The Fragrance of Christ

"For we are the sweet fragrance of Christ [which exhales] unto God..."
2 Corinthians 2:15 AMP

Not too long ago, I had a dream in which I was teaching about the fragrance of Christ, and as I sit before the Lord this morning, I want to share the picture He has given me with you.  

Aroma is powerful.  It can overwhelm our senses, and bring back memories that seize our minds and take us to the very distant past like it was just yesterday.  I have experienced fragrance that filled me with so much longing it brought me to tears. There are some scents you wish you could inhale with your entire body and never have to exhale... to be always, endlessly wrapped in the aroma that fills your heart with love, sparks your imagination, and makes you tingle all over.   

That's how it is between the Heavenly Father and His children.  It will be hard for some of us to believe, but when our Father takes in our scent, He is filled with overwhelming love for us.  Perfect love that He can't hold back.  So much love that it brings Him to sing and dance over us with joy.  He wants to wrap us in His arms and never let us go... because we smell like Jesus.   

But sometimes there's a hint of something else that fills His senses... 

Every now and then I borrow my husband's jacket.  It carries his scent, and sometimes when I put it on, I get a rush of memory.  It takes me back to our younger days when our love was new and I was giddy with the anticipation of the next time I would see him or speak with him.  And it reminds me of more recent times, when I hug him with my face on his neck and inhale his fragrance. In the grip of those memories, I hug the jacket to myself and take in my husband's aroma as deeply as I can, basking in the joy of love.

But imagine what it would be like if there was a dead mouse in the inside pocket of the jacket.  If it hadn't been in there too long, the jacket might smell like my husband and bring back the same memories of life and love, but with a little hint of something "off."  Something that just doesn't smell quite right.  "What is that?" we would think.  

But if the dead mouse had been in there for a while, that jacket wouldn't smell like my husband anymore.  I would go to inhale its scent, expecting to relive the good times between us, and get a nose full of disgusting stench.  Even longer, and the stench would fill the closet, and then fill the room, driving me away.  

Regretfully, that's how it is sometimes between the Heavenly Father and His children. He adopted us into Himself with the blood of His Son Jesus because He loved us and longed for true and deep intimacy with us.  We carry the fragrance of Christ.  But when we "dabble" in sin... in our minds and in our bodies... it changes our scent from sweet to bitter.  And when our dabbling turns into a lifestyle, we carry the pungent stench of death.  

In my dream I said, "what we're talking about here is the fragrance of Christ and the smell of decay."  I weep at the longing of the Father to hold and love His children while the scent of death upon them pierces His heart with grief.  "I want to wrap you in My arms, speak intimately with you, and give you all My generous blessings, but you smell like sin."  

When we willfully compromise in our relationship with God and choose to walk in sin, and when we decide to live in ignorance instead of in the light of God's Word, we grieve the Father's heart, and WE suffer lack that leads to death.  A little sin here, a little sin there, and eventually we become a mutation of our former glory in Christ.  Where the secular world should look at the Body of Christ and see mutual love and support, every physical need met, none sick among us, and the overwhelming blessings of God the Father, instead they see lack... in every possible way... and they have no desire to join us in our hypocrisy. We have become lukewarm and ineffective, and we have rejected our God-given purpose.

But since you are like lukewarm water, neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of my mouth! You say, ‘I am rich. I have everything I want. I don’t need a thing!’ And you don’t realize that you are wretched and miserable and poor and blind and naked. (Revelation 3:16-17 NLT)

This is a challenging message for all of us, and I am not excluded from that, but we need to hear it.  We have been deceived, and we have to get the sin out of our lives and begin to walk as God's new creation. We are supposed to be an example of victorious living, and we are supposed to bring the Living Water of Christ to all who come near us.  We are supposed to be a beacon drawing all men unto God, but instead we are wandering around in darkness. Sin cripples us and holds us back.  It robs us of joy, power, victory... it robs us of ALL things.

