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Month: March 2017
For the Sake of The Kingdom
I had the flu for several days. Slight fever, chills, headache, stuffiness. Typical of the flu. I asked the Lord for healing but I realized that my asking was not with a real belief or desire for healing, I knew this would pass.
Psalm 2:1,2 O LORD my God, in You I have taken refuge;
Save me from all those who pursue me, and deliver me,
Or he will tear my soul like a lion,
Dragging me away, while there is none to deliver.
This was my psalm this evening.
Who are my enemies, Lord? Are they not Your enemies? Then why am I complacent about the flu? Isn’t sickness Your enemy? If I am not radical about your enemy, your enemy will be radical with me!
I stopped to ponder that for a moment. It is so easy to get complacent with asking for healing for ourselves when we are hit with symptom after symptom. Most symptoms are words of knowledge for others, but what happens when we are truly attacked in our own body? Complacency, even unbelief has crept up on me so subtly. I’d come to accept that I do get a cold sometimes, or the flu, or a nauseas stomach. I accept it. Because we just get these things.
But wait! What if we adopted that attitude for other things that the Lord does not want us to walk in?
Well, we just get anxiety sometimes. It’s normal, right?
Well, when it rains it pours.
Well, we all get a little depressed, it’s human nature.
Well, I don’t have time to think about my longings and desires, there are bills to be paid.
I realized that if I allowed my heart to get hardened just because it’s natural or normal to be any way contradictory to the absolute perfection of the Kingdom of God, then I begin to slip into unbelief, where, according to Hebrews 4, there is no rest. Only those who believe God’s word have rest.
No Rest??!! You mean, anxiety all the time?
Ps 37: 7, 8 Rest in the LORD and wait patiently for Him;
Do not fret because of him who prospers in his way,
Because of the man who carries out wicked schemes.
Cease from anger and forsake wrath;
Do not fret; it leads only to evildoing.
Anxiety leads to evil doing! Unbelief leads to anxiety!
Therefore, belief leads to rest.
If I ask for healing of my body in order for myself to be comforted ONLY, then there comes a time when I will be able to tolerate a little sickness every now and then.
But if I command healing in my body because there is no sickness in the Kingdom of God, then all sickness is not tolerable. EVER! Christ died that I would be free from illness. Sickness is NEVER tolerable. (Though I do not judge myself or others unrighteously when sickness comes. We are ALL walking this thing out).
If I ask for the desires of my heart because I want for myself, then there will come a time when I no longer will ask God for big things, and then lose belief that He is more than able to provide.
But
If I ask for the desires of my heart because His word says “Delight yourself in the LORD; And He will give you the desires of your heart” (psalm 37:4) then at no time, EVER will I be afraid to ask or trust Him for whatever desire He puts in my heart.
Sickness and Poverty are enemies of the Lord.
They should be ours as well. ALWAYS.
Is Your Vision Limited?
Is 54: 1″Shout for joy, O barren one, you who have borne no child;
(Rejoice, You Who Have Had No Fruit of Vision)
Break forth into joyful shouting and cry aloud, you who have not travailed;
(Sing and Shout and Cry Aloud You Who Have Not Had Vision At All)
For the sons of the desolate one will be more numerous
(For The Fruit of The Womb Of Those Who Have Previously Had No Vision Will Be More
Numerous)
Than the sons of the married woman,” says the LORD.
(Than The Fruit of the Womb of Those Who Have Previously Had Much Vision)
2″Enlarge the place of your tent;
(Hear What I Say. Expand Your Vision Capability)
Stretch out the curtains of your dwellings, spare not;
(Come out from Your Comfort Zones, Leave No Slack)
Lengthen your cords
(Stop Being Cramped and Unable To Move, This Causes Pain and Brings Infirmity –
1 Chronicles 4:9-10)
And strengthen your pegs
(Secure Your Boundaries)
3″For you will spread abroad to the right and to the left
(You Will Occupy MUCH Land)
And your descendants will possess nations
(And Your Children Will Conquer Nations)
And will resettle the desolate cities
(And Will Build Up That Which was in Ruins)
4″Fear not, for you will not be put to shame;
(Shame Will Arise and Try to Stop You, but Will Not Prosper)
And do not feel humiliated, for you will not be disgraced;
(You Will Be Attacked, But Will Rise Victorious)
But you will forget the shame of your youth,
(The Greater Your Vision, The Less Time You will Have to Remember Foolish Things
Done As a Child)
And the reproach of your widowhood you will remember no more.
