FEBRUARY 2003
Volume 32 Issue 2 No. 323
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FEBRUARY 2003 Volume 32 Issue 2 No. 323 |
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To the Participants of Aroma 2003... Aroma Everywhere!
Dear Friends,
It was such a joy to see you in Aroma 2003 which just concluded in Danishpet. Our hearts go to God in praise and thanksgiving for what He did for us during the 3-day gathering of over 1600 young girls in that beautiful campsite. The Word of God through His messengers descended on us gently like dew drops. The wind of the Holy Spirit blew on the participants and wafted its lovely perfume. It is our prayer that wherever you go, you will give off a sweet scent rising to God. People must breathe in the exquisite fragrance of God’s love in your company. You should be like "a lovely orchard bearing precious fruit, with the rarest of perfumes: nard and saffron, calamus and cinnamon, myrrh and aloes, perfume from every incense tree, and every other lovely spice," and like "a garden fountain, a well of living water, as refreshing as the streams from the mountains" (SS 4:13,14).
True to the name of the Camp, all stench from your life is driven off by the scent of salvation. When people ask the participants of a Christian Camp or Conference, "How was the programme?", the standard answer is, "It was a great blessing!" No doubt God brought you to Aroma 2003 to bless you and He did bless you. But that’s not His ultimate aim. Blessing you is only the means to make you a blessing to others. Your life was made aromatic so you can spread the aroma everywhere!
If the blessing of God stops with you, there will go out of you only the smell of stagnation. This is what God meant while giving instructions to Moses concerning the making of the incense for use in the Tabernacle of worship: "Never make this incense for yourselves... Those who make it for their own enjoyment will be cut off from the community" (Ex 30:37,38).
There are atleast four circles you must immediately think of where you are supposed to be spreading the aroma—
Let’s see how you can do it.
Family When Jesus delivered a demon-possessed man from Satanic bondage, the man pleaded with Him that he would be permitted to be with Jesus for ever. He perhaps wanted to keep on receiving blessings from God. But Jesus said, "No, go home to your friends, and tell them what wonderful things the Lord has done for you and how merciful He has been" (Mk 5:18,19).
If your life is not fragrant at home in your family circle, you can hardly accomplish anything for God. Blessing your parents, brothers, sisters and relatives is your first and primary responsibility. The family people are the most challenging group you would ever face with your testimony of salvation. You may not get garlands and bouquet from people at home when you open up your mouth to talk about Jesus. Be ready to be despised and rejected. See how the parents and brothers of young Joseph responded to what he told them about God’s revelations to him (Gen 37:5-11). Don’t be discouraged. Be patient. Beware of speaking anything in haste. Never get into the better-than-you attitude. Watch your life. Your walk is louder than your talk. Obey your parents and love your brothers and sisters more than ever. Never mind if they throw cold water on your enthusiasm.
Salvation is actually a revelation (Psa 50:23b; 91:16b). It is a gift from God. It cannot be worked out or earned by any man (Eph 2:8,9). Therefore pray much for each member of your family to be saved. Pray in faith, but don’t lose heart if the answer is delayed. Do you know that God is more interested than you that your family members must be saved? The Jail Superintendent simply asked Paul and Silas how "he" could be saved. But the answer included his "family" as well: "Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you will be saved, along with your entire household!" (Acts 16:30,31). Claim this promise regularly. You will soon see the aroma of God filling your house.
Friends Let’s now move to your next circle. This includes your neighbours, classmates and other social contacts. It is God’s desire that you attract them to Christ through your words and deeds. Surprised by what has happened to you in the Camp, they may bombard you with questions. Some of the questions may be sincere, whereas others may be simply to make fun of you. Be pleasant and polite. Don’t start giving sermons and lectures.
It is not necessary that you cut off relationships with all your unsaved friends. In fact it is by befriending people we bring them to Christ. The nickname Jesus earned was "Friend of Sinners!" At the same time, don’t join your old friends in gossip and filthy jokes. Withdraw from such situations tactfully (Psa 1:1). In course of time they will understand and appreciate your distaste for anything ungodly.
You are the extension of God’s hand to heal, comfort, change and bless your friends. Keep a list of your friends and contacts and pray for them, may be for one per day. Help them wherever you can. Be a good listener and counsel them practically. Don’t ever become authoritative or dictatorial.
If you have hurt or wronged someone, go quickly to the person concerned and reconcile. Apologise freely. Be a peacemaker. That’s the badge of your sonship in God’s family (Mt 5:9). Die to regionalism and casteism. Don’t be too involved in college elections if politics enters the field. Be diligent in studies. Even if you are not intelligent, your industriousness will be respected and rewarded. Dress modestly. Don’t sacrifice your feminine looks for the sake of fashion. Maintain purity in relationships with the opposite sex. This is how you can spread the fragrance of Christ in your campus and neighbourhood.
Start a fellowship with likeminded Christian girls to gather regularly for Bible study and prayer. Pray for a spiritual awakening in your school or college. Share the message of the love of Christ with those who do not know Him personally. Whether they are Christians or non-Christians, help your friends in crises through prayer. "Fear not!" was a favourite saying of Christ. Speak it out to encourage the downhearted and the dejected.
Folks Like ripples in a pool of water the aroma of your new life in Christ will keep spreading in ever-widening circles. Besides touching the lives of your family members and friends, God desires that you influence other folks also through your testimony.
Join your friends or church members in open-air evangelism. Don’t be ashamed of distributing gospel tracts in public places. Visit hospitals, women prisons and slums to share the gospel. Hospital visitation evangelism is ideally suitable for women. Nurses are mostly women, isn’t it? Whatever you do to the suffering and downtrodden is actually done to Christ Himself (Mt 25:33-40). India lives in villages. Over 50% of the villagers are women! See how a single woman changed by Jesus in Samaria could bring the entire village to Him! (Jn 4:3-42). The evangelistic team of Jesus had so many women on it. Mary Magdalene, Joanna and Susanna were some of them (Lk 18:1-3). Volunteer to help in the evangelistic programmes of the local churches. Whatever you do for the glory of God, with no other motive, is an aromatic offering to Him.
Your social contacts will suddenly increase when you get married — new relatives, new families, new friends and so on. So also when you finish your studies and get employed. No two persons are alike. People are made up of differing temperaments. Identification with folks becomes difficult when differences are many. If Jesus from Heaven could so very well identify with us on this sin-stained earth, can’t we? Shouldn’t we? Learn to accept people as they are and relate to them with selfless love. There’s no other way. Never antagonize anyone. Balance sociality and spirit- uality. A Tamil proverb says, The fibre that ties flowers together also smells sweet!
Frontiers Missionary Paul wrote to the Christians in the city of Corinth, "Thanks be to God, who made us His captives and leads us along in Christ’s triumphal procession. Now wherever we go He uses us to tell others about the Lord and to spread the Good News like a sweet perfume" (2 Cor 2:14).
God in His sovereign will may call you to carry the message of salvation to regions beyond. May be you dedicated yourself in the Camp to go as a missionary. Not everyone gets this desire, and therefore don’t slight the decision you made in that huge gathering. It is God who has planted this desire in your heart. He will bring it to pass in His own way, in His own time (Phil 2:13). Read Chapter 14 from Brother Stanley’s book, Dare to be Different!, titled "If you are Called..."
Even without going out as a fulltime missionary, you can spread the aroma of Christ to regions beyond. Here’s what you can do—
We are ready to help you in whatever way we can. Write us. God bless!
Affectionately yours, the Camp organizers.
How to multiply ConversionsR. Stanley Click here to read the article
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