So I advise you to buy gold from Me—gold that has been purified by fire. Then you will be rich. Also buy white garments from Me so you will not be shamed by your nakedness, and ointment for your eyes so you will be able to see. I correct and discipline everyone I love. So be diligent and turn from your indifference. (Revelation 3:18-19 NLT)

Ask God to open your eyes and show you your sin so you can live a life of repentance, so you can once again carry that clean, sweet-smelling aroma... so you can glory in living in the light of His face...  and so you can experience the Father singing and dancing over you with joy!  So many lives depend on us getting this right.  So many lost souls are waiting for us to show them the way. And time is short.  We can't wait any longer.  

On Being Content

"Now there is great gain in godliness with contentment..." 1 Timothy 6:6

I was watching Phineas and Ferb with my kids this morning, and there was a bad guy... Khaka Peü Peü... who was trying to make Phineas have a bad day. Toward the end of the show, Phineas said, "Nothing can stop ME from having the best day ever!"  I chuckled at that because another more serious "bad guy" is always trying to make ME have a bad day, too.  But by the grace of God, I am making his job harder and harder by the second!

On any given day, several things happen that could very easily steal my joy.  It's the same for all of us.  We all have occasional issues with marriage, children, family, and friends.  We all sometimes deal with sleepless nights, illness, and back-to-back crazy busy days. The list of things that come at us on a daily basis is endless. 

Think of what life would be like if we never worried about any of that.  If no matter what happened in our normal everyday living, we were happy.  I haven't quite achieved that perfectly yet, but I can boast in Christ Jesus, because He is teaching me the secret to that very thing... and it's called, "I can do ALL things through Christ..."

The Apostle Paul, in Philippians 4:11-13, said:

"...I have learned to be content in whatever circumstances I am. I know how to get along with humble means, and I also know how to live in prosperity; in any and every circumstance I have learned the secret of being filled and going hungry, both of having abundance and suffering need. I can do all things through Him who strengthens me..."

He's not just talking about money and provision.  This verse can be applied to ANY sort of lack or problem.  Have you ever experienced "going hungry" in a dry marriage?  Or "suffering" the "need" of loneliness?  Have you ever suffered lack in parenting when you just didn't know what to do to help your kids?  Or even the bitter despair of divorce, serious illness, or losing a loved one?

In 2 Corinthians 11, Paul says:

"Five different times the Jewish leaders gave me thirty-nine lashes. Three times I was beaten with rods. Once I was stoned. Three times I was shipwrecked. Once I spent a whole night and a day adrift at sea... I have worked hard and long, enduring many sleepless nights. I have been hungry and thirsty and have often gone without food. I have shivered in the cold, without enough clothing to keep me warm..."

And still, he preached contentment in Christ, who always, unfailingly gave him strength in every situation. Just think what our lives would be like if we tapped into that kind of contentment no matter what we were going through.

Contentment in Christ is a weapon.  If I'm content with my circumstances... if I KNOW that no matter what, God has my back... there is nothing for the devil to steal. There is no lie he can tell me that I will believe.  There is no place where he can get a foothold.  True contentment in Christ closes all the doors and windows, and seals up all the cracks.  Then we can look forward to challenges that come our way because we know they will make us stronger, build us up in new ways, and help us to stand when it seems like all hell is breaking loose.

I pray for us all to see ourselves daily as warriors in Christ, and that we would know that no matter what, His strength has arrived and we hold VICTORY in our hands!

If I Only Had the Time...

"Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, making the best use of the time, because the days are evil.  Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is." Ephesians 5:15-17

Today is the day before Thanksgiving, and I'm feeling introspective.  About 6 weeks ago, we quit homeschooling and put our kids in public school.  It has been wonderful and the kids are blossoming in ways that warm my heart.  Not only that, but it has brought a freshness into my relationship with each child because now I'm just mom.  I get to be someone they want to tell all their stories to, and a soft place to land when days are hard.  And sometimes, they actually miss me.  It's not that we didn't have a good relationship before, but this is definitely better. 

