PrayBC - Olympic Prayer Guide - Day 17

Our Lives on the Altar




Athletes are quite familiar with the concept of sacrifice. Some things are given up in order to gain other things. An altar was designed and intended to be a place where believers came to meet God. Normally a sacrifice was offered for either forgiveness of sins or as a thanksgiving to God for His blessings or protection. In any case, the altar was a place where one gave a sacrifice to God—something that was costly, valuable, and meaningful to both the giver and the receiver. Noah built an altar and offered a sacrifice when he and his family were safely out of the ark (Gen 8:20). Abraham was asked to place his firstborn son, Isaac, on the altar to test his loyalty to God and see if he was worthy to be the father of a nation (Gen 22:2).


Worshipping God is costly, and a sacrifice is not a sacrifice if it is not valuable.  When John the Baptist saw Jesus coming towards him, he declared, “Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!” (John 1:29). This was a prophecy reflecting what Isaiah prophesied generations earlier, “He was oppressed and afflicted, yet he did not open his mouth; he was led like a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is silent, so he did not open his mouth” (Isa. 53:7).


Even God sacrificed something costly and dear to Himself—His one and only Son. The difference was that Christ did not die on an altar but on a cross. Romans 12:1 says, “Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God—this is your spiritual act of worship.” Today, it is not some thing we put on
the altar, but someone—ourselves.


Prayer: When you pray today, picture a cross before you with your name inscribed at the top. Will you commit your life to God’s service today?


City Venues
CLOSING CEREMONY-BC Place
M Gold Medal Ice Hockey


Whistler Venues
M Cross-Country Skiing