“To him who overcomes …”

TWO OTHER SPICES

There are two other spices listed as part of the five spices to be equally measured and blended together; those two are pure frankincense and salt.

Pure Frankincense - its Hebrew name is Levonah and it means, white light that whitens. It is symbolic for the purification of our sins. Remember, on the Table of Shewbread there was frankincense burning in a bowl on top of he bread. It has been found that burning frankincense helps to alleviate anxiety and depression. It also repels insects, as such it is thought that frankincense keeps spiritual pests away that are sent by the evil one to distract us from our goal of praying. On top of all of that, frankincense amplifies sound, so the prayers we make are in essence amplified. It was present both at the birth of Jesus, and the crucifixion of Jesus.

Salt - Scripture calls for the tempering of the spices. Tempering means to add salt. Salt heals the wound, kills the germs, and is a preservative. You, as the salt of the earth, do this every day. So in a manner of speaking you are offering all the good you have done back to God. Yes, I know it is the Holy Spirit flowing through and from you that does it all - nice religious answer, but God’s Spirit flows through and around you. This is one of the “ways of God.”

PERPETUAL PRAYER

Just as the incense was to perpetually burn, we are to walk in an “attitude of prayer not lagging in diligence, fervent in spirit, serving the Lord; rejoicing in hope, patient in tribulation, continuing steadfastly in prayer.” (Romans 12:11-12)

Each day the priest would chip off a small part of the block of compacted incense. He would then crush it to a fine powder and pour it over the hot coals on the Golden Altar in order to release the fragrant aroma inherent in the smoke.

BURNING COALS AND FIREY TRIALS

Burning coals, like fiery darts, represent the trials you face daily. Carry that thought one step further, and you see the heat from those coals of the moment release your prayers. Without heat, prayers are not released. In some mysterious way, crisis seems to drive you to God. In that search for God, you overcome that which sought to destroy you.

JESUS CONQUERED THE COALS TO ARISE

These coals represent the moment before Jesus ascended to the Father. Before He ascended, He first descended to the place of the coals (Sheol) and preached to those there the good news of who He was. He overcame the burning coals to rise to the Father. This is another reason why the smoke is such a sweet aroma to the Father, it also represents your overcoming the trials of this Earth that the enemy attempts to use to destroy your faith. Said another way - you have overcome!

ETERNAL TIME FRAMES

Notice, Jesus ascended to the Father before He did so on the Mountain in Matthew 28. How do you know that? Because, He told Mary not tot touch Him because He had not yet ascended to the Father. Then, a short time later, He allowed the women who were on their way to report to the others that He had risen from the dead to touch Him. In that short time span, Jesus had ascended to the Father and returned.

When one enters into the Eternal realm there is no time, thus God can send you back into this time at the same moment He took you. Eternally speaking, a thousand years in Eternity can take one earthly second. Said another way, a thousand years on earth is as a day with God.

Here are some Promises of God to you.

• “To him who overcomes I will give to eat from the tree of life, which is in the midst of the Paradise of God.” Revelation 2:7
• “He who overcomes shall not be hurt by the second death.” Revelation 2:11
• “To him who overcomes I will give some of the hidden manna to eat. And I will give him a white stone, and on the stone a new name written which no one knows except him who receives it.” Revelation 2:17
• “And he who overcomes, and keeps My works until the end, to him I will give power over the nations.” Revelation 2:26
• “He who overcomes shall be clothed in white garments, and I will not blot out his name from the Book of Life; but I will confess his name before My Father and before His angels.” Revelation 3:5
• “He who overcomes, I will make him a pillar in the temple of My God.” Revelation 3:12

Be encouraged!

Blessings,

John Paul

“Come, and let us go up to the mountain of the LORD, …

He will teach us His ways,

And we shall walk in His paths.” Micah 4:2

The Smoke that is arising from the Altar of Incense and slowly filling this first Room of Mystery (the Holy Place) is very sweet in its aroma. As a reminder you are still within the first room within the Sanctuary. To those who are looking at the Sanctuary from the outside, it appears to be one tall and long tent and its height is why it is also referred to as the Mountain of the Lord. Yet, to those who dare to go deeper, like you, the mystery deepens as you soon learn there are two rooms beneath the four layers of covering over your head. Here, kneeling before the Altar of Incense, you are in the middle of that mountain and the Cherubim woven into the fabric above you seem to urge you to pray and to not give up.

It is this mountain, whether found in the Tabernacle of Moses, or the Tabernacle of David, that we learn of the ways of the Lord. Prayer is the foundation of learning His ways. No one promised the journey here would be easy, or safe. The learning curve has been steep, the lessons have been painful, and the process has been arduous. Yet, here you are, preparing and being prepared to meet God.

BI-FOCAL PREPARATION

Prayer is the central focus of this bi-focal preparation process. It prepares you to prepare yourself, and it prepares you in ways that you do not have the capability of accomplishing on your own. Why would God prepare you? Because, He does not want any one to perish. Further, He has promised to be close to those with a broken heart and a contrite spirit. So here you are, kneeling in humility, and submissively praying to the Creator of all things. Contrite people, humble people pray - in their desperation they have no choice; the proud and self-sufficient find no need to pray.

