Old Spice And Jesus

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Last week I had the privilege of attending another church’s Men Conference. While there I reconnected with old friends and met some new ones. During one of the sessions, the speaker mentioned the incredible memory invoking power of the sense of smell. It was interesting to me because I agree so much with the sentiment that all of our senses have an emotional pull on us, either toward heaven or toward secular pursuits.  I believe that we should treat the Bible with care, using all five senses to meet Jesus in the Bible. John wrote about the one “which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon, and our hands have handled.” (1 John 1) Hearing, sight and touch—we should see Jesus in the Bible; we should hear Jesus in the Bible, and we should touch Jesus in the Bible. We should even taste Jesus in the Bible!  The Psalmist wrote, “O taste and see that the LORD is good.” (Psalm 34:8)

But what about the sense of smell? I believe that the sense of smell is uniquely strong in bringing back to our remembrance days of old. The speaker talked about a certain cologne and how the smell took him back in time. That was very moving for me, because I believe that is true and a cautionary tale. I have three “smells’ on my bathroom counter. One is Old Spice. It’s what my grandfather wore. Another is Skinbracer. That was my dad’s sent. The third is Oak. (Oak has replaced Polo, as my pastor’s salary cannot afford Polo anymore.) I wear either Old Spice or Skinbracer about every day. But I only wear Oak when I go out with Patty. That is my smell when I am with her. The genesis for that (back when I was an engineer and it was Polo) dates back to the days when I was pursuing her. When I was single I wore Polo all the time. It was very vogue back in the 80's!!!!! To me there is something associated with the hunt about Polo. But the smell of Old Spice makes me think of a grandpa and something not very alluring to women of a certain age. I’m through with the pursuing now, so if you smell me wearing Polo (Oak) Patty will not be far away. It might be silly, but my though is that any female smelling me with Skinbracer on is only going to be reminded of her grandpa, not some sexy beast. (I know. Polo or not, what woman could resist alllllllllll of this!?) But I will also say that ministers are especially susceptible to sexual sin because the Satan loves to see clergy fall that way. So it is probably more for me;  the smell of Oak and Polo now remind me that I am a one-woman-man, and she is close by my side.

What does that have to do with “smelling” Jesus in the Bible. It harkens back to my favorite post resurrection story, which is found in John’s Gospel. Jesus is on the shore, cooking breakfast for the disciples who are out fishing. When they got to shore the Bible says that, “they saw a charcoal fire already laid and fish placed on it, and bread.” (John 21:9) Jesus cooked fish on a charcoal fire. He could have done what He did when He fed the 5,000 men, (not including women and children) and simply said “Fish.” No, He cooked on a charcoal fire. Why? Smell. Admit it, there is something about the smell of a charcoal fire. Remembrance associated with smell. He needed Peter to remember. The word translated here charcoal is anthrakia. It is only used two times in the Bible, here and in John 18:18 where Peter was at Jesus’ trial, warming himself by a…want to take a guess?...charcoal fire. Peter’s greatest collapse in faith, his greatest failure, his most despised memory was of denying Jesus three times. And I think when Peter got out of the boat and ran to shore, the charcoal fire was there to bring that episode flooding back to his memory, through the power of smell. Jesus needed Peter to emotionally reconnect with that moment of failure, so the stark contrast of his restoration and calling would stand out in great relief with his failure. In essence Jesus was saying to Peter, you failed; now get over it and feed my sheep.

The power of smell. Our speaker had it right, and it is a great reminder to me that I need to hear Jesus in the Bible, to see Jesus in the Bible, to touch Jesus in the Bible, to taste Jesus in the Bible…and to even smell Jesus in the Bible.

The Devil Didn't Make Me Do That

A woman once bought a dress that cost $500. She was very concerned about what her husband might say about the extravagance of her purchase. When he came home she showed him how well the dress fit, how the color brought out her eyes, and generally how good she thought she looked in the dress. The then bombshell—$500 bucks! “How in the world could you do something so rash?” he asked. “Well; the Devil made me do it!” she shot back. “Then you should have told him, ‘Get thee behind me, Satan!’” he said. “Well I did.” She told her husband. “And he said, ‘uuuuu-we! It looks good from back here, too!’”

I never ceased to be amazed at the laughs I get from that one every time I tell it. But it does bring up a good point, and that is that many times we Believers want to blame the Devil for every ill fated thing that comes our way. It just isn’t so. In fact, honestly, the Devil probably has a lot less to do with your sin and mine than we would be comfortable admitting to. I have had people confide in me that Satan is responsible for everything from their hay fever allergies to their infidelity. They might pray against the demons of headaches, falling stock prices, and rage, but they will rarely seek to find out if their problems are based on their own sinful nature instead of the Devil's fiery darts.   

