DEVOTION//Aisle. Altar. Him.

“Hallelujah! For our Lord God Almighty reigns. Let us rejoice and be glad and give him glory! The wedding of the Lamb has come, and his bride has made herself ready. Fine linen, bright and clean, was given her to wear.” Then the angel said to me, “Write this: Blessed are those who are invited to the wedding supper of the Lamb!” (Revelation 19:6-9). 

A wedding road map

Have you heard this one? There are three things a bride sees in the church on way to be married: Aisle, altar, him. Ok, to get the joke you need to read those words out loud: I'll alter him.

So did that make you smile? Maybe just a little?

We can kid about wives wanting to change their husbands. But the truth is, every godly man benefits from having a godly woman as his wife.

But allow me to take this aisle, altar, him theme in another direction.

A worship road map

Think of it as a roadmap to worship -- a road map for when you gather for worship in your church building.

You walk into the sanctuary. You pause as your eyes follow the aisle until they come to rest on the altar. You pause again to recall how the Lamb of God -- your lamb -- was sacrificed on the altar of the cross. There he fulfilled the promise pictured by the millions of lambs that were sacrificed on the great altar of the tent sanctuary and of Jerusalem's temples. Your church's altar and the cross above it rivets your attention on the Lamb who has taken away your sins, along with the sins of the world (John 1:36).

Then, in that instant, your focus is on him, the Savior whose "blood… cleanses us from all sin" (1 John 1:7). He's the reason you have come to worship. He is the one you desire to look upon you and pledge, "I'll alter him; I'll alter her."

Is there a better worship prayer than, "Alter me, Lord Jesus. I am your adoring bride. You are my faultless husband. You have given me your holiness, "fine linen, bright and clean,…to wear." Now empower me to live up to the high status you have given me. Alter me. Make me like you"? 

Aisle. Altar. Him.