Do You Smell Something?

“But the Counselor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father

will send in my name, will teach you all things

and will remind you of everything

I have said to you.”

John 14:26 (NIV)

There is an absolutely gorgeous, exotic plant that thrives in the rain forests of Indonesia. During its flowering phase, the bloom can reach more than 8 feet in height, 20 feet in width and the plant weigh as much as 170 pounds! Its giant leaves and flowers are displayed in breathtaking shades of lime green and dark burgundy.

As amazing as it sounds, this plant will only flower every 6-10 years, so with a lifespan of 40 years, it will only bloom 3-4 times before it dies. But there is something even more amazing about this plant – the reason for its nickname. It is called the corpse plant.

One only has to get within smelling distance to realize instantly that the amorphophallus titanium, or corpse plant, has a distinctive aroma that smells like rotting flesh. It is believed that the smell helps to attract carrion beetles and sweat bees which are instrumental for the plant’s pollination. Humans, however, are quick to hold a covering over their faces to keep them from breathing in the stench.

If only sin had the same road kill odor as the corpse plant! We wouldn’t be fooled by the outer “beauty” of the corpse plant (sin) because the foul stench would serve as an instant alarm. “Get away! Run! Don’t go there! That is not where you should be!” it would warn us.

But wait . . . we DO have an instant alarm to help us recognize sin, don’t we. That alarm is the Holy Spirit. As today’s Scripture states, God placed him in the heart of all believers, to guide and direct in each situation every single day.

And how to we contact that “alarm”? Simply ask. Ask the Holy Spirit to help you when you are faced with temptations in your life.  He is faithful. He reminds you of God’s Word and he provides the answer.

No matter what you may be facing today, my friends, remember to trust the Holy Spirit to sound the alarm when you get near the corpse plant of sin.

Father, thank you for your gift of the Holy Spirit. Please help my spiritual ears to be open to his leading each and every day. In Jesus’ Name. Amen.

R.A.P. it up . . .

Reflect

• Have you ever felt an “urging” in your heart to not do or say something?

• Do you think that it might have been the Holy Spirit speaking truth to you?

Apply

• Dig into God’s Word and journal Scriptures that explain why the Holy Spirit was given to believers.

• Listen with your heart to his prompting when you are facing decisions and are uncertain which way to turn.

Power

• John 14:26 (NIV) “But the Counselor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you.”

• II Corinthians 2:15 (NIV) “For we are to God the aroma of Christ among those who are being saved and those who are perishing.”

• Ephesians 5:2 (NIV) “…and live a life of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.”

Address Change

“Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past. See, I am

doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not

perceive it? I am making a way in the desert

and streams in the wasteland.”

Isaiah 43:18-19 (NIV)

Moving from my old home to a new one created a lot more problems than I had anticipated. Trying to downsize was a huge issue since I was moving from a 5 bedroom to a 3 bedroom home. And of course, all the paperwork created a near migraine by the time it was finished.

One dilemma that was totally unexpected was changing my address. I thought I was ahead of the game when I bought four packages of “I’ve Moved!” cards to send to friends until I realized that they got packed in the move and were not found until a year later.

Fortunately the post office forwarded my mail from my other home for a few months, which helped as I notified insurance agents, medical facilities and credit card companies of the address change.

But for 6 months after the move, I kept receiving mail at my new home that belonged to the previous home owners. I would write “doesn’t live here anymore” and put it back in the mailbox but I continued to receive letters from the same companies over and over. It was almost as though the senders didn’t believe my message on each envelope.

It struck me that sometimes as Christians we are viewed in that same way. When we give our lives to the Lord, we are told to “forget the former things” as we read in Isaiah 43:18-19.  But, as sad as it is, too often there are Christian brothers and sisters who do not.

They may not speak openly about what you did or didn’t do before you gave your heart to the Lord but their actions and glances are every bit as loud as a spoken word. And while God Himself assures us that He forgives and forgets, some do not.

