I was attending a worship night recently during which the Lord began to show me a vision of singed hands. I saw burn marks on the hands of people that had been worshiping at secret altars. They thought they could maintain secrecy as they lifted up their souls to other gods, but their unholy fire was burning their hands, concrete evidence of their destructive appetites and affections.
I immediately thought of Psalm 24:3 - 5:
Who may ascend into the hill of the Lord?
Or who may stand in His holy place?
He who has clean hands and a pure heart,
Who has not lifted up his soul to an idol,
Nor sworn deceitfully.
He shall receive blessing from the Lord,
And righteousness from the God of his salvation.
Ascend The Hill
What does it mean to ascend the hill of the Lord? Back in Biblical times, the tabernacle (and eventually the temple) was literally located upon a mount. People had to go up to Mt. Zion in order to worship. To this day, people still travel “up” into Jerusalem.
The Psalmist recognizes that in order to ascend the hill in worship, our hands and our souls must be clean, consecrated unto the Lord. Although whether or not hands are singed and burned did not affect one’s ability to physically climb a mountain, it did affect whether or not the Lord was able to receive the worship of the priest. According to the Levitical requirements (Leviticus 21), priests could not minister before the Lord with any open wounds. Their skin had to be rash and wound free in order to fulfill their tabernacle duties. A wounded priest could still eat the “holy food,” but he could not minister incense before the Lord.
In my vision, I saw that the unholy fire had grown out of control for some, and that fire was beginning to leap off the secret altars and burn family members and friends. Thus, the impact of their unholy, secret choices was hurting those around them.
Jesus & Our Other Lovers
Some years ago, I was attending a regional meeting for pastors and leaders from a certain denomination. While I was sitting in the gathering, I received an inner vision from the Lord: I saw a man opening up his billfold and a picture of Jesus was prominently displayed in a protective, transparent plastic covering. Suddenly, a line of pictures unfolded underneath the initial one of Jesus. They were photos of all of his other lovers! What?! In that moment, I understood that we have been trying to worship Jesus while also worshiping other things/people. The gentleman in my vision had a divided heart. He loved Jesus, but only a little more than he loved all of these other people and things. And the fact that the Lord showed me this vision in the midst of a pastors’ gathering meant He was highlighting that His leaders were not impervious to harboring other lovers.
For my pastor and leader friends, we are called to be His bride, but we are also friends of the Bridegroom. How does it look when the friends of the Bridegroom are flirting with the betrothed bride? Can you imagine attending a wedding where the best man is continually winking and whispering “sweet nothings” in the bride’s ear….all while the groom watches? Or worse, what if the groomsmen had committed adultery with her? Ugh. That would horrible to behold.
But what if we as leaders are committing spiritual adultery with His bride? How would I define spiritual adultery? When we’re more interested in making His bride love us as opposed to preparing her for our Bridegroom King. Or, when the bride’s opinions control our actions and decisions more than the words of our King, like a toxic, co-dependent relationship.
“The bride belongs to the bridegroom. The friend who attends the bridegroom waits and listens for him, and is full of joy when he hears the bridegroom's voice. That joy is mine, and it is now complete.”
~ John the Baptist John 3:29
About a year and a half ago, the Lord began to reveal to me just how controlled I was by the opinions of others. In Christian-speak we call that the “fear of (wo)man.” When I felt that I was disappointing someone, especially if that person held a position of authority in my life, I would experience anxiety. In His mercy, the Lord pulled back the curtain on my soul and I finally saw the ungodly shrine I had constructed to others’ opinions. I knew I needed to repent and find my identity in Him, and not in what others’ expected from me.
Secret Altars
What are these secret altars? That’s up to each of us to discern from the Lord. Here are some common ones: sexual immorality, manipulation, fear of wo/man, control, ungodly traditions, racism, partisan spirit, mammon (love of money), prestige, entertainment, fame, gossip, addictions, etc.
Unholy fire will continue to consume and destroy us from the inside out. And unholy fire will eventually singe those around us, the ones we love the most. So do not wait. Please, do not wait.
Our beautiful King is inviting His bride away from our secret altars and into His burning heart. His love is a refiner’s fire that burns away all chaff and heals every wound.
And one last bit of wisdom, although our initial encounter needs to be between us and the Lord, we will need the body of Christ to help us on this journey. Our life in Christ was never meant to be a solo ride. Allow others into your freedom journey. I have a few good friends and colleagues (including my husband) who know my junk and know how to pray me through to freedom. I would not be who I am today without their consistent love, prayers, and sacrifice.
Today there are new mercies. Today there is grace for repentance. Today there is redemption. Today there is freedom.
“So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.” John 8:36
Matthew 15:
Then some Pharisees and teachers of the law came to Jesus from Jerusalem and asked, 2 “Why do your disciples break the tradition of the elders? They don’t wash their hands before they eat!”
3 Jesus replied, “And why do you break the command of God for the sake of your tradition? 4 For God said, ‘Honor your father and mother’ and ‘Anyone who curses their father or mother is to be put to death.’ 5 But you say that if anyone declares that what might have been used to help their father or mother is ‘devoted to God,’ 6 they are not to ‘honor their father or mother’ with it. Thus you nullify the word of God for the sake of your tradition. 7 You hypocrites! Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you:
8 “‘These people honor me with their lips,
but their hearts are far from me.
9 They worship me in vain;
their teachings are merely human rules.’”
10 Jesus called the crowd to him and said, “Listen and understand. 11 What goes into someone’s mouth does not defile them, but what comes out of their mouth, that is what defiles them.”
12 Then the disciples came to him and asked, “Do you know that the Pharisees were offended when they heard this?”
13 He replied, “Every plant that my heavenly Father has not planted will be pulled up by the roots. 14 Leave them; they are blind guides. If the blind lead the blind, both will fall into a pit.”
15 Peter said, “Explain the parable to us.”
16 “Are you still so dull?” Jesus asked them. 17 “Don’t you see that whatever enters the mouth goes into the stomach and then out of the body? 18 But the things that come out of a person’s mouth come from the heart, and these defile them. 19 For out of the heart come evil thoughts—murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false testimony, slander. 20 These are what defile a person; but eating with unwashed hands does not defile them.”
