Smelling like Jesus

“But thanks be to God, who always leads us in triumphal procession in Christ and through us spreads everywhere the fragrance of the knowledge of Him. For we are to God the aroma of Christ among those who are being saved and those who are perishing.” II Corinthians 2:14-15

I don’t know what it is about the beginning of a new school year, but this is the second year in a row that God has taught me something really neat about the way He is forming me. Last year, it was “flint-knapping”. This year, it’s incense.

Tonight I opened up my “Experiencing God Day-by-Day” devotional by Henry & Richard Blackaby and was intrigued by the devotional for August 12. (which is not today, I know…but…I’m behind.) The devotional referenced II Corinthians 2:14-15 and made these statements:

“Whenever the Romans won a major military victory they would celebrate with a spectacular parade. The commanding general would lead the procession in a magnificent chariot, followed by his soldiers, musicians, and other officials. Then, soldiers would lead the defeated enemies through the city in bondage. As part of the celebration, the Romans would burn fragrances on altars, filling the entire city with a pleasant aroma. Even those who could not witness the triumphal procession could hear the victory music and smell the pleasing incense. Everyone would know that their army had been victorious. The special fragrance came to symbolize victory to anyone who smelled it.

Paul used this vivid imagery to describe the effect that Christians should have in the world…Everywhere we go, our lives should demonstrate to others that Christ is victorious.”

How neat is that? I never realized that fragrance was used in Roman victory celebrations.

But, I couldn’t just stop there. I wanted to learn more about what type of fragrance we should be – so I used my handy-dandy Bible cross-references to see where else this same word for “fragrance” in II Corinthians 2:14-15 was used.

Ezekiel 20:40-41
“For on my holy mountain, the high mountain of Israel, declares the Sovereign LORD, there in the land the entire house of Israel will serve me, and there I will accept them. There I will require your offerings and your choice gifts, along with all your holy sacrifices. I will accept you as fragrant incense when I bring you out from the nations and gather you from the countries where you have been scattered, and I will show myself holy among you in the sight of the nations.”

Whoa there. I don’t think it hit me until I read this verse that the fragrant aroma had to come from somewhere. And God just made it clear to the Israelites that their sacrifice would be….well…themselves. But is this just for the Israelites?

Ephesians 5:1-2
“Be imitators of God, therefore, as dearly loved children and live a life of love, just as Christ loved us and gave Himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.”

It appears that God desires us as a sacrifice, just like Jesus. But how do we do that?

My cross-referencing with the word “aroma” in II Corinthians 2:15 further led me to Genesis 8:21, Exodus 29:18, and Numbers 15:3…where I noticed a common theme. Aromas that are pleasing to the Lord are associated with fire. In beginning chapters of Leviticus almost every time you see the word aroma, it’s connected with fire. What is it about fire that makes an offering pleasing to God?

At this point, I decided to go back to II Corinthians 2:14-15 and relook at the passage. And this is what stuck out:
• God leads in victory.
• He uses us to spread the fragrance of the knowledge of Christ.
• We are the aroma of Christ…and aromas are connected with offerings subjected to fire. It’s almost as if we can picture God sniffing as we burn (theoretically) and saying, “Ahhhhhh…that smells like my Son.”
• God told the Israelites they will be fragrant incense (a sacrifice).
• God tells Christians to be like Christ, who gave himself up as a fragrant offering and sacrifice.

Incense. That’s what the Israelites would be. That’s what Romans most likely burned. What is incense?

According to Dictionary.com, the word “incense” comes from the Latin, meaning “to set on fire/burn.”

And…incense is known for releasing a sweet odor when it is burned.

There are many different kinds of incense, but they have in common the fact that they are made from organic materials (resins, woods, herbs, etc). And here’s where it gets really interesting.

How do you make incense?

According to "Scents of Earth", you first have to “pulverize” the ingredients. Mortar and pestle work well. Pretty much you just pound the ingredients into powder. By doing this, you won’t be able to tell what the ingredients originally were. Then, you should combine your ingredients. It’s best to let the mixture age (for weeks sometimes!) so that the aromas will blend before burning.
Then, you can heat this over burning rocks…or you can combine the mixture with a gum substance (or even fruit & honey) to make something called an incense pellet, which can burn on its own.