Adrian Rogers tells about a boy who called his sister a bad word, hit her with a broomstick, and spat on her. His horrified mother snatched him up and gave him a spanking, telling him that the Devil made him do those things. The boy tearfully replied, “The Devil may have made me curse at her and hit her, but spitting on her was all my idea!” That boy had a sound theology.

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There are actually three things that cause us to sin; the world, the flesh and the Devil. The world is what the Bible calls the system of this age. It is found in places like 1 John 2:15, “Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him.” The word for world there is cosmos and it means "a system." The problem is not that the world (or the system) is evil. Just that the world can cause you to be so busy, that you squeeze out God and place things in the system ahead of God. That's idolatry! The second is the flesh. Not your skin, but the temptations that are inherent to mankind. See Galatians 5:19-21. This is simply  us yielding to something that we know we shouldn’t do; like lie, steal, or cheat. Have you thought about the fact that we don’t have to teach our children to lie? It just comes natural, because we are fleshly. The last cause of sin is the Devil. But mostly he is there to provide us the tools to do what we would naturally do anyway. Like that boy, spitting is our own idea. In actuality, if the Devil disappeared tomorrow you'd keep right on sinning.

How do we get victory? 1 Corinthians 10:13 says, “No temptation has overtaken you except such as is common to man; but God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will also make the way of escape, that you may be able to bear it.” Trust in God. Suite up with the whole armor of God. And tell the Devil to pound sand. You have victory in Jesus.

Betty Crocker And Jesus: The Secret Is In The Mix

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The story goes that back in the 50’s, Betty Crocker began to sell cake mixes in the now famous red box. They developed a mix that only required someone to add water and bake. Apparently, it bombed. No one bought this easy-to-use mix. So the company did some market research, and found out that people didn’t buy the cake mix because it seemed too easy. Surely something that just takes water, consumers reasoned, would be dry and tasteless. Also, researchers discovered that people wanted to feel like they had to play their part to make the cake “homemade.” So, armed with this knowledge, Betty Crocker changed the formula to require that an egg and oil be added in addition to the water. And, you guessed it — it was a huge success! As Paul Harvey would say…The rest is history. No, wait…Paul Harvey would say, That was the rest of the story. Right? Hmmmmm??? Anyway…

My take is that many people think that way about our relationship with the Lord—that our relationship with God works like that second cake mix. God does most of the work, but we have to do our part and then we can know that we’re right with Him. The process of salvation is just too dang simple for some people. “Just Add Jesus” makes us uncomfortable. We need to add two freshly cracked good deeds and a ¼ cup of our own sanctification, and then the mix will come out OK. Otherwise, we’re afraid it just won’t work.

But the truth is that the secret is in the simplicity. No works. No deeds. No religion. No rituals. Just add Jesus. Over a billion satisfied customers later, the process still works. Just ask the Philippian jailer. He asked Paul, “What must I do to be saved?” There you go. “What must I DO to be saved?”
Paul gave him the simple secret of a successful mix; “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved.” Acts 16:31 (NKJV) emphasis mine.

Note To The NFL; Stop Whining And Start Working

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The big controversy this week in football has been fake injuries. Fake hand-offs, fake punts, and fake field goals are a part of the game, but faking injury is actually dangerous. Here’s why, in my humble but actuate opinion.

The NFL will be forced into rule changes because of the practice of faking injury to stop the clock. So the most prevalent idea is to make the “injured” player set out the rest of the series or quarter. But this WILL lead to some players not reporting injuries or trying to cover them up so they won’t miss valuable playing time. Then they are more susceptible to further injury. The bottom line is, “If you want to score points by whining, join a European Soccer league!”

Whining has no place in football, and it has no place in the victorious Christian life either. Consider what Paul wrote to the church in Philippi:

But I want you to know, brethren, that the things which happened to me have actually turned out for the furtherance of the gospel, so that it has become evident to the whole palace guard, and to all the rest, that my chains are in Christ; and most of the brethren in the Lord, having become confident by my chains, are much more bold to speak the word without fear.

For years I’ve heard the above passage of Scripture used to justify telling people that they need to share the Gospel, no matter what their circumstances. That’s a great truth, just not the truth of Paul’s passage here. What Paul is telling us is that we need to stop asking God to change our situation or circumstances, and start praying that God would use the situation or circumstance that we are in to glorify Himself. If we will stop whining and start working, our faithfulness for Him during a crisis or down point in life will cause others to be strengthened and emboldened to fight the good fight.