FIVE SPICES OF PRAYER

Your prayers will soon be composed of the five spices which are comprised of the five foundations of prayer. Five types of ingredients are being burned, five types of prayer are being prayed, all blended together in perfect balance as one in the smoke that ascends to the Father.

These five spices, like you, are all ground to a very fine powder. That is probably what you are feeling - you have been pulverized. Jesus calls this “falling on the Rock” and no one escapes it if you want to go to the next Room of Mystery, the Holy of Holies. Once finely ground the powder is compacted into a block of incense and each day the priest chips off some of the incense, regrinds it, and throws the fine powder onto the burning coals lying on top of the Golden Altar. So you see, the grinding process is not just a one time event, it is a daily experience. In fact, this process happen twice a day; once in the morning and again in the evening.

THE FURNACE OF AFFLICTION

Only when the five spices touched the burning coals did the fragrance of the five arise. Just as Isaiah’s speech was purified when the burning coals touched his lips. Prayer, your prayers, will become purified and less carnal.

There are three Sweet spices in this compound - Stacte, Onycha, Galbanum. These three heal and restore the three parts of the Human being; one heals the Spirit, one heals the soul, one heals the body.

Stacte: Heals the Spirit - A gum that exudes in clumps called “tears” from the Stacte shrub.  These tears contain resin and benzoic acid and will dissolve in wine. It is generally considered to be the purest form of Myrh. Stacte have very unusual flowers that are shaped like snowflakes and are pure waxen white. The unusual anthers are a vivid orange color.

Hebrews 5:7 [Jesus] who, in the days of His flesh, when He had offered up prayers and supplications, with vehement cries and tears to Him who was able to save Him from death, and was heard because of His godly fear,

Onycha: Heals the Flesh - Onycha, which means nail, and Gamaliel, whom the Apostle Paul studied under believed this to be a resin made from a desert plant. It has a ‘nail like shine’ and when prepared properly acts as a fixative and enhances the other ingredients in an incense mixture. It is highly aromatic and fragrant. It also has medicinal properties and is thought to evoke compassion for the sick. Thus, it represents the healing effect of prayer for the physical body.

Matthew 14:14 And when Jesus went out He saw a great multitude; and He was moved with compassion for them, and healed their sick.

The nail of Nail represents the words of Jesus,  ”this is My body which is broken for you.”

Galbanum: Heals the soul -This plant spontaneously produces a milky juice which, when dried, takes the form of a pale, waxy yellow-green gum resin called “tears” and its sweet acrid smoke was long employed to keep snakes and insects away. In humans it is found to be a sedative and known for its calming properties. It enhances the fragrance of that which it is mixed with.

Matthew 26:38 “Then He [Jesus] said to them, “My soul is exceedingly sorrowful, even to death. Stay here and pray with Me.”

So you see, the words of the Apostle Paul are significant here, “Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you completely; and may your whole spirit, soul, and body be preserved blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.” 1Thesalonians 5:23. The transition you have been going through is actually “Transforming” you into His likeness.

From this Transformation, your prayers arise to God. There is still more concerning the incense of prayer.

Blessings,

John Paul

“Let my prayer be set before You as incense …” Psa. 141:2

The sages say the swirling of the incense as it arises from the Golden Altar revolves around the thought that the smoke, as a representation of Spirit, is reviving, refining, extracting, and elevating sparks of Holiness and goodness deep within creation and ourselves. By the mere release of the fragrance, everything that it touches is changed. Like the Spirit of God, this Smokey incense, as it is breathed in, searches the deepest part of you and blows on the dimming sparks to present them to God as glowing embers. It is thought that God originally gave these sparks to us in an unrefined state so we would have a built-in need to find Him in order to complete ourselves.

As you breathe in this Smokey incense you are changed – and when you expel it, the world is changed. Further, as the fragrant smoke rises and God breathes it in, it is not only a sweet fragrance to His nostrils, but answers are released to your questions. In God’s inhale and exhale, His Kingdom comes closer to that which He made - you. Dust touching dust, spirit touching Spirit, all contained within one act of prayer. Prayer is far more important than we can imagine – at least at this present time.

5 TYPES OF PRAYER

The five types of prayer are covered in the Lord’s Prayer of Matthew 6. All prayer is to start with Adoration. I won’t belabor the Lord’s Prayer here, however, if you are interested you can learn more about some of its’ mysteries in my CD, “The Mysteries of the Lord’s Prayer.” Below are a few tips and reminders of what you more than likely already know. Yet, sometimes it is good to have the pen of another remind you of spiritual truths.

Adoration or Worship is a feeling of profound Awe, love and admiration and will always result in worship of that which is adored. Adoration caries the idea of recognizing the greatness of God in every way you can think of. It is the understanding that as you grow in that recognition, you will see so much more of Him to worship than you presently see. Thus, worship leads to the recognition of your finiteness in light of the infinite, supreme, grandeur found in His Names. It is the deepest revering or profound reverence for His names. It is the experience that there is no separation of His Name from His acts, nor any separation of His acts from His Glory. They are one, and mysteriously they are to be hallowed and revered.

