Wednesday, July 7, 2010

HOW DO YOU SMELL?

"But thanks be to God who always puts us on display in Christ, and spreads through us in every place the scent of knowing Him. For to God we are the fragrance of Christ...." II Cor. 2: 14, 15 (Holman)

Have you ever noticed that there are some people who just smell wonderful? Their cologne or perfume is just right...not overpowering or sickening, but just perfect. You long to linger in their presence because they smell so good.

Conversely, there are also those people who you wonder if they ever take a bath. You wouldn't exactly call it "fragrance"...more like stench. Or maybe they drown themselves in their perfume, thinking if a little is good, a lot would be wonderful, but alas, it is not. It is too much, too overpowering, to the point that you can't get far enough from them.

Some people also suffer from halitosis...bad breath. When they open their mouth to speak, you want to back up a few feet so as not to be seared by the aroma that proceeds from their mouth. Yet I'm sure we've all been guilty of that a few times in our life (hopefully not TOO often). Coffee breath, morning breath, garlic breath....YUK!

I do not think anyone purposely WANTS to smell bad, but many are not attentive to the fact that their "aroma" can turn people away or their "fragrance" can draw people to them.

Paul, writing to the Corinthians, says that we are to be the "fragance of Christ". What a picture that conjures up in my mind! Christ is SO sweet, so inviting, so wonderful that we WANT to be near Him. We want to linger in his presence. We want to get closer and closer to Him. So if we are to be the "fragrance of Christ", we must be just like that. Not overpowering nor a stench in the nostrils of those around us, but rather a sweet fragrance that draws others to our Savior.

In the same way, what comes out of our mouths should also be "fragrant", not vile or sharp or critical, not unkind or harsh. Maybe we need a little "Scripture Scope" to cleanse our mouths:

"Let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth, but only that which is good for edification, that you may minister grace to the hearer" Ephesians 4:29

"Speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making music to the Lord in your heart, giving thanks always for everything..." Ephesians 5: 19, 20

"Heaviness in the heart of a man makes it stoop, but a good word makes it glad." Prov. 12: 25

"Pleasant words are as a honeycomb, sweet to the soul and health to the bones." Prov. 16: 24

"Set a watch O Lord before my mouth, keep the door of my lips." Psalms 141: 3

Today as we prepare for our day, may we not only be mindful of our deodorent, our cologne and our mouthwash, but may we realize that we are on display as a representative of Christ and may we be a sweet fragance in the nostrils of every person we come in contact with.

Monday, July 5, 2010

GOD IS FOR ME

"This I know...GOD IS FOR ME." Psalm 56: 9b

I love the way God tucks little nuggets away in His Word for just a time when we need them. Little verses of truth that somehow we have overlooked in the past.

I have read Psalm 56 many times. In fact, some of my favorite passages are contained within it.

"What time I am afraid, I will trust in Thee." Psalm 56:3 This was the first verse I ever committed to memory. I was 6 years old. It is still one of my favorites.

"You, yourself have recorded my wanderings (misery), you have put my tears in Your bottle. Are they not in your records?" Psalm 56: 8 To think that God keeps my tears and records each one!!! That is too awesome for words...especially considering I cry easily.

"In God I trust, I will not fear." Psalm 56:4 Wish I could say I had mastered this one, but alas I am still working to that end.

Yes, Psalm 56 is a favorite Psalm, yet how have I missed that one little phrase:

GOD IS FOR ME.

Now most of us are familiar with the verse that says "If God be for us who can be against us". We even sang it in Sunday School as children.

But this verse grabbed me this morning.

God...the creator of the Universe, the sustainer of Life, the Great I AM, the King of Kings and Lord of Lords...is for ME!! You cannot get much more personal than that. And...that verse also applies to YOU. He is for YOU as well.

If He is for me, then that means He is NOT against me! There is a song currently playing on KLOVE and the first verse of the song says "He's not mad at you". Sometimes we feel like He is though, don't we? We feel like we've failed so often, repeated the same sins again and again or failed to learn something He has tried so desperately to teach us, that He must be so tired of us, so frustrated and we wonder why He doesn't give up on us. But...He does not. He is FOR us.

When someone is FOR you, that means they are on your side, they will stand up for you, they will stand beside you, they will plead your case, they have your back. They will not turn on you, they will not forsake you when the going gets tough, they will not get angry and walk away. They are someone you can rely on and trust. Or....that's how it SHOULD be. Yet we know that in real life that is not always the case. Sometimes the very ones we thought were FOR us, turn against us. But God is different.

When God says HE is FOR you, you can take it to the bank. He is ever faithful, ever true.

He is FOR us because He loves us. He was so FOR us, that He sent His only Son to die and pay our penalty for our sin.

So when all seems to be crashing in around you, remember GOD IS FOR YOU.

When everyone else seems to be turning away from you, GOD IS FOR YOU.

When others let you down or disappoint you, GOD IS FOR YOU.

When you seem to be all alone and no else seems to care, GOD IS FOR YOU.

When the problems seem insurmountable and you wonder how you are going to make it another day, GOD IS FOR YOU.

When you've cried so many tears, you wonder how God could have enough bottles to contain them all, GOD IS FOR YOU.

Today, take this one nugget with you through your day....


GOD IS FOR YOU!!!