As I have been at the House of Prayer this week just spending time with the Lord and praying for my city, I have found that even in the midst of testing and trials, He is continuing to increase longing, desire and hunger in the depth on my heart for that that only He can satisfy. As many of you remember I talked about my experience where the Lord over and over brought me to this altar in a vision before I left Israel and as I came home He began to continue to speak to me about the mysteries of this place He was bringing me to. I find that daily I am denying my flesh and carnal nature to be manifested by the fullness of His Spirit. I am in no way saying that this journey has been full of joy and that I dance daily along the path which to leads to righteousness, but I do know that as I take up the way that He has set aside for me, even though sorrow and suffering may be my constant companions, I have this one hope and confidence, He who began a good work in me will be FAITHFUL to complete it.

As I was pacing in the prayer room a couple days ago I kept smelling this sweet fragrance in the room. I found that I was inhaling deeper and deeper this sweet aroma. I asked the Lord, “Lord, what is this?” The Lord spoke to me and said, ” I am filling the house with a fragrance.” As I continued to pray the Lord lead me to the story of when Mary anointed His feet in John 12. As I was reading I saw the very thing that the Lord spoke to me in verse 3, “The house was filled with fragrance.” I know we have all heard this story a thousand times, but God really wants us to see the beauty in choosing to sit at His feet and spend time with Him and that this, to Him, is our God ordained calling and its a very high calling. We know that the vial which Mary broke upon Him was her life inheritance, some even say her dowry. She saw the value that came from sitting at His feet worthy enough to sacrifice everything. She was willing to lay it all down for the sake of this one that she beheld. She was so overtaken by beauty that she was willing to give everything. She sacrificed everything to worship Him. Of course we know that as the story progresses in John 12 that Judas criticizes her for what she’s done. He says. “Doesn’t she understand the value of this vial that she’s just broken? Doesn’t she know that she could have sold that for money and fed the poor?” And we see that Jesus publicly vindicates her for what she’s done. He says that surely she has chosen the good part. We know that Judas was a thief and that he had a love for money, but even more than that he was saying they could have fed the poor. If you remember in Matt 6, Jesus warned us to be careful that we didn’t do our deeds to be noticed by man. I don’t want to be found doing the things that I do for a pat on the back from men or for my own selfish desire.

Whether you are in the marketplace working or in the house of the Lord full-time, the place of sacrifice is attainable. It’s about quality, not quantity. Sometimes 10 minutes is more of a sacrifice for some more than others. It’s like the parable of those who tended the field. There were some workers who worked from morning to evening and then there were those who came when almost all of the work was done, but they all received the same pay! Sacrifice time for Him…You won’t regret it!