The Aroma of Christ

"When Moses came down from Mt. Sinai with the two tablets of the covenant law in his hands, he was not aware that his face was radiant because he had spoken with the Lord.'  Acts 4:13

Moses went back to Mt. Sinai, and God wrote the Ten Commandments on two more stone tablets.  He gave the Israelites a second chance to obey Him.  Have you ever needed a second, or third, or fourth, or fiftieth chance?  Do you know anyone right now to whom you might give another chance?  The Christian life is a matter of beginning again over and over.  When we sin, if we repent, God forgives us and wipes our slate clean, giving us a brand new beginning.  What a gracious, merciful Heavenly Father we have!  May we be as gracious and merciful to the people in our lives!

Moses asked God if he could see His glory.  God didn't allow Moses to see His face, but He hid Moses in a cleft of a rock and passed by, partially revealing His glory.  Moses wanted to be as close to God as he could possibly be, to see God more clearly than he had ever seen Him before.  Is this one of your goals--to become as close to God as you possibly can and to know Him better and better?

When Moses came down from Mt. Sinai with the two new copies of the Ten Commandments, "his face was radiant because he had spoken with the Lord."  Acts 4:13 tells us this concerning a time when Peter and John were brought before the Jewish authorities to be questioned, "When they saw the courage of Peter and John and realized that they were unschooled, ordinary men, they were astonished and they took note that these men had been with Jesus."  II Corinthians 2:15,  "For we are to God the pleasing aroma of Christ among those who are being saved and those who are perishing."

At a conference the attendees had free time in the afternoon, and one of the men elected to visit a rose garden in the vicinity.  When the attendees came back together for the session that night, one of them said, "I know where you have been.  You visited the rose garden this afternoon.  I can still smell the roses."

Does God's glory shine through us as it did through Moses after he had spent time with God?  Do people see a difference in our lives because we have been with Jesus?  Is there the sweet aroma of Christ in our lives wherever we go and whatever we do?

Father, may people sense a difference in our lives because we belong to You.  Amen.