And now I'm a free agent.  Free to go and do whatever, whenever, I want.  And honestly, it's weighing on my heart... 

Like most people, I want to live my life well, especially now that I have all this free time.  I'm overwhelmingly aware that the time I have right now... seven hours alone every day... is a GIFT that could easily be squandered, but MUST be used WISELY.  Like the verse at the top says, I have to walk carefully and make the best use of my time, and in my life I've done my share of poor stepping, lackadaisical standing around, and squandering precious time completely away.  That's why I've been praying pretty earnestly for God to open my eyes and give me wisdom to follow in HIS footsteps.  

And now I see it.  Time has always been a gift.  Sure, I have more time on my hands now than I really know what to do with, but that doesn't make it any more of a gift than it was before.  I was always saying I didn't have time for this or that, or wished I had more time for one thing or another.  God's truth is that how much time you have isn't what really matters, it's what you choose to do with it that counts.  

We all know people who seem to have endless time.  One friend I know homeschools five daughters, runs two businesses, holds church in her home, and still has time for friends, gardening, and family fun.  I look at her and think I must be doing something wrong!  LOL  

But honestly, friends, it's truly all about perspective and CHOICE.  In this new season of my life, I have to begin to do the "hard" things.  I have to start chipping away at all my lists of things I've been saving for "when I have more time."  I was foolish to save those things for later because NOW is the time.  TODAY is the day of salvation.  My prayer for myself and all my loved ones is that we will cherish every moment we are given and obediently follow the Lord's voice in all things.  

Perspective

photo credit

I tell you, her sins--and they are many--have been forgiven, so she has shown me much love. But a person who is forgiven little shows only little love. Luke 7:47, NLT 

Let's be real for a second... With all our selfishness, pride, anger, jealousy, backbiting, greed, lust, idolatry, and murderous, adulterous thinking, has any of us really only been "forgiven little"?  I'm starting to think the truth of this verse is all a matter of perspective.  

There is no one righteous, not even one,
there is no one who understands,
there is no one who seeks God.
All have turned away,
together they have become worthless; 
Romans 3:10b-12

According to the Word of God, none of us can say we have been "forgiven little," but sometimes our lives show that's exactly what we believe.  

Let's look back at the comparisons made in Luke 7:36-50.  Jesus went to dinner at Simon's house, and Simon showed little care for Jesus... no water for His feet, no kiss of greeting, no anointing oil for His head. Even though Simon was a "church-goer," and a religious leader, he wanted to meet with Jesus in his home, eating the meal he provided, with the people he invited to be there... his way, his turf, on his schedule.  

What did the sinful woman do in comparison?  She sought Jesus out and did not rest until she found Him.  She entered a place where she was not invited and humbled herself before Christ in the face of her enemies.  She became undignified in throwing herself at His feet.  She kissed his feet and anointed them with tears and expensive perfume.  She wiped His feet with her hair.  She was desperate.  

I can imagine how she felt.  She wanted everything she had and everything she was to be completely laid-out before the One who would forgive her and save her life.  She knew her sin was great, and she was grateful.  She would not, could not, rest until all the love she felt for Him was fully expressed, fully spent.  Wherever He was, she wanted to be there.  Whatever He offered, she wanted to receive.  Whatever He said, she wanted to hear.  

And what was His response?  

He saw her.  He forgave her.  He loved her.  And He spoke the words she so desperately longed to hear... "Your sins are forgiven... Your faith has saved you; go in peace."

We have all been forgiven the same amount: completely.  Whether we are murderers and child molesters, or cradle-Christian housewives, we have ALL been forgiven MUCH.  When we really humble ourselves before God and see our sin for what it is... the very thing that crucified His Son, Jesus Christ... we will overflow with gratefulness and our hearts will cry out to serve Him above all others! 

The sacrifices God desires are a humble spirit--O God, a humble and repentant heart you will not reject. Psalm 51:17, NET Bible.  

