Scent for the King

Song of Songs 3:6 - Who is this coming up from the desert like a column of smoke, perfumed with myrrh and incense made from all the spices of the merchant?

Say three words—gold, (frank)incense, and myrrh—and what do most people think? Yes, magi bringing gifts to the Baby Jesus.

Did you know we also find gold, incense, and myrrh in Song of Songs. “Gold” appears five times, “incense” three times, and “myrrh” seven times.

Of this trilogy, we find “myrrh” most often, so let’s take a closer look at it. The beloved says her lover is a sachet of myrrh. Later she says he smells like myrrh. And then he’s dripping with myrrh. There’s no doubt about it—she definitely associates him with myrrh.

We know myrrh was and is a perfume, but a quick glance through the entire Bible tells us that it appears more often in association with scenting men than women.

“Myrrh” means “bitter.” And myrrh was used for more than providing fragrance on special occasions. It also deadened pain. And people used it to prepare the dead for burial. Jesus turned down wine mixed with myrrh when He hung from the cross. And Nicodemus brought about seventy-five pounds of spices, including myrrh, so he could prepare Jesus’ body before it was placed in the tomb.

Because so many of us read the New Testament a lot more than we read the Old, we may associate myrrh more with death than with life. I’ve heard it said, for example, that the myrrh that the magi brought to the Christ Child foreshadowed Jesus’ death. The person who said it thought the wise men consciously brought a substance associated with death to give to the Baby Jesus, knowing He was born to die.

Now, what would you think if someone gave you a casket or a headstone as a baby gift? Imagine the conversation! “Here, I hope you like it. I brought you some toys, and some booties, and some expensive embalming fluid. We’re all terminal cases….”

The wise men had no idea that Jesus was going to die to save us from our sins. Even His own disciples didn’t get it. Only Mary of Bethany, Lazarus’s sister, who anointed Jesus’ feet before the crucifixion, appears to have understood “before the fact” that our Savior had to die before He would reign as King.

Reigning as king—that’s why the magi brought myrrh. It was a gift fit for a king. Consider Esther, who, before her “night with the king,” spent six months treating herself with oil of myrrh (Esth. 2:12). Centuries later when the magi found Herod, they asked the location of the one born King of the Jews, saying they had come to worship Him (Matt. 2:2). And when they came to the house and found Him, they fell down in worship, offering that King their gifts.

In Psalm 45:6-8 we read, “Your throne, O God, will last for ever and ever; a scepter of justice will be the scepter of your kingdom. You love righteousness and hate wickedness; therefore God, your God, has set you above your companions by anointing you with the oil of joy. All your robes are fragrant with myrrh and aloes and cassia; from palaces adorned with ivory the music of the strings makes you glad.”

The focus on loss in association with the myrrh brought by the magi to Jesus misses the strong association of myrrh with riches, royalty, and celebration. When Matthew wrote his gospel, he was presenting Jesus Christ as Israel's long-awaited royal Messiah. And the gifts of the magi were gifts worthy of His Majesty--the one coming to reign in glory.

Celebrate His coming and His return!

(Adapted from Solomon Latte, used with permission.)

Word Up!

My friend Kelley's little girl, Maggie, is into the PBS show, WordGirl. Last time I saw Maggie, she was throwing her fist into the air and charging forward saying, "Word up!" The word for the day was "frog." (When I saw her a week later, the word was...still "frog.")

Today I'm taking my cues from little Mags and wording up. The word for the day here at SPS is "beauty." In our last episode we considered physical beauty, which the Bible reminds us is fleeting. (Wrinkles, anyone?)

Yet one kind of beauty is imperishable. Here are some excerpts about that kind of beauty from this WordGirl's fave book:

Psalm 27:4 One thing I ask of the LORD, this is what I seek: that I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, to gaze upon the beauty of the LORD and to seek him in his temple.

Psalm 50:2 From Zion, perfect in beauty, God shines forth.

Isaiah 53:2 He had no beauty or majesty to attract us to him, nothing in his appearance that we should desire him.

Isaiah 61:3 For those who grieve in Zion... to bestow on them a crown of beauty instead of ashes, the oil of gladness instead of mourning, and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair. They will be called oaks of righteousness, a planting of the LORD for the display of his splendor.

1 Peter 3:3-4 Your beauty should not come from outward adornment, such as braided hair and the wearing of gold jewelry and fine clothes. Instead, it should be that of your inner self, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit that is so precious in the sight of God.

Worshipping to Bon Jovi

I quit my job in June. This is something that I've been planning on and looking forward to for quite a while. My list of things-to-do is short but sweet.

When I sit down and try to think about how I can serve people in my community I start by looking at where I'm gifted. One gift is computer software. I've used Microsoft products for several years but when I look at conventional ministries, I don't see where this fits in. I don't believe that I have achieved this level of expertise just to be a church secretary. Then MyGeek introduced me to the Computer Training Bridge (CTB).

While looking for a job after graduating, MyGeek got involved in volunteer teaching computer courses at the local library through CTB. Their goal is to make beginner computer classes available for people who have no other means of getting computer skills so they can get better jobs, attend college, or do better in school. They teach "Computer ABCs" and "Internet Basics" and most of the Mircorsoft products. I assisted in one of MyGeek's classes and was hooked. This was an incredibly fulfilling way to use my gifts.

