SMELLING A Memory Trigger 2nd Sunday in Advent
Read: Luke 1:1-4 “Perfume and incense bring joy to the heart” Proverbs 27:9a (NIV) There are certain foods and smells which trigger childhood memories. Whenever I bake honey biscuits the smell of cinnamon and spices fill the house, and my husband immediately is transported back to childhood Christmases. On a Sunday, arriving home from church and smelling the roast in the oven brings me back to my own family’s Sunday roast when growing up. There are also smells that we associate with our loved ones. My husband’s cologne brings a smile to my heart when I smell it bringing with it the safety and security I feel with him. Others smell my Giorgio perfume and immediately know I have been there. I have been told that smells are a powerful sense that can bring memories both good and bad. The sense of smell has many functions which include detecting desirable foods, danger, attraction to others and also plays a role in taste. We can know what something is – whether good or bad without even seeing it. We can walk into a room and decide if we want to stay there or leave according to the smell. A musty room makes you want to leave, whereas a room smelling fresh and clean makes one want to linger and stay. In the beginning of Luke, the author Luke, sets the scene, like a room, to be appealing and make people want to linger longer and read more. He makes it attractive, logical and factual, an appealing smell for us all to read more about the birth of Jesus. Luke figuratively puts on the Sunday roast so that all may want to know more about God’s love through Jesus. We are also to smell good for Jesus. “For we are to God the pleasing aroma of Christ among those who are being saved and those who are perishing.” (2 Corinthians 2:15 NIV) The way we talk and behave also is a reminder for others. Whether knowingly or unknowingly people will be attracted to Jesus, just through who you are. Be a witness and scent to the world for Jesus! Prayer: Lord, help me to be a pleasing aroma for you. You are incredible and allow me to show others this through who I am and how I act. Amen
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For in him every one of God’s promises is a ‘Yes’. For this reason it is through him that we say the ‘Amen’, to the glory of God (2 Corinthians 1:20).
Read 2 Corinthians 1:12–22
Life is filled with uncertainty. People change, circumstances shift, and promises can be broken. But God is not fickle. His word is not uncertain. His promises are not fragile. In a world of shifting circumstances, hesitant commitments and broken assurances, God’s answer in Christ is a resounding ‘YES’!
Yes to grace. Yes to mercy. Yes to redemption. Yes to love that never fails. Yes to new life, new hope and a future secured in him. Every promise God has spoken finds its fulfilment in Jesus. There is no hesitation, backtracking or half measures; only abundant, overwhelming, unshakable assurance.
And here is the truth that sets us free: We don’t have to live in fear, questioning whether we are enough. We don’t have to second-guess God’s faithfulness or wonder if he will change his mind about us. In Christ, God has already said yes.
Yes, you are loved. Yes, you are forgiven. Yes, you are chosen. Yes, you are favoured. Yes, you belong to him.
The enemy whispers doubt, trying to convince us that we are disqualified and have strayed too far, and that God’s yes has somehow turned into a ‘no’.
But that is a lie. I repeat: That is a lie.
Scripture reminds us that all of God’s promises – every single one – find their answers in Christ. There is no condition, loophole, wavering; just the fullness of his yes, forever secure. So, live in the joy of this yes! Cast off fear, step toward faith and trust in the unwavering faithfulness of God. Let your life be an echo of his yes! And, as you do, declare your own Amen! So be it! To the glory of God!
Almighty God, you are the God of yes! Yes to grace, yes to mercy, yes to a love that never fails. Your yes is unshakable, unstoppable and undeniable. No fear, doubt or failure can silence your yes over my life. I stand in the fullness of your truth, rejecting every lie that tells me I am too far gone, too broken or too unworthy. Fill me with boldness, Lord. I walk in the power of your unbreakable truth. In Jesus’ mighty name, Amen and Amen!
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Indeed, we felt that we had received the sentence of death so that we would rely not on ourselves but on God, who raises the dead (2 Corinthians 1:9).
Read 2 Corinthians 1:1–11
When hardship strikes, it has a way of consuming our vision. Problems feel all-encompassing, like storm clouds that block out the sun. Paul understood this feeling well. He and his companions faced trials so extreme that they thought death itself was upon them. But in that desperate place, Paul discovered something profound: suffering can shift our reliance on ourselves onto God.
When everything else is stripped away, we see more clearly that our strength is never enough – but God’s always is. Trials expose our limits, but they also reveal God’s limitless power. He is the one who raises the dead, who brings hope out of despair, and who carries us when we cannot walk on our own.
What burdens are weighing you down today? Do any feel impossible to bear? What if instead of letting them crush you, you allowed them to deepen your dependence on God? What if your hardship became the very thing that sharpened your perspective, turning your eyes from self-reliance to the one who sustains all things?
This is not to diminish the reality of our struggles. The pain we experience is real. But so is God’s faithfulness. Hardships are not the end of the story; they are reminders to trust the one who holds your story in his hands. A kingdom perspective does not deny suffering; it redefines it.
Heavenly Father, when troubles surround me, remind me that you are greater. Let my struggles refine, not define me. Give me a kingdom perspective, trusting that my trials are never the end of the story. In all things, let your holy angel be with me so that the evil one may have no power over me. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
Jane is a former Lutheran school principal and now serves as Governance Leadership Director for Lutheran Education SA, NT & WA. Jane has a keen interest in psychology, enjoys hiking and loves learning about and trying new things.
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At one time we too were foolish, disobedient, deceived and enslaved by all kinds of passions and pleasures (Titus 3:3a).
Read Titus 3:1–15
Yesterday, we reflected on the call to teach. Today, we are given an equally important reminder: we are learners, too.
This is a humbling truth – no-one is beyond learning, and no-one is beyond grace. The moment we forget where we came from, we risk becoming harsh rather than helpful and judgemental rather than gentle. That’s why we are called to teach with compassion, not superiority.
Paul, the author of this passage, understood this firsthand. Before encountering Christ, he was Saul – a man who persecuted Christians in his fierce quest for genocide, convinced he was serving God (Acts 26). But when Jesus met him on the road to Damascus, grace shattered his old life and rewrote his future (Acts 9). Paul’s transformation was not just a moment of enlightenment. It was a radical reorientation of his heart.
Think about the people who have shaped your life. The ones who influenced you most likely weren’t those who made you feel small, but those who met you where you were and walked alongside you in your growth. Paul experienced this too – not only through Christ’s direct intervention but through believers like Ananias, who welcomed and guided him despite his past (Acts 9). Likewise, we are called to extend the same patience, humility and grace to others, remembering that we, too, are still being shaped by God.
And here is our hope: God is still in the business of transforming lives. Just as he pursued Paul and changed his heart, he actively seeks those who are lost. And he often works through us. No-one is beyond his reach, and he longs for all to experience the power of his grace.
Our role is simple yet profound: to love, to reflect his grace, and to trust that God is moving in hearts, just as he continues to move in ours.
Lord, help me remember my need for grace and extend it to those around me. Let my life be a reflection of your love. May my words encourage, not discourage. Use me, Lord, to build others up in faith. Amen.
Jane is a former Lutheran school principal and now serves as Governance Leadership Director for Lutheran Education SA, NT & WA. Jane has a keen interest in psychology, enjoys hiking and loves learning about and trying new things.