The Aroma of the Heart

What scent does your heart leave when the day is over? The fragrance of Christ is the aroma of life to the living and the scent of death to the dying. You wonder why people cringe when you are around and you often listen to the lies of the enemy who says if everyone accepts you then you are on the right track and if people have a problem with you then you are the one that must be in the wrong. Some of us are so ready to take the blame for others. Oh my dear sisters this is co-dependency. We are not to blame for others and we are responsible for ourselves, our actions, our words, and the love we give. Co-dependency has a scent for certain but it is not pleasant, is oppressive. But Christ in us has a scent too and at times it doesn’t always seem pleasant to others around us and this scripture proves the wisdom of man wrong once more.

“But thanks be to God, who always leads us in triumphal procession in Christ and through us spreads everywhere the fragrance of the knowledge of him. For we are to God the aroma of Christ among those who are being saved and those who are perishing. To the one we are the smell of death; to the other, the fragrance of life. And who is equal to such a task?” 2 Corinthians 2:14-16

I love this word! God has used it often to remind me that we all leave scents! My mother left a scent that stayed with me for years and there are times when I think I can still smell her. My father left a scent that all I have to do is reach for one of ball caps and I’m taken back many years. My LORD left a scent to and it resides in me and around me as a child of His. It is especially noticeable when we spend time with Him and bask in His presence.

The attitude of our hearts is the most affected when we have been with HIM. There is a tenderness, a gentleness that allows those who smell life to relax and breathe in deeply. This is one of the most exciting times in the life of believers. It’s almost animalistic; you know how they are all into “scents”.

My dog goes absolutely crazy when we come home. He sniffs and sniffs to see who we’ve been with. And this got me to thinking, don’t we do that too? Sure! We smell around all the time.

Think about that the next time you leave your home AND when you return! Whose scent are you covered in? What is the aroma of your heart today?

In His Amazing Love,

Weak of the Heart!

This week I will be posting about the Weak of the Heart. Our hearts are desperate and that is true, the Lord warns us and advises us so that we are knowledgeable of this. I don't know about you but I have struggled with "perfection" well, actually the infection of perfection my entire life as many women have. We seek approval, we seek respect, we seek admiration, we seek relationships, you get the picture....We Seek!

We become trapped in our idea of the perfect life even in our Christian walk. We are told to love, but when is it perfect? We are told to forgive, but how much? We are told to live, but will we ever be good enough?

Christ's perfect life and heart compels us to live as He did and strive to be more like Him. But see this is where it becomes cloudy for many of us. We want to be just like Him so badly that we often end up behaving badly in our stride for perfection. Thus we end up with the Infection of Perfection and we reveal the weakness of our hearts that Jeremiah 17:9 tells us about.

The human heart is the most deceitful of all things, and desperately wicked. Who really knows how bad it is? Jeremiah 17:9 (NLT)

Our own deceit is our own worst enemy! We tell ourselves that we CAN BE PERFECT. No, nope, nada, no-way, this is not going to happen, not on our watch. And the cool part about it is that it is really ok! It's OK with Our Lord, Our Father, Our Creator! Of all we know HE loves us just as we are! He adores us! He left glory FOR US. It's ok to be imperfect, ok to fail, ok that we are deceitful because there was ONE that wasn't!! I want to share with you this week some of the weak spots of my heart that the Lord has lovingly looked down upon me, saw them and still said, "I love you. I'm proud of you, afterall, I sent my Son, my ONLY SON, to die for you."

Then He put on my heart the true theme for my week of the weak, He desires my DEVOTION NOT HUMAN PERFECTION! Here is a little poem the Lord put on my heart for today and I pray it touches you, leads you, guides you, and allows you to see HIM who can heal you!

A Perfect Heart

A perfect heart, cannot a woman make, only one that is broken and devoted all for HIS sake.

A perfect heart, cannot a woman gain, only one that is yielded and void of disdain.

A perfect heart, cannot a woman give, only that listens when He says live.

A perfect heart, cannot a woman mold, only one that is given to the Father to hold.

A perfect heart, cannot a woman steal, only one that is pliable to His will.

A perfect heart, cannot a man demand, only one that is surrendered to the Lord’s hand.

Rachele Posey

February 8, 2010©

In the Blessed Name of Jesus,