The Fragrance of Christ

What are some of the smells that bring you back to a certain memory most sharply? For me, it could be a greasy jumbo cheeseburger from the Dairy in Waldo; the faint fragrance of salt water the first time I got to see the Atlantic Ocean – and even on Columbus Day weekend, I did play in the water briefly; overpowering my lithe body with either Nautica or Joop cologne in high school to attract the fairer sex as any other clueless boy would; fried catfish; sweat from a serious run of intramural or recreational basketball in college; and my current favorite, the new car scent.

Paul reminded the Corinthians that we are the aroma of Christ:  For we are to God the pleasing aroma of Christ” (Romans 2:15). He may have been referring to the Roman victory parades. The Romans made sure that everyone knew that they had been victorious in battle – and for the captors, their fates were either an expected slavery or death. As believers, we are the victorious soldiers and when the gospel of Christ is preached, it is a truly pleasing fragrance to God.

As the aroma of Christ, what perfumes do Christians bring with them as they walk into a room? Hint:  It’s not something that can be bottled up or purchased from the jewelry counter in a department store. When we spend a lot of time with someone, we began to pick up his or her actions. Spending time with Jesus will help us spread a pleasing fragrance to those around us.

When we walk with God, people will notice.

Does God Have a Beginning?

Q:  Does God Have a Beginning?

A: No, He has always existed; having a beginning means that God had to come from somewhere to be created, but we know He has always been here and will be throughout eternity.

We can simply reference Genesis 1:1 where we’ve read “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth” for as long as we could remember, and in my childhood, we were made to stand in front of the congregation every Sunday to recite from memory one (or more) Bible verses during children’s hour as proof that God has always existed. Venturing to Verse 2, the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was on the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters. God was beginning the early stages of the Creation proving that He was always here – even when nothing else existed.

Want another example of God’s existence? Read Psalm 90:1-2 to see (and imagine the booming voice of Moses) in this prayer: 

1.      Lord, You have been our dwelling place in all generations.

2.      Before the mountains were brought forth, or ever You had formed the earth and the world, even from everlasting to everlasting, You are God.

This is the introduction to a prayer that David likely recited daily as it was passed down from Moses and the multiple generations that separated the two men. Similar to the verbiage our deacons invoke during the praise service prayers as well as during our auxiliary functions (Bible study, choir practice, etc.), David gives thanks to the omnipresent God for being with him and all of the previous generations in his prayer in appreciation of His supremacy. “From everlasting to everlasting” implies that God was here even before Day One.

Moreover, Jesus acknowledges that God is the Father during a particularly poignant diatribe in John 17 immediately following the Last Supper. As He lifted His eyes to heaven, Jesus prays that the twelve disciples who have received His teachings for the past three years throughout Israel are able to stand firm and continue the pedagogy, and asks for a comforter whom we know today as the Holy Ghost to “sanctify them by Your truth. Your word is truth.” (John 17:17)

Oh, the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgments and His ways past finding out! – Romans 11:33

Remember reading the Book of Revelation last year? Take a look at Revelation 4 to further illustrate the dream of heaven that John shares with us. After finding himself in the Spirit, John notices twenty-four thrones for twenty-four elders all clothed in white robes wearing golden crowns in addition to the proceeded lightnings, thunderings, voices, seven lamps of fire (symbolized by the seven Spirits of God), and four living creatures with eyes in the front and back of their heads. Still amazed, John writes about the twenty-four elders bowing down before God worshipping Him and casting their crowns before the throne, saying: 

“You are worthy, O Lord, to received glory and honor and power; For You created all things, And by Your will they exist and were created.” – Revelation 4:10, 11

The final proof of God’s existence before the beginning traces to Colossians 1:15-16. In a letter from Paul to the church in Colosse, Paul reiterates to this congregation that the Spirit “is the image of the invisible God, the first-born over all creation. For by Him all things were created that are in heaven and that are on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers. All things were created through Him and for Him.” Furthermore in verse 17, He is before all things, and in Him all things consist.

