A Marker Stone from ICON — September 6, 2026
Yesterday, during the praise service at ICON, several thoughts began gathering around me. At first, they seemed separate. But this morning, I can see them becoming one.
He is the Root of David.
I have often thought of Jesus as the Son of David—the One who came through David’s royal line. But Revelation calls Him both the Root and the Offspring of David.
The Offspring came after David.
The Root was there before him.
Before David ever carried the promise, the promise was carrying David. Beneath the shepherd boy, beneath the throne, beneath the victories and the failures, Christ was the hidden Root sustaining the entire story.
After all these years, there are still dimensions of Jesus waiting to be discovered.
Then came the thought of the sweet-smelling savor.
At the altar of burnt offering, the sacrifice was laid down and consumed. Its fragrance arose before God.
Farther within, near the Holy of Holies, incense continually ascended—morning and evening, day and night.
Let the incense arise.
And then there is the sacrifice that comes from us:
“Therefore by Him let us continually offer the sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of our lips, giving thanks to His name.”
—Hebrews 13:15 NKJV
Three fragrances.
The fragrance of surrender.
The fragrance of communion.
The fragrance of praise.
Every fragrance tells us that something has been offered. Praise becomes a sacrifice when it rises from a heart that does not praise merely because everything is easy, but because God is still worthy.
He is enthroned in the praises of His people.
And the Commander of the hosts of heaven does not come unattended. The angels accompany their Commander. Praise does not manufacture the presence of heaven; it awakens us to the unseen company already surrounding the people of God.
Then a thought from C. S. Lewis came to me.
If we could see one another as we shall someday be—if the veil were lifted and the finished work of grace were revealed—we might be overwhelmed by the glory being formed in the person standing beside us.
There are no insignificant people in the congregation.
The tired woman lifting her hands.
The wounded man quietly singing.
The person whose story we do not know.
The one we may have scarcely noticed.
Each is someone in whom God is working—someone being prepared for an unveiled glory we cannot yet see.
Two days before the fifty-second anniversary of my Christian journey, I was reminded that I have not exhausted the wonder of Christ. I have known Him as Savior, Lord, Lamb, Shepherd, and Son of David.
And there He was yesterday, waiting to be seen afresh:
The Root of David.
So I place this marker stone beside the path:
The Root is beneath us.
The fragrance is rising above us.
The King is enthroned among us.
The hosts of heaven are nearer than we know.
And hidden within the ordinary people praising beside us is a glory that one day shall be unveiled.
Let the incense arise.
Spiritual Wanderings 