Getting more involved with CTB was one of the two things I wanted to do when I quit work. The other was SPS - sub-category, more art.

If you check out my blog, you'll see that I started a mural on my outdoor heating oil tank. I've been nervous and excited about this project. I don't paint very much and, the times I have, it's been on unusual surfaces. How do you paint on metal? Oh, well, let's just jump right in.

There's been a lot of prep work but, finally, yesterday, I started painting on the design while the back of the house was in the morning shade. The temperatures have started to drop so the nights and mornings are cool and dewy. If that wasn't great enough, there was just the slightest cool breeze that wasn't strong enough to make it cold but just enough to feel like you were being caressed by a cool silk scarf. With my Nano on my "Rock" playlist, I entered another world, singing and jamming away to my favorite, feel good tunes. Could any place be more sublime? I'm painting outdoors, making art, and playing music that makes you want to dance and sing.

While in the middle of Bon Jovi's "Blaze of Glory" I realized I was euphoric, having fun doing something I love. I didn't want to stop to eat or drink and I remembered a verse.

How sweet are Your words to my taste! {Yes, sweeter} than honey to my mouth! - Psalm 119:103

I stopped to take in my surroundings and realized this was worship and I cried. In nature there is Truth. In art there is Truth. In my gifts there is Truth. This must be what it's like to be in the presence of God because I want to go back there. So much of what I learned about being a follower of God told me I'm only doing it right if I'm miserable, but that can't be true. It has to be a place you desire to be more than anything else. Being in God's presence must be pure beauty and joy.

So if you happen to be driving around one day and see some crazy lady dancing in her backyard with a paint brush in her hand, why don't you pull over and join her. If you don't like Bon Jovi, she has some Elvis Presley.

The Tool of Product- Part 1

Part of our mission at SoulPerSuit is to help unpack some of the creative process. While putting together a SoulPerSuit card is a highly individual act, there are a few tools one can keep on hand to make the process less intimidating. (You've read that before, haven't you?)

One "tool" to bring with you is the understanding of what can be retained via the finished product of a SoulPerSuit card.

I hesitate to urge SoulPerSuit participants to focus on producing cards because I realize the temptation to hinge our self-worth on our productivity. Somehow our society has gotten a skewed view that the amount or quality of things we produce in this world has a direct correlation to our value as a person. The more stuff we have to show for ourselves, the better our chances of not being "voted off the island." And we certainly wouldn't want anyone to decline joining a SoulPerSuit group because they feel that can't make art- whether good art or enough art, or both.

Please purge those notions from your mind, that's not what "producing" in SoulPerSuit is about.

There is a downside to majoring on the process rather than product though. Many times SPS participants get a flash of inspiration or a direct application from the Lord about an area of their life, but things fizzle out because they don't take that thought to the next level. Making a SoulPerSuit card might just fit the bill.

Consider God's commands to the Israelites to build altars and memorials throughout their land. Was his purpose that the Hebrews have a first-rate collection of fine art? No, obviously not. These were piles of dusty stone set beside the roads, at the riverbanks, and under trees. Taking the materials readily at hand, the Israelites built these monuments as a reminder of God's work in their lives. God wanted them to have these visual reminders as places to stand and look and share the story of how God saved them, disciplined them, restored them, loved them. God knew their fickle minds and their faulty memories.

He knows ours too. And that is why we encourage SPS participants to make cards in conjunction with their time in the Word. If the Lord is making an impact on you, don't trust that impact your fickle memory. Don't allow the profound words He's saying to you in a SoulPerSuit study get choked out, blown away or dried up by the distractions of life. Do something to remember them, to keep them before you in a way that brings impact and focus. Do something that you can share with others. Get your ideas out in a SoulPerSuit card.

Here are a few samples of my personal SoulPerSuit card "monuments":

"Wherever the Good Shepherd has me is a green pasture."
- based on Psalm 23
Death, decay and deserts are all known to my Shepherd, I am never out of his hands or his plans
Magazine collage, playing cards, red thread
Hangs by my kitchen sink

The Matrix of Merrymaking
- inspired by the Sermon on the Mount
Reminds me of my need to fast and see with spiritual eyes
Playing card, gold wrapping paper, magazine collage
I use this one as a bookmark

Hesed
-inspired by the book of Ruth
The loyal love that leads to redemption
Digital photograph of my kids in the backyard
This is the screensaver on my laptop

Next time I'm back, I'll share a few ideas about what SoulPerSuit cards are not.

Though Silent, They Speak

When I consider the heavens--the moon and the stars which You created,

What is man that you are mindful of him

Or the son of man that you visit him?

GodTube

Have you checked out GodTube? It has the potential to be the greatest tool ever OR one huge violation of intellectual property rights. While you're debating, if you haven't viewed the little girl reciting, Psalm 23 it's a must-see--especially for those of us who claim we can't memorize. (Case in point: What word comes at the end of this important phrase: It's the story of a lovely lady, who was bringing up three very lovely girls. All of them had hair of gold like their mother--the youngest one in ???)

Earth Art

The earth is the LORD's, and all it contains, The world, and those
who dwell in it. --Psa. 24:1

(Click here to check out more NASA photos in the public domain.)