Prayer

"Because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed, for His compassions never fail.  They are new every morning; great is Your faithfulness." 
Lamentations 3:22-23

"I don't want anything to stand between us, oh God.  I want to walk tucked up underneath Your arm... wrapped in Your love, Your voice whispering in my ear as I live out this day." 

"I wanna stay right here, Father, right here in the midst of You..."

"I repent and renounce all that I have placed between us, and I place it under the Blood of Jesus.  I release it to You without burden and without condemnation, for You have made me blameless in Christ." 

"You have filled my life with love, peace, and good works in Christ.  You have made my life worth something, Father, and I'm so unspeakably grateful."

"Fill me up with Your Spirit and Your Word, oh God, and let what You have placed within me overflow to others today.  Allow my life to make a real and lasting and beautiful difference in the lives of those around me." 

"Without You I have nothing, and I am nothing, and everything is worth nothing.  All of life is empty without You, for You alone are worthy of praise, Oh God."

A Great and Effective Door

I was in prayer and studying this morning and the Lord was speaking about the "great and effective door."  I had a dream about it last week that I'd love to share, but this morning I want to tell you about something else that caught my eye.  

"But I will tarry in Ephesus until Pentecost. For a great and effective door has opened to me, and there are many adversaries." (1 Corinthians 16:8-9)

I've read that a million times, but this morning it stuck out to me that 1.) he's staying in Ephesus seemingly because of adversaries, and 2.) he doesn't ask for prayer about that... he just quickly states it once and moves on to talk about Timothy.  And apparently there are many adversaries.  Still, no problem, he's not leaving, and he's not worried in the least.  No biggie.  

Huh???  

Then I looked up some commentaries and found this quote: 

"Adversaries and opposition do not break the spirits of faithful and successful ministers, but warm their zeal, and inspire them with fresh courage. A faithful minister is more discouraged by the hardness of his hearers' hearts, and the backslidings of professors, than by the enemies' attempts." ~Matthew Henry's commentary

This truly makes me smile because I think of Paul traveling where the Holy Spirit leads, doing the Lord's work, and when he comes to Ephesus and encounters "many adversaries," he's like, "Oh yeah, baby!  I'm staying here!  Bring it on!"  LOL  He's not only unaffected by the enemy's tactics, he's EXCITED because he knows it's a sign that God's hand is on the situation... that a GREAT and EFFECTIVE door has been opened to him... and OH, THE WONDERS he will see when he walks through that door because the MIRACULOUS is on the other side!!!  Many adversaries???  Who cares!!!  We're about to strike ministry GOLD!!  Haha!!

In the face of ministry, adversaries and opposition should make our mouths water to sink our teeth into what God has on the other side of our own "great and effective door."  Our eyes should be wide with wonder in the face of every attack, at the throwing of every stone, because we know our Great God is about to do something that will blow our minds and change lives forever!  

Hold to the Path

 photo credit
"Give careful thought to the paths for your feet and be steadfast in all your ways.











 Do not turn to the right or the left; keep your foot from evil." Proverbs 4:26-27

Every morning this week, right when I woke up, I heard in my spirit, "get up and go for a walk."  Because I have struggled with obedience in some areas, and because I desperately want to be obedient and mature in Christ, I have gotten out of bed, put on my shoes, and headed out the door.  

On the first day, a cool, damp morning, I walked down my driveway and turned left.  I had a quick thought about the path I would take through my large, 1970s-era neighborhood, and in my mind I saw a flash of the longest route I usually take.  It takes about 20-25 minutes, and there are plenty of up- and downhill slopes. 

As I walked and prayed, I came to the first place I could turn and I thought, "oh, maybe I should go this way instead..."  Immediately, in my spirit I heard, "hold to the path." Still clinging to that sweet voice, I continued straight.  

Then I got to another street where I could turn left and thought about going that way... and I heard, "hold to the path."  And again, I continued straight.  

Then the Lord began speaking into my spirit...  

Stay on the road I have set out for you.  Follow me obediently.  Along the way, there will be hard uphill climbs when you have to press and push yourself to get to the top... and there will be times of refreshing in the downhill slopes... but do not stop, and do not change course...or you will tire out faster, become discouraged, and quit early....

