The Fragrance Of Jesus
Posted by jerrywhite on Jul 28, 2010
But thanks be to God, who in Christ always leads us in triumphal procession, and through us spreads the fragrance of the knowledge of him everywhere.
2 Corinthians 2:14 (ESV)
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My Father,
I want to live in the beauty of holiness.
I want the sweet scent of Jesus Christ
to be breathed into someone’s life…
a beckoning brightness
to shine from Your heart, through me,
into someone’s darkness…
as we pass by together today.
David Hazard
Early Will I Seek You, 78
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As you walk through your days you encounter people who outwardly look quite OK because they have learned to smile and not let anyone know what they really feel deep inside. Some are lonely, some are hurting from a recent loss or deep wounds, some wonder if anyone really cares about them because no one seems to have time to listen, some carry a depressing load of guilt and don’t know what to do with it, some feel that if you really knew them you would not love them, so they are afraid to reveal who they truly are, and even some in church don’t know if God really loves them because they have never seen God’s love among those who are supposed to be His people. The fragrance of Jesus is the sweet smell of compassion, gentleness, humility, a listening, caring heart, and love far beyond any other love found in humans naturally. This fragrance cannot be imitated, rather it comes from an intimate loving fellowship with the Lord Jesus so that His Spirit saturates your soul, and others can touch Him in you.
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The Potter’s Hands
Posted by jerrywhite on Jun 21, 2010
So I went down to the potter’s house, and there he was working at his wheel. And the vessel he was making of clay was spoiled in the potter’s hand, and he reworked it into another vessel, as it seemed good to the potter to do.
Jeremiah 18:3-4
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“The Potter has called us to know Him, not His purposes in us.
Trust Him without fear or reservation, my dear friend. The Potter’s hands will not stretch, pound, pull, scrape, or apply pressure in vain. Nor does He delight in seeing us spin needlessly around the wheel. Every turn of the wheel and every pressure of His hand are wisely applied to our lives in His loving re-creation of us. He is working us from the inside out to conform us into vessels of honor. Wise love is forming us.
Let us not fear the turnings, the pressure, or the silence. Where the pressure is greatest the vessels will no doubt be most unique and the Potter most glorified.
The simplicity of this is awesome! We must know Him, not His purposes, and we know Him through submission.
Clay was never in better hands than the hands that now are molding you. Rest!
Edward Miller
Letters to the Thirsty, 106
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“If we are to experience serenity in this turbulent world, we will need to take firmer grasp of God’s sovereignty and trust His love even when we cannot discern His purpose. We must remember that the hand molding the clay is nail-pierced, and that our God’s sovereignty will never clash with His paternity. ‘But now, O Lord, Thou art our Father, we are the clay, and Thou our potter’ (Isaiah 64:8). If we are to enjoy a deepening intimacy with God, we must react to His providential dealings in a spiritual way, even though they may be inscrutable. These dealings may take various forms, but all are planned in love, and with a view to cultivating a deeper intimacy with God.”
J. Oswald Sanders
Enjoying Intimacy With God, 95
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Living Calmly
Posted by jerrywhite on Apr 5, 2010
“How much greater than any of ours was Jesus’ responsibility—the responsibility of saving the world! If there was ever on this earth a being who could be tempted to bustle about, to hurry everywhere, to want to see everyone in order to fulfill His task, it was Jesus Christ. But what do we see? That wondrous calm that shines forth in the Gospels. Jesus had time to speak tranquilly with a woman whom he met at the well….He had time for children. He had time for those who came to Him. And His great mission, His mission for all the entire world, was fulfilled in that total giving of Himself to each person, in that calm and completely personal dialogue with each one.”
Paul Tournier
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“I’m just so busy!”, is a comment often made by believers, as if this is a badge of honor. What does such a statement communicate to others? Does it declare one’s lack of laziness, or a position of importance, or too much to do, or a lack of self-control over the affairs of one’s life? Those who are overwhelmingly busy and speak of it with a strain of weariness do not communicate the sufficiency and presence of the Lord Jesus. Could this be a strategy of the devil in our culture to keep God’s people looking like the frantic, overactive, and busy world we live in rather than demonstrating the serenity and calmness of the Lord Jesus? No greater burden has any man carried so graciously, gently, and unhurriedly as did this beautiful Man from Nazareth. And if He lives within us and truly orders our days then what does it say about our Master if we live rushed, overly busy lives just like lost people? When we live in His calmness then His calmness will be the atmosphere surrounding us in our full days, and our fragrance will be peace and joy—like Him.
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Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus. So when he heard that Lazarus was ill, he stayed two days longer in the place where he was.
John 11:5-6
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Sacred Possibilities
Posted by jerrywhite on Feb 25, 2010
“It is possible, I dare say, for those who will indeed draw on their Lord’s power for deliverance and victory, to live a life—how shall I describe it?—a life which His promises are taken as they stand, and found to be true. It is possible to cast every care on Him daily, and to be at peace amidst the pressure. It is possible to have affections and imaginations purified through faith, in a profound and practical sense. It is possible to see the will of God in everything, and to find it, as one has said, no longer a sigh but a song. It is possible, in the world of inner act and motion, to put away, to get put away, all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and evil speaking, daily and hourly (Eph. 4:31). It is possible, by unreserved resort to divine power, under divine conditions, to become strongest through and through at our weakest point; to find the thing which yesterday upset all our obligations to patience, or to purity, or to humility, an occasion today, through Him who loveth us, and worketh in us, for joyful consent to His will, and a delightful sense of His presence and sin-annulling power. These are things divinely possible. And because they are His work, the genuine experience of them will lay us, must lay us, only lower at His feet, and leave us only more athirst for more.”
H. C. G. Moule
Thoughts on Christian Sanctity, 17-19
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With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.
Matthew 19:26 (ESV)
His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of him who called us to his own glory and excellence, by which he has granted to us his precious and very great promises, so that through them you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped from the corruption that is in the world because of sinful desires.
2 Peter 1-3-4 (ESV)
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Sacred possibilities become realities in your life when you trust the Lord’s character, believe His promises, depend on His Spirit, and obey His Word.
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Humiliation
Posted by jerrywhite on Dec 14, 2009
“The word became flesh! God became human! The invisible became visible! The untouchable became touchable! Eternal life experienced temporal death! The transcendent one descended and drew near! The unlimited became limited! The infinite became finite! The immutable became mutable! The unbreakable became fragile! Spirit became matter! Eternity entered time! The independent became dependent! The almighty became weak! The loved became the hated! The exalted was humbled! Glory was subjected to shame! Fame turned into obscurity! From inexpressible joy to tears of unimaginable grief! From a throne to a cross! From ruler to being ruled! From power to weakness!”
Sam Storms
Pleasures Evermore, p. 154
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Great indeed, we confess, is the mystery of godliness: He was manifested in the flesh, vindicated by the Spirit, seen by angels, proclaimed among the nations, believed on in the world, taken up in glory.
1 Timothy 3:16 (ESV)
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Someone has said that man aspires but God condescends. The eternal Son of God could have come in any way He chose, but He chose the lowest way, which expresses His pure humble character. Who were the first to be told about the Savior’s birth? Angels announced the Christ child’s birth to lowly shepherds, not proud aristocracy, world leaders, or even religious leaders. Shepherds were the first ones directed to go see the baby who was the Savior. God reveals Himself and His truth to those who are like “little children,” not to the wise and understanding. This is His gracious will (Matthew 11:25-26). If we want to experience the Lord Jesus and His truth revealed to our heart, He has made known the way. The way is to come before the Humble One with all humility. To the humble He dispenses grace.
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