Does your life smell Good to God?

The Old Testament of the Hebrew scriptures give us an understanding of the holiness and the purity of God. If i were to summarize the old covenant it would be something like this, God created everything we see and don't see, he created mankind in his image and likeness to enjoy an intimate relationship with him and to steward and exercise dominion over creation as divine representatives and custodians. Man in his rebellion rejects his creator and attempts to live independently of his maker which causes the judgement of the Lord to fall on him. Since the fall of man in Eden man dwells apart from God and everywhere he treads is unholy ground.

God in his mercy promises a redeemer who will restore fallen, unholy men back into the holy, pure presence of God to once again enjoy fellowship and uninterrupted communion. In between the promise of a redeemer and the fulfillment of the promise, God sets up a sacrificial system to show the importance of atonement when it comes to entering his sacred space. unlike in Eden pre fall, man and God dwelt in the same space. After sin infects man and all of creation, no man was permitted into the Prescence of God absent a sacrificial offering, again this shadowed and prepared them to accept the one true sacrifice that would later be given to make them clean forever!

Having said all of that, I have a question for you the reader, does your life smell good? sounds weird i know, but one section of the sacrificial system in Israel had to do with offering up incense to the Lord as a holy act of worship! (see Exodus 30-34-38) That's right GOD would prescribe certain ingredients to be set apart for him specifically, to be offered up a sweet-smelling sacrifice in worship.

Fast forward to the new covenant and we see that it's not grain, lambs and incense that the lord wants his people to offer up to him in sacred worship, but its's rather our praise, our love for others and even our very own bodies (SEE Romans 12:1) we should make it our aim to offer him a life that's pleasing to him and more specifically a life that smells good to his nostrils

We must remember that the old covenant is a shadow of the things in the new covenant and having said that i turn your attention to Jesus being anointed for his burial by a sinful woman two days before his death. (Mark 14:3-9) we're told that a young lady took a costly alabaster jar of perfume and anointed his feet and head. IF this event happened two days before his death it's extremely likely that he went to the cross-smelling amazing!! As Jesus was on the cross, we're told he said to the father as he was dying " into your hands I commit my spirit"(Luke 23:46) and there it was IT WAS FINISHED!! the sacrifice was made and the atonement he came to bring was accomplished. Furthermore, the OFFERING was given!

look at what Paul says concerning this offering Christ made, pay attention in Ephesians 5 he says Follow God’s example, therefore, as dearly loved children  and walk in the way of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.

Are you seeing what I'm seeing? Christ life was given for us as THE acceptable offering that the old testament required, but even more interesting to me is his life being described as a "Fragrant offering" or a sweet-smelling savor! Christ LITERALLY was anointed days before his death with costly perfume and spiritually he was anointed before creation the God man, the holy spotless Lamb of God who would take away the sins of the world. His life smelled great to the father, his offering was pleasantly accepted and because of that very offering you and i are accepted as well.

My encouragement for us is to strive to live lives of gratitude and humility, understanding that one day we too will offer up a life to God, and our heartbeat should be that he smells what he smelt when his son offered up his. A life of sacrifice, love, humility and purity!! those things are pleasing to his nostrils indeed

Our king was selected not elected.... why you shouldn't have anxiety about our next president!

Well, we're here again folks, the fate of the universe lies in the balance between the two parties and their elected candidates. It's Election time in America. Of course, I'm being a bit over the top in my description of what's on the line this year but in all actuality, it seems that the masses of folks approach election night with this apocalyptic/doomsday type of feel, and as a God-fearing man and more specifically a disciple of Christ it's honestly starting to get on my nerves.

If you talk to a democrat supporter, they will likely give you all the reasons Kamala Harris will basically save the country from total destruction and chaos, and the same is true for our republican friends, they will sing the praises of Mr. Trump and how he is the last hope we have right now if we want to see Christian values and true American values return to the land. Before you think I'm sitting on my high horse and judging all the frantic peasants for their fear and panic, I empathize and relate with voters scrambling at the poles to cast their vote in to aid in the salvation of their country. I had the same energy and focus in 2012 When Barack Obama went up against Mitt Romney for the presidency. I was told that so much was on the line, how my vote would basically affect what direction the country went in for good or for bad. I was eighteen years of age then and let's just say I was a little naive and blind as to what the role of politics actually was.

Before you get up in arms, I believe the government as an institution was and is set up by God, (see Romans 13:1-6) Government officials are meant to restrain evil in the world by punishing evil doers and they also are in place to uphold values that contribute to the common good of man. So, the political climate in a country is important because if you have evil rulers who can be bribed for example, they will fail to punish evil doers allowing them to run free in the community and devastate civilians. Or you might have a government who oppresses and persecutes their citizens unjustly, creating laws that bring about death and destruction. I can go on, but you get my point, the political arena is one to take notice of, but ultimately as a believer, our focus, strength and attention should be invested into the same place Jesus had his invested, in seeing the kingdom of God come! Christ taught us to pray that " your kingdom come; you will be done on earth as it is in heaven" (Matthew 6:10) I believe that this prayer is so familiar to us that we just speed through it without really considering what Jesus is asking us to pray.

