Diffusing His Fragrance

     In my home, I enjoy using essential oils.  A few drops in the water container of my diffusers, and the house is filled with a lovely scent.  I am always amazed how just a small amount of oil can produce such a powerful fragrance that seems to fill the rooms.  In the same way, we, as Christians, are to bring our faith to bear on every aspect of our lives so that others will see the love of God within us.  We are to be salt and light in this world of darkness, and like the diffusers I use in my home, we are to be the fragrance of Christ that permeates every portion of our world.
     Presently, around the world, there seems to be a clash of ideas like we have never seen before.  On one side, we see those who believe that man is the measure of everything.  This camp believes we are getting better all the time, and that all we need is a government who will meet all the needs.  These ideas came to the forefront during the Renaissance and have morphed into a movement that has spread across the globe.  According to the American Humanist Society, the definition is as follows:  "Humanism is a progressive philosophy of life that, without theism and other supernatural beliefs, affirms our ability and responsibility to lead ethical lives of personal fulfillment that aspire to the greater good of humanity."  That does not sound bad does it?  However, one of the banners on their page reads:  "Good without God".  This whole set of ideas really did not start in the Renaissance.  Rather, this concept was introduced in the Garden of Eden when Satan whispered to Eve, "For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil."  Of course, we know that Eve ate the forbidden fruit and so did Adam.  Who would not want to be like God?  Why do we need Him if we can be like Him?  The motto of humanism at that website "Good without God" sounds very much like the serpent in the garden.

     On the other side of the equation, we find those who have embraced the truth found in the Bible which declares that God is our provider, sustainer, Creator, healer, King and Sovereign.  He is the only one who can meet our needs and the only way to salvation is through His Son Jesus Christ.  The ultimate picture of the clash between two world views comes when Jesus stood before Pilate the Roman head of state for the region.  When challenged by Pilate to answer his questions, Jesus' replies reveal the wisdom of God incarnate.  "Then Pilate said to Him, 'So you are a king?'  Jesus answered, 'You say that I am a king.  For this purpose I was born and for this purpose I have come into the world-to bear witness to the truth.  Everyone who is of the truth listens to my voice.'  Pilate said to Him, 'What is truth?'" (John 18:37-38).  This is exactly the conflict we face as believers.  We have those who say "What is truth? After all, isn't everything relative?"  Yet, our response must be that we are proclaiming the truth, living it day to day, and following the only One who can truly meet all our needs.
     In a recent article in The American Family Association Journal, Dr. Stephen McDowell president of the Providence Foundation (providence foundation.com) and an author wrote a very good article entitled "Why do the leftists (still) rage?"  He argues that the great divide in our nation today is a clash of worldviews.  He says of this divide:  "It centers on such important issues as life, the family and morality - views on which the Bible is clear."  Indeed, our Lord told us that if the world hated Him it would also hate us.  We will face tribulations, but we are to continue diffusing the fragrance of Christ wherever we go because the Lord overcame the world.  Despite opposition, we have been commissioned to share the truth even if there are those who resist it.
     If we are to fulfill our call to be salt and light in this world, we must apply our Christian worldview according to Scripture to every area of our lives.  There is no room for compromise.  We cannot say, "This is my belief based on God's Word, but I do not want to bring it into my workplace, politics, or school."  Jesus said, "32Therefore everyone who confesses Me before men, I will also confess him before My Father in heaven. 33But whoever denies Me before men, I will also deny him before My Father in heaven.…(Matthew 10:32-33).  We have a truth to proclaim.  Not to prove that we are right, but to save men and women from eternal separation from God.  With the Holy Spirit's help, we can fulfill the call to be a sweet fragrance filling every space in this world with the truth that will set others free.   My prayer is that His Word would
dwell richly in each of us that it will effect all we say and do.  May we be faithful to this task that we might glorify God.  Selah!

