2 Corinthians 2:14 But thank God! He has made us his captives and continues to lead us along in Christ’s triumphal procession. Now he uses us to spread the knowledge of Christ everywhere, like a sweet perfume. 15 Our lives are a Christ-like fragrance rising up to God. But this fragrance is perceived differently by those who are being saved and by those who are perishing. 16 To those who are perishing, we are a dreadful smell of death and doom. But to those who are being saved, we are a life-giving perfume. And who is adequate for such a task as this?

the thought that we smell like Christ... wow... can you imagine.. that to some.. we smell like a life giving perfume.. and to those who are unsaved.. we smell like death and doom...

BUT... I think it is in our walk... are we walking like Christ? or are we walking like the world? if we walk like the world, then how would we smell like Christ?

yesterday the preacher said that we can come to God 'just as I am' a filthy mess... because He loves us as we are... but to abide in Him.. and have Him abide in us.. there must be change... the bible states that when you place a light in a dark room.. the light changes the room... so when we put Christ in our dark hearts.. He begins to brighten the darkness within us.. we slowly take on the light.. and release the dark... if we hold on to the dark... we will lose the light...

what is the smell you carry?.. do you smell like life giving perfume... that was so awesome to me... to hear that I smell like life... because Christ abides in me... to those who are perishing we smell like death and doom... are we helping them find life?

I really like that.. I smell like Christ...

fear...

we all know the scripture that God has not given us a spirit of fear but of a sound mind and peace... yet every one of us struggle with fear...

I heard somewhere that a vision is a seed that God has planted within you.. and you are responsible to water and nourish that seed.. to keep the weeds out...

the enemy is like a bird that wants to eat the seed up... if he can get you to give up on what you believe you heard from God.. what value is your faith? you don't have staying power... faith is the substance of things unseen.. yet the enemy uses the things we see to shake our faith... we get afraid.. we fear we have been wrong all along...

but if you have written down what God said to you.. the scriptures and the words given.. then you have something solid to look back upon... and remember the details that God gives.. just like when Abraham was promised a son.. the bible tells us that God taught Abraham to be a father... or when Noah was told of the flood and he was to build a huge boat.. but more than that.. he was given specific details on the size of the boat and what was to go in it... when Moses was to build the tabernacle.. he was given very specific details...

I have been given very specific details about my vision.. I have been told in detail every side of the life I will have to live.. I was taught what God feels about specific roles and subjects... and I was taught through the word of God.. by the Spirit of God Himself...

so while there are days that the enemy may try to cause me to fear... and it may keep me up for a night... God is right beside me.. reminding me of the great details He has given me... and that He will see me in the morning... there is no cause to fear...

Jeremiah 29:11

4 This is what the Lord of Heaven’s Armies, the God of Israel, says to all the captives he has exiled to Babylon from Jerusalem: 5 “Build homes, and plan to stay. Plant gardens, and eat the food they produce. 6 Marry and have children. Then find spouses for them so that you may have many grandchildren. Multiply! Do not dwindle away! 7 And work for the peace and prosperity of the city where I sent you into exile. Pray to the Lord for it, for its welfare will determine your welfare.”
8 This is what the Lord of Heaven’s Armies, the God of Israel, says: “Do not let your prophets and fortune-tellers who are with you in the land of Babylon trick you. Do not listen to their dreams, 9 because they are telling you lies in my name. I have not sent them,” says the Lord.
10 This is what the Lord says: “You will be in Babylon for seventy years. But then I will come and do for you all the good things I have promised, and I will bring you home again. 11 For I know the plans I have for you,” says the Lord. “They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope. 12 In those days when you pray, I will listen. 13 If you look for me wholeheartedly, you will find me. 14 I will be found by you,” says the Lord. “I will end your captivity and restore your fortunes. I will gather you out of the nations where I sent you and will bring you home again to your own land.”
15 You claim that the Lord has raised up prophets for you in Babylon. 16 But this is what the Lord says about the king who sits on David’s throne and all those still living here in Jerusalem—your relatives who were not exiled to Babylon. 17 This is what the Lord of Heaven’s Armies says: “I will send war, famine, and disease upon them and make them like bad figs, too rotten to eat. 18 Yes, I will pursue them with war, famine, and disease, and I will scatter them around the world. In every nation where I send them, I will make them an object of damnation, horror, contempt, and mockery. 19 For they refuse to listen to me, though I have spoken to them repeatedly through the prophets I sent. And you who are in exile have not listened either,” says the Lord.
20 Therefore, listen to this message from the Lord, all you captives there in Babylon. 21 This is what the Lord of Heaven’s Armies, the God of Israel, says about your prophets—Ahab son of Kolaiah and Zedekiah son of Maaseiah—who are telling you lies in my name: “I will turn them over to Nebuchadnezzar for execution before your eyes. 22 Their terrible fate will become proverbial, so that the Judean exiles will curse someone by saying, ‘May the Lord make you like Zedekiah and Ahab, whom the king of Babylon burned alive!’ 23 For these men have done terrible things among my people. They have committed adultery with their neighbors’ wives and have lied in my name, saying things I did not command. I am a witness to this. I, the Lord, have spoken.”

