The Vapors of Your Past: Escaping the Aroma

Vapor - Barely visible or cloudy diffused matter, such as mist, fumes, or smoke, suspended in the air. Aroma, breath, condensation, miasma, dew, moisture, or steam. Have you ever passed by someone and smelled an aroma (fragrance) on them which was pleasant. There are times also when we may pass by someone and smell an aroma on them which not so pleasant. If your lifestyle was an aroma how would it smell in the nostrils of God? I made the decision to give my life to Christ over 6 years ago. Before I made that decision there was a certain atmospheric aroma which engulfed me. The scent of this aroma was called "sin." Sin is an aroma which seeks to put you in a state of anesthesia (loss of consciousness) in regards to your destiny and purpose. This aroma encapsulated(superimposed) my heart and my mind which influenced the path that I took up until that point in my life.

I realize though that even after Jesus enters into the picture (portrait) of our lives that there is still an aroma which seeks to capture our attention. Some aromas seek to seduce us out of the will of God. These vapors of past memories seek to linger in our mind, and the aroma of past emotions seek to linger on the soil of our heart like morning dew lingers on the grass. There is an aroma though that can cause the vapors of your past to evaporate(vanish). This aroma is linked to God's atmosphere. If God's atmosphere were an aroma what would the fragrance be called? If there was a name for the aroma(fragrance) of God, I imagine that it would be called HOLY. Are you seeking to be saturated with this aroma?

Seeking to be Healed: The Internal WOUNDS OF LIFE

Wound: A mental or emotional hurt or blow. Anguish, bruise, cut, damage, gash, heartbreak, laceration, lesion, pain, slash, torment, or trauma. Have you ever been through a situation where you were able to look back and see how you were spared(preserved) from more damage than you actually experienced/deserved? There could have/should have been more damage done to you but fortunately grace overshadowed you from suffering a greater wound. Wounds are usually caused by something which pierces the skin externally. How do you prevent (protect yourself) from a wound which pierces you internally. Just as a flower rises(pierces) through the soil of the ground, a wound of experience(life) can rise through the soil of your heart and the soil of your mind. There have been many wounds of experience that I have been healed from. I have come to the realization that it is not realistic to go through this life believing that I am immune to all of the wounds(circumstances) of life.

Am I defined by my wounds or am I refined by my wounds. If my wounds defined me then I would have been a manifestation(portrait) of failure a long time ago. Do you use the wounds(circumstances) of life to catapult you into becoming who you are meant(destined) to be, or are your wounds keeping you bound(paralyzed) in your past? How many wounds of deceit, disappointment, heartbreak, loneliness, depression, and failure must one experience in order to be refined into the image(reflection) that God is carving (shaping) them into. Do we have the right to tell God to take us off of the potter's wheel of destiny and purpose. The spiritual clay used by God to shape and form us can be likened to the clay of life which shapes and forms our paradigm(perspective) of life. How many wounds are you willing to endure in order to be refined into the person you are meant to be?

Jesus will take you as you are, so come as you are

There are many people who believe that they have to "get themselves right" before they commit their life to Christ. If we had the power to "get ourselves right" then there would have been no need for Christ to die on the cross for our sins. If an individual is born with a disease then they have to live with that disease until they are cured. Sin is a disease (condition) that we are all born into. Many times we do not realize something is wrong until we first see/experience what is right. As I began to hear the gospel being preached around the age of 22, then I began to realize that I had a condition and the only cure for that condition was to release myself (mind, heart, will) into the will (plan) of Christ. I had to realize that I did not have the power to cure(heal) myself. There are many generational curses that people struggle with. Surgery, medicine, and counseling all have their limits in regards to the effect they can have on a person.

Sin does not get better with time, it just continues to eat away at the fabric (substance) of your life as time goes on. Just as bleach eats away at certain material(s); sin eats away at the soul(mind, heart, and will). There are some vehicles that you have to buy "as is" , and Jesus does not discriminate in regards to who gives their life to him. I am a witness that he will take you "as you are" so come as you are. The blood of Jesus was shed to give us the opportunity to "come as we are." Come as you are refers to your current mindset, your current heart condition, and also the current condition of sin that we were all born into.

Seeking a vaccine for the Swine Flu (H1N1), but EXPOSED to sin

Exposed: To subject or allow to be subjected to an action, influence, or condition. To make visible. Naked, uncovered, vulnerable, accessible, unguarded, unprotected. This season is considered "flu season", so all over the United States people are getting their seasonal flu vaccine (i.e. flu shot) . I went to the Center for Disease Control website and it was stated that "anyone who wants to reduce their chances of getting seasonal flu can get a seasonal influenza vaccine." If it makes sense to seek safety from a virus which has the potential to kill you, then wouldn't it make sense to seek safety from a spiritual condition which also has the potential to kill you?

Just as the flu has the potential to kill someone so does the condition (power) of sin. How are you vaccinating yourself against this condition? Sin can be defined as "missing the mark(standard) of God for your life." Many times we try to "get ourself right" before we come to God. If I was able to educate myself before I went to college, then there would have been no need for me to attend college. If we could "get ourself right" before we came to Christ, then there would have been no need for Jesus to die on the cross for our sins. The blood that Jesus shed on the cross was the vaccine for our sins. How do you access this vaccine? This spiritual vaccine can be activated by "repentance" and "confession", and this can begin the process in regards to someone becoming vaccinated (inoculated) against the condition (power) of sin. How desperate are you to live?