Northallerton Stinks

I’m not being negative about the place that God has called us to minister in his name but today Northallerton has been extremely smelly. The town is surrounded by farms and some of them must have been muck spreading and with a strong wind today the whole town smells awful.

If we had been having an open air meeting today we could have sung, “May the fragrance of Jesus fill this place.” and Matt Redman’s “Are the prayers of the saints like sweet smelling incense to your heart?”

Northallerton is a good place to live and there are some good things happening here.
I reckon that the generosity of the Methodist Church who is allowing us to use part of their building for worship on Sundays is an act of unity that is a fragrance that drives away the bad odour of competitiveness that has sometimes existed between the churches here.

We are praying and believing that Alan’s witness on the High Street will be like a fresh breeze driving away the cloying scent of materialism and apathy of many towards the gospel.

On Wednesday our friend Gram is coming into the prison to share his testimony with the lads. We are praying that his words and his ministry will drive out the air of defeat and hopelessness that some of them are going through at the moment.

I could go on but at this time of night I can’t think of any more synonyms for smell so I’ll end with Paul,

“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.” 2 Corinthians 2:14-15


God bless

Carol