(The Stain Of Aloneness Will Be Unnoticed)
5″For your husband is your Maker,
(For The One Who Created You is the One Who Desires, Redeems, Nurtures, Loves, Sings
over, Delivers, Cares For, and Dresses You)
Whose name is the LORD of hosts;
(Whose Name is the Lord of Armies, Lord of All Creation, including Stars, Sun and
Moon, Oceans, and Skies and Angelic Beings)
And your Redeemer is the Holy One of Israel,
(Your Redeemer, Like Boaz, is your Bridegroom King)
Who is called the God of all the earth.
(Who Owns the Whole Earth)
How to Influence Nations and Win Generations
Romans 1:16 For I am not ashamed of the Gospel (good news) of Christ, for it is God’s power working unto salvation [for deliverance from eternal death] to everyone who believes with a personal trust and a confident surrender and firm reliance, to the Jew first and also to the Greek
Acts 1:8 but you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be My witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and even to the remotest part of the earth.”
In 2006, (I was living in Florida at the time), I had this conversation in intercession with the Lord.
“Use me, Father, to influence nations! Use me Lord to lead generations to come!
The Lord said:
“Come closer!”
Lord, I lift up America to you. Open its eyes with salve to see You.
The Lord said:
“Come closer”
Lord, I lift up Florida to you! May You cause us to be rooted and grounded in Your love.
The Lord said:
“Come closer”
“Lord, I life up Fort Pierce to you. May this be a lightning rod for Your Spirit”
The Lord said:
“Come closer”
“Lord I lift up Myrtle Drive to you. No longer will you give us thorns, but may there be myrtle trees.”
The Lord said:
“Come closer”
“Lord I lift up 5112 Myrtle Drive to you. May there be peace resting upon this place.”
The Lord said:
“Come closer”
“Lord, I give you my heart, fully and completely, I am yours”
The Lord said:
“You are now closest to My Heart”
A nation is influenced and a generation is led beginning with your own heart change. Your own heart change towards Him. Your own ears hearing His heartbeat. Your own eyes seeing His face.
That is what a witness is. One who has seen and heard with their own eyes and ears. One who can testify of His goodness in hardships. One who can testify of His faithfulness to His word. One who can speak the deeper things only revealed by an intimacy with Him.
Jacob was just a man who became the nation of Israel.
Joseph and each of his brothers became the twelve tribes of Israel.
First in Jerusalem. The place where the Lord will set up His Kingdom. The place where the Lord will set His Throne. Your heart, is a type of Jerusalem.
And in all Judea. The places of your community. Your workplace. The places in your state. These are those you come into contact with on a regular basis.
Then to the remotest parts of the earth. Paul says “To the Jew first, then to the Greek.” Here, “the Greek” represents the remotest parts of the earth. These are those we pray for, outside of our present sphere of influence.
You are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation! (1 Peter 2:9)
That’s right!
YOU!
How you lead YOU as a nation, will be how you influence nations and lead generations to come.
I am the first Christian in my family. I remember getting the word
“You will lead your entire family in a new direction, changing the collision course it was on, and this will affect generations to come.”
Sounded awesome upon the hearing of it. The Lord said to me “Don’t be afraid. I AM the Author and Finisher of your faith.” Hebrews 12:2
He told me He knew my beginning and He knew my end. He knew all the parts in between. He created my story and He ordained my steps. He created the comedy, the drama, the tragedy, the trauma. He wrote my story. I was excited. He is my Author.
But there is a second part to that verse in Hebrews…”who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.”
There was a price to pay. Before I get to see it, there is the Cross, and my daily cross to bear.
Romans 1:16 For I am not ashamed of the Gospel (good news) of Christ, for it is God’s power working unto salvation [for deliverance from eternal death] to everyone who believes with a personal trust and a confident surrender and firm reliance, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.
There is a reason Paul chose to use the words “not ashamed” when speaking about the gospel. It means that after he saw his own guilt, he chose to lay it at the Cross.
There was therefore no shame to cover up. He then was given authority to influence nations and lead generations.