MAKING MELODY TO THE LORD

     When I was a little girl, I remember very well attending church with my parents.  I was in awe of my mother's beautiful soprano voice as she sang hymns during the service.  It was the most striking memory, and I remember thinking that maybe one day I would be able to sing as well as she did.  All those precious hymns we sang found a place in my heart and to this day, I often break out singing in my kitchen or while doing chores around the house.  Not only is it a pleasant memory, but it is way for me to express my joy in the Lord and what He has done for me.
     King David learned this truth in his early years as well.  Tending his father's sheep was hard work and lonely too.  However, David spent time singing to the Lord the beautiful words of praise we find in the book of Psalms.  Using song, David poured out his heart before the Lord and these words were later sung by our Lord Jesus and His disciples in worship.  Psalm 98:4-5 tells us:  "4Make a joyful noise unto the LORD, all the earth: make a loud noise, and rejoice, and sing praise. 5Sing unto the LORD with the harp; with the harp, and the voice of a psalm. 6With trumpets and sound of cornet make a joyful noise before the LORD, the King."  Then in Psalm 100:1-2, the author tells us:  " Make a joyful noise unto the Lord, all ye lands. 2 Serve t
he Lord with gladness: come before his presence with singing."  Whether we are gifted singers or can only make a joyful noise unto the Lord, He is well pleased when we lift our voices to Him in praise.
     In his letter to the Ephesians, the Apostle Paul wrote these words of admonition to believers:  "19speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody with your heart to the Lord; 20always giving thanks for all things in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ to God, even the Father; 21and be subject to one another in the fear of Christ."  I love the phrase..."making melody with your heart to the Lord".  This should be our goal daily.  If our heart is filled with thankfulness to God and praise, we will not dwell on our circumstances.  Our lives may be filled with change but our God is the same yesterday, today and forever!  Acknowledging Him with our lips in song is like a fragrant offering to our God.
     Once again, in his letter to the Colossians (3:16), Paul encourages believers to sing:  "Let the message of Christ dwell among you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom through psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit, singing to God with gratitude in your hearts."  When we meditate on the Psalms, we are singing God's Word back to Him, and we are also letting the Word of Christ dwell in us richly.  Think about it with me for a moment.  How did many of us learn the alphabet, or other basic pieces of knowledge?  We often learned by repetition and song.  So what are the benefits of making melody to the Lord?
     First, if we are feeling sad, we can brighten our spirits by singing to God.  At first it is an effort, but as we go along, our hearts are lifted out of despair.  Secondly, we are able to learn God's Word as we sing them to the Lord.  Third, singing praises to God encourages others around us as well.  It lifts the atmosphere in a home, and blesses others in worship.  Finally, singing to the Lord helps us focus on Him as we go about our work.  This is a "win - win" situation.
     Joining the choir several years ago, has been a rich blessing for me as I get to sing the songs of praise to God in worship.  Still, our songs should not be confined to church only.  We have so much to  praise and thank God for that we can never offer up a Psalm, hymn, or spiritual music enough times.  Remember that it is more important to sing from the heart in faith than to hit all the right notes.  Let us bless the Lord by making music each day!  Selah!

