Our Prayer...and Life as Incense

You shall make of these an incense, a compound according to the art of the perfumer, salted, pure, and holy.  

 Exodus 30:35 NKJV

Then another angel, having a golden censer, came and stood at the altar. He was given much incense, that he should offer it with the prayers of all the saints upon the golden altar which was before the throne.  And the smoke of the incense, with the prayers of the saints, ascended before God from the angel’s hand. 

Revelation 8:3-4 NKJV

I truly believe if God kept a logbook of prayers rendered by educators in these final weeks of test preparations, testing, and maintaining sanity, He would run out of pages.  Folks who haven't prayed aaallll year, somehow find the time to bow their heads or look up to the ceiling in desperation.  

"Jesus, please help this child pass this test."

"Lord, give me strength."

"Jesus take the wheel!"

"God, I can't take this anymore!"

"Lord, are You SURE I'm in the right profession?"

The bible often associates incense and prayer together.  King David said, "May my prayer be set before You as incense, the raising of my hand as the evening sacrifice."- Psalm 141:2  He knew that to God our prayers are a sweet aroma that come from the blended spices of our faith, trust, obedience and reverence in Him.  In the Old Testament, God gave Moses the specific ingredients to blend the incense which would be placed on His most holy altar.  Because of its sacredness, the entire list of ingredients has never been written down, but passed on from one generation of selected priests to the next.  God also directed that this incense be salted, pure and holy.  

We, as Christian educators are to give off a pleasing aroma not only to God through our prayers, but as the Apostle Paul mentioned in 2 Corinthians 4, this aroma, whether good or bad, will be released to those around us. "Now thanks be to God who always leads us in triumph in Christ, and through us diffuses the fragrance of His knowledge in every place.  For we are to God the fragrance of Christ among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing. To the one we are the aroma of death leading to death, and to the other the aroma of life leading to life."  Therefore, His Old Testament directive for the incense to be salted, pure and holy is nothing new from what He's asked from us as His New and Now Testament believers.  He's called us to be the "salt of the earth".  He's told us to "be holy as He is holy".  More importantly, He promised that those of us who are "pure in heart" having received Him as our Lord and Savior, will see Him.

This kind of lifestyle, the salted, pure and holy lifestyle, directs the intensity and depth of our prayer life. It leads us to pray, not just for the student who is giving us trouble, but for their parents. It calls us to seek God for how to pray for a specific situation. It strengthens us to pray without ceasing for things others have long given up on as hopeless causes. Ultimately, it creates its own special aroma of love and compassion that others cannot emit.  

While the incense making procedure involves a lot of plucking, pounding, grounding and sifting...

and the burning outlook isn't too pleasing either...

our God will use the situations of this school year to develop a one of a kind scent generated from our attitudes and actions.   Truthfully, in my classroom, on many a day I am greeted with the pungent "tang" of little bodies blooming into puberty.  With my left eye twitching and my nostrils flaring, I press through to the end of the day. This permeating smell is real and offensive, but so is the smell of  our disrespect, arrogance, and unbelief (and the list could go on) to God. 

                                              Soooooooo...

How's YOUR scent?

             or

Have blessed school week and stay fresh! lol

The Lord is with you and you are loved,

Toni

Climate Change

It is truly a blessing to be called a child of God.  Moreover, that blessing becomes even more valuable and meaningful when we work in service to others all for the advancement of His Kingdom. Unfortunately, this service that I call "teaching" hasn't seem so blessed lately.  The climate of peace that once enveloped my classroom has shifted into something that I've been staring at like an impending storm.

What I am learning is that my old way of praying isn't enough.  I am learning that I'm going to have to have a fresh boldness to take back what belongs to God. I need to update my prayer and update my praise!   

So why is it so important to set the climate in your classroom and school?  What does it really mean to "set the climate"?  In Matthew 8:23-27  Jesus is asleep in a boat with His disciples while they try to manage the untameable wind and waves all around them.  When they realize their efforts are not working, they call on Him to save them from their obvious demise.   Jesus silences the violent wind and cause the roaring waters of the Sea of Galilee to immediately be still.

When He got into the boat, His disciples followed Him. And suddenly a violent storm arose on the sea, so that the boat was being covered by the waves; but Jesus was sleeping. And the disciples went and woke Him, saying, “Lord, save us, we are going to die!”  He said to them, “Why are you afraid, you men of little faith?” Then He got up and rebuked the winds and the sea, and there was [at once] a great and wonderful calm [a perfect peacefulness].  The men wondered in amazement, saying, “What kind of man is this, that even the winds and the sea obey Him?”

Matthew 8:23-27 AMP

Not only did Jesus calm the immediate atmosphere of weather, He shifted the climate ( long termed averaged atmospheric occurrences) of faith in His disciples.  He demonstrated His authority over the things He created and exercised His dominion on this earth.  

As Believers who are also educators, we are are called to exercised our God given dominion on this earth through the power of His Holy Spirit working in us. We speak with and in the authority of His Name over those things that come against His principles and our assignment to love others and lift Him up. Everything we do is for the glory of God and the increase of His government over the enemy's.  It is for the spiritual lives of our students and our coworkers that we have been assigned to that school or that classroom to show Jesus through a life of love, obedience to the Father and service to others.  

I'm sure if we could be like these weather workers, things would really begin to change in our schools.

Joshua asked for the sun to stand still -  Halt any actions that do not edify God before your students and coworkers.

Elijah called for drought -  Speak a drying up of those things that are not of God in your school.

Gideon asked for dew -      Don't be afraid to ask for the impossible.  With God, all things are possible.

Samuel  called for thunder and rain -  God can use you to show His existence and power.  

Jesus calmed the wind and waves -  Tell the complainers and those that seek to take your peace to be silent.

Jesus caused an eclipse  - While there may be a darkness that you don't understand, know that Jesus, as a perfect sacrifice, empowered you to be strong even in your weakness.

Paul and Silas caused an earthquake - The praise and adoration of God that you do before those who do not believe in Him has the power to loose the chains of unbelief in their life.

This week as you prepare for work, pray that God will show you what needs to dry up and what needs to be rained on.  Pray that He shows you how to cause praise induced earthquakes and to expect the refreshing Dew of His Spirit everyday.  Pray for a peaceful climate to overtake your school and alertness and energy to wake out of your slumber to silence the enemy. 

 

Update your prayer.         Update your praise.

Take control of your environment and set the climate.

The Lord is with you and you are loved,

Toni

Please enjoy this week's song!