In the late 1970s I was inspired by Keith Green’s song “Make my  life a prayer to you / I wanna do what you want me to / no empty words and no  white lies / no token prayers, no compromise” (as sung by Matthew Ward of the band 2nd Chapter of Acts).  Even today, these lyrics bring to mind the attractive image of living for God in such a way that my whole life would be like incense rising up to God (Psalm 141:2 and Revelation 8:4). (My family and I once experienced the all-embracing presence of incense when we were guests at  the St. George Coptic Orthodox Church in Surrey during its 3-hour Sunday morning worship service.) Continue reading →