In the Afterglow

     Following Easter or any major holiday, there is always a let down of sorts.  The house needs to be cleaned if we had company, leftovers need to be put away and we resume our normal activities.  However, Easter is different.  For believers, this time of celebration should not be a one day event.  In fact, we need to live each day in the joy of Christ's resurrection.
     Yesterday both our choir and our Pastor gave a message based on the first letter of Peter verses 3-9:  "Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.  According to His great mercy, He has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, who by God's power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.  In this you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials, so that the tested genuineness of your faith - more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire - may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ.  Though you have not seen Him, you love Him.  Though you do not now see Him, you believe in Him and rejoice with joy that is inexpressible and filled with glory, obtaining the outcome of your faith, the salvation of your souls."  What beautiful words of hope that should make us rejoice each day as we go about our daily work.  Because of the resurrection, we also have that hope to carry us through the hard places in this life.  Likewise, we know that we, too, shall rise to new life in Christ as believers.
     If we break down these declarations made by Peter, we can see why a Christian should live in daily hope and joy.  First, our living hope means that we shall have eternal life in the presence of the Lord.  Our destination was purchased by the blood of Christ and His resurrection sealed for us an inheritance that as Peter describes is imperishable, undefiled and unfading.  No one can take this from us when we belong to Jesus Christ.
     Secondly, the Holy Spirit that comes to dwell within us at salvation confirms to us that we belong to Him.  He seals us that we may never lose that which God has graciously provided for us in Christ. Likewise the Spirit leads us into all truth and keeps alive the hope we have in our Lord.  Romans 15:13 reads:  "May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope."  It is the power of the Holy Spirit living in us that keeps our hearts and minds at rest in Christ even in the middle of the pain and trials of life.  Having lost a number of my loved ones, I have proven this true.  It was the Holy Spirit that kept my hope alive because I knew I would see them and be with them again.  Without Christ, I cannot imagine how I could have gone on.
     In addition, this living hope defends the believer against the attacks of Satan who always tries to remind us of our shortcomings and inflict us with guilt.  However, the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead is all the defense that we need.  We are set free from sin and guilt.  Therefore, we need only to quote Scripture when the enemy comes around our door and remind him that he is a defeated foe.  This is why it is so important to know and cling to Scripture.  It is our weapon that is sharper than any two edged sword.  Dear friends, we have the power of Jesus Christ living within us as believers.  We belong to the only One who has overcome the world.
     Indeed, this life brings with it troubles and persecution, but Peter wrote this that we may see beyond our circumstances which are only momentary.  Our eternal reward and inheritance are far greater than what we are going through here on earth.  Peter acknowledges that we experience grief here but he encourages us to rejoice for Christ will come again as He said.  The linchpin to all of this is the resurrection of our Savior.  If death could not hold Him, then He is able to keep our inheritance, and give to us a living hope day by day.  There is no need to live life in a hopeless state of mind.
     When Peter talks about our trials, there are several things he means in this passage that we need to remember.  According to the MacArthur Study Bible (footnote on verse 1:6, pg. 1889), Dr. MacArthur writes:  "...trouble does not last ('little while') 2. trouble serves a purpose ('if necessary'); 3. trouble brings turmoil ('grieved'); 4. trouble comes in various forms ('trials') and 5. trouble should not diminish the Christian's joy ('peace').  We need to remember this each day.
     Fixing our eyes on Jesus keeps us from the heartaches that come to all men.  We have a living hope because we have a risen Savior.  Therefore, we need to live each day like it is Easter...because it is.  The Apostle Peter said it well in his second letter verse 3A:  "His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him who has called us to His own glory and excellence...."  Because He lives, we also live and have a hope that nothing can steal from us.  Selah!

The Depth of Despair

     For Christendom, Good Friday represents the darkest of days in the events of our Lord's journey here on earth.  Even though he spent a good deal of time trying to make the disciples aware of what He must go through to fulfill His mission of bringing salvation to mankind, they could not grasp it.  So when events began to unfold, they reacted as many of us would have done.  They fell asleep when the Lord asked them to watch and pray with Him.  Then, when the soldiers came to arrest Jesus, they ran away out of fear.  Only Simon Peter had the daring to follow behind to see what would become of the Lord.  Yet, in the end, even he denied His Master three times.  Despair, confusion, darkness, fear would all be good words to describe their emotions as they watched events play out.
     In Scripture, we are not told many details about them after they ran from the Garden, but we can put ourselves in their position easily enough.  These men whom Jesus had called watched the miracles, heard the parables, walked with the Lord and listened as He taught.  Perhaps they believed the kingdom would come through Him at the time in which they lived.  After all, He was welcomed into Jerusalem with great fanfare by the citizens.  However, within days, everything changed rapidly until on Friday, Pilate handed Him over to be scourged and crucified.  With His death, the "air" went out of the room so to speak.  How could this be?  They had seen Him raise Lazarus from the dead, but they found it hard to believe that He would rise from the dead on the third day.

Jesus is the light in our darkness.