What does that mean?

God was here before what we call the beginning, and will remain even after the time we consider the ending. 

A Dark Child

Preface: This poem was originally found on my friend/coworker Robert's blog Purnt Of View. It was so good, I had to copy it BUT credit it given to where it is due. If you're interested in his works, check out purntofview.blogspot.com as writers tend to stick together. - A.CedA.

A winter’s night in a wintery life

And the world passes by

With less than even a sigh

He cries but the silence presides

Over the empty replies

When life and death collide, and they

Wonder why?

No one dares deny that blatant

Imminence decries that

He was expertly and covertly demoralized

By the danger that shadows his eyes or

The depth if his soon-to-be demise

Yet they still wonder why?

He commonly relies on being heavily

Subsidized and culturally compromised

By the rich and the wise but

They never realize

That it’s a ruse beneath a disguise, that

Covers the lies so they all just compromise

With the truth that hides in plain sight

And they wonder why?

Whoever dares verbalize the existence of the

Injustice only to sterilize and pasteurize so

That

The powers that be continue to dehumanize

And even have the gall to plagiarize but

Never will they apologize for

The lost lives they claim as the prize

While they stand glorified in the

Name of a civilized…society

And by the way the empathetic of course

They empathize and then he or she buys

A coke

And wonders why?

Finally the ear-piercing screams

That shatter the dreams and

Accompany the schemes that make up

The memes that come in streams

And awaken the demons and the

Little Dark Child reasons that he

Will have no season to…live his life

And all they do is wonder why?

#BlackLivesMatter

Tough Interview Questions

I hate job interviews yet they are the gatekeepers to the next level of success, so I might as well adapt and learn to provide winning answers. 

If you’ve lived and worked long enough, you’re bound to endure a job interview. A few of you excel at them, but I’m not one of those people. How about you sit down and read my resume before asking me the same dumb questions that have nothing to do with my ability to perform the role? Having said that, let’s get down to the nut-cutting. None of these responses are to be taken seriously; the use of any of these replies will usually transfer your resume/application to File 13 instead of the next round.

“Tell me about yourself.”

Let’s be honest:  I am a lousy interview. This may be the true reason why I have landed in positions which I am so overqualified Stevie Wonder can see it and he’s laughing because he sees the wasted genius. “Tell me about yourself” is the opening invitation to set yourself apart from the crowd as it is the opportunity to share with the interviewer whatever you think is important in his or her hiring decision. This is for a job interview, not a random chit chat. Save the beautiful baby pictures and weekend hobbies for a different time.

“Where do you see yourself in five years?”

Paid, duh!

While this is the easiest to answer, not being able to answer this question may show a lack of direction. Once upon a time, it may have been acceptable to sit back in an entry-level position to soak up the knowledge and gradually grow with the organization. Today, we don’t have that luxury. This question lends itself to ambition – however, if you aren’t applying for a supervisory or management position, the interviewer likely isn’t too concerned about managing large sums of data or classroom behavior. Remember which position you are applying for and tailor your responses to it – even if your supervisory skills are second-to-none.  This is also the question that I think about the least solely for this reason:  If I am still a part of the organization after five years, then obviously I am happy with the job as I have advanced my skill set and have enough opportunities to challenge myself in addition to visually recognizing my own value.

The catch with this question is not to be cocky (“I’d like to have YOUR job in five years”) or sounding overly ambitious (“I’d like a senior level position”) if the job does not offer any advancement.  

“You’ve been in your current position for ____. Why would you want to make a change now?”

This one popped up toward the end of my last interview, and it seemed like the interviewer insinuated that I am grossly overqualified for the job I was applying for. Perhaps I am – prior to joining the company four years ago, I was a high school teacher who happened to be in the throes of career burnout and needed something to do to hopefully recharge my batteries. While playing golf and drinking beer all day long were what I really intended on doing for six weeks, my wife thought differently about sitting on my rump as she worked all day. To properly address the question now that I’ve had time to think about it, staying in the same position for the past 3 ½ years is due to not finding a position which I felt like I would excel at and I was still enjoying the challenges each shift presented. What I did not mention was the birth of my daughter and my desire to be a full-time daddy to her.