Influencing Nations and Leading Generations comes only by way of the Cross.
We are not our Flesh!
Therefore from now on we recognize no one according to the flesh; even though we have known Christ according to the flesh, yet now we know Him in this way no longer. 2 Cor 5:16
Ps 43: 5 Why are you in despair, O my soul?
And why are you disturbed within me?
Hope in God, for I shall again praise Him,
The help of my countenance and my God.
I wasn’t depressed or in despair, but I was struck by a truth I had known, yet forgotten. David spoke to his flesh as if it was not he himself, but a disciple of the Lord that he was commissioned to raise up and train. 0
“Why are you in despair, O my soul? And why are you disturbed within me? Hope in God!”
He speaks to his soul, or his flesh, as if it is a separate being near him, yet not him at all.
Paul says in 2 Cor 5:16 Therefore from now on we recognize no one according to the flesh; even though we have known Christ according to the flesh, yet now we know Him in this way no longer.
Paul judges no man according to the flesh.
1 Co 2:2 For I determined to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ, and Him crucified.
Not even himself.
1 Co 4:3 I care very little if I am judged by you or by any human court; indeed, I do not even judge myself.
If we judge ourselves or others according to the flesh, we will never escape the flesh or the accusations of it.
Why are you in despair, soul? Follow me as I put my hope in God and praise Him this morning!
Ps 134: 1 Behold, bless the LORD, all servants of the LORD,
Who serve by night in the house of the LORD!
Behold:
- To perceive by the visual faculty; see: behold a tiny figure in the distance.
- To perceive through use of the mental faculty; comprehend: “Behold the man of the future”
- To look upon; gaze at
Romans 6:19 I am speaking in familiar human terms because of your natural limitations. For as you yielded your bodily members [and faculties] as servants to impurity and ever increasing lawlessness, so now yield your bodily members [and faculties] once for all as servants to righteousness (right being and doing) [which leads] to sanctification.
Romans 4:17 (as it is written, “I have made you a father of many nations”) in the presence of Him whom he believed-God, who gives life to the dead and calls those things which do not exist as though they did
When we first chose to sin, we didn’t love it the very first time. It was awkward, we were not skilled, we had anxiety.
We didn’t pick up a cigarette the very first time and say “ahhhh, that went down smoooooothe.” We didn’t take a drink of alcohol the very first time and say “mmmm I’ll have another pitcher.” We didn’t lie the very first time, without our conscience being pricked, yet we allowed the members of our body to be used as servants of impurity and INCREASING lawlessness because we had a vision in mind.
We knew what image we wanted to walk in, therefore we worked at becoming skilled at sin.
In the same manner, we are to desire to look like the completed work our Creator sees when He sees us, when we were still a twinkle in His eyes, not looking after the flesh, but after His design, and call into being what is not, as though it already was.
He didn’t see disease when He planned us.
Call your blood pressure to return to normal and serve (bless) the Lord!
Call your joints to become flexible and serve (bless) the Lord!
Call your eyes to see and your ears to hear and to serve (bless) the Lord!
Call your pancreas to produce insulin and serve (bless) the Lord!
He didn’t see depression when He planned us!
Call your mind to be focused and serve (bless) the Lord!
Call your emotions to be filled with joy and to serve (bless) the Lord!
Call your heart to be steadfast and to serve (bless) the Lord!
Call your thoughts to think on things lovely and to serve (bless) the Lord!
We are not our flesh. We are not our soul.
Call the members of your body to serve the Lord in purity and INCREASING righteousness!
Call into being that which is not, as though it were, in order to serve (bless) the Lord, because we are created in His Image.
Just do it.
Phillipians 3: 10 [For my determined purpose is] that I may know Him [that I may progressively become more deeply and intimately acquainted with Him, perceiving and recognizing and understanding the wonders of His Person more strongly and more clearly], and that I may in that same way come to know the power outflowing from His resurrection [which it exerts over believers], and that I may so share His sufferings as to be continually transformed [in spirit into His likeness even] to His death, [in the hope]
Phillipians 3: 11That if possible I may attain to the [spiritual and moral] resurrection [that lifts me] out from among the dead [even while in the body].
Phillipians 3:12 Not that I have now attained [this ideal], or have already been made perfect, but I press on to lay hold of (grasp) and make my own, that for which Christ Jesus (the Messiah) has laid hold of me and made me His own.
