Does God Hold His Nose?

This 1-minute devotion explains how a homeless man taught me an important lesson about the Lord. #BibleLoveNotes #Bible #Devotion

 We were doing ministry for a month in a small Hungarian town and we got used to seeing the same man sitting on a bench whenever we went shopping. 

Despite the warm weather, he was always wearing a heavy parka. It was hard to tell his age because his beard and hair were long. 

We had to hold our breath when we walked past—the stench of urine, alcohol, mud and excrement were so strong. I couldn't help but thinking about my own smell... in a spiritual sense.

I could only see this man's outward appearance, but God could see his heart (1 Samuel 16:7). 

What was his story? What did God see when He looked at him? 

 And what did God see when He looked at my heart and the hearts of others on the street?

 Did any of us look presentable on the outside but filthy on the inside? Were we covered with the odors of self-righteousness, greed, immorality, hatred, or jealousy? Were we as dirty on the inside as this man was on the outside? (Matthew 23:25)

Seeing this man prompted me to ask God to examine my heart and show me if anything in me makes Him hold his nose (Psalm 26:2; Psalm 139:23-24). 

 I want to have a "pleasing aroma" to my Lord (2 Corinthians 2:15-16).

 How about you?

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This 1-minute devotion explains how a homeless man taught me an important lesson about the Lord. #BibleLoveNotes #Bible #Devotion

10 comments:

  1. AnonymousMay 22, 2012 at 9:49 AM

    Oh my Gail, well written indeed my friend. Thanks for sharing and may we all take a page out of this post.

    God bless!

    ReplyDelete
  2. AnonymousMay 22, 2012 at 10:51 AM

    It is so good yet scary that the Lord knows us better than we know ourselves- our thoughts, intentions, and our heart. And that He still loves us! Yes Gail, with His guidance may we smell sweet!

    ~Nicole, Working Kansas Homemaker

    ReplyDelete
  3. Naptime ReviewMay 22, 2012 at 12:41 PM

    Gail, Just got your message about wanting to ad your hop to the directory. I would love to ad you myself but I can't. PassionFruit uploads the image. Just click here http://thebloglogdirectory.blogspot.com/p/add-hop-here.html

    Pick the day of the week your hop is and add the code for a free hop. Hope this makes sense. Email me if you have any questions julie_marling@yahoo.com

    Thanks again!

    ReplyDelete
  4. EverythingIam-blogspot.blogspot.comMay 22, 2012 at 2:12 PM

    Hi Gail, thanks for your last little note to me. I hope you had a great weekend that was all about Jesus. I love the above post! I look at that picture and know that God loves that man just as much as He loves me. Reach out to him cause Jesus would. Talk to you soon. Oh and I have a prayer request. My husband will be traveling to the Dominican Republic & Haiti June 4th for Jesus to be His voice, hands & feet.

    Amanda

    ReplyDelete
  5. Gail @ http://biblelovenotes.comMay 22, 2012 at 2:29 PM

    Thanks, Amanda. And yes, I pray that your husband will be used mightily by God on this trip and come back blessed by all that God has taught him and confident that he's done God's will and blessed others. And I pray that all will go smoothly for you while he is away.God bless you, my friend.

    ReplyDelete
  6. AnonymousMay 22, 2012 at 3:33 PM

    Hi Gail - this is the second post i have read this evening cautioning me to examine my heart. maybe the Lord is speaking to me....
    Great post
    God bless
    Tracy

    ReplyDelete
  7. Wendy @ ECTaSMay 30, 2012 at 3:32 AM

    Excellent message!

    ReplyDelete
  8. UnknownMay 10, 2018 at 6:08 AM

    So did they help the poor Hungarian man?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Gail @ http://biblelovenotes.comMay 10, 2018 at 4:19 PM

      Good question. The man was an alcoholic by choice. There are programs in Hungary to help these street people, but they must give up alcohol so some prefer to live on the street. This man was not begging but usually had a bottle of wine he was drinking or was sleeping it off. We didn't speak Hungarian, so we could not talk even with him. But we prayed for him.

      Delete
  9. rastaMay 10, 2018 at 1:02 PM

    It has humble myself when I learnt that our lord sees my heart. Seen then it makes me happy when every breath I take I serve the Lord the best that I can.

    ReplyDelete

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