As I kept walking, the Lord brought more things to mind that I needed to repent of and submit to Him, and I began to cry.  Then He spoke to me again... 

All along the way, if you hold to My path, there will be times of repentance designed to open your eyes to sin and free you from its grip.  Hold tightly to Me, My child...

Finally, as I began closing in on my destination, feeling lighter than I had when I started, He spoke again...

Hold to the path that I set out for you.  If you turn to the right or to the left and take a different course, you will miss divine appointments I have prepared for you... and you will not accomplish My purposes for your life...

A couple weeks ago I spoke at an outdoor event.  It was my first time speaking in ages, and I was pretty nervous.  I had prayed all week for the Lord to reveal His plan to me for that day, but I didn't receive it until 11pm the night before.  The message came to me in three parts, and I wrote it out as best as I could.

The next afternoon, as I was preparing to speak, I couldn't make much sense of the first part of my message.  I kept forgetting how it was supposed to go.  But the second part of the message was clear and burning in my spirit to get out....

I wasn't as sensitive to the leading of the Holy Spirit as I should have been that day, and instead of scrapping the first part and moving on to the second like I now know I should have, I trudged through it.  It made no sense, had no point, and was pretty much a disaster. 

But when I got to the second part, everything became clear.  It still wasn't as well put together as I would have liked, but I got out what the Lord had put on my heart...

The tragedy is that I ran out of time right after I ended that second part and I never got to the final part of my message... a salvation message about Jesus Christ. 


As I was walking the road that first day, the Lord showed me that when I decide to change course and go my own way, I miss important parts of the journey.  What would have happened if I had given the message the Lord wanted me to give?  Would more people have come to Christ that day?  If so, will those people have another chance, or was I their last appointment before eternity?

I am humbled by my prideful ways of thinking I know better than God. He knows the plans He has set out for me, and all the reasons behind what He asks me to do... with possible ripple effects reaching generations into the future.......   I am unspeakably thankful for His grace and mercy, and how He has faithfully shown me the error of my ways.  I pray He continues and allows me more opportunities to learn and grow... and that I am humble enough to see them when they come...  

"Give careful thought to the paths for your feet and be steadfast in all your ways. Do not turn to the right or the left; keep your foot from evil." 
Proverbs 4:26-27

Distracted by a Butterfly

photo credit
"but each person is tempted when they are dragged away by their own
evil desire and enticed." James 1:14

This morning I'm sitting in my dining room looking out the window into my backyard.  It's a sunny, breezy day... nice and cool... and I'm thinking about thinking.

I'm doing very well this morning, spiritually speaking.  But over the last week, I've had some challenges.  Technically speaking, I dipped into controlling behavior, self-condemnation, and depression.  By the grace of God, and with the help of friends and Pastors, I was able to pull myself out of it, but I really need to take some time and learn from this episode so I can cut it off earlier next time.

I was meditating on Ephesians 4:21-24 this morning, which says:

"Since you have heard about Jesus and have learned the Truth that has come from Him, throw off your old sinful nature and your former way of life, which is corrupted by lust and deception.  Instead, let the Spirit renew your thoughts and attitudes. Put on your new nature, created to be like God - truly righteous and holy."

As I was laying on my office floor listening to Jason Upton's Faith CD and thinking about this piece of Scripture, the Lord showed me a picture.  Jason Upton was singing about having childlike faith, and in my spirit I saw a picture of a bright-eyed little girl playing outside in a field of wildflowers.  It was a bright, sunny day, and she was at peace and filled with joy as she moved through the field picking flowers and humming a song.  All was well with her soul.

