A Christian Aroma

This afternoon, I took one of those plug-in air fresheners and put it into one of the electrical sockets in the office. Even before turning it on, I could smell the aroma that was going to come from it. And when I plugged it in, it began to fill the office with whatever fragrance it is. I know however, that this fragrance, while initially strong, eventually, will taper off. It will be less powerful tomorrow and over the next few weeks, eventually needing to be replaced again. I also know that after a while the smell will not be so vibrant perhaps because my nose will become “desensitized” to it. Even when I eventually go to change it, there still will be a remnant of that fragrance.

As Christians, we at times can find ourselves in ruts, times where we may feel like we have distanced from God. And our faith, like the air freshener, begins to not “produce” as much as we once did. Perhaps we get distracted and pressured by the world. Perhaps some of us have gotten to the point that we are going through the motions. Remember what Christ had to say about this? Revelation 2:4-5 says, But I have this against you, that you have abandoned the love you had at first.  Remember therefore from where you have fallen; repent, and do the works you did at first.” Well what are those works we did at first? Perhaps we have neglected the key areas of scripture and prayer which is our lifeline. If we ignore prayer and scripture, we quickly become dry. 

Some of us may say, well, I don’t know what to pray. I read a quote from John Bunyan, the author of The Pilgrims Progress who said/wrote, “When you pray, rather let your heart be without words then your words without heart.” It is ok to not know what to pray, You can sit in silence during a time of prayer, let out your heart to God. If we let our hearts out to God we know that he is listening.

What about scripture reading? Start slow, pray that God would meet you in your reading and that he would give you a thirst or a longing for the scriptures. It does not need to be a long time, but something that can be developed over time.  Perhaps use a devotional or go through a book of the Bible and read a bit a day, maybe look at some devotionals and listen to Christian pastors, I recommend Alistair Begg from Truth for Life.

I hope that these thoughts keep us on the track to continuing to be pursuing God and living as Christians and producing an “aroma” that is honoring and glorifying to the Lord. 

Scripture quotations are from the ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Going on Vacation?

A few weeks ago, we went to Michigan to celebrate my grandfather’s 90th birthday. At the party, they had their family Bible there and inside of the Bible was a crude “bulletin” that we had made as kids for our “Cottage Church” service. Enclosed in the contents was an order of worship containing “solos” by cousins, a sermon by my grandfather and aunt, among other things. We may have not been at a “church” service that day, but we certainly took time to worship, even while we were on vacation.
Now that school has let out for the summer, vacation is a time that just about everyone anticipates. We ask our eldest son, Joshua, how many days until we are going on vacation, and he proudly gives us the correct number. It is good to be excited for vacation and a time of rest is something that God has commanded as a good thing! (If you are wondering about that, I would encourage you to look at a previous blog about the Sabbath located here.) But as vacation is on our minds, and our church attendance will certainly be experiencing the “summer numbers” trend, I thought I would take a moment exhorting all of us to not take a “vacation” from God.
For most of us, vacation is a time of refreshment and renewal. It is a time to reconnect with our spouse, to spend some time catching up with family, and a time to create memories doing various things that you might not do on a regular basis, but we may need to remember an essential part of our family, and that is God, right?
Many times we find ourselves very busy and as a result we cut out things in our daily routine and often the thing that gets “axed” is the most important part of the day, and that is time spent with God. I know that in my life there have been times where I say, “I need to get back on track with God. I need to get back to (Prayer, Scripture Reading, etc) and I will do it tomorrow...and then a few days pass, a week passes, and maybe longer.
Vacation can exacerbate a problem of “spiritual dryness” by getting us out of the routine.   But the reality is that we need to develop a thirst for it. Scripture should be something that we long for, God is what we should long for. Better than McDonald’s fries, the more of God that we get the more we should want! In a time of distress, David wrote, “O God, you are my God; earnestly I seek you; my soul thirsts for you; my flesh faints for you, as in a dry and weary land where there is no water. So i have looked upon you in the sanctuary beholding your power and glory. Because your steadfast love is better than life, my lips will praise you. So I will bless you as long as i live; in your name I will lift up my hands.” (Psalm 63:1-4)

How then should we set up our vacation for success? Here are some suggestions that I am going to try out myself:

1. Prioritize Prayer. Perhaps the most important thing that we can do is pray. Prayer is communication with God, right? While we are catching up with our family, Talk to God! Tell him the things that are stressing you out, and upsetting you.  Charles Spurgeon once said, “A true prayer is an inventory of needs, a catalog of necessities, an exposure of secret wounds, a revelation of hidden poverty.” Use prayer ad a time to receive from God as well. Consider some time of silence.
2. Scriptural Start. For some, vacations can be less “scheduled” and more relaxed. So schedule some time scripture reading. For me, this time is best in the morning hopefully before the boys get up. Maybe you’re a night owl, make it work for you but, this will be well worth our time. Maybe something as little as 5 minutes...you can always add more time or "small" for you could be to read a small book of the Bible. Sometimes quality is more important than quantity. If you don’t want to take your Bible along....you can always download an app for your phone. I use Bible Gateway.
3. Traffic “Tune In”. Most vacations involve road trips. Take some time and turn on the Christian Radio. For those who may struggle finding a Christian radio Station, or would like a break from it perhaps you would consider an audiobook or CD series. While we certainly could choose any genre, consider a Christian book. Last year we read Not a Fan by Kyle Idelman by taking turns with the physical book. This year, for our trip, I did not procrastinate and I purchased Satisfied by Jeff Manion from Barnes and Noble online on CD. There are a lot of books available in audio form. Another great way would be to purchase it from Audible.com or download the app from your phone! (For those with kids, maybe something such as the Adventures in Odyssey series. We are trying this out for the first time this year).

What are some of your suggestions? What has worked for you? Leave a message in the comments. I would love to hear from you!

Scripture quotations are from the ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.