Was I offended when the interviewer’s tone to that question? Not really; I heard it for several years as my second job was in retail stocking shelves, inventory tracking, and feature building/replenishment. Hey, working at Wal-Mart is better than not working anywhere – especially when bills have to be paid.

“Why should I hire you?”

Answering this query can be tricky, particularly if the role you interviewed for is a completely different field than your traditional expertise. You don’t want to come off as so knowledgeable that not only the hiring manager is intimidated by what you know but also the supervisor you report to should be comfortable with you on your team. I’ve bungled this one up; being the smartest guy in the room and the one most likely to clearly defend/explain gray decisions in a black-and-white organization is not going to easily make friends. Say something along the lines of being a team player and present yourself as the go-to person regardless of how brightly your star shines as you reiterate the mandatory skills needed plus a few more that the interviewer may not have considered in the near future.

Bottom line:  Every job question (within reason) is fair game. Think about how you answer them and differentiate yourself from the crowd to get the job offer!

Never Look Back

Although it is another eighteen months or so away, I am seriously considering skipping my twentieth high school class reunion – just not for the reasons one may expect. For one, I have come to a place where the past (and all that remains there) must be left alone and no amount of festivities or Miller Lite on draft can replicate years of stupidity. But before I continue, understand that I have not set foot on the college campus I graduated from fourteen years ago but thrice due to my work schedule and not having that particular desire to associate myself with those years. In my defense, food poisoning does not exactly warrant a return trip to Henderson State to be sociable; that is why Twitter (thankfully) and Facebook serve as that outpost for me on Reddie game days.

That should also let everyone know that this is not an isolated circumstance. As much as I love all 400+ of my Conway High School classmates (and I really do), 1997 was way too long ago to reminisce over things that may or may not have happened, for stories do tend to exaggerate themselves over the course of time – and I am not as limber as I once was stretching out of the drive-thru window scrounging for change at the Taco Bell on Oak nor as bombastic over slightly discounted fast food.

Keep in mind God told Lot not to look back on Sodom and Gomorrah as the sister cities burned. We know what happened to his wife when she did turn her head to look back:  she became a pillar of salt, as evidenced in Genesis 19:1-26.

Her death means we must put down our addictions, bad habits, and sinful manners that separate us from God and to never look back wistfully of those events when we simply did what we wanted to when we wanted to without regard for future consequences. Sheer hedonism is what destroyed Admah, Zeboim, Sodom, and Gomorrah only leaving Bela as the lone survivor in the Jordan River Valley. Moreover, the Protestant Church in particular links the five cities with rampant homosexuality although the true cause of the cities being destroyed was their collective unrepentant sin not limited to being culturally inhospitable, blatantly selfish, and morally bankrupt.

Once we surrender, never look back.

If you want more about Lot and what else happened in the Five Cities, stay tuned - I add differing blog posts weekly. 

No Greater Love

Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends. – John 15:13

 Twenty years ago, the late Tupac Shakur (2Pac to most of us) released the posthumous album Makaveli - The Don Killuminati: 7 Day Theory. While many of us may recognize such hip-hop classics as “Hail Mary” and “Toss It Up” as well as the then-controversial artwork on the album cover of a crucified 2Pac and the events that transpired throughout his short 26 years, a lesser-known track called “Life of An Outlaw” spells out a strange altruism as he asks his crew member Noble if he would die for him. Of course, he obliges and even swears upon his grandmother to kill his enemies if the need ever occurred. Unfortunately, reality caught up to the rapper and as a result, he was murdered September 1996 in Las Vegas. Contrary to popular belief and Coachella appearances, Shakur did not return from the dead.  

How does this compare to what Jesus did for all of us centuries ago? Stick around and I’ll share it with you.