Phillipians 3: 13 I do not consider, brethren, that I have captured and made it my own [yet]; but one thing I do [it is my one aspiration]: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead,
Phillipians 3:14 I press on toward the goal to win the [supreme and heavenly] prize to which God in Christ Jesus is calling us upward.
The Page is About you, The Book is about Me!
“I know the plans I have for you, plans to prosper and not harm you. Plans of greater purpose and glory. Plans to give an expected end and plans for good and not evil. I know the plans I have for you. I AM the Author of your faith. I AM the Finisher and Perfecter of your faith. I have created you for My glory. I have created you for My purpose. I am calling you to trust Me that I have your life in My hands. I am calling you to trust Me that I have not left you as an orphan. I am calling you to trust Me that I have more for you than what you are presently experiencing. Eyes upon Me. Eyes upon Me. Eyes upon Me. Follow Me moment by moment as we walk through the pages of your life together. The page is about you. The book is about Me.”
Hebrews 12:1-3 (The Message)
Do you see what this means-all these pioneers who blazed the way, all these veterans cheering us on? It means we’d better get on with it. Strip down, start running-and never quit! No extra spiritual fat, no parasitic sins. Keep your eyes on Jesus, who both began and finished this race we’re in. Study how he did it. Because he never lost sight of where he was headed-that exhilarating finish in and with God-he could put up with anything along the way: Cross, shame, whatever. And now he’s there, in the place of honor, right alongside God. When you find yourselves flagging in your faith, go over that story again, item by item, that long litany of hostility he plowed through. That will shoot adrenaline into your souls!
“Now the man Moses was very humble, more than any man who was on the face of the earth.” Num 12:3
Wait. Didn’t Moses WRITE the book of Numbers?
I thought, “How could anyone say such a thing about them-self, and still have it be true?”
I didn’t get an immediate answer. But it came after an experience with Marcus, in 1999.
I was attending a charismatic church and felt I belonged in some kind of prophetic ministry but didn’t know what it was. I know I just heard the voice of the Lord.
At my then church, there was one man named Marcus. I saw Marcus as one example of a true prophet of God although I didn’t know him. He was new to the church.
When I heard the Lord speak, telling me about the portion of ministry He already placed within me, I said “But I don’t know what this is. Who will mentor me?”
And I saw Marcus in my mind’s eye. Although I didn’t know Marcus, having neither spoken to him nor met him, I knew he prophesied in the church with words that bore incredible witness in my spirit.
I had a picture of Marcus when I prayed and I just knew this man was going to mentor me so I waited.
A month went by and the pastor asked Marcus and his wife to come up to the front. He announced they were called to Oregon and will be leaving quickly. There was no mention of what he was called to Oregon for. He asked everyone to stretch their hands up to the front and pray.
There had to be a hundred people just crowding Marcus and his wife. Not me. I stayed in my chair, with tears welling up in my eyes because I knew that I knew that I knew, that I heard from the Lord and He very clearly indicated to me that Marcus would teach me one of the most important aspects of prophetic ministry, yet the scene I was clearly witnessing did not compute for me. How could I have been so wrong?
I stood in my row as I watched everyone go up, and Marcus’s eyes met mine. Of all the people around him, his eyes met mine and he saw tears.
There was a connection in the spirit. Like Jesus as He went through the crowds and yet when one woman touched His garments He asked “Who touched Me?”
After service I just walked outside the church doors and stood with my back to the front doors staring out. People were walking all around me but then, Marcus came out of the front of the building and just stood to the right of me.
Just stood. I was looking straight out at the road and he was looking straight out at the road.
Silently I spoke to the Lord, “Lord this is awkward, what do you want me to say to him?”
But it just came out “The Lord says you are a leader among prophets”
He just looked at me with a little boys look on his face. He was about 40 at the time but he looked like a little boy and he got teary-eyed. His mouth dropped and he thanked me.
Now, I’m thinking “What on earth is this man thanking ME for?” But he thanked me, he asked if I would write, he wanted me to write but he told me to get the address from the pastor because he had to go.
He said I gave him a confirmation of why he had to go to Oregon. HE was stepping out in faith.