If that is where you find yourself today, my friends, please remember what your new “home” is filled with: room after room of forgiveness and grace and mercy. Pray for those who feel the need to judge you by your past, that they will truly experience becoming a new creation, as you are in your new “home.”

Maybe my old “home” was larger with more storage . . . but it does not compare to my new “home” in Christ.  Just as I wrote on those envelopes, you too can live with confidence in knowing that God does not judge us by how we lived in the past. Nancy doesn’t live there anymore.  

Father, I praise you today for your forgiveness and mercy and for creating a new me when I turned my life over to you. Show me the new life that you have for me. In Jesus’ Name. Amen.

R.A.P. it up . . .

Reflect

• Have you ever had someone make a comment or look at you in a way that let you know they remembered your past before you came to the Lord?

• What was your first reaction when that happened?

Apply

• Make note cards with today’s Power Scriptures on them.

• Place them around your home, in your Bible, in your car and in a cabinet to remind you about your address change when you turned your life and “home” over to the Lord.

Power

• Isaiah 43:18-19 (NIV) “Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past. See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the desert and streams in the wasteland.”

• Isaiah 43:16 (NIV)  . . . For the past troubles will be forgotten and hidden from my eyes.”

• II Corinthians 5:17 (NIV) “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!”

Designed With Love

“The tongue that brings healing is a tree of life, but

a deceitful tongue crushes the spirit.”

Proverbs 15:4 (NIV)

His dinner partner’s back was toward me in the booth next to mine but I could see his face. It wasn’t his facial features that first caught my attention. Nor was it the loudness of the man’s voice that forced me to keep looking his way.

  

It was the one-sided conversation he was having with the woman sitting across from him that held me captive and unable to turn away.

“You do know that you need a lot of work on that face of yours, don’t you?” he asked her. It was not a question that he wanted answered; to him it was a statement of fact. “Honestly, I am doing you a favor just by taking you out. Don’t you have a girlfriend or somebody to teach you how to put on makeup?”

I saw her shake her bowed head “no” slightly. He rolled his eyes and continued. “What do you have – brothers? No woman would wear that flannel shirt in public unless she only had brothers and didn’t know how a lady should dress.”

My heart was sobbing for this woman. How could anyone speak to another in such a way! All I could see was the back of her head – shiny thick dark brown hair, shoulder length, with just a hint of a wave – but I longed to get up, deck the man making the comments and then tell her that no matter what this guy said, she was beautiful inside and out to God.

Just a few minutes later, I heard him say “You need to pay the bill for supper. I gave you a lot of good advice. That should be worth quite a bit to you.” I could not keep my eyes from watching her as she moved out of the seat, stood up and turned around.

After listening to her dinner partner’s “advice” on her appearance, I was not prepared for what I saw. She was gorgeous! She had lovely skin that didn’t need any makeup at all and hazel eyes with just a hint of green that glanced my way and then looked down as she walked over to pay the bill.

It seemed obvious that the man’s intention was to bully this beautiful young woman into believing that she was ugly and unlovable. I have no idea why. Perhaps so he could be in control of her life. Perhaps just because he wanted to intimidate. I do not know the reason but I DO know that his “deceitful tongue” mentioned in Proverbs 15:4 had truly crushed her spirit.

I know this is a sensitive issue for many, but if you are someone who is on the receiving end of this same type of conversation, can I just share something with you?

You are a child of the Creator of the Universe, Jehovah God, and the King of Kings. Inside and out, you are beautiful; you are stunning, you are of such great value that God Himself says He would do whatever He needed to have you as His daughter. (Isaiah 43:1-4)  

Does that sound like you need “a lot of work on that face of yours” or that anyone should do you a “favor just by taking you out”? Absolutely not!

Please do not allow anyone to try to convince you that you are less than a beautiful creation designed with love by God Himself.