When It's Peach Picking Time In Georgia

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 I heard a story about a boy that used to climb down a tree near his bedroom window in order to escape punishment. One night he over heard his father tell his mother that he was going to cut down the tree, because it had stopped producing fruit. The panicked boy spent all night with a bushel of peaches and a tube of superglue, and the next morning the tree was full of peaches. He then listen for his father to come in with the morning paper and ran downstairs to the breakfast table to see if his plan had worked. Sure enough, the father said, “I can’t believe it, that old tree is full of peaches.” Then, looking right at his son, he exclaimed, “It’s a miracle!” Getting nervous, the boy said, “Why do you say that dad?” His father smiled and answered, “Because it’s a pear tree!”

The one thing about a tree...it is known by its fruit. A peach tree doesn’t grow cherries and a pear tree doesn’t grow apples. Fruit reflects the character of the Tree that produces it. Umm...and a Believer’s character is reflected by the fruit he produces. The Bible often refers to men as trees. (See Daniel 4) And Paul compares certain characteristics of the victorious Christian life with fruit:

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Galations 5:22-23 (NKJV)

Makes some sense, uh? The Bible asks are we (God's fruit trees) producing love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self -control?

Do we focus on these nine “fruits?” Are they present in our life? Do we bear them all? Do we love, have joy, and are we at peace? Are we longsuffering? Are we kind, good, and faithful?Do we exhibit gentleness, and self -control?

Let us allow the Holy Spirit to fertilize our lives and till the fallow ground of our hearts so we will bear much of these fruits.

Food for thought.

A Dirty Window Theology

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Abraham, who, contrary to hope, in hope believed. Romans 4:18 (NKJV)



I heard about a man who swallowed an egg whole. He was heard to comment later that he was afraid to move because he didn’t want the egg to break, and he was afraid to sit still because he thought it might hatch!

This poor old boy didn’t know which way to go! How like us! Many of us are like the chicken man here and me; we suffer from the paralysis of analysis. (At least that’s what Patty accuses me of much of the time.)

This is the opposite of what the Bible says about Abram. In Genesis 12 God called Abram and told him to leave his home. “Go where I tell you.” That’s all that God told Abram. “Leave and I’ll tell you when you get there.” Folks that’s faith. Paul says that Abram, “contrary to hope, in hope believed.”

I read a story about a special needs facility called the Sunshine Home. They specialized in dealing with mentally challenged children and adults. The facility was run by a Christian organization, and the leaders and care givers would constantly tell the residents about the Lord. One of the things they emphasized was the soon return of Jesus. This actually caused a problem for the custodial staff. Every morning the children would get out of bed and run to the windows and press their noses and hands against the windows to look at the sky and see if Jesus was there! This is a Dirty Window Theology. This is a theology that emphasizes hope.

Whenever your situation seems contrary to hope; when it seems like everything is against you, don’t be like the chicken man and be afraid to move, be like the residents of the Sunshine Home; be like Abram who contrary to hope, in hope believed.

Lupus

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Well, we finally got a diagnosis, a year later. I told Patty today that it has been one year. I remember because this started when we were at WinterJam last year and we began the adoption process. That remains on hold still. Anyway, our Doctor told us today that with 99% certainty she had Lupus.

Here is her take on things.


So we begin this adventure. Stay tuned for the continuing adventures of PreacherLeigh...

 Da Da Duuuh

The True Riches Of Believing

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I recently read an article about a pastor who was preaching in view of a call. As he got up to approach the pulpit, the chairman of the pulpit committee told him to notice an elderly lady sitting on the front row. She was dressed rather shabbily with several patched holes in her dress, and the leather of her shoes had begun to separate from the soles. The preacher later remarked about his distress for her, and wondered if she was in need of financial assistance.



Then the story was told. She and her husband were sheep farmers and lived in a small cabin and owned an old, but reliable truck. One day oil was discovered on their ranch. Contracts were signed and wells put up. However, before the first royalty checks arrived the husband died. Between her grief and timidity, the woman chased off the lawyers and never signed any additional papers. The wells continue to go up, and she continued to refuse the papers, and so the royalty checks kept amassing; never cashed. She was a millionaire on paper, but a pauper in existence.



Likewise, I am convinced that too many of us that call upon the name of Jesus live in want because we have chased away the Holy Spirit. It is not always intentional, but it is a reality. How do we grieve (chase away) the Spirit? Perhaps we are like the farmer's wife and we are too timid. The Bible says that we are not given a spirit of timidity, but of power, of love, and of self-discipline. (2 Timothy 1:7) Many believers don't accept what God has in store for them. Or, even sadder, they won't accept the challenge that God gives them.



