I met a new sister in Christ today here on WordPress and read her post about the fragrance of Christ. It got me thinking about a crazy supernatural story my Pastor friend Brian in Boulder once told me. Nope, this time the supernatural stuff didn’t happen to me! Sit with me for a moment, while I testify on behalf of my friend and tell you a true tale of God’s power and the aroma of Christ!
“But thanks be to God, who always leads us in triumphal procession in Christ and through us spreads everywhere the fragrance of the knowledge of him. For we are to God the aroma of Christ among those who are being saved and those who are perishing. To the one we are the smell of death; to the other, the fragrance of life. And who is equal to such a task?”
2 Corinthians 2:14-16
Now I always thought that was some kind of metaphor, but my friend Brian learned a very different lesson in Mexico. I met Brian in college at the University of Northern Colorado. He was an all state champion wrestler on a full scholarship, and he was and still is one of the strongest and most joyful brothers in Christ I have ever known. He is a Pastor in Boulder, Colorado and has been for many years.
Brian was in my Bible study when he was a Freshman along with a bunch of other young brothers. I was a year or two ahead of most of them, and I took care of them like they were my younger brothers. One time, Brian told us about a mission trip he went on during his high school years with his youth group to Mexico. They were at a bus stop and he went in to use the bathroom. That is when the weirdest and scariest thing of Brian’s life happened to him!
He was alone in the bathroom, and as he was standing at the stall doing his business a man came into the bathroom, walked right up to him, and said, “You’re a Christian aren’t you?”
Now it is shocking enough that a guy would walk right up to another guy at a urinal and start talking to him–because ladies, we just don’t do that! That is a big no, no in the men’s room. You don’t say a word when you are at the urinal and you look straight ahead at the wall in front of you. Every man knows this, and if you don’t, then please learn it.
Brian slowly looked at the man and said, “Yes.” What the man said next was the strangest and scariest thing my good friend had ever heard in his young life. The man was right next to Brian at this point practically touching him, and as he sniffed the air next to Brian he said,
“I can smell it on you! I came in here to rape and kill you, but I am afraid of what God will do to me.”
After that, Brian ran out of the bathroom and ran right over to his Pastor. The man came out of the bathroom, and the Pastor walked right up to him. Once the Pastor reached him, the man’s body jerked and he started looking around frantically asking, “where is it?! where is it?!”
The man looked over at a corner in the bus station and his gaze froze. At that moment, the Pastor turned and by the power of the Holy Spirit he could see the demon that had possessed the man hiding in the corner. It had jumped out of the man in the presence of the Holy Spirit, which was strong inside the Pastor!
The man confessed to the Pastor that the demon had been inside of him for many years making him rape and kill people all over Mexico. He desperately wanted to be delivered from it. The Pastor preached to him and prayed for him, and that was the end of that battle.
I will never forget that story. The demon inside the man could smell Jesus in Brian! We truly are the aroma of Christ! And we are most definitely His soldiers fighting an ancient spiritual war that Jesus has already won!
Grace and peace to you all!
“Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.”
Ephesians 6:10-12
Ryan Callahan's Blog 
What an amazing testimony of the power of Christ! God is good…ALL THE TIME!
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Amen!!!
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