Water, Oil, and Incense
I love the imagery of the priests and the tabernacle in the Old Testament. It shows us what is important to God. The priests had to be washed and anointed before serving God, and they offered incense continually upon the altar. (Exodus 29:4,7) Let's think about what that means for us.
Aaron and his sons were set apart as priests. Before they could minister in the tabernacle, they had to be washed and anointed with oil. The washing with water was a symbol for being holy and clean before the Lord. The oil was a symbol of the Holy Spirit being with them. Then, the incense represented prayers constantly rising up to God. That shows us what is important to God for us to be used by Him.
Now all believers are priests, so we need to be prepared to serve the Lord.( I Peter 2:9) We need to be cleansed from our sins, as we daily confess our sins.(I John 1:9) Then, we need to be anointed by the Spirit by being filled with the Spirit every day.(Ephesians 5:18) Finally, we need to be praying always.(Ephesians 6:18) If we are dirty from sin, He won't fill us with the Spirit. If we are not cleansed and praying in the Spirit, He will not answer our prayers, because we will pray selfishly or for the wrong thing. These are essentials for all believers to carry out God's mission for our lives.
Tomorrow, I intend to read Exodus 31-33.
Aaron and his sons were set apart as priests. Before they could minister in the tabernacle, they had to be washed and anointed with oil. The washing with water was a symbol for being holy and clean before the Lord. The oil was a symbol of the Holy Spirit being with them. Then, the incense represented prayers constantly rising up to God. That shows us what is important to God for us to be used by Him.
Now all believers are priests, so we need to be prepared to serve the Lord.( I Peter 2:9) We need to be cleansed from our sins, as we daily confess our sins.(I John 1:9) Then, we need to be anointed by the Spirit by being filled with the Spirit every day.(Ephesians 5:18) Finally, we need to be praying always.(Ephesians 6:18) If we are dirty from sin, He won't fill us with the Spirit. If we are not cleansed and praying in the Spirit, He will not answer our prayers, because we will pray selfishly or for the wrong thing. These are essentials for all believers to carry out God's mission for our lives.
Tomorrow, I intend to read Exodus 31-33.