Missions Friends and Family and the Aroma of Christ

 

Missions

Friends and Family and the Aroma of Christ  

In Acts 16, Paul the apostle sent greetings to friends and family

I can’t help but wonder

How many of those relationships were the reason Paul traveled to certain locations

2 Corinthians 2:14-17

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. 15 For we are to God the aroma of Christ among those who are being saved and those who are perishing. 16 To the one we are the smell of death; to the other, the fragrance of life. And who is equal to such a task? 17 Unlike so many, we do not peddle the word of God for profit. On the contrary, in Christ we speak before God with sincerity, like men sent from God.

So, on your next trip be sure you bathe in prayer and have the fragrance of Christ 

Those travels to friends and family and the people you meet along the way

Open the door to missions just like they did for the apostle Paul

Every place you go is an opportunity

So, make the most of every opportunity

Fill the air with the fragrance of Christ

 

 

 

 

 

Friends and Family and the Aroma of Christ 

 

In Acts 16, Paul the apostle sent

greetings to friends and family.

 

I can’t help but wonder…

 

 How many of those relationships were

the reason Paul traveled to certain locations.

 

Certainly, Paul made friends after traveling.

 

 But could it be…

 

 That Paul’s burden to travel at times

was motivated by the friends and family

living in those places.

 

You and I travel whether…

 

It is short distances across town

or

Long distances to be with friends and family.

 

Recently, Sandy and I made

a trip from Florida to Ohio.

 

Along the way, we stopped in Georgia

to see my aunt who just lost her husband

 at age 89 and were married 70 years

and my cousin and her husband.

 

They are all firm believers

and we stopped to show our love.

 

After we left there,

we stopped in Banner Elk, NC.

 

There we spent several days with

my siblings and their spouses.

 

From there we traveled to Akron, Ohio,

 to see Sandy’s mom.

 

 We wanted to make the trip to Myrle Beach

to see some friend there,

 but that did not work out this time.

 

Family and friends are great motivators

to get us from one place to another.

 

I am so glad that all we visited

love the Lord and we had good times

talking about our relationship

and experiences with Christ.

 

Because of those travels…

 

 We also got to touch the lives of people

we never met before and

somehow impart a blessing on many.  

 

2 Corinthians 2:14-17…

 

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. 15 For we are to God the aroma of Christ among those who are being saved and those who are perishing. 16 To the one we are the smell of death; to the other, the fragrance of life. And who is equal to such a task? 17 Unlike so many, we do not peddle the word of God for profit. On the contrary, in Christ we speak before God with sincerity, like men sent from God.

 

If Christ is in us…

 

 We should have a wonderful fragrance.

 

The aroma that will cause people to be

attracted to our knowledge of Christ.

 

  Gain Flings has a commercial

all about falling in love.

 

A man smells this aroma

and is not sure where it is coming from

but knows he is in love with that fragrance.

 

At the end of the commercial…

 

 He realizes it is not a person

who is the fragrance.

 

He has to find the love of his life

and is filled with joy when

he finds the fragrance has a name.

 

You and I are like that…

 

 We have this wonderful aroma and

as people are attracted to our good works

and manner of life…

 

 They find it is the aroma of Christ

in us, the hope of glory.

 

When we live and love like Jesus…

 

 People will be attracted to us.

 

We have the opportunity to reveal to them

the wonderful fragrance has a name, Jesus.

 

You and I travel to see friends and family

and as we go…

 

 We are to have an aroma

that people will want to know

where the fragrance is coming from.

 

We can tell them the fragrance has

a name and the name is Jesus.

 

So, on your next trip…

 

 Be sure you bathe in prayer

and have the fragrance of Christ.

  

Those travels to friends and family

and the people you meet along the way…

 

 Open the door to missions

just like they did for the apostle Paul.

 

Every place you go is an opportunity.

 

So, make the most of every opportunity.

 

Fill the air with the fragrance of Christ.

 

 

Scripture Reading

   

Romans 16:3-16 NIV

 

3 Greet Priscilla and Aquila, my fellow workers in Christ Jesus. 4 They risked their lives for me. Not only I but all the churches of the Gentiles are grateful to them. 5 Greet also the church that meets at their house. Greet my dear friend Epenetus, who was the first convert to Christ in the province of Asia. 6 Greet Mary, who worked very hard for you. 7 Greet Andronicus and Junias, my relatives who have been in prison with me. They are outstanding among the apostles, and they were in Christ before I was. 8 Greet Ampliatus, whom I love in the Lord. 9 Greet Urbanus, our fellow worker in Christ, and my dear friend Stachys. 10 Greet Apelles, tested and approved in Christ. Greet those who belong to the household of Aristobulus. 11 Greet Herodion, my relative. Greet those in the household of Narcissus who are in the Lord. 12 Greet Tryphena and Tryphosa, those women who work hard in the Lord. Greet my dear friend Persis, another woman who has worked very hard in the Lord. 13 Greet Rufus, chosen in the Lord, and his mother, who has been a mother to me, too. 14 Greet Asyncritus, Phlegon, Hermes, Patrobas, Hermas and the brothers with them. 15 Greet Philologus, Julia, Nereus and his sister, and Olympas and all the saints with them. 16 Greet one another with a holy kiss. All the churches of Christ send greetings.