Thought for June 20

 History:

• 1214: University of Oxford chartered
• 1782: Congress approves Great Seal of the United States and the Bald Eagle as its symbol
• 1837: Queen Victoria ascends to the throne--rules 63 years
• 1840: Samuel Morse patents telegraph
• 1867: Andrew Johnson announces purchase of Alaska
• 1893: Lizzie Borden acquitted of murder
• 1895: First woman to receive PHD from an American University--Caroline Baldwin
• 1911: NAACP incorporates
• 1919: Treaty of Versailles signed
• 1930: Bobby Jones wins British Open on the way to single year Grand Slam
• 1944: Nazis begin mass extermination of Jews at Auschwitz
• 1967: Ali sentenced to 5 years in jail for failing to report for the draft
• 1975: "Jaws" released
• Born: Lillian Hellman, Errol Flynn, Chet Atkins, Audie Murphy, Doris Hart, Martin Landau, Olympia Dukakis, Len Dawson, Brian Wilson, Lionel Richie, John Goodman, Nicole Kidman, 
• Died: Bugsy Siegel, Howard Johnson, LeRoy Neiman, Jim Kiick

Thought:

Read 2 Corinthians 2:14-16 with me today. Do you feel like a winner or a loser this morning? Do you think you are winning the game of life or losing it? Do your feel like a conqueror, a champion, a victor today? Well, that's the problem for me--I trust how I feel instead of what God has said. 

• God wants to lead us in triumph. In Christ, God has won a great victory--Satan and death are defeated. The picture here is a Roman general who has won a great victory being honored with a victory parade. Think about seeing the Super Bowl parade for the winning team, the ticker tape parade for the returning heroes [soldiers returning from war, Lindbergh from his trans-Atlantic flight]. But notice, it is His triumph, not ours--so we sing "Victory in Jesus." We march behind the victorious Savior, King of Kings and Lord of Lords. Satan wants to tell us we are losers, defeated, unworthy--God says follow Jesus in His triumphal march.
• Now as we march through this world in His triumphal parade, we give off a sweet aroma. Wherever we march in His triumph, we spread the knowledge of Him. When I was a kid, my aunt and uncle lived on Peachtree Street in Buckhead, the Alhambra apartments. They had no children [later had a son], so my sister and I were their children. Every year, they invited us to come and watch the Christmas parade with them. We wanted to go because those riding on the floats were throwing out prizes, candy, and gifts. We were not in the parade, but we felt the joy and wonder of the parade. Now that is the picture of us as we walk behind Christ through the world--all the world should be blessed by us as we share the knowledge and presence of Christ. We are not tossing out candy, we are proclaiming His victory.
• And the world "smells" our aroma in two ways--those who smell the aroma and are drawn to Christ are being transformed from death to life--the aroma of life. But those who are rejecting Christ, the aroma is the aroma of death. This tells me that my job is to follow Christ and share His aroma---the reaction and response of the world is not my responsibility. 

Today, follow Jesus in triumph--over fear, doubt, impatience, anger, lust, revenge. As you do, you will share the knowledge of Christ with the world---some will "smell" life and be saved, others will reject and face death. Our job is to march in triumph following the Victorious Christ.

Blessings

Larry