     As the hour approached of His death, Scripture tells us what nature's response to this terrible moment was like:  (Matthew 27:51-53) "And behold, the curtain of the temple was torn top to bottom.  And the earth shook and the rocks were split.  The tombs also were opened.  And many bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep were raised, and coming out of their tombs after His resurrection they went into the holy city and appeared to many."  While these are amazing phenomena took place, it would take the resurrection to fully grasp all that God had just accomplished.
     Most everyone reading this can identify with the painful, shocking day which the disciples experienced on Good Friday.  They may have felt like they let the Lord down, and imagine how deeply sorrowful Peter was for his denial.  In our lives, we also have had times and days when the sky is black and all seems lost.  Maybe we have been a long time caregiver for a loved one who is not improving.  Perhaps we have had a beloved family member die suddenly, and we, like the disciples, cannot fathom why this should have happened.  Each of us is destined to walk through the "valley of the shadow of death" and if we stop there, we are cheated of the peace we can know in Christ who walks with us all the way.
     What the disciples could not grasp and what we often miss is that the Scripture tells us in Psalm 30:5:  "For his anger lasts only a moment, but his favor lasts a lifetime; weeping may stay for the night, but rejoicing comes in the morning."  God poured out His wrath and punishment on Christ for our sake.  The day seemed dark and filled with despair for the disciples, but the resurrection was coming when the darkness was overcome by the light of the world.  The bondage of sin was broken.  The pain and suffering would lead to great rejoicing.
     Often when we are caught up in the despair and pain of this world, we cannot see what God has for us ahead.  We think we shall never be happy again, but God is the lifter of our head.  He has given us the victory over sin and death.  He shines His light into our darkness when we come to Him in true surrender.
     As we meditate on this day and the suffering of our Lord, we must remember that He knows what it is to walk in the darkness and despair of this life, but He also reminds us:  "In the world ye shall have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world" (John xvi:33).  With Him, we will see the light again and the joy that comes from living in His victory.  Selah!

Holding Fast Our Confession

     During this time in history, we are faced with many who believe that the truth is relative.  They say, "What is true for me may not be true for you."  Likewise many believe that what they do in secret whether by direct action or in their thought life will be hidden so no one may know.  In contrast, the Christian knows that there is only one foundation for truth, and one day, we all will be called into account for how we have lived our lives.  For those outside of Christ,  it will be eternal separation from God.  While believers are assured an eternal home in heaven, they will also stand before the Lord to give account for their thoughts, words and deeds.  This should cause every Christian to pause and consider how we live before the Lord.
     In the book of Hebrews, the writer says in verse 13 of chapter 4 these words of warning:  "Nothing in all creation is hidden from God's sight. Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of him to whom we must give account."  Every idle thought, cruel word, or wicked deed is known by God and is eventually uncovered.  I should know because I have experienced this in my own life.
     Playing with a neighbor boy and his older sister one day, I accidentally injured him while we were playing cowboys and Indians.  I had seen on T.V. how a person would fall down if someone hit them on the head not realizing it was acting (I was five or six at the time).  So, I took my toy gun and hit the boy with it causing a nasty gash in his head.  His older sister scolded me and hurried him home to clean up the cut.  I ran inside thinking that since my parents did not see me do this I would not get into trouble.  When evening came, a phone call came to my mother from the parent of the little boy.  She related what happened, and needless to say, I was in big trouble.  What I thought was hidden was made plain as day. It was a painful lesson to me in more ways than one  Fortunately, the cut on the neighbor boy's head was not as bad as it initially looked.  I apologized both to God and my friends.
     Of course the ultimate example is that of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden.  Once they had eaten of the fruit which the Lord told them not to eat, what did they do?  They both hid from God's presence.  God knew what they had done.  No one needed to tell Him.  The repercussions from sin led to painful consequences that we still face today.  Yet, as believers, we have a Savior in Jesus Christ who paid for the penalty of our sins.  We can now fellowship with our Lord again, but this does not exempt us from temptation or sin.  So what are we to do?
     Hebrews 4:12 tells us the power of God's Word:  "For the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it pierces even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow. It is able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart."  This is the standard for truth and the foundation upon which we must stand.  There is no such thing as one truth for one person and another for someone else.  There can only be one truth claim, and God's Word is the measure for our thoughts, actions and lifestyle.  Therefore, we must come humbly to the Bible daily so that we can honestly examine our lives to see if there is any sin in our life.  I John 1:9 tells us if we confess our sin, God will forgive us.  What a glorious thought!
     In the 14th verse of Hebrews 4, we read:  "Therefore, since we have such a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to what we profess.…"  God wants us to live a life that is holy and different from the world.  We are not called to blend in, but to stand out as a light on a hill for others to see.  We cannot hide from sin nor can we ignore the study of God's Word which exposes our hearts.  Our purpose in this life is to glorify God by holding fast to our confession of faith in Christ.  No one said it would be easy to stand in a culture seeming to head in the other direction, but with God's help, we can do it.
     May we encourage one another to hold fast our confession and believe the truth of God's Word.  There is no place to hide from God; so let us live in the light as He is in the light that others will see our good works and glorify the Lord.  Selah!