Father, I thank you for creating me beautifully inside and out and for loving me as your daughter. In Jesus’ Name. Amen.

R.A.P. it up . . .

Reflect

• Have you ever been the recipient of someone speaking untruths to you to keep you from seeing how much you are prized and loved?

• If so, what was your response to their comments? Why did you answer as you did?

Apply

• Memorize today’s power verses. Write them on note cards and put them in your purse.

• If someone attempts to use their “deceitful tongue” against you, speak those verses to them or pull the cards from your purse and share.

Power

• Proverbs 15:4 (NIV) “The tongue that brings healing is a tree of life, but a deceitful tongue crushes the spirit.”

• Psalm 45:11 (NIV) “The king is enthralled by your beauty; honor him, for he is your lord.”

• Psalm 19:14 (NIV) “May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be pleasing in your sight, O Lord, my Rock and my Redeemer.”

A Laundry Lesson

“Whoever can be trusted with very little can also be trusted

with much,” and whoever is dishonest with very

little will also be dishonest with much.”

Luke 16:10 (NIV)

It may sound crazy but I love hanging laundry outside on our clothesline. There’s something about fresh smelling towels and sheets that take me back to my childhood. We didn’t own a dryer for several years so a clothes line was our only option.

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A few months ago, on one especially windy day, I decided to hang out towels, washcloths, and several pairs of jeans. I knew that they would dry in a hurry and the smell would be fresh!

Without giving it a thought, I hung the jeans on the inside line first and then proceeded to hang washcloths on the outside line. But I made a big mistake.

 I should have realized that, in the gusty south breeze, the jeans would be jumping back and forth as if they were in a Zumba class - with heels on – pointy heels. So every time I tried to hang a washcloth up, a WHACK hit me either in the face or bare arm as the jeans danced with abandon and delight.

What in the world was I thinking? I should have hung the smaller things, like the washcloths, on the inside line first. That way, as the breeze hit them, they would only move in a small area and I could have finished my work without the constant attacks.

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I can also get things backwards in life. I start to think that I should tackle large projects first . . . that I should be given BIG tasks to do before I take care of the smaller ones. Often my pride says “I’m worthy of the BIG . . . not the small.”

That may include: wanting to be a speaker at a large conference when I need to begin by speaking at a Bible study at my church; perhaps I need to begin running at the school track for a few months before I consider tackling a marathon. I am offended because I didn’t get the promotion at work that I felt I deserved; it could be that I need to work harder at whatever assignment I am doing now.

The Lord entrusts us with small tasks for a reason. He wants us to learn to trust Him and to be faithful with whatever we have been given. He is preparing us for more as we prove to Him that we are willing to do our best and work our hardest with whatever he has given us to do.

We need to remember that He will cover us with huge blessings in our smaller, seemingly insignificant projects. So here is my challenge to us all: begin small, delight in the job the Lord has entrusted us to do and see what He will accomplish for His glory.

Lord, sometimes I get so wrapped up in “me” and what I think I should do, that I forget to talk with you and find out your plan. Pride often sneaks into my heart. Forgive me. Show me your Words and your plan. Help me to trust you in the small things, because they will always accomplish something big for you. In Jesus’ Name. Amen.

R.A.P. it up . . .

Reflect

• Have you ever felt that you were wasting your time doing something “small” for the Lord when you should be working on bigger projects?

• Why was that your reaction? Pride? Frustration? A desire to serve Him in a bigger way?

Apply

• Each morning, before you get out of bed, offer up your day to the Lord and ask Him to give you His plan for the day – whether big or small.

• Be open for every opportunity to serve Him, no matter the size or importance of the project.

Power

• Luke 16:10 (NIV) “Whoever can be trusted with very little can also be trusted with much,” and whoever is dishonest with very little will also be dishonest with much.”

• Zechariah 4:10 (NIV) “Who despises the day of small things?”  

• Matthew 25:23 (NIV) “His master replied, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master’s happiness.’”