The Aroma of Worship - Holy Anointing Oil

The Aroma Of Worship-Introduction

There are three primary reasons that I wrote this devotion. My first and most important reason is to share the gospel of Christ with the essential oils community. As such, I have  made every effort to point in some way, to the Gospel of Christ in each devotion. Secondly, I want to communicate to the broader Christian, through the medium of devotional writing, that the sense of smell, as well as all of the other senses, is a gift from God given to us that we may bring Glory to Him by using it to enjoy his creation.

God has blessed us with this wonderful sense and He is worthy that we may intentionally use it in worship of him. Finally, I want to communicate in a very special way that essential oils can be used in many ways that are consistent with the Christian worldview and to reject the notion that one must embrace New Age thought to benefit from essential oils. These are my goals; and, my prayer is the spirit of God will see fit to use this work to that end.

WHAT TO EXPECT EACH DAY
Each day you will find: a brief instruction about preparing your surroundings and your heart, a passage of i, and finally some additional thoughts about the Scripture for that day. I have given some detail here in the introduction about preparation so that each day's instructions will be unique to that devotion. 

PREPARE YOUR SURROUNDINGS

To avoid distractions and promote focus, find a quite room/area. Keep your bible, this devotional, a journal, pen and highlighter near your chair. Also, set your diffuser up with distilled water, each day's devotion will tell you which oils to add to your diffuser for that day. After adding your distilled water and oils to the diffuser for the devotion, start your diffuser and let it run for a few minutes before you get started.

PREPARE YOUR HEART AND MIND

Get comfortable, and breathe in the aroma for a few moments. Clear your mind of cares that take your attention away from focusing on Christ. Breathe in and out slowly. Allow your senses to fully experience the aroma. Let the tension go out of your body and begin to focus your attention on Christ.

Spend some time in prayer of adoration. Celebrate God in your own heart and worship him. Thank him for the specific aroma you are experiencing, for its benefits, and for your sense of smell which he has given you as an avenue of experiencing His blessings in creation. As you are wrapping up this time of prayer, transition into reading the bible passage. meditate on it. Read it out loud repeatedly and let the words resonate with you.

Focus your mind on word, then concepts, and then complete thoughts. Allow your mind to take in what the text is saying. Read it until you have good awareness of what it is saying both in your heart and in your mind; then, move on to the devotional.

GOD'S WORD
Each day you will find a bible passage that will be the focus for that day. All Scripture references are taken from the English Standard Version.

WORTH THINKING ABOUT
This section has my stories, thoughts, and devotional ideas relating to the Bible passage(s) and essential oil(s) for that day.

Reference: The Aroma of Worship: Derin A Stidd

The Aroma Of Worship- Foreward

I love it when people find an area they're passionate about, link it to their essential oil business and let things simply flow...as  a natural expression of who they are. There'[s a passion and grace and simplicity in it all in one. Ideas flow naturally. And it's contagious.

I remember the first time Derin and I talked about his idea for this book, about how he wanted to introduce  - or reintroduce - people to several of the essential oils  ( and particularly some you've seen mentioned in the bible, but might not have even known were essential oils!) He mentioned he wanted to tie the ideas to scripture . make a few "real world" comments, and invite people into a multisensory experience with their father.

He wanted them to know  Him - in their heads. That is, He wanted them to have the information.

He also wanted them to feel Him in their spirit - to become aware of the great love Paul described when He wrote that the Holy Spirit was poured into our hearts. (Romans 5:5)

He also wanted them to sense him - to actually, tangibly "feel1 the physical oils and to smell the very things He had created to bless His children.

As Derin spoke more and more about his idea, I was drawn in. That's what happens when people taaalk about something they clearly love!

I thought, "Yes! People need this. The love of the Father isn't just something to know in your head  or experience in your spirit , but it's also something to feel...to physically encounter."

Think about it.
We are five-sense beings. We see. We hear. We taste. We touch. We Smell. The Lord gave us each of these senses for our good and His glory.

So, read Derin's book and open your senses as he discusses the smells, the aroma of worship.

Feel the cuts on the Boswellia Carterii tree as Frankincense  - ad healing - is poured forth from the very thing that would seemingly bring pain (isn't that life).

Touch the Hyssop. remember, it was with the Hyssop branch that Moses instructed the Children of Israel to brush the blood of the lamb over their door posts (Exodus 12:22); it was with the hyssop branch too that Jesus was given a sour drink when he said, " I thirst" ( John 19;29). As Derin writes, it's the hyssop that brings cleansing..... 

In the ancient world, essential oils were their medicines. It's what they had. In Jesus' day, then, healers would have walked around with a small bag attached to their waist-belt with small bottles of oil.

Did Jesus use essential oils?
Probably ....yes. Think about it. The wise men brought him three gifts. Two of the three, frankincense and myrrh, are well known for their healing properties.

Does this lessen the magnitude of His Miracles? Far from it. Rather, it invites us to connect to His past in the present moment, seeing and touching and smelling the same experience those who physically met Jesus must have encountered.

So, as you weave your way through Derin's book....May the Lord bless you and keep you. may His face of great grace and favor shine upon you. may you go slow...and savor and enjoy the experience waiting for you. Grace to You,

Reference: The Aroma Of Worship: Derin A. Stidd 

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