Don’t you love things that smell good? This is the time of year I’m looking forward to some good smells like for example, to go outside and you smell that wood stove or that chimney burning from somebody in the neighborhood. I’m looking forward to the holidays, that Thanksgiving, that food that’s being cooked, or at Christmas, the smell of the tree, and all of the wonderful smells of Christmas.
Did you know there’s a way that we can do things that smell so good to our Heavenly Father? Let me give you a couple of them today. The first sound in Philippians chapter four, verse 18. Paul writes this, I have received full payment and more. I am well supplied. Having received from Epaphroditus the gifts you send a fragrant offering a sacrifice acceptable and pleasing to God.
Our Heavenly Father is so pleased when he sees us being generous. I want to encourage you to do things for other people, even when they don’t deserve it. Notice Paul called these gifts, they weren’t payments, they weren’t obligations. They weren’t gifts.
And when God sees his children, being generous with others, generous in our giving to the church, generous and giving to our needs, the people in our community who are poor and needy. When God sees us doing that, it’s a sweet savor.
Here’s another one, Revelation, chapter eight, verses three and four. And another angel came and stood at the altar with a golden sensor. And he was given much incense to offer with the prayers of all the saints on the golden altar before the throne. And the smoke of the incense with the prayers of the saints rose before God from the hand of the angel.
The second way that we can send up a sweet smell to God is through prayer. I just want you to know that our Heavenly Father is delighted when we pray to him. In the prayers of the saints, that’s not some super Christians. A saint simply means that you’re a believer in Jesus, that you have been set apart by God. And when you, his child prayed to him, it smells so good to him.
So look for ways in the days ahead, to send up sweet savers to the Lord, through your prayers through your generosity. You can please your heavenly Father in a wonderful way.