Exodus 30:22-30

“Present suffering is not enjoyable, but life would be worth little without it. The difference between iron and steel is fire, but steel is worth all it costs. Iron ore may think itself senselessly tortured in the furnace, but when the watch-spring looks back, it knows better. David enjoyed pain and trouble no more than we do, but the time came when he admitted that they had been good for him. Though the aspect of suffering is hard, the prospect is hopeful, and the retrospect will start a song, if we are "the called according to his purpose," in suffering.”

      Maltbie Davenport Babcock

I do not like to cook.  I am not very good at cooking (unless macaroni and cheese out of a box counts).  However, I do like to eat.  In fact, I LOVE to eat.  I eat just about any kind of food with the exception of spicy food.  I have found out in all of my years that food that is not cooked according to a certain recipe (unless it was mom’s) was not consistently good.  Certainly, if you leave out the sugar, and the right amount at that, the sugar cookie does not taste quite right.  Well, there is a recipe for an anointing, and it is found in the oil that was used to anoint the things of the tabernacle in the Old Testament.  If we are willing to “cook” our lives with this recipe we can be saturated with God’s anointing.  
The first ingredient was Liquid Myrrh.  Myrrh was used to prepare bodies for burial. In order to get its beautiful sweetness it had to be crushed.  Myrrh speaks of death. There is no anointing without death. If we want to know God’s anointing, we have to die to ourselves. Die to the old person that we once were. Die to our own agenda - our own desires and dreams, anything not born of God. If we are going to depend on God, we have to die to our own abilities and resources.  If we do not come to this place of dying to ourselves on our own, then God may have to bring "crushing" circumstances into our lives to bring us to the place where we will die.  Do not despise the crushing that God allows into your life.  
The second ingredient was Sweet Cinnamon.  Cinnamon was used for flavor, and it gave off a very pleasant smell. Its fragrance was beautiful in the Tabernacle because it counteracted the stench of the animal sacrifices.  Cinnamon speaks of sweetness. If you want God to pick you up and anoint you to use you, there has to be sweetness about your life.  
The third ingredient was Sweet-smelling Cane (or calamus).  The Calamus plant grows in miry soil. To get this plant to smell you had to beat it. The more you beat it the better the aroma.  Again, God’s anointing is able to increase in your life the more you pass through the school of hard knocks, and God is able to fashion your character.  
The fourth ingredient was Cassia.  This spice grows only at elevations above 8000 feet. You have got to get up on the mountain to get it.  If you desire God’s anointing - you have got to reach up to the heights. Get on the mountain with God. There is no shortcut to the anointing - we have got to pray, seek God, study, love and work. Jesus lived in the anointing of the Spirit - and for that He maintained a close walk with the Father in prayer at all times.  
Finally, all the ingredients were mixed with olive oil. Now look at the picture we have here. All these ingredients mingled together with a bottle of oil produced the anointing compound that was called “holy”. Watch now … the Lord will combine all the good and difficult things in your life with the oil of His Holy Spirit. A sweet anointing will form in you, and He will be able to use you in incredible ways.  Are you ready for an anointing?

Read Esther 8:15-17

“Thoughts lead on to purpose, purpose leads on to actions, actions form habits, habits decide character, and character fixes our destiny.”