What came out of Marcus was a humility I will never forget. Never in my life. It was a GUSH of GOD!! and it was so powerful I was forever changed. I was wrecked. God used ME to speak a confirming word into the man who I thought was going to teach ME how to be a prophet.
The Lord said to me “The mark of my prophets is humility.”
I never did write to Marcus. There was only that one “God-moment”. But something inside me forever changed.
Marcus had a great vision from the Lord. He was going to move his family to Oregon, by faith, based upon this vision to raise up prophets.
Moses was the most humble man on the face of the earth. Humility is the mark of one with the greatest visions. Now, when I say “greatest” I mean in terms of seeing greatly beyond one’s own means or resources. Great vision for a blind person might be greater than for a person with all body parts working at top speed, although it might look lesser to the natural eye.
Moses was Deliverer of all Israel, yet he was raised in Pharaoh’s house and stuttered!
So, how could Moses say of himself in the book of Numbers, that he was the most humble man on the face of the earth, and have it be true? I mean, usually when a person declares their own humility, they have just shown their pride, right?
Consider Jesus. He said to the Jews “Before Abraham was, I AM” and the Jews knew that this was blaspheme because He was claiming to BE God! This is when they picked up stones to stone Him. Yet, we know Jesus was meek, and humble. And He had no problem making any claims about who He was.
Philippians 2: 5-11 Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus, who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bond servant, and coming in the likeness of men. And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross. Therefore God also has highly exalted Him and given Him the name which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth, and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
Let this mind be also in you.
God opposes the proud and gives grace to the humble. (1 Pe 5:5)
Don’t limit your vision to your income.
Don’t limit your vision to your health.
Don’t limit your vision to your present situation.
Don’t limit your vision to what others say of you.
If you are wrestling with pride, check how long the cords of your tent are. It just may be time to trust God with a greater vision than what you have now.
Grace, (or the divine enablement and power), will come to the humble.
And humility comes to those with greater vision.
Seek the Lord for a greater vision than what you currently have. You won’t have to be concerned about pride because there will be nothing in yourself to boast. Seek Him for a vision in which you know that there is absolutely no strength, power, ability or talent within your own resources to accomplish it, except your leaning upon the Lord. One that will require your focus to be intently upon Him at all times.
Remember that the page is about you, but the Book is about Him.
“Thank you for that confirming word!” (Marcus – leader among prophets)
“Moses was a humble man, the most humble in all the face of the earth”. (Moses, Deliverer of all Israel)
“Before Abraham was, I Am.” (Jesus, King of Kings, Lord of Lords, Savior and Deliverer of all the world)
The Secret Place
The Secret Place…. It is here where you are kept, safe and secure and will not be run over when you run into this Strong Tower of safety….. It is here where His thoughts are revealed and each moment is redeemed and captured and packed with revelation and glory in its stillness.
The offer is available for all to enter, but only few are able to abide here, for while there is safety, while there is peace, while there is revelation of the knowledge of God here…… there is also holy fear….. We will all fear for it is deception to say you have no fear, we will all fear. The issue is not whether we will, but whom we will.
The secret place is a holy place of privacy and intimacy and I hear the Lord saying that we can walk in this place even in the crowd – we can walk in this place even in the midst of chaos, there is a hiddenness in the shelter of the Almighty….
The secret place is that place of affirmation and trust, when all others around you are critical, imposing, interfering, and filled with anxiety, this place is a shield about you, to guard your heart from taking in what does not beautify.
The waters of heaven will wash away the debris that was left over from the fire, the residue of ash and the wood that was destroyed and remained in this place but has no place there.
In this political season, and season of distraction, lies, fake news, fair weather friends, economic and geographic turbulence, the invitation is .. “Come”
Isaiah 28:16 Therefore thus says the Lord GOD,
“Behold, I am laying in Zion a stone, a tested stone,
A costly cornerstone for the foundation, firmly placed.
He who believes in it will not be disturbed.
17″I will make justice the measuring line
And righteousness the level;
Then hail will sweep away the refuge of lies
And the waters will overflow the secret place.
18″Your covenant with death will be canceled,
And your pact with Sheol will not stand;
When the overwhelming scourge passes through,
Then you become its trampling place.