Well. That’s intriguing.

God wants us to smell like Jesus. Does it involve our wills and our pride being pulverized as we learn that God’s dreams are best for us? Does it involve times of waiting – just like incense smells more fragrant after it ages? Does it involve going through the fire – so that the smell of being more like Christ is released?

After looking at what is on my plate for this year, I have a feeling that this year is going to be prime pulverizing time. I think it also will be prime waiting time. And I’m pretty sure I’m going to face fires.

And I know I’m not the only one.

But, this helps me to smell like Jesus! Less of me…more of Him.

May we, as Christians, rejoice in trials and struggles and times of “pulverization.” May we be glad when we are told to wait for answers to our prayers. And may we never shrink from fires – because that’s what brings the aroma out.

What aroma? Let's go back to where we started.

“But thanks be to God, who always leads us in triumphal procession in Christ and through us spreads everywhere the fragrance of the knowledge of Him. For we are to God the aroma of Christ among those who are being saved and those who are perishing." II Corinthians 2:14-15

The aroma is Jesus! And Jesus = VICTORY.

His Love Can Never Fail

July.
The midst of summer.
There have been many adventures, and so many more to be had, I'm sure! But what sticks out to me most right now is that Jesus will be my Guide through it all. And I don't think I can sum it up any better than by typing out the words to a song I learned at the Summit Conference in TN this past week. Here 'tis!

His Love Can Never Fail:

I do not ask to see the way
My feet will have to tread
But only that my soul may feed
Upon the living Bread
Tis better far that I should walk
By faith close to His side
I may not know the way I go
But oh, I know my Guide

His love can never fail
His love can never fail
My soul is satisfied to know His love can never fail
My soul is satisfied to know His love can never fail

And if my feet would go astray
They cannot for I know
That Jesus guides my faltering steps
As joyfully I go
And though I may not see His face
My faith is strong and clear
That in each hour of sore distress
My Savior will be near.

I will not fear, though darkness come
Abroad o'er all the land
If only I may feel the touch
Of His own loving hand.
And though I tremble when I think
How weak I am and frail
My soul is satisfied to know
His love can never fail.

Home

This past week has been full of all kinds of things: high school plays (Fiddler on the Roof and Peter Pan), time at the beach with friends, time on the Frisbee field with friends, hugs and deep conversations with people that I have not seen in a long time, silly movie nights and learning funny dance moves, and lots and lots of driving.

My spring break travels from school took me all around the south east – and specifically to my old haunts in Florida. As much as I love where I live now in North Carolina, I found myself quite excited to see the place I had lived the previous two years. A year ago, before I was about to move, if you had asked me if I would want to go back, I honestly don’t know what my answer would have been. I love the people there, but the place was not my favorite. And yet….as I drove around and saw the beaches and the familiar stores and houses…there was a stirring in me.

And I realized…I love the familiar.

I love the knowing.

Knowing where this street will end…what is around the corner over there…where my friend lives down that street…what time church starts on Sunday…

Knowing gives you a sense of belonging.

I realized that such a feeling is true of all of my “homes”.

I have the strongest feeling of coming home when I go to the house I grew up in Pennsylvania. A friend once told me that my face lights up when I get closer to it. I love it – the house itself, the yard, the garden, the memories…and especially the ones waiting for me once I get in the doors.

I feel like I’m coming home when I visit Grove City College – a wonderful place where I spent four years of my life getting my college degree. I met some of my best friends there, and was deeply challenged to grow in so many ways…spiritually, socially, academically, etc. And although most of the people I know from GCC no longer go/work there, I still love to visit. I love to sit in the chapel and…remember.

I have yet to visit Germany again, but I have no doubt that it would feel like a homecoming of sorts…to yet again drive up that steep, winding hill to Marzell and the wonderful Blauen dorm, in which there are so many good memories. To drive down the streets of Kandern and…remember.

It’s familiar.
And because of the time I’ve spent there and the memories I’ve made, it’s a home.

So, even in Florida – with its rather hot climate and slightly rude inhabitants (not all, mind you) – I felt like I was coming home. I was coming to the familiar.

It made me think. What is my true home? And what will I feel when I get there?