Then along came a dark little butterfly that was a dark thought in disguise.  It whispered a lie in the little girl's ear that brought a little frown to her brow and a slight dimness to her eyes.  The butterfly was small, and seemed harmless, so she shrugged it off.  It returned again and whispered a lie that was even more tempting and dark, and the little girl's countenance darkened again, but again, though she had the power to squash the butterfly so it wouldn't bother her anymore, she shrugged it off.  Finally, the butterfly came back a third time, with a lie too tempting to ignore, and the little girl was hooked.  Even though the butterfly said things that hurt and troubled her deeply, she followed it because she believed its lies.  As the dark butterfly began to fly away from the beautiful field, she followed after it.  She knew she was going the wrong way, felt the knot of discontent forming in her stomach, and she longed for the peace of the field, but still, she followed the butterfly.

I know that butterfly, and where it leads.  It lives in darkness, depression, rejection, and discontent.  All who follow it will end up hopeless and defeated, and that's been a bad habit of mine.  Like an alcoholic who believes one drink won't hurt anything and ends up drowning in liquid sorrow, I have allowed that dark butterfly to keep coming back and whispering in my ear instead of squashing it like the evil bug it is.

The Bible says to "throw off your old sinful nature."  It tells us to put our flesh and old ways TO DEATH. This is where I sometimes fall down on the job and allow myself to wander off, ending up hopeless and defeated.

So, how do I keep that from happening again?  Well, that's the funny thing.  If you're anything like me, you probably think the only way to make it better is to work harder, be better, strive for excellence!  But the truth is that all my striving starts the cycle all over again.

Once I find myself in hopelessness and depression, I work hard to build up my faith and get myself to that place of joy and contentment before the Father.  But then, because I still believe the lie that I have to make myself perfect to be acceptable, I begin to work harder and harder to make myself better, and end up working myself into the ground... which makes me vulnerable to the butterfly, and I'm right back on my way to where I started.

So what's the answer?  Brokenness.

My flesh, my will, my pride have to be broken.  It's morbid, but I think of a person lying on the floor with a broken spine.  She can't move, can't breathe, can't survive without help.  And the only one who can help is God.  That is where real change lives.  In my weakness HE is made strong.  With the Father's direction, I need to begin to revel in my own weakness, without condemnation, and have faith in His strength... speaking the Word of God over my life, believing in His promises without wavering, obediently following His voice.

It seems like a tall order, but I only have to focus on right now... this moment... and as I look out my dining room window at the breezy day outside, I'm enjoying picking the wildflowers.

Waiting...

Passion.  Vision.  Purpose.  Calling.  These are some of my favorite words.  They cause a stirring in me that I sometimes cannot contain, but I'm still in the birthing process of God's plan for my life.  I can see His plan on the horizon and I know it's coming quickly, but I still have some waiting to do.

I'm not a big fan of waiting.  Unfortunately, sometimes I want it my way, and right now!  But no matter how much I push and shove to try to "get it done," God will not be moved.  He will not release His plan until HE is ready... and oh, how grateful I am for that!  God, in His great mercy, will not allow me to move from this waiting place until everything has been made ready.  He plans for me to succeed, and I will succeed, IF I will be obedient and wait on His timing.

Waiting on God can be hard, but there are some things that only He can take care of.  All I have to do is place my faith and trust in Him, because putting my hands on things to control them only makes the process longer.  So I wait...

But waiting is active... praying, believing, worshiping... and oddly enough, it takes passion, vision, and purpose!  I have to take hold of the vision He has given me for my life and hold on to my faith with passion knowing that all this waiting has a purpose!  He is growing me, He is preparing the ground for my future, He is working everything out for my good... for His glory... and soon enough, when He is ready, the calling He has given me will be born.

Finally, humility is KEY in this waiting game.  While I'm waiting, God is operating.  He is opening me up, exposing the cancer of sin and wrong thinking, and cutting it out.  He is shining His light on all the dark places within me and gently erasing signs of the enemy. He is pulling out old arrows, cleaning and closing old wounds, and massaging the scars to make them soft.  He is pouring His love out on me and making me better.  He is increasing my capacity to love, to give, and to receive.  He is surrounding me with His goodness and binding me up in His grace.

How I love Him so... and so I gladly wait.