Dear Friends,
I trust you had a blessed Christmas with family and friends and that your 2026 has already been a joyous one.
I missed seeing several family members this year, but am grateful for Zoom and FactTime! My youngest daughter leaves for Europe today, and, in some ways, I wish I were in one of the compartments of her portmanteau (assuming she has one!), ready to pop out and enjoy the beauty of Bulgaria and the sights of Spain. But we’ll hold down the fort here in Indianapolis, and look forward to seeing her upon her return.
Over the Advent and Christmas seasons, I was frequently reminded of the zealous commercialization of the holidays, often pushing aside any reference to the baby Jesus and the living Christ. Hence, my modest offering—Vanishing Vapors—as the first podcast for the New Year.
Thanks for being a faithful listener/reader these past two-years plus. You remain constantly in my prayers, and I am continuously encouraged and strengthened by yours.
Here’s to that joyous 2026!
Pressing On!
D. Paul
The Church One Foundation Is Jesus Christ Her Lord!
VANISHING VAPORS
A jet plane flies high in the heavens, soon no longer visible but for its vapor trails streaking across the sky. A lady crosses the room and is absorbed in the mingling crowd, the floral scent of her fragrant perfume lingering in the air. Your favorite coffee shop greets you with the aroma of a fresh-brewed espresso, stimulating the senses before your first sip. Vapors—they are all around us—seen and unseen, benign and toxic, indicating what is and suggesting what once was … and perhaps … what might yet be.
In many ways, so it is in the spiritual realm: For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against…the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. (Ephesians 6:12 ESV). This great battle of good vs. evil rages on, with the Apostle Paul clearly delineating it within the human heart: For I know that good itself does not dwell in me, that is, in my sinful nature. For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out. For I do not do the good I want to do, but the evil I do not want to do—this I keep on doing. (Romans 7:18-19 NIV). Then, worthy of a tragedian right out of Shakespeare, Paul cries out: What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body that is subject to death? (Romans 7:24 NIV).
And so, it is with us. How often have we fallen short, missed the mark, our good intentions gone awry, reminiscent of the “best-laid plans” in John Steinbeck’s “Of Mice And Men,” specifically where George compares his “little piece of a great big soul” to a little piece of land in “a wilderness,” which he and Lenny have incessantly dreamed about: “Says he foun’ he jus’ got a little piece of a great big soul. Says a wilderness ain’t no good, ‘cause his little piece of a soul wasn’t no good ‘less it was with the rest, an’ was whole.” How like George we long to be “whole,” to be part of “a great big soul,” not just a “little piece of a soul,” nor Paul’s “wretched” soul, constantly at war with itself.
Unlike the incisively probing Steinbeck, Paul doesn’t leave us dangling as a “wretched man,” but answers his own rhetorical question of “Who will rescue me…?” with an unqualified Thanks be to God, who delivers me through Jesus Christ our Lord! (Romans 7:25), affirming this hope when writing to the church at Colossae: For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins (Colossians 1:13-14 NIV). Here, my friends, is our deliverance—in Christ, through Christ, and by Christ alone! Yet for millions in apostate churches, this promised deliverance “from the dominion of darkness” is a fading relic, with little remaining but the distant contrails of “A glorious Church without spot or wrinkle, washed in the blood of the Lamb!” There have been such seasons in the Church before, and there will be again, more gloriously so, when Christ returns to claim his Bride.
But presently impoverished, we are unknowingly sustained by the spiritual legacy of our past, living off the vanishing vapors of a saintly parent, a Spirit-filled pastor or priest, a Bible-believing church, a loving Sunday School teacher, and of a culture that underscored the values of the Christian faith. By contrast, adhering to the secular arch of history, we rarely attend church, read the Bible, or “contend for the faith,” believing in a universal inclusiveness, effectively demoting the Lordship of Christ to a mere figurehead—and one of many.
For those living off the vanishing vapors of the faith (perhaps this is Dietrich Bonhoeffer’s “religionless Christianity?”), I’ve thought before it would be fun to have a “sense memory” class for young believers seeking an intimate relationship with the living Christ. Not surprisingly, in the Method tradition of acting (and other teaching schools), one of the first acting classes the young thespian takes focuses in on “sense memory” exercises. You recall that scent of a specific perfume and are soon crying over the loss of a former friend, lover, or wife. You recall the taste of those fresh-baked, hot apple dumplings and immediately recall the special bond of love between you and your recently deceased mother. We are people of the senses, and the sensorial recollection of “things past” can move us into a profound intimacy with the present.
A “Young Believers Class” might begin with a study of I Corinthians, chapter 2: But thanks be to God, who always leads us…to spread the aroma of the knowledge of him everywhere. For we are to God the pleasing aroma of Christ among those who are being saved and those who are perishing (I Corinthians 2:14-15 NIV). It’s not simply, “Cleanliness is next to Godliness,” my brothers and sisters, but mysteriously, mystically, if you will, there is “in Christ’s triumphal procession” a spiritual aroma of the righteous, the fragrance of pure hearts, the sweet-smelling savor of His holiness, and often it is this inexplicable, fragrant bouquet which draws the non-believer to the faith … or not.
The “Advanced Believers Class” might focus in on Psalm 34:8. Taste and see that the Lord is good; blessed is the one who takes refuge in him. We move beyond fragrance to the substance itself, drawn to taste—to experience—the One who promises us: Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and dine with him, and he with Me (Rev. 3:20, NKJV). What a glorious promise, and what a gourmet feast has been spread for the believers who miraculously become “partakers of his divine nature,” with “…his Spirit join[ing] with our spirit to affirm that we are God’s children (Romans 8:16 NLT).
Graduation day comes, and off go our young novitiates into the world, “…spreading the aroma of the knowledge of him everywhere” and inviting all whom they know and meet to “taste and see that the Lord is good!”
May we, my dear brothers and sisters is Christ, spread these “great and precious promises of God” to family, friends, and strangers alike throughout 2026 and beyond!
Amen
According to Gallup, 57% of Americans are “seldom or never in religious service attendance,” with Sunday School attendance reflecting this drop in recent decades. We are, increasingly so, living off the spiritual vapors of a previous generation.