If the feeling of joy in coming back depends upon the time spent in a place…well, then… how much better will heaven be if I spend more time with Jesus here?
If the feeling of joy in coming back depends upon good memories, not bad…well, then… how much better will heaven be if I seek to do Jesus’ will and please Him here?

It will truly be more like coming HOME than anywhere else.

Heaven is not going to be about the streets of gold or the crowns we will receive. We’ll be tossing those back at Jesus’ feet as our gift to Him, anyway. Heaven’s joy will be found in seeing Jesus! And the more I memorize Him – His characteristics, His desires, what brings Him joy and grief – the more I spend time with Him and look in His face…..the more I will feel like I’m home when I finally get to see Him.

C.S. Lewis says, “Our Father refreshes us on the journey with some pleasant inns, but will not encourage us to mistake them for home.”

How I have loved the “homes” the Lord has given me here thus far. (And not always in the moment…sometimes more afterwards…) Yet – may I never mistake them for my true home.

Last Friday during Fiddler on the Roof, I found myself crying when a student sang “Far from the Home I Love”. The words of that song are sad…a girl leaving her family…leaving everything she knew…to be with the man she loves.

“Oh what a melancholy choice this is,
Wanting home, wanting him,
Closing my heart to every hope but his,
Leaving the home I love.

There where my heart has settled long ago,
I must go, I must go,
Who could imagine I’d be wandering so
Far from the home I love…”

Seems sad, eh? To leave home…to leave the things she remembered…the people she loves. Yet the last line of that song is so beautiful.

“Yet, there with my love, I’m home.”

I couldn’t help but think – no matter where I go here on earth – when I’m with my Love (Jesus) and following His leading, I am in a home of sorts. Yet someday – when I get to heaven – away from the distractions of this world and the confusion of what’s important – I will get to forever gaze on His face – and forever be with Him.

It's truly where I belong.

Finally, Home.

Savoring Time (One Thousand Gifts)

I’ve been reading a book called One Thousand Gifts by Ann Voskamp. Quite good, actually! It’s really been making me think, because the whole premise of her book is figuring out how to live the full life. What makes it full?
As the busy-ness of school sets in and quarters are ending, it’s hard to not feel rushed and just waiting for that spring break to get here. But as I prepared for the faculty devotions that I gave this morning, some things I read in this book came back to me.

“When one is thirsty one quenches one’s thirst by drinking, not by reading books which treat of this condition.” (quoted from her, but originally attributed to Jean Pierre de Cussade…)

Oh, how often I look for rest in places other than the true fountain of rest: the Lord Himself.

(And especially spending time in His Word, not reading other books about the Bible.)
So, that’s point #1. Get in the Word.
Moving on to point #2:

“’Pork chops, potatoes, peas, it was all just food to me.’ I hand down the plate with extras for the boys looking eager. They kneel up on chairs to eye out that one square that’s just a smidge bigger. ‘But Grandma’s apple pie? Her butterscotch squares? She didn’t have to tell me to slow down then!’ A boy takes a big bite, too big, smiles knowingly. I look around at their faces, their taste buds all alive, eyes shining delight in the sweet.

When did I stop thinking life was dessert?

I push back from the table. Push away from regrets. They need something to drink. I clatter out the stainless steel glasses. Pour out the cold milk and think of the strangers walking briskly, blithely along to Emmaus, oblivious to the God-skin before their eyes. Only in the slowing, the sitting down at the table, when His hands held the bread and the thanks fell from His tongue, do the open-eyed, the wide-eyed, see the Face they face (Luke 24:13-35). The fast have spiritually slow hearts.

I carry the cups back to the table.

My drained empty body has stopped and my soul has caught up and if I give thanks here, Whom might I recognize? I pass two cups down to the end of the table. It takes a full 20 minutes after your stomach is full for your brain to register satiation. How long does it take for your soul to realize that your life is full? The slower the living, the greater the sense of fullness and satisfaction….

…This day is not a sieve, losing time….I am filling, gaining time…

…I want to savor long whatever time holds.” ~Ann Voskamp

That’s a smattering from chapter 4. Oh. How I want to live like that – enjoying, even savoring the moments God gives me – because they are purposeful and full of blessings.

Reiterating point #2: Savor Time.

