QUEST FOR THE CENTERED LIFE

The Fragrance of Christ

The aroma of a favorite dish cooking can fill a house and cause an immediate emotional reaction in anyone who enters. Just the scent brings pleasure and leaves us wanting to taste the subject of that scent. Your sense of smell is powerful and draws you to something if it is pleasant or repels you if it is unpleasant. If it is a good smell, you want more of it; if it is a bad smell, you want nothing to do with it. And if the scent is really good, it can be recorded in your brain and, at a later date, can arouse pleasant memories of your past. The sense of smell is an incredible gift.

If you study the sacrificial system of God's people in the Old Testament you will notice that the Bible describes a burning sacrifice as creating "a soothing aroma to the Lord". Additionally, as a part of worship, the people would burn incense before the Lord and the aroma pleased Him. God has a sense of smell too and that sense is important to him. David, a man God described as "after my own heart", understood this when he proclaimed Psalm 141:2, "May my prayer be counted as incense before you...". Thinking about our prayer as being a soothing aroma to God should cause us to think differently about our prayers.

The stakes are raised a little more in 2 Corinthians 2:15-16 when it said, "For we are a fragrance of Christ to God among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing; to the one an aroma from death to death, to the other an aroma from life to life." Now, our lives in Christ are a fragrance to God. This should have a powerful impact on the life of a believer. When God considers His children who walk in spirit with Him, it is like the sweet smell of a favorite perfume or of pleasant incense to Him. Also, that aroma is smelled by others and brings pleasure to those who are saved. However, to those who are without Christ, it is the unpleasant scent of reminder of what is missing in their lives. But regardless of whether or not you are aware, your life is a fragrance. So live your life so that it will be a sweet fragrance - both to God and to those with whom you come into contact.

 

Faith or "Weekend at Bernie's"

In the movie Weekend at Bernie's the two main characters were invited to spend the weekend at a beach house and upon arrival, discovered the owner of the house had just died.  Not wanting to spoil their weekend they came up with a plan to prop the body up in a chair and place a hat and sun glasses on it's head to give the appearance that the man was still alive. Then they would be able to have their party and no one would know the difference. The body, being dead, appeared alive to the party goers. The Bible describes death as a body without the spirit.  Once the spirit is gone, the body is no longer a person no matter what you try to make it look like. You can prop a body up or carry it through motions like the men in this movie but it doesn't make it alive. It's still a lifeless body. According to the Bible, it's the same way with faith. James 2:26 says "For just as the body without the spirit is dead, so also faith without works is dead." You can act like you want to, say what you want to, look like you want to, but if there are no works in you then your faith is dead. Likewise you can lack real faith and try to go through the motions of works to gain the appearance of faith.  That is like the two men carrying around Bernie's body to give it the appearance of life.  Although faith is evidenced by works, true faith does not come by works.  Fooling some people, including yourself, won't make it real any more than propping up a dead body makes a person alive.

The Pattern of Godliness

Godliness doesn’t look the way we might always think and a godly character definitely doesn’t come overnight. But about this character, the Bible says “The more you grow like this, the more you will become productive and useful in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ” (2 Peter 1:8 NLT).  There is a pattern in the development of a godly character. This pattern, as described in 2 Peter 1:5-7, looks like this. A life of moral excellence leads to knowing God better.  Knowing God better leads to self-control, which leads to patient endurance, which leads to godliness. And godliness leads to love for other Christians, and finally, a genuine love for everyone.

The ending character trait, and I would dare say litmus test of godliness, is a genuine love for everyone. You can’t have godliness without love for others.  You don’t test your degree of godliness by how much Bible you know, how much church-talk you do, or what you abstain from. It’s a simple test – you either have a genuine love for others or you don’t and if you don’t you’re not close to godliness.  2 Peter 1: 9 puts it this way “But those who fail to develop these virtues are blind or, at least, very shortsighted.”

The good news is, the Bible says that Jesus’ power gives us everything we need for living a godly life (2 Peter 1:3). As we get to know Jesus better we are able to receive more of his power and receive his special favor and wonderful peace (v.2).

The World is Going Crazy

Does it seem to you that the whole world is going crazy? Well, that’s truer than you might think. The Bible says “For the wisdom of this world is foolishness to God…” (1 Corinthians 3:19 NLT). So if the world does seem crazy to you, that could be a sign that you are on the right track to thinking the way God does. The more we conform ourselves to the wisdom and principles of God, which by the way is foolishness to the world (see 1 Corinthians 1:18), the more the world will seem crazy. And if it seems like its getting worse, well it is. The Bible says “And this world is fading away, along with everything it craves…” (1 John 2:17 NLT). And it will keep getting more and more crazy; after all, “the world around us in under the power and control of the evil one” (1 John5:19 NLT). But take heart my fellow Christ followers because “the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world ” (1 John 4:4 NIV) and he has overcome the world (John 16:33).   

How to Influence Your Workplace

The influence of the Church of Jesus Christ is virtually nonexistent in most workplaces today. Its not too hard to find people talking about their church in the work place or refusing to drink at company functions, or even praying before they eat their lunch. This is what it means to a lot of people to exercise faith.  While that may make you feel good, it really doesn’t impress anyone. If you want to display a faith that is attractive, one that influences, and give God a good name, try following these admonitions from the Bible:

 

John 13:34-35

A new command I give to you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another.  By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.

 

1 Corinthians 13:4-5

Love is patient, love is kind.  It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud.  It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs.

 

Philippians 2:3-4

Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interest of others.

 

Proverbs 11:3

The integrity of the upright guides them, but the unfaithful are destroyed by their duplicity.

 

1 Thessalonians 4:11-12

Make it your ambition to lead a quiet life, to mind your own business and to work with your hands, just as we told you, so that your daily life may win the respect of outsiders and so that you will not be dependent on anybody.

All Things Work Together For Good

It's often hard for us to remember the promise of Romans 8:28 that all things work together for good because of the way things seem to work out for us as we go through life. But I am being reminded of that again this week as certain events in my life are providing the remaining missing pieces of a puzzle long since assembled. The problem, at least for me, is that it usually takes more than a little time, along with hindsight, to see how events are interconnected. You and I could do ourselves a lot of good if we'd just believe the word of God regardless of what we see.  2 Corinthians 5:7 reminds us that the Christian way is to "walk by faith and not by sight". I know it and I believe it but I really want to see it happening.  My encouragement, though, is that I can recall the many times that God has worked out what I thought was unworkable or brought to light things that I couldn't understand. Journalizing has been a practice that has allowed me to see the big picture of what God is doing in my life.  Many events or revelations were forgotten until rereading the notes in my journal.  The benefits of this discipline have far outweighed the efforts.  But mostly, we need to know that the Bible is true and is completely trustworthy because of its author and not because of its validation.  Remember the encouragement of Hebrews 10:23, "...He who promised if faithful."

"And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose."    Romans 8:28