STENCH

But thanks be to God, who always leads us in triumph in Christ, and manifests through us the sweet aroma of the knowledge of Him in every place.  For we are a fragrance of Christ to God among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing; to the one an aroma from death to death, to the other an aroma of life to life.  And who is adequate for these things?  For we are not like many, peddling the word of God, but as from sincerity, but as from God, we speak in Christ in the sight of God.  II Corinthians 2:14-17 NASBDanni went to the park last night with her daddy.  Later, when she came to bed, I kept sniffing, wondering what stunk.  As she got closer, I recognized the faint odor of skunk.  She hadn’t had a major run in with the skunk but she had definitely crossed it’s path.

When I opened my car door this morning, I backed up several paces.  The smell emanating from the vehicle was hard-core skunk.  It had been shut up all night while the odor permeated the vehicle.  I drove with the windows down hoping that the stench would go away.

Our bible verse from II Corinthians speaks of odors.  We are to be the sweet-smelling fragrance of Christ in this world.  We have the gift of life to offer.  As we spend time with Jesus, our words and life should bring joy and refreshing to others.

Some will not accept or believe in Christ and will not want you around as your presence is like the stench of death.  They hear your words but do not want to believe.

As we act and speak in Jesus’ name, the fragrance is like a pleasing sacrifice to God.  In the Old Testament, the priest would offer incense to God each morning and at twilight.  The altar of incense was considered by God to be holy.  As we lift our prayers to Him with a right heart, it is like a sweet-smelling incense, holy and acceptable.

Today, evaluate your life.  Sniff out your words and your prayers.  Are they a pleasing fragrance to God or is there a little bit of a bad smell that you need to have cleansed?

Ephesians 5:2 tells us to walk in love, even as Christ also loved you, and gave himself up for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweet-smelling fragrance.  Let’s please God in all we do and say that we might be holy and acceptable in His sight.