and get dressed up. Invite some other families over. Have a wonderful night together, and pray together that night, and then commit to praying together. Yes! That would be so great.

Sonia: And then preparing for those things, it’s really fun for the children to be able to go to the stores where they sell those seasonings that we’re not used to cooking with. We had to go into Nashville to find a store that had all of the things that we needed. That was part of the adventure. That was really fun for all of us.

Nancy: Oh yes! And you’re discovering about the world, with your children. And how blessed they are here in America. But we want our children, don’t we, to have a heart for the persecuted church, and a heart for others, and to learn to pray for others. And also, your girls, now that they’re getting older, they are doing a lot of the cooking. They’re learning how to cook in all these other wonderful ways. They’re such good cooks.

Oh, by the way, if you ever come to the THM, Trim Healthy Mama Café here in Tennessee, you will be served by Sonia’s beautiful daughters, Ellie, and Shailee. They work there and it’s always such a joy to go there, just to be served by them! They’re so beautiful, and so amazing! Maybe you’ve met them if you’ve been to the THM Café.

Is there anything else you wanted to say about this vision, Sonia?

Sonia: I don’t think so. I don’t think so. Just the daily reminder. I would say that’s one thing to ponder on. I think it’s good for all of us to have a reminder.

Nancy: Your vision gave me a vision. I can’t wait for next year, when we come to your next one. I think it’s such a marvelous idea. And to pray for this country. I trust you’ve got the vision. I trust you’ll join us. Let’s pray, and see changes come to this nation that is in such servitude to dictatorship. Oh, I would find it so hard to live under dictatorship! How do you live when you don’t have freedom? I don’t know! Although this is one of the worst countries. There are many that are like that.

In fact, let me just, as we close, give you the top ten persecuting countries.

North Korea, of course, number one.

Somalia,

Libya,

Eritrea,

Yemen,

Nigeria,

Pakistan,

Sudan,

Iran, and

Afghanistan.

There are about 50 persecuting countries of the world. Those are the top ten. We certainly need to pray for them. And how do we pray for them? Remember? As though we were feeling their pain in our own bodies. In fact, the Aramaic version of that Scripture says: “As if you were people who wear their bodies.” Isn’t that amazing?

Sonia: Wow!

Nancy: Let’s pray.

“Father, I thank You for this opportunity that Sonia and I could share this wonderful vision that You have given to them as a family. Lord, I’d love to see it multiply across the world, to take up a country that is in such servitude and suffering such persecution. Lord God, I pray that You will motivate these precious families listening, and they will begin to pray for this country.

“We pray for Eritrea today, Lord. We pray for this dictator, Lord God, Isaias Afwerki, that You will, oh God, bring him down from his high throne. We pray, I don’t know how it can happen, Lord God, but somehow that there can be freedom, Lord, for there to be elections somehow. Lord, it’s only You who can do this, Lord God! We pray for a miracle.

“We pray for the precious believers who are suffering there. We pray that You will encourage their hearts, that, Lord, You will surround them with Your love. And Lord God, those whose tummies are tortured with hunger, come to them. Lord, give them that feeling of a full stomach, Lord God.

“We pray for those who are being tortured and left abandoned, Lord. We pray that they will know that You haven’t forgotten them. We pray that You’ll put Your loving arms around them and bring Your presence to them so mightily. And Lord, we pray that in some miraculous way, deliverance will come to this country. We ask it in the Name of Jesus. Amen.”

Blessings from Nancy Campbell

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www.aboverubies.org

Transcribed by Darlene Norris

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DON’T FORGET TO TELL OTHERS ABOUT THIS PODCAST,

“LIFE TO THE FULL w/ Nancy Campbell”

DON’T KEEP THE BLESSINGS TO YOURSELF.

IT IS ENCOURAGING FOR ALL WIVES AND MOTHERS.

 

Podcast 30:

Pam Fields shares her wonderful idea of PRAYER BRACELETS and how they help her to pray for each of her children each day.

To listen to this podcast, go to:

https://www.buzzsprout.com/183665/905644-episode-30-should-we-make-new-year-resolutions

 

To find out how to make the bracelets go to this link: https://tinyurl.com/PrayerBracelets