April 17, 2020
2 Corinthians 2:14-16
  But thanks be to God, who always leads us as captives in Christ’s triumphal procession and uses us to spread the aroma of the knowledge of him everywhere.  For we are to God the pleasing aroma of Christ among those who are being saved and those who are perishing.  To the one we are an aroma that brings death; to the other, an aroma that brings life. And who is equal to such a task?
New International Version (NIV)
              What are your favorite scents?  Earlier in the Spring I came upon the smell of Honeysuckle in Terry Hershey Park.  I remember first smelling it as a small boy and I have never forgotten it.  Tonight as I entered the house, I knew Melanie had cooked supper because the fragrance of the food greeted me.

               When Paul left Troas to go to Macedonia he sensed God leading him in a triumphal procession into a crowd with people wearing flowers to celebrate.  Wherever he went he brought the presence of Christ as he preached the gospel.  His goal was that everyone would experience the aroma of the knowledge of Jesus.  Ever since he met Jesus on the road to Damascus and was baptized on Straight Street, Paul carried with him the pleasing aroma of Christ.  This fragrance hit different people in different ways.  When some heard the story of the gospel it brought the aroma of death as they rejected Christ, but to others it brought the aroma of life as they received him.

               One of the peculiar traits of the current Coronavirus is that it sometimes steals the sense of smell and taste from some of its victims.  On occasion during these weeks I have opened some container of food to see if I could smell it.  As someone said, "Just because you are not paranoid doesn't mean they are not out to get you." 

               Remember the old Coca Cola campaign:  "Coke adds life."  Different countries tried to translate the slogan into their own language.  Unfortunately, in one translation it literally said, "Coke brings you back to life."  It is not quite that powerful.  Whatever drinking a coke does to us, it can't bring us back to life.  But God can, so we have no need to fear death.  As he said in the previous chapter, we rely on the God who raises the dead. 

               If life does not smell like Coca Cola, then what is the scent of life?  This is the fragrance of Jesus Christ, our life-giving Savior.  When we first sense his presence, we sense that he has come to give us life.  God wants us all to live.  All who believe in him will live and carry the fragrance of life wherever we go.  We are participants in his victory parade.  Christ has defeated death, rising to life and bringing us with him.  The church has not been closed, but we have been deployed.  What will you take with you today?  As we clothe ourselves in Christ we take on his presence and we give life to all we meet.  This fragrance is better even than Honeysuckle in the Spring.
Pray with me:         
Father of Life, thank you for giving us life in your Son.  Clothe us in Christ today.  May our love for you and others make us a life-giving presence wherever we go today.  Make us a life-giving people for your glory and for the salvation of all the nations.  We pray in Jesus' name.  Amen.   
Join us in memorizing the Word.  Scripture for this week:    
Matthew 5:31-32
It has been said, ‘Anyone who divorces his wife must give her a certificate of divorce.’ But I tell you that anyone who divorces his wife, except for sexual immorality, makes her the victim of adultery, and anyone who marries a divorced woman commits adultery.
Our 2020 Every Day with Jesus readings will follow the Foundations New Testament reading plan.  Copies of the reading plan are available at Tallowood Baptist Church, or download your copy at REPLICATE.ORG 
We would love for you to join us as we read the New Testament through this year, five chapters a week.  In addition I will continue my long-standing practice of reading one Psalm a day through the year.  Use Robby Gallaty’s H. E. A. R. plan to study each chapter (also found at REPLICATE.ORG). Highlight verses which speak to you, explain what they mean in your own words in a journal, apply them to your own life, then respond by doing what God tells you to do.  
Joyfully, 
Duane 
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