Signature Scent...

God has a signature scent, one that's associated with His very essence. If you spend time in His presence, you know that His love poured out on your soul heightens and affects every one of your senses. Even as a child in an Apostolic church, I remember times when worship rising from the people of God mingled with a blue-ish haze that filled the sanctuary. It was visible, tangible, audible and breathable; satisfying even the taste buds. During these times it was easy to see why the Psalmist said, "O taste and see that the Lord is good!"

In the instructions God gave for the building of the Tabernacle and the gathering of all the things that were to be used in its service, we learn the composition of the fragrance that was to be particularly His. (See Exodus 30.) Associated with burnt offerings and as a holy, anointing oil, these were special recipes - guarded and handed down from generation to generation of priests, only the sons of Aaron could prepare them. They were not to be replicated or used for any other purpose that to be a sweet fragrance to God.

Later, in the Psalms, He let us know our praise and worship is also a sweet savor. God treasures and stores these times of communion. As they fill our hearts, they rise up into His nostrils and prompt Him to pour out many rich treasures and blessings from His vast storehouse. He places great value on obedience, which to Him is more important than even a costly sacrifice. Thus, obedience becomes a vital ingredient in the aroma of wholehearted worship.

This pleasing aroma flows both ways. His presence fills the hungry heart with good things. And His heart is thrilled and leans close to enjoy the lifting of holy hands and hearts heavenward. Praise, worship, sacrifice, and willing offerings are key ingredients of the aroma that pleases the heart of God. Best activated by a close relationship with Him, the word, communion, is an accurate description of what happens when God and man are in sweet fellowship. Before he was saved, the Gentile centurion, Cornelius' steady offerings had piled up into the heavens as a memorial to a man who was seeking after God. Evidently, God couldn't resist Cornelius' hunger. Drawn like a magnet to steel, He dispatched an angel, dealt strongly with the man of God, and opened a new dispensation - all to meet Cornelius' need.

This begs three questions... 1.) What kind of fragrance pleases God? And, 2.) How is it released?

The thing that triggers the release of this fragrance into the presence of God (and others) is brokenness.

• When the circumstances of his life broke Joseph again and again, the result was not bitterness, but the realization that God was in the breaking and used it in the blessing that followed.
• When the woman broke her alabaster box of fragrance over the feet of Jesus, the aroma filled the room, speaking not only of His suffering, but of her adoration and thankful heart.
• When Jesus broke and blessed the little - five loaves and two fish - He gave it to His disciples, who distributed it (in a pattern of what would follow,) and the hunger of many was satisfied.
• And when the sinless body of Jesus was broken and freely offered, it resulted in the salvation of the world!
• Your brokenness allows the perfume of God's presence to fill your world and become a precious ointment that testifies... "O taste and see that the Lord is good... He satisfies the hungry heart... He makes broken things every whit whole..." and releases an irresistably sweet aroma.

The aroma of fresh-baked bread or a hot apple pie triggers mouth-watering images of good things nearby. No wonder God uses this analogy to illustrate both the hunger our heart and His ability to satisfy all who hunger and thirst after His righteousness. His promise is, "they shall be filled!" The question has never been can He? or even will He? The only remaining question has to do with me and you...

3.) What kind of odor does my life present to God - and to others?

• Am I like the children of Israel in the wilderness who frustrated Him with their complaints and murmurings?
• Am I like King David who knew how - and gladly worshiped God with all his heart, mind, soul, and strength?
• Have I gone after other gods and other loves, replacing the devotion I owe him for all His kindness, mercy and benefits with a not so secret wandering eye?
• Am I like Josiah, who saw his failures in the Word and turned himself and everyone around him back to God?
• Do my lips say one thing - and my heart, mind, and actions say something else entirely?
• Or am I like Daniel and his three young friends who purposed in their heart that no matter what, everything they did was going to be God's way and for His glory?

I too have a signature scent. The odor I present to God and to those around me is based on the choices I make. It's a unique recipe I put together every day I live. If I choose to please myself; my flesh, its desires and agenda, if I seek after the things of this world and its system - my recipe becomes a stench in His nostrils and to those around me.

But if I choose to please Him and to set my heart and mind on heavenly things; it brings glory to God and makes my world more aware of Him and His goodness. I become a living testimony, and a catalyst of His redemptive plan.

Either way, this "signature scent" reminds Him of what He did at Calvary! (See II Corinthians 2:15.) Disobedience crucifies Him afresh, makes His sacrifice of no effect. But if my choices are born of a willing, obedient heart - the result is:

• an odor that is pleasing to Him,
• the joy of His salvation,
• His smile of approval, and,
• an irresistable force that moves the most obstinate of obstacles!

