God's Perfume

God’s Perfume

            Gram and Miss Fairy (practically an aunt, only better since she had no children of her own and lavished her love extravagantly on me—and on my other siblings and cousins, too, of course) both used Youth Dew perfume by Estee Lauder.  Gram always smelled so good to me and Miss Fairy used the same perfume.   I used to get hand me downs from Miss Fairy and there was always the scent of Youth Dew on the clothes I got from her.  My closet smelled like Miss Fairy.  After they were both gone on to Heaven, a whiff of Youth Dew brought them back.

            Because I loved the two of them and wanted to be like them, I tried to make that Youth Dew my signature scent, sure that more of them would rub off on me.  But, alas, it was too strong and did not represent who I was.  I switched to Beautiful by Estee Lauder, because it still hinted of them.  But even that did not suit me.  But I wanted some smell that reminded others of me, something that would instantly bring me to mind, so I kept looking.  Eventually I found Moonlight Path and made it my own.  I love it when someone says, “You smell so good.  What are you wearing?”

            I admit in my search I had some major goofs.  Perhaps the most dramatic one was the perfume I sprayed liberally, then desperately tried to wash off as I gagged and threw up!

            If you read the fashion expert’s advice about how to choose a “signature scent,” you will read that it must fit your personality.  There are little quizzes that claim to help you choose the right scent.  According to them, you must consider the food you love, the kind of music you listen to, the kind of movies you like, the places you like to go for vacation.  All of these answers will help you choose the fragrance that will still smell amazing hours after you have applied it.  Of course you want to choose something that others will not find overpowering or irritating.  You want just the right one.

            This week I read in II Corinthians 2 these verses: 

            “Now thanks be to God who always leads us in triumph in Christ and through us diffuses the fragrance of His knowledge in every place.  For we are to God the fragrance of Christ among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing.  To the one we are the aroma of death leading to death, and to the other the aroma of life leading to life.”

            That concept of God’s perfume has for many years captured my imagination and my longings.  We are to be the fragrance, the perfume, of Christ, to both other Christians and nonbelievers. Our presence should remind others of Him.

 Do we evoke sweet smells and memories?  I mentioned Gram.  Gram drew others to her, in a cliché, like bees to honey.  I wanted desperately to be like her.  I knew that her love for God and for the Bible and for others was what made her unique.  I even took as a life verse the same one she used.  It was Psalm 16:11, “Thou wilt show me the path of life.  In thy presence is fullness of joy; At thy right hand are pleasures forevermore.”  I knew that her secret was found in Him.  She was God’s sweet perfume to those she met.

Unfortunately, I know that just as I sometimes have violently negative reactions to certain aromas, so sometimes we are not a sweet fragrance of Christ to others.  Sometimes we stink.  I spoke to a young man the other day who, because of the “fragrance” put off by his father, is nauseated by his father’s conception of God.  He isn’t sure what he believes now, but he knows he does not want to believe anything his father believed.  His father and others who claimed to be Christians have filled his nostrils with the smell of death.  I cry almost every time I think of him. 

So what kind of perfume am I to others?  Am I Christ’s perfume, wooing others to want to love Him and know Him as I do?  Or am I stench in their nostrils, a strong, irritating odor, pushing them away from the God I claim to represent?  Oh, God!  Help me to be a sweet perfume, drawing others to You.

                                                            ~Faith Himes Lamb

FRIENDSHIP

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FRIENDSHIP

Every morning for 940 days in a row, I have awakened to a verse on my phone....EVERY MORNING! No, it's not some auto verse or Joel Osteen dial-a-prayer system, it's an actual verse sent from an actual person - one who has discovered early on the power of God's Word.

At the beginning of my "journey" with Dan through cancer, my sweet, faithful friend Amy began sending me verses during the night. With the Home-going of her father several years ago, she knew my pain and despair. And some mornings when I had no strength to face the day, I would pick up my phone to a verse only God could have given her. It is amazing how many times the verse she sends covers the particular concern that is in my heart. Dan loved that she did that for us. It strengthened us in a way that's unfamiliar to those who have not been through a difficult time.

