Showers of Blessings (Part 2)

This is a series featuring Guest Writers.  We hope the Lord will shower you with blessings through some of the people who have showered us with blessings.

Guest Writer Bio:  Jared Proctor

Brother Jared is the pastor at Springhill Baptist Church in Springfield, Missouri.  If you would like to hear some of his sermons or get his contact information, click HERE.Jared, and his wife Dawn, serve many roles in our personal lives:  church leaders, advisers, counselors, supporters, among others.  But, the role most precious to us is – friend.  Having them both, our brother and sister in Christ, as our close, personal friends has been such a blessing in our lives.

We first heard Brother Jared preach at the wedding of very dear friends of ours.  At that point in our lives, Darryl and I had not had a permanent church home for nearly 14 years.  We were both so moved by his passion to preach the truth, especially at a wedding (which you don’t often hear in today’s world), that we each sought him out to speak with after the wedding.  A few weeks later we visited the church he pastored at the time, and the rest is history.

For me personally, Brother Jared, helped me find my way through the wilderness I had been wondering around in for 14 years.  His passion to fulfill the Great Commission and preach Truth, helped me get on a path seeking a close, personal relationship with Jesus which led to a great revival of my Spirit.  Jared’s constant desire for each believer to share their spiritual gifts and serve the Lord in the way He intended, was a huge factor in opening my own eyes and allowing me to accept the Call to write for Him.

Brother Jared’s love for his family and passion for the Lord is contagious.

WHAT’S THAT SMELL? – Jared Proctor

Let me begin by saying that I’m about 50% nose blind. 

My sniffer doesn’t work at full capacity. This means I usually only smell something that would gag a maggot. 

That being said, it wasn’t odd for me to hear my family complain about a smell as we piled into the car and drove to an appointment in town. 

Within a couple of minutes I began to smell the aroma also.  Naturally, we concluded it was our youngest son, Titus.  This would not be the first time his dirty diaper produced a total family gag fest.  However, upon further investigation, the diaper was found to be dry as a bone. 

Immediately, accusations where being thrown around the car.  Our family unity was hanging on by mere threads.

Something had to be done. 

I pulled the car over.  Our punctuality was no longer important.  We had one agenda, find the source of the smell and eliminate it.

To my surprise it was me! More specifically it was my shoe.  Somewhere between the house and the car, I had stepped in a fresh “landmine” left by one of our two dogs.  I spent the next ten minutes locked outside of the car cleaning off the bottom of my shoe.  In case you were wondering, yes we were late to the appointment.
 
Now how does any of this relate to our faith? 

Well friend, I believe most of us are spiritually nose blind. 

Most of us would much rather point fingers and make accusations, than look at the bottom of our own shoe.

Today before we complain about the spiritual stink of our society…let’s look at our own life. 

Any rational thinker would agree this world is an evil place.  It is filled with war, anger, hatred, and lies.  People are malicious, deceitful, and manipulative. The smell of greed, pride and selfish ambition are everywhere.  The aroma of immoral living has become the fragrance of the day. 

But what about in me? Am I the fragrance of Christ (2 Cor 2:15) or do I reek of hypocrisy?

Jesus addressed this issue with the Pharisees. They were thought to be the picture of purity, the smell of fresh spring air.  However, that’s not what Jesus smelled.  Look at his statement in Matthew 23:

Matthew 23:27 “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs, which outwardly appear beautiful, but within are full of dead people’s bones and all uncleanness. 28 So you also outwardly appear righteous to others, but within you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness.

 What a powerful picture!

Could you imagine the contrast in the beauty of the tombs compared to smell of rotting flesh on the inside?

Appearance and fragrance are two totally different things. 

Just because you appear clean doesn’t mean that you don’t stink.  If you are reading this blog, you probably at least have the appearance of good moral living, but how does your life smell to others?  And an even better question, what is the aroma that your life produces before the Lord?

It probably won’t surprise you that my wife is the one who finally located the odor in our car.  (Her sniffer is far superior to mine.)  We often need the help of an outside source. 

David prayed,

23    Search me, O God, and know my heart!
Try me and know my thoughts!
24    And see if there be any grievous way in me,
and lead me in the way everlasting!(Psalm 139:23-24)

 Search me!

Dear friend I love you, but remember, that odor that you are smelling…it might just be you.  So before you make accusation ask the Lord to sniff you up one side and down the other. 

Remember Jesus said,

“3 Why do you see the speck that is in your brother’s eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye? 4 Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when there is the log in your own eye? 5 You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother’s eye,” (Matthew 7:3-5).

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