      Tryon Edwards

 This passage shares with us the joy and gladness that the Jewish nation felt because of a king’s decree. Notice, however, that this passage takes place toward the end of Esther’s book. We have to look at how the joy and gladness was produced. Once upon a time, there was a man that had nobility in his blood. The King above all other officials elevated this man. He was the King’s right hand man, and all others were inferior to him. Not only was the nobleman honored, he believed he was worthy of honor. He felt so strongly that he was above all others, that when one man refused to bow before him; the nobleman became enraged. Consumed with hatred, the nobleman devised a plan to destroy the one that refused to bow, and not only that one man, but also that man’s entire race. The scheme would have succeeded were it not for the courage of one orphan. Her parents named her after a small bush that had black berries and pink or white flowers. The delicate petals, when crushed and refined, yield a fragrant perfume. The crushing began early. Kneeling beside the silent graves of her mother and father, the orphan took the hand of her cousin who raised her as his own. Broken within but beautiful without, one day she won the favor of a King. God’s purposes, however, were greater than royalty; it was not enough for the orphan to be Queen. Position was simply the doorway to the true destiny God offered her. It is at this point in time that the lives of the nobleman and the orphan intersected to change the course of history. The nobleman described the man that would not bow a traitor and an enemy. The orphan called the unbending one, cousin and father. The nobleman craved honor for himself. The orphan laid down all she had for the love of her people. The nobleman we remember as evil Haman who was executed for his deception. The orphan we remember as Hadassah, Queen Esther, who—crushed and refined—spread the life-giving fragrance of joy to her entire nation. Such costly perfume is the product of sacrifice, not privilege; the work, not of fragile human honor but of God’s unbending favor. What has been crushed in your life recently? What unexpected promotions have fallen into your lap? Could it be that God is allowing life to crush you into a sweet aroma of joy and gladness? Could it be that there is a greater destiny that God has designed for you and your family? Do not be quick to dismiss the twist and the turns in your life because around every bend you may find the true purpose of life.

Read Psalm 16:8

“I have learned, that if one advances confidently in the direction of his dreams, and endeavors to live the life he has imagined, he will meet with a success unexpected in common hours.”

    Henry David Thoreau

Recently we took our son to the park to play on the swings.  He loved everything about the park.  He would climb all over the jumbo gym set with the ladders and the slides.  It seemed that he really enjoyed everything.  However, the trip would not have been complete if he had not been able to soar through the air upon the swing that Dad and Mom pushed.  Swing sets have come a long way since I was a kid.  I remember the one that we had in our backyard.  It was one of those hollow steel sets that when you got to a certain height swinging the legs would come out of the ground and you thought your life was surely coming to an end every time you experienced the thump of the legs hitting the earth once again.  Today, swing sets are riveted to the ground so that human armies are unable to move them.  The swings, for just a moment let you defy the laws of gravity, and for a brief second you are able to fly.  Dreams do much the same thing.  As we dream, we press past the confines of what is and what has been. As our minds dare to see the unseen, our imagination fuels our faith and we begin to trust God for something more.  Many people gave up dreaming years ago because the process became too dangerous.  Just when they would let themselves get a little air under them, the legs of the dream would seem to come out of the ground and strike terror into their hearts.  However, God is not like the old, hollow steel swing sets that move when you get too high.  God is immovable and if we allow ourselves to get connected to Him, we are safe to dream once again.  How long has it been since you dreamed?  When was the last time you jumped into the swing set of life and allowed the soaring Spirit of God to push beyond your wildest imaginations?

Read Philippians 3:3-8

“I have everything, yet have nothing; and although I possess nothing, still of nothing am I in want.”

Terence (185 BC - 159 BC)

The apostle Paul had more reasons than any of us today to glory in his accomplishments, and yet he made it clear that his résumé meant nothing to him. In fact, Paul counted "all things to be loss in view of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them but rubbish so that I may gain Christ." The truth is, Paul did not lay aside anything to follow Christ that he should not have laid aside. He had been super-religious as a Pharisee, trying to gain entrance into heaven in his own power. Today, many try to replace relationship with religion, or sacred piety.  However, when Paul had an encounter with Christ on the road to Damascus, he learned that a relationship with the living God surpassed everything he had ever done or could do on his own. His accomplishments were rubbish. Actually, at the very bottom line, he had given up nothing of value and yet gained everything. God is standing on the doorsteps of people that are afraid to give something up to follow Him.  How many of us today refuse to lay aside those things that have no value? How many of us so pursue an intimate relationship with Jesus that we count all else as loss in view of the surpassing value of knowing Him, really knowing Him? Are you willing to lay aside everything that competes with your love and devotion for Christ? As you live moment-by-moment, do you make knowing Him your top priority?