He says our cry for help number one should be directed to the Father.......not a political party or a government in general. He also straight up tells us what to pray for, when it comes to the bottom line, our prayer isn't for our fallen world to just get a day at the spa, our petition isn't for our world cursed with death and decay to just get a beauty treatment in the form of new policies and promises that often and for so long have kept us wanting. Our prayer to the heavenly father should be for his KINGDOM to come and HIS WILL to be done on earth as it already is in HEAVEN!!! in other words we are praying for an invasion to take place, an invasion where righteousness and the KING of it comes and is established.

Now of course that doesn't mean pray and then fold our arms and go stare at the sky waiting for God to gain victory in the earth, our faith is seen in our works y'all! The lord has chosen to work through his people (his church) to accomplish his purposes in these end times. If he asked us to pray for his kingdom to come, why are we looking to the president and his polices to bring that kingdom? Again, the governments of this world have a role to play in society, but make no mistake about it, our GOD is Sovreign over the affairs of men and he's not in a frenzy over which candidate we decide to vote in on election day. Our God has an agenda, Our God has a will, our father has a purpose, and he will see to it that his desires come to pass. In this I have courage and hope no matter what stands behind tomorrows curtain! as the old saying goes " I don't know what tomorrow holds, but I know who holds tomorrow!) I say participate in your civil duties on election day, local and civil, we should do our due diligence and work to see leaders in positions of authority who are righteous and upstanding individuals. I'm simply saying after you take part in your duties as a citizen of America or whatever country you reside in, do your duty to the king of kings, PREACH THE GOSPEL and make disciples of ALL NATIONS!!(Matthew 28:19)

When we take the great commission seriously and go to the ends of the earth with the gospel, hearts are transformed( including government leaders) and when more hearts are changed and submitted to Christ around the world, the kingdom of Christ will be realized in a very real way, there's so much more to say but I'll leave it here for now.......be blessed and remember our King the Lord Jesus Christ was selected before the foundations of the world to be our king and redeemer he can't be unselected, he can't be impeached.......so be encouraged and know he has everything under control

Hows your self-esteem?

Have you ever met anyone who were full of themselves? have you ever crossed paths with an arrogant person who thought the world revolved around them? I have, and to be frank I can't stand those type of people! I believe What fuels that kind of attitude in a person is an inflated view of their own significance, and often times the root of the problem is ironically them not feeling so good about themselves at all. In other words, some people have been so deprived of significance, love and affection, that they overcompensate by making sure to draw everyone's attention and focus on them in an attempt to soothe themselves of the pain they feel.

Webster defines " Self Esteem" as A sense of one's own value as a human being

What does the bible have to say about our value as humans? In Genesis chapter one we see God at work in creation. He speaks the universe as we know it into existence, and we see that same God create man in his own image and Likness giving them the honor and privilege of ruling and exercising dominion over the works of his hands (see GEN 1:26-31)

When we think of almighty God, we think of words like, Powerful, Beautiful, holy, Amazing etc... the scriptures tell us that humanity unlike anything else in creation is made in the very image and Likness of this wonderful God. "SO.....what are you saying"? I can hear some of you ask, I'm declaring that if you happen to be a human being, your search for significance ends today! understand that your value is found firstly in your DNA!! you see many people have what's been deemed " Low Self-Esteem" that is, due to circumstances outside of themselves after they've measured themselves up to illegitimate standards sadly enough, they've concluded that they aren't worth much if anything.

Here lies the issue, you weren't made to gauge your own value! God never intended us to get our significance from anything else but him and for good reason, he's our maker what he says about us is the TRUTH. Due to our fallen nature, we find ourselves searching far and wide for value, for ultimate worth and purpose. Some look for it in gangs, sex or relationships, other's look in noble places like family, their careers or religion. In any case, if our worth isn't born in our understanding of our position in our creator, we're essentially building homes on sinking sand. David writes in Psalm 139:13-14 just how amazing it is to be made by God

For you created my inmost being.

    you knit me together in my mother’s womb.

I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;

    your works are wonderful,

    I know that full well.

Believers have an additional layer of armor than the mere human who isn't a believer doesn't have, this is because we're not simply made in the image of God as amazing as that is, the children of faith are being conformed to the image of his son and boast of being adopted into the family of God destined to live eternally in his Prescence! Every human desires in his soul to be significant and secure, and the one who trust in Christ alone rest knowing both of these needs are met in abundance.

No more searching in all the wrong places for worth! the time is over for us to still be attempting to perform for the approval of others or even God. At the end of the day we have to stand sure in our identity in God as image bearers and as children of God purchased by his son's blood! stop comparing your life to other's on social media, stop gauging your value based off of anything exterior......the reason you are of high value has nothing to do with you and everything to do with God.......God bless

See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! ... And that is what we are!- 1 John 3:1