RESURRECTION LIFE

Time with Jesus - Wednesday, 02 January 2013

Hi all,

A week or so ago, I mentioned my connection with Exodus 20. We call them the 10 commandments. We should call them the 10 Freedoms. If we live within the parameter of these freedoms, we would be free indeed. I’m told that the Jewish people call them the 10 Living Words. I don’t know why, but they certainly constitute a framework within which we should seek to live. Back in those days, reading Exodus was odd. It was full of what I thought was just a funny tent arrangement that God required. Then I started to read Leviticus. That was as far as I got. For me it was all weird! What this had to do with God’s Word was beyond me. Since I was only nine at the time I suppose my reactions weren’t surprising. Sixty one years later, I find these books fascinating and challenging. God was teaching His people how to worship. What I’ve learned in the 61 years since then is they are an exposition on Jesus; exquisite beyond imagination! He is revealed to us on every page and in every item included in the tabernacle! No wonder God told Moses to make everything according the pattern He had given. Today we look at one aspect of the tabernacle; the Altar of Incense. Perhaps another name for it could be the Altar of Prayer.

Blessings,

Jim & Phyllida Strickland

Matt 10:8 Freely you received, Freely give		Time with Jesus – Wednesday, 02 January 2013			Matt 10:8 Freely you received, Freely give
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INTRODUCTION			DAILY LIGHT EVENING SCRIPTURES	Resurrection Life
The altar of Incense, within the tabernacle stood immediately in front of the veil which separated the Holy of Holies from the Holy Place. Exactly how much room there was between the veil and the altar is not really defined. There must have been sufficient room for the priests to attend it and keep it spotlessly clean. They would not have wanted to come in contact with the veil. Only the High Priest was permitted to enter the Holy of Holies. It happened once per year on the Day of Atonement. This introduction is not the place to discuss the details of the Tabernacle and its furniture. However these few words are sufficient to indicate the sense of awe and deep reverence the Priests, ministering in the Holy Place, regarded the veil and the Ark of the Covenant, which lay beyond the veil. This was where the presence of God was manifest. You and I had no access to the Holy of Holies. Actually, Gentiles would not be permitted anywhere within the outer boundaries of the tabernacle. Only Priests and the High Priest were permitted to go beyond the Altar of Burnt Offerings. The Israelites, likewise, could go no further than the Altar of Burnt Offerings. It follows that there was a deep sense of reverence by the Israelites for the presence of God. We understand that the very special incense, made according to a specific “recipe” by God, was intended to burn continuously. We are told that the fragrance from this incense ascended to God continuously and He was pleased with this aroma. Symbolically, the incense represents the prayers of God’s people. What is especially beautiful, is we are informed that Our Lord and Saviour intercedes for God’s people forever. (Heb. 7:25) Thus we have a picture of our prayers and the prayers of Jesus ascending to the Father. It’s a lovely picture and one for which I am profoundly grateful. Jim & Phyllida Strickland			2 Let my prayer be counted as incense before you, and the lifting up of my hands as the evening sacrifice! 3 Set a guard, O LORD, over my mouth; keep watch over the door of my lips! Psalm 141:2-3 ESV . 6 "Place the Altar in front of the curtain that hides the Chest of The Testimony, in front of the Atonement-Cover that is over The Testimony where I will meet you. 7 Aaron will burn fragrant incense on it every morning when he polishes the lamps, 8 and again in the evening as he prepares the lamps for lighting, so that there will always be incense burning before GOD, generation after generation. Exodus 30:6-8 MSG 25 Therefore He is able, once and forever, to save those who come to God through Him. He lives forever to intercede with God on their behalf. Heb. 7:25 NLT 4 The smoke of the incense, mixed with the prayers of God's holy people, ascended up to God from the altar where the angel had poured them out. Rev 8:4 NLT 5 You also are like living stones. As you come to him you are being built into a house for worship. There you will be holy priests. You will offer spiritual sacrifices. God will accept them because of what Jesus Christ has done. 1 Peter 2:5 NIrV 16 Always be joyful. 17 Never stop praying. 18 Be thankful in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you who belong to Christ Jesus. 1 Thess. 5:16-18 NLT	Each time that you are praying, do thoughts invade your mind? Is prayer to you a burden, a deep unwanted bind? Is contacting the Saviour beyond all you can see? Then I have got good news for you; for you are just like me. I’ve never found it easy; in truth it’s very hard. I feel I’d like to go and play in someone else’s yard. So we rely on systems to keep our spirits quiet. When what we’re really needing is a spiritual riot. Something we can cling to, to help us get it right, And really serve the Master without some inner fight. Is this a bad confession? Should I hide this away? But all that I can murmur is, “Lord teach me to pray.” I know I’m not alone in this. I know my friends complain, That they would like to pray to You in ways that don’t seem vain. The problem is our senses. We think that we should feel, A sort of dynamism, which makes the Saviour real! We should be filled with power to set the world alight. Instead there’s empty nothingness for we can’t get it right. O Lord, I hate this struggle. It seems I cannot win. And since these words are faithless, I know that they are sin. But Lord I’m tired of trying; I cannot bear the mask That covers my hypocrisy, when prayer is just a task. So Lord as we go into the year which lies ahead, Father, work a miracle and raise me from the dead. Help me know your presence in spite of how I feel. Teach me that sensations are not what make things real. I know that You can do it. Please let my prayers ascend, Like fragrant clouds of incense, of which there is no end. You’ve said that we can do it. To pray and never cease. Perhaps all I am needing, is some form of release. The freedom to engage with You in way’s I’ve never known. The way the Bible indicates is what You’ll surely own. An inner transformation that causes us to be, The essence of what we should know in Christianity. Not some mumbo jumbo of raising up a storm. But where a right relationship is constantly the norm. For working the miraculous for You is just routine, And raising sinners from the dead is where you’re always seen. We desire to know You as we have never done; In fellowship with Father, the Spirit and Your Son. Jim Strickland  Written  2nd January 2012