For one, crucifixion was a common method of capital punishment in the Roman Empire. In addition to Jesus and the two thieves, at least two Apostles (Peter and Stephen) were crucified. In modern times, some Filipinos have volunteered to carry out the excruciating act since 1962 in San Fernando, Pampanga. See http://www.cnn.com/2016/03/25/asia/philippines-easter-good-friday-crucifixion/index.html as the reference.

What Jesus is illustrating in John 15:13-14 is that the ultimate act of love is altruism – the act of surrendering His own life so others may live. He builds up to this point throughout the Gospels from the moment before Jesus immediately raises Lazarus from the dead when He tells Martha, “Those who believe in Me, even though they will die, will live, and everyone who lives and believes in Me will never die.” Keep in mind the meaning of the name Jesus in Hebrew is “The Lord saves.”

Actions speak louder than words. How else would we be able to understand what Jesus’s earthly death and subsequent resurrection if He did not love us enough for this ultimate sacrifice?

Think about it. God is in love with all of us, and that relationship manifests itself in many ways such as looking at the face of a newborn child, being overwhelmed by the absolute beauty of a sunrise, or when we hear a hymn that absolutely moves us to tears! It also appears in those mundane moments via kind words through a painful time or simply looking back at our lives. With that being said, why would God ever want to destroy the loving relationship He has with us?

Death didn’t stop Jesus from going to Calvary to save wretches like us.

That’s love.

They hung Him high, they stretched Him wide. He hung His head, for me He died.

That’s love.

Guess what? That’s not how the story ends:  Three days later, He rose again!

That’s love!

Jesus gave Himself up for all of us in this sin-sick world. There is absolutely no greater love than that. 

List of Food Pantries in Saline County

Here is a list of the following churches within Saline County that conduct a year-round food ministry with phone numbers and street addresses. Listed are the locations, hours, and times for distribution. 

Food Pantries in Saline County

Benton

CJOHN (Churches Joint On Human Needs)*

East Elm St., Benton

Open Tuesdays and Fridays 10-2pm

(501)776-2912

Northside Church of Christ

North East St., Benton (next to Saline Memorial Hospital)

Open Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday 1:30-3:00pm

(501)315-1128

Mount Zion Missionary Baptist Church

1305 South East St., Benton

Open 3^rd Saturday of each month 10-2pm

(501)778-1422

Johnson Street Church of Christ

Johnson Street, Benton

Open Tuesday and Thursday 1-3pm

(501)315-9034

Community Church Alliance of Benton

Open 10-4pm

(501)993-2969

Benton Seventh Day Adventist Church

Every 3^rd Thursday 9am-12 noon

(501)778-0641

Care Center

Open Thursdays 6-10 pm

(501)778-5933

Congo Road Baptist Church

Open the first four Wednesdays of each month 1-2:30 pm

(501)794-7547

Victory Baptist Church

(501)315-5005

*CJOHN consists of the member churches. Keep in mind this list may not be 100 percent accurate: Calvary Baptist; Centerpoint; Fellowship Bible; First Baptist; First Baptist; First Christian; First Presbyterian; First United Methodist – Benton; First United Methodist – Bryant; Highland Heights; Gateway; Mt. Carmel United Methodist; Mt. Zion Baptist; Our Lady of Fatima; Parkview United Methodist; Salem United Methodist; and St. Matthew’s Episcopal.

Bryant

Indian Springs Baptist Church

Open final Thursday of each month 8:30am-2:30 pm and the final Tuesday (call ahead for reservations)

(501)847-4722 or 847-2915

Cornerstone Church of the Nazarene

Open 3^rd Wednesday of each month 1-3 pm

(501)653-2886

Bryant First Southern Baptist Church

Open 2^nd Saturday of each month 9-11 am

(501)847-3014

Alexander

Alexander Seniors and More

Open every 4^th Wednesday and Thursday 9am-12 noon

(501)455-3519

Alexander First Baptist Church

Open Thursdays 9-11 am and 6-8 pm

(501)455-1263

Pilgrimage Church of Deliverance

Open 4^th Saturday 9am-3pm

(501)847-7283