Overlooking A Fence
Mark 5:25-34 Now a certain woman had a flow of blood for twelve years, and had suffered many things from many physicians. She had spent all that she had and was no better, but rather grew worse. When she heard about Jesus, she came behind Him in the crowd and touched His garment. For she said, “If only I may touch the hem of His robe, I shall be made well.”
Immediately the fountain of her blood was dried up, and she felt in her body that she was healed of the affliction. And Jesus, immediately knowing in Himself that power had gone out of Him, turned around in the crowd and said, “Who touched My clothes?”
But His disciples said to Him, “You see the multitude thronging You, and You say, ‘Who touched Me?’”
And He looked around to see her who had done this thing. But the woman, fearing and trembling, knowing what had happened to her, came and fell down before Him and told Him the whole truth. And He said to her, “Daughter, your faith has made you well. Go in peace, and be healed of your affliction.”
But His disciples said to Him, “You see the multitude thronging You, and You say, ‘Who touched Me?’”
And He looked around to see her who had done this thing. But the woman, fearing and trembling, knowing what had happened to her, came and fell down before Him and told Him the whole truth. And He said to her, “Daughter, your faith has made you well. Go in peace, and be healed of your affliction.”
Yesterday, while in my kitchen washing dishes, I looked out of the window at my yard. We have a small yard with a chain link fence that separates our yard from the parking lot of a teacher’s union. Both are hideous sights – the parking lot in my back yard, and the old fence.
I found myself thinking about fences and that we put them up to keep what is ours in, and what is not ours, out. The fence is there to keep anyone from coming over into my space unless invited.
In the past few weeks, I’d been feeling like my “yard” was trampled upon. Well-intention-ed others, entering my space, pulling for my time. I had work to do. I was on a mission. Focused. I’d love to have given them the time for chat but I just didn’t have any. This is my busiest time of year at work, and I’m pretty busy around the house too.
I found I didn’t have the time to give.
But then I “saw” Jesus pressing through the multitudes, and there were people pulling at Him, and one who touched the edge of His garments. Many were pulling at Him, but He wanted to know “who touched Him.”
He noticed, because His thoughts were not on just trying to get through the crowd or the day. Yes He was on a mission, but not so focused on the mission that He could not see others along the way. He did not put up fences to keep others away from His personal space. So secure in His Father’s love, that He needed no fences to divide what was His from what was theirs.
Multitudes. What does that look like in our day? There is a revival coming you know. People will be pushing up against us and pulling at our garments. We need to understand boundaries soon because one day soon, our boundaries will seem trampled upon.
Dwelling together in unity has no fences. No De-Fence nor Of-Fence.
John 15:10 If you keep My commandments, you will abide in My love, just as I have kept My Father’s commandments and abide in His love.
And I reflected on this more as I looked out my kitchen window, overlooking “A Fence”, I was singing “Keep me from building a fence in my heart”
Proverbs 19:11 A man’s wisdom gives him patience;
it is to his glory to overlook offense.
it is to his glory to overlook offense.
Father how can we prepare for multitudes of revival when we have fences of offense right now in our hearts? Be our DE-Fence as we learn to let go of our need to protect our space because we are safe and secure in Your love. While we need to have our boundaries now, they are never meant for forever. Prepare our hearts to offer freely all that is in our “yard” as You direct. May there be no offense found when You return.
Why The Waste?
Why the Waste?
Psalm 133:1-2 Behold, how good and how pleasant it is
For brothers to dwell together in unity!
It is like the precious oil upon the head,
Coming down upon the beard,
Even Aaron’s beard,
Coming down upon the edge of his robes.
For brothers to dwell together in unity!
It is like the precious oil upon the head,
Coming down upon the beard,
Even Aaron’s beard,
Coming down upon the edge of his robes.
Matthew 26: 6-11 Now when Jesus was in Bethany, at the home of Simon the leper,
a woman came to Him with an alabaster vial of very costly perfume, and she poured it on His head as He reclined at the table.
But the disciples were indignant when they saw this, and said, “Why this waste?
“For this perfume might have been sold for a high price and the money given to the poor.”
But Jesus, aware of this, said to them, “Why do you bother the woman? For she has done a good deed to Me.
“For you always have the poor with you; but you do not always have Me.”