The inverse is also true, however. Some seek position and prominence in the church. This also grieves the Spirit. The Lord does not like a haughty spirit, or one who is puffed up. In-other-words, full of themselves. (See Proverbs 6:17) When a Believer seeks prominence, instead of allowing God to call them to some task, they are running ahead of God. This comes through most obviously, to me anyway, in some men who have an "itch to preach." No, you have an itch to be scratched. If you stand before God's people to deliver God's words, you better make sure you have been called. Many good intentioned men have taken churches down roads of irreparable harm because they felt an itch, which could have been scratched by teaching a Sunday School class.


All in all, though, the basic idea is that we are missing out because we grieve the Spirit. I cannot help but think about so many Believers that are this way. Jesus said that we have not because we ask not. (Or that when we ask, it is of the wrong spirit.) We are millionaires in the heavenlies, yet we live like spiritual paupers on earth. That is the whole point of victorious Christian living. Instead of us feeling empty, and tired, and bankrupt, we should be freed to live like the victors that we are. Life will not always be easy; we will not always have our wants fulfilled; but we can be victorious in the life that we lead! If we will seek His will, His face, and suplant our desires with His.

I Didn't Come To Take Sides, I Came To Take Over

I have been preaching through Hebrews 11 on Wednesday Nights for several weeks now. I am finally starting on the last section, about what I am labeling "The Others." Kind of ominous, right? Sounds a bit like a horror story. Well they are the others from the vantage point of little ink afforded them by the writer of Hebrews. First on the Faith Parade of the Others is Joshua.

Specifically, the story of the battle of Jericho is the lynch pin on which Hebrews 11 places Joshua's entrance into the Hall of Faith. And it did take tremendous faith to follow God's plan.

God: "Hey Josh. Here's what I want you to do. Go walk, check this out, around the city! They'll never see that one coming. Ahhhh. Then go home."

Joshua: "OK. Alright! Ummmm, listen. I know you're God and all...buttttttt...me and the Lieutenants here were thinking of a more traditional approach. A good old fashion siege type, thingy...you know...battering rams, catapults, that kinda stuff."

Isn't this the way we are? We ask for God to reveal His will, and show us His plan, but we do our own thing anyway. The story of the Battle of Jericho doesn't actually start in chapter six. No, it starts with a confrontation Joshua has back in chapter 5. The Israelites were camped near Jericho, waiting to start the campaign, when General Joshua has an encounter with a foreign soldier. Here is the scene from the ESV, the Scripture in Blue, my comments in Black:

When Joshua was by Jericho, he lifted up his eyes and looked, and behold, a man was standing before him with his drawn sword in his hand.



So Joshua sees a soldier, not Jewish, not Jerichoish, err, Jerichoese, Jerichoian, anyway, so he figures he is with another army. Joshua doesn't want to get in the heat of battle and realize he has another enemy on his flank, so he approaches the soldier for a treaty summit.

And Joshua went to him and said to him, "Are you for us, or for our adversaries?" And he said, "No."

Just "No."? That really wasn't a yes-or-no kinda question. Either you is or you ain't. In essence, He says, "Neither." Then He tells why.

"I am the commander of the army of the LORD. Now I have come."

Woooo! That's an Amen verse! You have to read that last statement with the right emphasis. "Now I." Say it with me "I." Again, "Now I have come." "Now I'm here, Joshua."
We see in the last statements made by the soldier that it is a pre-incarnate appearance by Jesus, what we call a Christophany.


And Joshua fell on his face to the earth and worshiped and said to him, "What does my lord say to his servant?" And the commander of the LORD’s army said to Joshua, "Take off your sandals from your feet, for the place where you are standing is holy." And Joshua did so.

Notice the "Take Thy sandals off" comments. Have we heard that before...thinking...thinking. Oh, yeah. God said it to Moses at the burning bush.



Here is the deal. Joshua is planning an attack. God wants Joshua to do it His way, not the world's way. So Jesus pays old Josh a visit. Joshua says, "Hey, big boy, which side are you on." And Jesus says, "Joshua, I didn't come to take sides. I came to take over!" And he did. And the Israelites won the battle.



I want to leave you with this thought; having faith is allowing God to take over. It is a willingness to trust God to the point that you risk everything because you believe what He has told you. When the world seems to heavy too bear, Jesus says, "I'm not here to take sides. I'm here to take over!"



When you face an obstacle that has walls so thick and so high; when you see a barrier to your goals that can derail all of your plans; when the battles seem hopeless; those are the times to trust God even more.
Put God first.
Never look back.
And go circle your Jericho's and shout with all that is with-in you, because "the LORD has given you the city."



Remember that God took the city of Jericho. All Joshua had to do was possess it. Likewise, God has given you the victory; just go take it!