God used this very special gift, not only in my life, but others as well. She began a "text" ministry to several other cancer patients and in searching for the verses to send, she told me how much reading through the Scripture had encouraged her.

Sometimes we think that we just don't have what it takes to encourage someone in their time of need...but that little verse, pushing its way from her finger to my heart was and is a true gift. And during the wee hours of each morning, a little bell on my phone reminds me that someone is still praying for me and sending me the amazing power of God's Word.

For the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.....Hebrews 4:12

Joy Dilts

Working Together

Some days I think I must have the greatest job in the world.  (Other days I question my own sanity! A topic for another time.) Consider this:  I get to show up every morning and talk about a subject I totally believe in to people I completely adore.  In addition to that, I work at a school where I’m not only allowed but encouraged to emphasize the sovereignty of God and his personal involvement in our lives.  Also—(Can you believe there’s more?)—on a fairly regular basis I get to see or hear from some of the people I’ve taught and find out how God is working in their lives.  It’s such a joy.

One of my former students is currently teaching at a school in the Philippines; one is planning activities at a nursing home; one is teaching English at Grace; another is teaching math. Several have gotten married in the last couple of years and, with their spouses, are making good biblical choices for their families. I could go on, but you get the picture. I am so proud of them!

When Dr. Euler talked to us about intercession on Sunday morning, my mind was just flooded with the many people I am privileged to know and pray for. Think of all the missionaries we know and whose joys and sorrows we get to share. We hear it often, but it is worth thinking of again. The work of the ministry has many facets, but we have a single goal.  Paul reminded the Ephesian church that “there is one body and one spirit . . . one Lord, one faith, one baptism.” (chapter 4)  “Men work together,” says Robert Frost, “whether they work together or apart.”

We may not get to go to Japan with Sarah Reese or walk the path in Togo with Bea Ward, but we can share in their work through prayer.  Don’t you love it?! When we build into the lives of others, our own ministry expands exponentially.

One of my particular joys this week was reading Diana Patrick’s blog. Yes, I got to teach her in both fourth grade and twelfth grade. How amazing is that?  She spent a large part of her summer in Philadelphia and tells some wonderful stories of her experience. You can read it and cry for yourself.  http://dianacpatrick.blogspot.com/

Keep working, praying, and sharing.  God is in it.

--Sherry Poff

Pain Hurts

The woman who needs a friend,
The woman who misses family,
The woman who feels alone,
Pain hurts.
The woman who desires a new career,
The woman who is without a job,
The woman whose job is all she has time for,
Pain hurts.
The woman who longs for a husband,
the woman whose husband is distant,
the woman whose husband is gone.
Pain hurts.
The woman who longs to have children,
the woman who can't have children,
the woman who has lost children,
the woman whose children are lost,
Pain hurts.
The woman whose parent is dying,
The woman who is dying and leaving children,
The woman whose parents are gone and she needs them,
Pain hurts.
The woman who thinks no one cares,
the woman who bears so many others' burdens,
the woman who pushes others away,
the woman who is pushed away,
Pain hurts.
Your greatest joy is my deepest desire,
My biggest complaint is your greatest longing, 
Pain hurts.

These women go to my church. They are part of my family. They are women sinking in the despair of sin and can't break free from the strongholds in their lives. They are women longing for husbands and children. They are women going through divorce. They are women who have lost their husbands or children. They are women who have children that are hurting or making poor choices. They are women who are lonely and long for friendships. They are women who have lost dear friends. They are women whose loved ones have hurt them. And the list goes on. Oh, how we're hurting.

This summer at VBS, we studied the story of Lazarus' death. Mary and Martha didn't understand why Jesus waited to come, and it appeared that Jesus did not care. We see, however, that He cared so deeply that he dealt with Mary and Martha individually to meet their needs, and then He wept because of the sorrow that comes with death. Oh, how He cares.

As we hurt, may we wait upon the Lord who has promised an Isaac, and for Whom nothing is impossible! "Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, without wavering, for he who promised is faithful (Hebrews 10:23)!"

~Rebecca Phillips