Spending so much of our time and resources on Jesus looks, to the world and even the religious community as waste, for THEY see the value that is in a human life. “Why should human life be wasted upon Jesus when he died and now there is much work to do? Wouldnt even Jesus want you to feed the poor, minister to the sick, and sit with the lonely?”
I have been reading much and learning much about precious oils, and their medicinal value. These oils can take up 30 years to produce, or thousands of pounds of flowers before one ounce is extracted. This is what is so costly and valuable about perfumes and medicines. This is why the disciples were upset that it was wasted on the feet of Jesus. It could have been sold to give to the poor.
I could do the same. I could get educated and read all about the oils, run down to the Health Food Store and put a few together and sell them for our food pantry’s ministry to the poor (which I am not saying this is out of the question, but that is not the point).
The Lord is looking for our hearts.
Will I take what I have come to love, and waste it at His feet? What is valuable to me? Will I waste it at His feet?
Is my past valuable? Will I waste it at His feet?
The world knows the value inside each one of us. Once this value has been established, what will we do with the jewel we have?
Or better yet – what will we do with the Jewel given us by the Father? What will we do with Jesus today?
Father I offer my heart to You this day as You offer Christ to me daily. What will I do with Him today? Jesus is the Precious Ointment that flows from the Head down the heads of priests and to the outer garments and by their feet. Jesus is the Precious Ointment whose saturation upon us is the fragrance of Your love, and for whom we waste our lives upon. Teach us Lord, not HOW to waste ourselves, for the Precious Oil Himself has already been given…. But teach us how to remain broken in humility, that the OIL would freely and extravagantly and continuously flow. Amen.
Like Precious Oil
Ps 133:1 Behold, how good and how pleasant it is
For brothers to dwell together in unity!
2 It is like the upon the head,
Coming down upon the beard,
Even Aaron’s beard,
Coming down upon the edge of his robe.
For brothers to dwell together in unity!
2 It is like the upon the head,
Coming down upon the beard,
Even Aaron’s beard,
Coming down upon the edge of his robe.
A great deal of work is required to produce just a tiny amount of precious oil.
Sixty thousand rose blossoms are required to produce one ounce of rose oil.
220 lbs of lavender will produce 7 lbs of oil.
Jasmine flowers must be picked by hand before the sun becomes hot on the very first day they open. It takes 8 million hand-picked jasmine blossoms to produce 2.2 lbs of oil.
The sandalwood tree must be thirty years old and thirty feet high before it is cut down for distillation. (Christ’s ministry also began at 30).
Resins such as frankincense and myrhh, are obtained by tapping: making deliberate incisions with a specially designed tool or ordinary axe, about 2 inches long, into the bark of the tree. The milky liquid that exudes hardens on exposure to air into droplets or “tears,” and are detached and collected 2 weeks later. New tappings are made at the same place as old ones after removing hardened resin from the previous cut. If the tapping interval is short, then a light scratching of the wood is usually sufficient to cause the resin to flow again. The particular details of the tapping-the time of year it is undertaken, its duration, and the interval between individual tappings-vary according to the species and the customs in the area of production. It may take 3-4 months to produce resin, and then 12 weeks to harden, before collection.
And then the myrrh or frankincense must be sorted and graded to determine quality.
Much goes into the process of producing just a small amount of oil, and the oil that flowed down upon Aaron’s beard was the Holy Annointing oil of Exodus 30:23-25
23Take the best spices: of liquid myrrh 500 shekels, of sweet-scented cinnamon half as much, 250 shekels, of fragrant calamus 250 shekels,
24And of cassia 500 shekels, in terms of the sanctuary shekel, and of olive oil a hin.
25And you shall make of these a holy anointing oil, a perfume compounded after the art of the perfumer; it shall be a sacred anointing oil.
It is as valuable oil that has taken months and years, even a lifetime, of cutting, of waiting, of expressing, of distilling, of fire, of tapping, to produce the abundance necessary to waste upon Aaron’s head, or the feet of Jesus.
Father, May we not go another day without realizing the value You place upon the unity of Your people in You. The coming together often with psalms, hymns and spiritual songs, the uniting of hearts and minds that we collectively have Your thought and mind. May the words of our mouths and the meditations of our hearts, may our prayers offered to You, our songs sung to You, our fellowship had in You, be a pleasing and sweet fragrance, a valuable offering, wasted upon You today and everyday.
