Have you every jumped in someone’s car to a smell that almost immediately makes you roll down the window even in mid winter? Something is just not fresh. You look around and the car itself isn’t that dirty but something has clung unto the fabric and is there to stay. Maybe the owner has tried everything in his own power, bought all the latest car care products, but nothing works the smell keeps coming back. Until he takes the car to a professional, someone who knows how to deal with the issue nothing the owner can do will remove the foulness.
We do the same thing with our lives. We try to fix every mistake and sin with our own strength and wonder why its not working. Jesus is the professional, the only one who specializes in removing the foulness that infests our lives and makes us smell bad to the world around us. The world doesn’t know they or we smell bad, because they have the same scent. Until we become clean and are given the aroma of God only then will they see the truth in us.
“And then he added, “It is what comes from inside that defiles you. For from within, out of a person’s heart, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, greed, wickedness, deceit, lustful desires, envy, slander, pride, and foolishness. All these vile things come from within; they are what defile you.””
Mark 7:20-23 NLT
Ever talk to someone with really bad breath? They have no clue and just keep talking to you. You offer them some gum or a mint, they may take it showing signs of embarrassment or signs of gratitude. Ever offer it and be refuse? Or how about knowing someone who has really bad body odour? Someone who is so used to their own smell that the don’t even notice and even when confronted really don’t care to fix it as they don’t smell it? But those who don’t realize they have an issue are most times grateful that you let them know.
Well that’s what Jesus said to the Pharisees in Mark ch 2, he when confronted by the Pharisees about eating with sinners and tax collectors the unclean people, now I am paraphrasing ” I didn’t come to give soap to those that think they are already clean, I came to offer soap to the dirty and in need.”
There are some people who refuse no matter what to admit they are sinners and are doing anything wrong. They are dead set that all roads lead to heaven and that it is a guarantee to the ‘good’ person. These people are probably some of the hardest people to reach for Jesus because they don’t want to know or care to know. They are satisfied to continue with their bad breath.
Now there are others who are just waiting for someone to share with them about Jesus. They as well are unaware of their condition, but once made aware they almost immediately start looking for a solution. We need to be their ready to share about Jesus. The enemy will do his hardest to substitute Jesus with something else that may smell, good for a while but eventually start to smell even worse then before.
So today I pray that we will start to open our eyes to those who need Jesus, Holy Spirit guide us to those who are ready to hear. We need encouragement that people want to receive Christ into their lives. Momentum is a powerful tool, it can make or break a person. Give us momentum to move forward in reaching the lost.
Dear Jesus, we call on you today to give us opportunities to reach the lost. Even today. Jesus we want to tell others of what you did for them and how they can have the hope you provide. How you will wash away their sins and make them clean. Holy Spirit, give us the right words to speak, we need momentum in this, we need a passion for reaching the lost that is like a wildfire, uncontainable. Work through your people. Amen
50 Days of Pray 