Shout for Joy

Psalm 98

4 Shout for joy to the LORD, all the earth, burst into jubilant song with music; 5 make music to the LORD with the harp, with the harp and the sound of singing, 6 with trumpets and the blast of the ram's horn-- shout for joy before the LORD, the King. 7 Let the sea resound, and everything in it, the world, and all who live in it. 8 Let the rivers clap their hands, let the mountains sing together for joy; 9 let them sing before the LORD, for he comes to judge the earth. He will judge the world in righteousness and the peoples with equity.

Enough said.

What's That Smell?

Have you ever wondered if you could pass God's smell test? Did you know He had a smell test?

I recently shared a "new" smell to Dozsar.  I caught this largemouth bass from our pond over the weekend.  Knowing that he had never seen (or smelled) a fish, I thought I would introduce him to this new fragrance.  It must not have smelled that great because he wasn't that interested.  Had that been a piece of steak, he would have gone nuts.  But, something must not have smelled right.  So, he did not accept it.  He lost interest.

I found these Scriptures below and found that our lives need to pass the "smell test" with God.  If something doesn't smell right, something just might be fishy.

The First Smell

"Then Noah built an altar to the Lord and, taking some of all the clean animals and clean birds, he sacrificed burnt offerings on it. The Lord smelled the pleasing aroma and said in His heart: 'Never again will I curse the ground because of humans, even though every inclination of the human heart is evil from childhood'" (Genesis 8:20-21).

The First Smell Test

"Then burn the entire ram on the altar. It is a burnt offering to the Lord, a pleasing aroma, a food offering presented to the Lord" (Exodus 29:18).

The New Covenant Smell

"Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you. Follow God's example, therefore, as dearly loved children and walk in the way of love, just as Christ loved us and gave Himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God" (Ephesians 4:32—Ephesians 5:1-2).

The Use of Smell

"But thanks be to God, who always leads us as captives in Christ's triumphal procession and uses us 
to spread the aroma of the knowledge of Him everywhere. For we are to God the pleasing aroma of Christ among those who are being saved and those who are perishing" (2 Corinthians 2:14-16).

So how do we create a good smell for God, and in turn, be used by God to spread the aroma of Christ? The answer is simple: sacrifice.

The sacrifices in Ephesians 4:32—5:2 are directed toward the interaction between believers. Admittedly, it's counterintuitive to think inside the church walls instead of outside. Galatians 6:10 tells us to "do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers" (emphasis added). When believers on the inside are sacrificially kind and forgiving to each other, following Christ's example to "walk in the way of love," they create a fragrance that God can use to attract outsiders.

Let the smell test begin.  Let's pray God doesn't smell something fishy...

Friendship

Friendship is valuable.  Even though we may think that we can make it on our own, we were not created to be alone.  After God created Adam, it was obvious that being alone was not ideal.  The rest of creation had companionship, but Adam had no one in the world he could call a friend.  He, of course, had a relationship with God.  However, he needed someone he could spend time with while taking care of the garden.  So, God created Eve.  More than friends, they were husband and wife.  Yet, I believe they were also best friends.

Skyler and Rozsda were best friends.  Not long after we brought Rozsda home in 1999, we discovered that he need a canine friend.  We introduced Skyler not long after and those two became best buddies.  Although they were different breeds, had different personalities, and had different needs, these two dogs quickly bonded and were quite the pair.  They went on many adventures together, especially when they escaped the yard.  I think Skyler, who was somewhat timid, would literally follow Rozsda to the end of the world.  They were inseparable.

The day we had to take Rozsda to put him down (I hate how that sounds) was tough on everybody.  I do not know how dogs can sense what is going on, but Skyler knew something was happening.  Beagles are usually known for their barking.  However, Skyler was unique.  He rarely barked.  When he did, we knew something was wrong.  As we loaded Rozsda up to take him in, Sklyer commenced barking and howling.  Someway, somehow, I believe he knew something terrible was happening.  That, along with the rest of the events of that day, broke our hearts.

When we returned, Skyler was different.  He never was really the same after that.  Even though we were able to get other dogs, it was not the same for Skyler.  Oh, he would occasionally play and we would see glimpses of his former self.  However, I think a part of him died that day, too.  Then, one day he escaped on his own and never returned.  We searched desperately for him, but we never found him.  We were so sad.  To this day, we do not know what happened to him.

I miss both of these dogs.  Yet, in the short time with them I learned the value of friendship.  While they were both loyal to me, they had a unique bond with each other.  Together, we had a wonderful family and life.

I think the same is true with our relationship with God.  We have a unique relationship with Him.  Yet, we also need to have relationships with others.  As we build those relationships, with God as the center, we will find a more fulfilling life.  When the time for separation comes, it will be painful.  However, it will not be final.  As the words of the song say, "Friends are friends forever, if the Lord's the Lord of them."

I miss these boys.  But, I am thankful for the lesson of friendship I learned from them.

And if one prevail against him, two shall withstand him; and a threefold cord is not quickly broken.  ~Ecclesiastes 4:12

In Loving Memory

I am re-posting this from another blog.  We lost Rozsda four years ago.  I still miss him but I remember everything he taught me.

Rozsda: 1999-2009