Keeping The Blood Warm
Every morning and evening a routine is practiced in our house, one that is rarely ever missed, because a certain member of our home won’t allow it: the daily feeding of our dog, Jada. As I pack her dish with a combination of wet and dry food, I thank God that such a concoction in not on my menu. She dances and prances around my feet in euphoric joy whenever she sees me preparing it. And as soon as the bowl is down, she wolfs up and it’s gone. Always the opportunist, she licks her chops and looks at me for more. “Did you even taste it?” I ask. It’s so unsatisfying to watch. Gone in a flash, no enjoyment, no savoring the taste. But I’m the only one disappointed, she loves it.
I’ve been told that I gulp my food, too, giving rise to an inordinate number of burps (but I digress).
I’ve been practicing another morning and evening routine after reading the book Keep the Blood Warm by Peter Louis. It’s a 30-day prayer, reflection and communion experience that has proved wonderful for my heart. It’s predicated on the experience of the Levitical priests who would sacrifice a year-old lamb in the early morning and at twilight of each day, consecrating the people of Israel.
Every day the priests were uniquely connected to the weight of the sacrifice. They felt daily the warmth of the blood, the gravity of death and the hope of forgiveness.
The physical act of taking the life of an animal connected them to the sacrifice in a very intimate way. It’s something that sometimes feels lost to me as I hasten my way through communion each week at church.
Understanding the priesthood of all believers in the new covenant, I was challenged by the Lord’s prompting to the author: “If the priests of the Old Covenant were so diligent in stewarding the blood of lambs, how much more should my New Covenant priests steward the blood of My Son.” (1 Peter 2:5)
Therefore, I’ve been connecting with the weight of sacrifice by taking communion each morning. I do this while slowly reading and writing selected scripture passages in my journal, and I’m finding my heart warmed afresh. Journaling in this way often leads me into a meaningful prayer experience, as if I’m tasting something deeper. It’s been a simple yet tenderizing practice.
In the evening Jada knows when its 5pm, her dinner time, and if I haven’t remembered, she’ll come and stare at me until I notice. It’s pretty comical. “What do you want?” I’ll ask, as she suddenly becomes very alert, quivering at the thought of food.
As I prep her dish, aghast at the smell and texture, I remembered a steak bone from a dinner out with Jen from the night before. I looked at Jada and asked, “What would you rather have, this steak bone or your normal food?” Of course, her answer is “both” and after she inhaled her bowl of normal, I threw the bone into our backyard, where she scrabbled to retrieve it. For several hours, she didn’t change positions, gnawing it clean.
The next few days, both morning and night, after scarfing down the normal, she would beg to go outside to spend another session of gnawing, chewing, and generally getting to the marrow of the bone. She is enjoying the benefits of long times of chewing.
These last 30 days I’ve more resembled Jada, feeding on what has been my daily norm, yet adding the practice and reflection of daily communion. What perhaps was better understood by the ancient Levitical priests, my hands are warmed as I steward the blood of Jesus’ sacrifice in daily communion. It has me lingering longer and drawing out the marrow of things.
In the wake of what I like to call, “the in between times,” the days between Resurrection and Pentecost on the calendar, I challenge you to look afresh at your life with the Lord.
The practices you observe. The devotional duties that are routinely kept. Are they stale or are they setting the heart aflame?
I’m asking the Lord to come alongside as I linger anew. That I’d have the experience of those disciples on their walk to Emmaus: “Were not our hearts burning as He talked with us?” How about you?
Prophetic Prayer and Communion
Stay tuned for the next one!
