The jar of oil

During worship this morning I saw a picture of a jar of oil.

The jar fell to the ground and broke, causing the oil to flow over the ground.

We hold this treasure in jars of clay. There is a pressure that is coming on many that feels like a crushing or a breaking. The processes of God breaks off the things that hinder us from revealing the heart of God. The crushing is causing the oil of such value, such treasure, to be poured out. Just as the woman broke a jar of highly treasured aromatic oil and poured it over Jesus' head, so is there oil of great value being released in us and through us as the pressure increases to the point of breaking.

It reminds me of the story of the five wise and five foolish virgins. The wise ones were ready and had enough oil for when the bridegroom arrived. The foolish ones did not prepare and ran out of oil when the time came. They were told to go and get their own oil. How do we become a wise virgin who always has enough oil? How do we get oil? How is olive oil made? The only way to extract oil from the olives is by a process of crushing. The wise virgins had submitted to the processes of God and received the valuable oil. The foolish ones had not and were left wanting.

On the 30 December 2021 I had a dream that I've shared with very few but I felt to share today. I had a dream that I was getting married. I was standing at the back of the church ready to walk in. It was 25 minutes to 12pm and I was getting married at 12pm. But nothing was ready. The church booking had been forgotten and everyone was behaving as if there was no wedding. They acted as if it was just another normal day. I kept asking why is the church not ready? Why is no-one prepared and ready? I said to the pastor, who was standing in front of me, that we could get married whether the church is prepared or not. He could still marry us. He agreed and said 'Follow me'. The groom and I followed him out of the church building. We walked up a steep, stony path, past some old ruins for what felt like a long time. I eventually stopped and asked the pastor if I could contact some of my friends to see if they could meet us at the new wedding venue. He said they would never find it. There are no directions to the venue. The only way is to follow him. It was too late for them. They could not make it. Shortly after that we came to a building at the top of the steep path. Then he said "We have arrived". At that the clock struck 12 and the bells started to ring. Then he said "It is time".