And Moses [put your name in his stead] built an altar, and called the name of it Jehovah-Nissi [God is my Banner]. —Exodus 17:15
I challenge you right now to build an altar where you live, work, or worship. Stop what you are doing. Build an altar. Put on that altar the sin of leaving the banner of God unattended and failing to raise high the standard. Cover yourself and your altar with the banner of His love, crying out for His mercy and forgiveness.
After the altar there’s a time of equipping and preparing, of training and conditioning for the battle. Get ready. Over the hill a battle rages. Around the corner the enemy sets an ambush and lies in wait. Get ready. Don’t climb the hill or turn the corner without building an altar and raising high your standard. Don’t go blindly into the battle.
Get under Jehovah Nissi. You are not the moon or the sun. You have no power on your own. But you can leave the night behind. You can become as fair as the moon and as clear as the sun. You can march in that terrible, awesome army of God, raising high His banner of victory. But a standard-bearer’s initiation begins at the altar where he is washed in Jesus’ blood, cleansed by living water, and exposed to His light.
Jesus, I long to march in Your army, to lift
Your standard high, and to be under Your
banner. I build an altar today and make
of myself a living sacrifice
to You. Amen.
Curt Landry 
Michael L. Brown 
Rabbi Eric Tokajer 