There is coming a day and a place when and where the fragrance of His joy and ours will combine into a holy, sweet incense, a perfume that will permeate heaven's atmosphere with a communion more perfect and complete than mortal senses can even imagine. We in Him and Him in us! Praise perfected! (No wonder worship is the most heavenly of occupations.) That day will be glorious indeed. But until then - every day - we're putting together our signature scent; the fragrance by which we'll be known throughout eternity!

Note: This thought was inspired by a recent Our Daily Bread devotion.

Things That Last

What would you give for something that lasts
A hundred years or more?
Does it measure in multiplied dollars and cents?
Or in bank accounts by the score?

What would you give for the trust of a child?
Can you buy it with trinkets rare?
How do you restore it once it is gone?
Can you carry it here and there?

What of the love of your husband, your friend?
As he goes through his day, when it’s through?
Is your home a haven of comfort and peace?
Can his heart safely trust in you?

What of the trust of the wife of your life?
Can she sail with a calm, serene mind?
Are you courageous and bold? or blustery and cold?
Do your children lag far behind?

And what of the souls you pass every day?
Their lives are so barren and bleak:
Lost, without God, they long for the Light
You enjoy every day of the week.

Moment by moment, day by day,
Life’s sand slips through the glass;
Weeks turn to months and months into years,
We learn that life comes – to pass.

Think of the things that you can pass on,
When your life here on earth is complete;
Their worth is counted – soul by soul,
And laid at the Master’s feet.

What will you invest in what you’ve been given?
That’s the reason behind this small rhyme;
Is it gaudy and cheap? Or crafted to keep?
Will your workmanship pass the test of time?

By Marjorie Kinnee

The Clothesline . . .

There was something to be said about the clothesline of yesteryear. It was an incentive to making sure one had bleached and cleaned wash loads as well as possible – because your laundry was on display and you were too! It whipped in the wind like flags in a stiff breeze. Sheets and large items were hung on the outside lines, the inner lines were reserved for personal items. Your neighbors and even passers-by could and would form a positive or negative opinion based on the things you hung out and the way you hung them on the line.

The internet provides a place for aired laundry of a different sort... it has become a modern day Mars Hill or Speakers Corner. As it was back then, so it is today. Many don’t care what they hang out for all to see. That's why you see and hear so much of the snivel and the whine and the bitter vetch aired there.

Many seek a voice and the internet provides a platform without parameters or governance – anything goes. Each man does what’s right in his own eyes. It’s a whole new world out there. Caution and discretion can be flung to the four winds. What once was only done in secret is now hung out like so much dirty laundry for public display. Vicious arguments, language that reveals a mindset steeped in the gutter, photos and video clips displaying a penchant for notoriety in milder forms, and real and implied depravity at worst, fictitious "biographical" material, and a willingness to hold any and everything sacred up for ridicule – this kind of laundry is readily available on the internet – MySpace, FaceBook, and YouTube are just some of the purveyors.

From the outset, it seemed wise to stay away from chat rooms and such. The amount of time they consume was unconscionable. Subsequent revelations have made them seem even less appealing and often downright sinister. They sing a siren's song... "Come – your notions are as good as anyone else’s – spread them abroad – I'll make it easy for you to see and be seen, hear and be heard. Tell your story like you'd like it to be. Don't fret about negative opinions and old-fogey logic. What do they know? Besides, what harm can it do? It’s your life!"

Funny that we, (the human race,) never seem to learn from the past. (Those who do are blessed indeed.) The traps are the same old tricks. But dressed in modern clothes, they intrigue us all over again with heady suggestive thoughts. Like our forebears, we succumb and make the same mistakes all over again, thus proving generation after generation, millennia after millennia, that the Word of God is right and true and applicable to all generations.

One of the good things about hanging out your laundry is the sun. Something about the sun and the wind work together in synergy. Soap, bleach, scrubbing and lots of water both for washing and rinsing do their part. But the sun and the wind together not only dry the laundry but they also purify and refresh the fabric. What’s more, the smell of line dried, sun-bleached clean linen is unforgettable!

Is the internet all bad? Of course not. There are many good uses for technology of all sorts. But to maintain a savor of the grace that brought us out of darkness into His marvelous light, one must embrace the need for His Light to permeate everything, action and deed. We are washed, we are cleansed and we are on display for all to see – trophies of His grace. His desire is for us to share the good news of His goodness and mercy wherever we go. He said we’re salt and light. As such we cannot be hid. But we do not draw men to ourselves, we point them to the One who can save them just as He saved us. With that mindset, the internet is just one more place that needs to be filled with the knowledge of the Lord!