Fly in the Ointment

Many say that if you smell it – you’ve already tasted it Kinda like the saying that flies poop almost every time they land – which seems to be always on you or your food
More trivia…
• Dogs have 1 million smell cells per nostril and their smell cells are 100 times larger than humans Humans use insect warning chemicals, called pheromones, to keep away pesky insects
• People who cannot smell have a condition called Anosmia
• If your nose is at its best, you can tell the difference between 4000-10,000 smells
• As you get older, your sense of smell gets worse. Children are more likely to have better senses of smell than their parents or grandparents
Taken from http://library.thinkquest.org/3750/smell/smell.html
This guy came in to our church and said he could smell if we had pews or not
I’ve heard it said the many church people are like skunks – they always sit in the same pew
An interview on the internet – asked that if God created everything good why poop smells? – his answer was – who told you that poop smelled?
There are many references to smells in the Bible
The temple ceremonies used fragrant incense in the offering of prayers
Fragrances were given to Jesus at His birth
The alabaster jar of costly perfume broken open and poured on Jesus
Spices used in His burial
The Bible even calls God’s children, “the aroma of Christ” 2 Corinthians 2:15
Here’s my attempt to relate the earlier trivia to scripture
The bible talks many times about we becoming in stench in the nostrils, not good
Psalms 34:8 says to taste and see that the Lord is good
Ecclesiastes 10:1 As dead flies give perfume a bad smell, so a little folly outweighs wisdom and honor
However John 11:39 Lazarus had been dead 4 days and said that he stunk
One more – Ok, why do people – women especially – that smoke – why do they try to cover it up with extra perfume/cologne?
I want to smell fresh - I believe the things in my life should be and smell fresh
•Sweet aromas are pleasing
• Usually at a cost (a bath, buying something to help, going to extra means or time)
• Sweet aromas are infectious
• They can change things
• They draw attention
• They need to be added frequently – like gum that looses it flavor…
May our lives be sweet aromas – taste and see

Struck

DEFINITIONS:
Surprise blow
Force
To cause
Forcible contact
To afflict suddenly
Unexpectedly
Hit hard

YOU CAN BE STRUCK:
Car struck, Love struck, star struck, lightning struck, stage struck, well struck, dumb struck, struck by…


STRUCK WITH:
I have been struck with hands, air soft bullets, illness, cars, foreign objects, hammer to fingers, even w/ dumbness and occasionally w/ moments of enlightenment


HUMOROUS RELATED MOVIES:
The gods Must be Crazy - “Bushman” being struck in the head with a coke bottle
Mighty Ducks – the goalie has a fear of being hit by the puck
Monty Python – the black knight - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dhRUe-gz690


OUTCOMES MAJOR:
Death, injury, paralyzed, handicapped, permanently changed


OUTCOMES MINOR:
• They come so suddenly that you have no chance to react til it’s passed
• Temporarily immobilized
• Ouch!…what was that?…why?…who?…where did that come from?…Then we get out of the way, rub the spot, ask questions


LIFE EXAMPLES:
• In baseball the coach told me after being hit by the ball the last time at bat “stay close to the plate, hug the plate” – I was in fear of being struck, the coaches fear is that I “struck out”
• Fell off bicycle, crashed and hit the ground, got scrapped up, and stitches on my chin– got back up on there
• Motorcycle accident apparently hit a guide wire and power pole
• “Light bulbs” have comes on and suddenly i have had an epiphany or flash of brilliance, creativity, a whole plan revealed


BIBLE EXAMPLES:
Blindness, plague, objects, death, injury, life change


2 Corinthians 4:8-10
We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed. We always carry around in our body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our body.


Acts 12:7
Suddenly an angel of the Lord appeared and a light shone in the cell. He struck Peter on the side and woke him up. "Quick, get up!" he said, and the chains fell off Peter's wrists.


Acts 12:23
Immediately, because Herod did not give praise to God, an angel of the Lord struck him down, and he was eaten by worms and died.


Acts 9 records how Saul was on the road to Damascus and was struck down by light from heaven, which blinded him, he fell to the ground and heard a voice … the result of this encounter was healing, life change, name change, salvation, powerful story to tell that could never be forgotten , churches begun….


CLOSING:
What have you been struck with?
What was the outcome?
How did that encounter change your life?