Which leads nicely into point #3: Be thankful.

Ann Voskamp has started to write out one thousand things that she is thankful for, hence the title of her book One Thousand Gifts. And oh, how much more joy I can see when I train my eyes to look for blessings. Even the very little things….because, let’s face it – that’s the stuff life is made of!

And so, pulling together the three points:
1. Be in the Word.
2. Savor Time.
3. Be Thankful.

This leads me to the ending of my prepared faculty devotions for this morning. It’s something that stuck out to me as I was taking time in the Word yesterday, trying to savor it and look for the blessings. And this is the thing I am most thankful for today (and truly, should be every day…).

Lamentations 2:13-14 “What can I say to you, to what compare you, O daughter of Jerusalem? What can I liken to you, that I may comfort you, O virgin daughter of Zion? For your ruin is as vast as the sea; who can heal you? Your prophets have seen for you false and deceptive visions; they have not exposed your iniquity to restore your fortunes, but they have seen for you oracles that are false and misleading.”

We are in dire straits! For real! And God doesn’t sugar coat it; exposing the misdeeds is truly how we can be restored, as the verse says.
But who can heal us?

Isaiah 50:2 “ Is my arm too short to ransom you? Do I lack the strength to save you? By a mere rebuke I dry up the sea…”
He dries up the wha? The sea???? He can dry up places as big as our sin?

Micah 7:18-19 “Who is a God like you, who pardons sin and forgives the transgression of the remnant of his inheritance? You do not stay angry forever but delight to show mercy. You will again have compassion on us; you will tread our sins underfoot and hurl all our iniquities into the depths of the sea.”

Where? The sea? And we can fill it with our iniquities. We’re that good at being bad. BUT…He not only removes our iniquities – He can dry them up. He can get rid of them!

And in place of sin….

Habakkuk 2:14 “For the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord, as the waters cover the sea.”

Someday, hopefully soon - there won’t even be any more traces of sin, even in tears down our cheeks – because instead of that gaping chasm of sin, we will be able to only see the glory of the Lord.

Hooray!

Come, Lord Jesus.

And until then – may we all strive to keep spending time in the Word, savoring the moments we are given, which when viewed with a thankful heart are truly, truly RICH in blessings.

I am His & He is Mine

Whew! It has been awhile! Lots of learning has happened in the past couple of months - including more learning to lean on the Everlasting Arms :). Honestly, there have been so many times when I have just been at a loss in my teaching or coaching, etc. But, God is always faithful. The plant metaphor still holds true - for if I don't have the Lord to lean on, there is no way I can continue to grow. If I don't cling, I won't climb (just like a vine in a garden).
We are getting quite close to the holiday of hearts - Valentine's Day. The Lord has been reminding my heart this evening that TRUE LOVE is found only in Him. All others are a pale reflection. The following hymn is one of my favorites:

Loved with everlasting love, led by grace that love to know;
Gracious Spirit from above, Thou hast taught me it is so!
O this full and perfect peace! O this transport all divine!
In a love which cannot cease, I am His, and He is mine.
In a love which cannot cease, I am His, and He is mine.

Heav’n above is softer blue, Earth around is sweeter green!
Something lives in every hue Christless eyes have never seen;
Birds with gladder songs o’erflow, flowers with deeper beauties shine,
Since I know, as now I know, I am His, and He is mine.
Since I know, as now I know, I am His, and He is mine.

Things that once were wild alarms cannot now disturb my rest;
Closed in everlasting arms, pillowed on the loving breast.
O to lie forever here, doubt and care and self resign,
While He whispers in my ear, I am His, and He is mine.
While He whispers in my ear, I am His, and He is mine.

His forever, only His; Who the Lord and me shall part?
Ah, with what a rest of bliss Christ can fill the loving heart!
Heav’n and earth may fade and flee, firstborn light in gloom decline;
But while God and I shall be, I am His, and He is mine.
But while God and I shall be, I am His, and He is mine

George Wade Robinson penned these words long ago - but oh, how I love them. Because - oh, how they remind me just how much God loves me! What a blessing - to be loved by the Lord.
"Because you are precious in my eyes, and honored, and I love you..." Isaiah 43:4

May we not miss the joy of THAT love.