Devotion is the profound dedication, consecration, and earnest attachment of you to God. Inherent in devotion is the unwavering belief that God will not fail. Thus, within devotion is also often found the declaration of the eventual victory of the cause. “Your Kingdom come,” is not a question, it is an imperative statement of victory. It is the supreme confidence that your life will be better because you follow the one who will win.

Intercession, which includes petition, is asking God to act on the behalf of another by removing something or adding something to them, or protecting them from something. It is the recognition of the pain or potential pain of another person or culture. It is the understanding that sin is an agent of deterioration and without prayer the whole of anything will decay. It is the knowledge that in praying the creator’s desire, He will recreate what has eroded through sin. It is the wisdom and insight that God restricts Himself to the will of man. Thus, without prayer, wills do not change, and the Kingdom advances slowly.

Supplication is a desperate pleading, or crying out to God. Supplication is found when your prayers turn into a cry. It is found when you can’t catch your breath because you are sobbing so hard. This level of weeping is often referred to as wailing. It carries the idea of bending down, bowing, or kneeling in absolute submission. Supplication is the deepest form of prayerful submission. It is the total conviction and dedication to “not my will, but Your will be done.” It is the knowing that there are forces greater than you, and without God’s help, you will succumb to temptation and evil will overpower all things.

Contemplation and its early form, meditation, is thoughtful observation, rumination, deep consideration, and concentration on spiritual matters. It is the growing awareness of the mystical eternality of God’s being. Contemplation begins with your efforts to meditate on His ways – its’ climax can only be achieved with God’s presence. God grants it as a gift; it cannot be earned, bought, formatted, or formulated to occur. But, when it does happen, time disappears and morning and night lose their place as signposts indicating time has passed. For a brief moment, space and time lose their relevance and you taste the Kingdom, the power, and the glory of the only wise God who has never “not existed.”

Keep praying!

Blessings,

John Paul

“Prayer does not change God, it changes man.”

Abraham Heschel

The focus of prayer is not prayer, it is God. You will come to understand that prayer does not necessarily make you feel at home in this universe, in fact it actually prepares you to no longer feel at home in this universe. Kneeling before this Golden Altar of Incense, you not only find it increasingly necessary to pray, you find you are actually beginning to long to pray.

PREPARING FOR ETERNITY

Your prayer does not have to be an hour in length, thirty minutes in length, or even ten minutes long. What is important is that you are actually thinking about prayer, thinking you should pray, and now longing to pray. The time you spend will take care of itself. The next Room of Mystery, the Holy of Holies, is all about Eternity. There is no time there. In that room you will meet He who inhabits Eternity (Isaiah 57:15)

THE WORDS YOU SPEAK

All true prayer begins with God placing thoughts in your mind about what to pray. He does this by and through His Holy Spirit. That transfer of thought comes only as to increase your focus on Him. The Holy Spirit, as you reach the focal point, enters your spirit and prayer comes forth. Think about this; did you know that all prayer begins with you taking a breath in. That is right, you inhale and there is a reason for that - it is symbolic and it is God’s way of telling you that His Spirit is entering you to help you pray. Only then do you utter back what you think are your words, but they are really His.

ANSWERED PRAYER

Answered prayer is the completion of a cycle; “For of Him and through Him and to Him are all things …” Romans 11:36. In other words, Prayer is you returning to God what He desires you to pray. So He can give you your desire. That is why I wrote the words -  ‘true’ prayer. For all prayer is not true prayer. There is a lot of carnal, Earthly prayer being done today, but that is another post for another time. For now we will focus on ‘true’ prayer because that is where we all want to head toward.

INGREDIENTS OF PRAYER

There are five foundational types of prayer and five ingredients blended in perfect balance burning on the Altar before you. Yes, there are other types of prayer, but I believe they will fit within the parameters of these five. The five foundational prayers are Devotion, Adoration, Intercession, Supplication, and Contemplation. These five foundations of prayer correlate with the five spices that were perfectly balanced and blended together as the Incense that would burn on top of the Golden Altar of Incense.

The five spices that were burned and arose to God as a “sweet fragrance” were Stacte, Onycha, Galbanum, Frankincense, and Salt. The aromas of the first three of these are naturally sweet. The aroma of the last two, Frankincense and salt are not sweet, but when blended with the other three they become sweet. Like so many things in your life there times when what seems bitter in itself, becomes sweet in light of the whole.

THY KINGDOM COME

Prayer, links God with this world - prayer links God to you. When you pray you expand His presence in both. Prayer is then the first way to bring God’s Kingdom to Earth as it is in Heaven and in a way also brings you into Heaven - even if for only a moment the constraints of time are lost and Eternity is found.

Thus, as Heschel also said and you will find, “God is of no importance unless He is of supreme importance.”

True Prayer reveals His supremacy to your heart - it can be found in no other way.

Blessings,

John Paul