Wednesday, February 27, 2013

A Special Aroma


Growing up, did you have that favorite food item that mom or grandma baked? Regardless of where you were – in another room, the yard, the neighbor’s house, or another state altogether – the aroma tantalized all of your senses and you were giddy with anticipation of eating that special meal.

As an adult, that aroma still triggers something inside of you – because an aroma is so much more than a scent. It evokes emotion, beautiful memories, and, if you really think about it – love. 2 Corinthians 2:15 says,
For we are to God the pleasing aroma of Christ among those who are being saved and those who are perishing.”

What is this aroma of Christ? Love. You cannot be in relationship with Him without being completely consumed with this overwhelming fragrance. We are called to not simply sprinkle it on lightly, but to completely submerge ourselves in the aroma of love, so that others cannot help but catch the scent of Jesus and come running.

Jesus said, “You will know my followers by their love.” In other words, true devotion to Christ means your scent and your total identity are rooted in love. And this love is most loudly spoken without words.

A Romanian prison guard who found both his fulfillment and frustration in torturing Christians once said, 
"If we cut off their tongues and forbid the Christians speech, they love with their hands, with their feet, and with their eyes, they love always and everywhere until their last respiration. Does anybody know how to take out the power of love from these stupid Christians?"

When we are truly devoted to Christ, His love will naturally overflow from every part of our life. Do the people you encounter see, hear, and feel the love of Christ? Live a life of love and be the aroma of Christ.

Thursday, February 14, 2013

Valentine's Day: The Real Story


Flowers, candy, red hearts, and romance – that’s what Valentine's Day is all about, right?

Few know the true origin of this holiday. The real story of Valentine’s Day is found in the man behind the holiday – St. Valentine. And the expression of love really isn't romantic at all – at least not in the traditional sense.

Valentine was a Roman Priest at the time of Emperor Claudias the second. Claudias detested Christians and took advantage of every opportunity to persecute the Church through his high-ranking position. As a result, he issued an edict that prohibited people from getting married, based on the belief that unmarried soldiers would fight better than married soldiers, because married soldiers might be afraid of what might happen to their wives if they died.

This edict, however, posed an immediate problem to the Christian Church. Christian marriage is a sacred union between a man and a woman for life and is a right given by God. Roman Priest Valentine had a deep passion to see couples bonded in this sacred union and love, as a reflection of the union we have with Christ. So Valentine, in spite of the edict, continued to perform marriage ceremonies.

Valentine was eventually caught, imprisoned, and tortured for performing marriage ceremonies against the command of Emperor Claudius. But this imprisonment did not change Valentine’s zest to share the love of Christ with everyone he met.

While imprisoned, Valentine met a Roman judge named Asterius whose daughter was blind. Valentine shared the love of Christ with Asterius through prayer and the healing of his young girl. Asterius was so overcome with the power of love that he committed his life to Christ.

In the year 269 AD, Valentine was sentenced to a three-part execution of a beating, stoning, and finally decapitation – all because of his stand for Christian marriage. It is believed that the last words he wrote were in a letter to Asterius' daughter, inspiring today's romantic notes by signing it, "from your Valentine.”

That is the real story of Valentine’s Day. It is not simply a holiday, but a celebration of Christ’s love for us. Won’t you follow the lead of St. Valentine by celebrating this day, sharing the unconditional love of Christ with everyone you meet – no matter the cost?

Wednesday, February 6, 2013

How great is our God?



Have you ever just thought about how GREAT our God is? Think about it like this…

If you were to take a sharpie and make a dot on a piece of paper, that dot would be exponentially larger than size of Earth in comparison to the largest star man has ever discovered. God created that. He created the vastness, but He also created the microscopic. And, He created it all with just the sound of His voice. We have nothing that can compare with the greatness of our God and His creation. 

However, in all of God’s greatness, He made us. He could have spoken us into existence like everything else, but instead, “The Lord God formed a man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life and the man became a living being. (Genesis 2:7)” God got down on His hands and knees and created mankind. He didn’t leave them after that, either. No, He walked intimately beside man every day. Even after Adam and Eve sinned, God clothed and protected them.

Why? Read 1 John 4:10 – 12:

This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God lives in us and his love is made complete in us.

God has loved us from the very beginning. He put the ultimate marker of His love on us when He sent Jesus to die on the cross as a sacrifice for our sins. He knows our sins, insecurities, and deepest fears – and He meets us there with His perfect love. God loves us – intimately, passionately, and unconditionally.

What if we embraced this love so much that it flowed out of us to others? What if we lived this month – and all year – loving each other with the same love with which God loves us?