we often look to Jeremiah 29:11 as a promise for our lives.. I personally feel this has been one of the promises for my own life.. but too many times.. people choose promises.. but don't read the entire relevant scripture... God was telling them that yes, He would give them a hope and a future.. AFTER 70 YEARS... He told them to marry and to multiply.. to not dwindle down in number.. that they would be there for a long time... how many of the people would no longer be alive after that time? I think that many times we go through periods of waiting because of our own lack of commitment to God... you see further down in the scripture that the so called prophets were giving messages that were not from God at all.. and they were living in sin... committing adultery.. lying... how often do we determine to do things our own way because God's way is too hard.. it costs too much... it takes too long... and probably most upsetting of all.. it was God who sent their enemies to destroy them.. God who sent them into exile.. and they would not be restored until GOD restores them...

but look at what happened to these men.. first of all.. God called them out by name.. that by itself is about horrifying... then.. He uses them as an example for generations to come.. their lives would be used in calling out curses on others...

what is our purpose? what is the outcome of our walk? will our name be used in calling out blessing.. or calling out curse... will we even be remembered? let us strive to walk worthy of the call upon our lives.. someone.. somewhere is watching us... what is our living testimony.. our walking sacrifice... what are we revealing about ourselves in our day to day walk....

Job 12

13 “But true wisdom and power are found in God; counsel and understanding are his. 14 What he destroys cannot be rebuilt. When he puts someone in prison, there is no escape. 15 If he holds back the rain, the earth becomes a desert. If he releases the waters, they flood the earth. 16 Yes, strength and wisdom are his; deceivers and deceived are both in his power. 17 He leads counselors away, stripped of good judgment; wise judges become fools. 18 He removes the royal robe of kings. They are led away with ropes around their waist. 19 He leads priests away, stripped of status; he overthrows those with long years in power. 20 He silences the trusted adviser and removes the insight of the elders. 21 He pours disgrace upon princes and disarms the strong. 22 “He uncovers mysteries hidden in darkness; he brings light to the deepest gloom. 23 He builds up nations, and he destroys them.He expands nations, and he abandons them. 24 He strips kings of understanding and leaves them wandering in a pathless wasteland. 25 They grope in the darkness without a light. He makes them stagger like drunkards.

true wisdom and power are found in God.. amen to that... as wise as we think we are.. we are not... what God destroys cannot be rebuilt... sheesh.. just read the passage above and we will see what little control we really have... everything we are.. everything we have ever been.. everything we ever will be.. is all about God.. nothing about us... we are so small and immaterial... we are just a small speck in the atmosphere... yet somehow.. God looks down with love and chooses us... that is surely more than anyone could ever deserve..

Father.. this day.. I give myself away to you.. use me as you will... clean me up.. consecrate me.. make me to be in your image... change anything within me that is unpleasing to you... I am available... I am yours... I praise you Lord.. for noticing me... for choosing me.. for loving me... I love you more than words can say...

2 Corinthians 13:14

14 The amazing grace of the Master, Jesus Christ, the extravagant love of God, the intimate friendship of the Holy Spirit, be with all of you.

when we think of intimacy.. our first thought tends to run to someone of the opposite sex... we have intimacy with a man.... how did we get intimacy with him? what made us feel that special closeness? we can have friends that we are close to.. people that know us well... yet.. unless you see someone naked.. we are not intimate.. not really.. we can be close.. but not intimate...

now let's turn this toward God... how do you become intimate with God? how do you get a relationship with God where he is your entire heart.. where he is all you think about? just like you would with that man you are in love with... how do you fall in love with God?

it is the same formula... you have to spend more time with God than you would with anyone else... you have to allow him to see you naked.. you have to give God your heart just like you would give it to a man...

allow yourself to fall in love with God... it is the greatest choice you will ever make... intimacy with God far outweighs intimacy with a man or woman... He is able to give you all that you need inside... a man cannot complete you... only God can make you whole...

Romans 13

8 Owe nothing to anyone—except for your obligation to love one another. If you love your neighbor, you will fulfill the requirements of God’s law. 9 For the commandments say, “You must not commit adultery. You must not murder. You must not steal. You must not covet.” These—and other such commandments—are summed up in this one commandment: “Love your neighbor as yourself.” 10 Love does no wrong to others, so love fulfills the requirements of God’s law.

owe no man anything... lesson hard learned.. still being learned.. sometimes our fault.. sometimes just life's experiences... either way.. we get in over our head and cannot seem to get out....

I like how he said that really... when we love one another... we are fulfilling the law... people continue to decide that under the new covenant we do not have to live by the law.. but Jesus said He has not come to do away with the law.. but instead to fulfill it...
11 This is all the more urgent, for you know how late it is; time is running out. Wake up, for our salvation is nearer now than when we first believed. 12 The night is almost gone; the day of salvation will soon be here. So remove your dark deeds like dirty clothes, and put on the shining armor of right living. 13 Because we belong to the day, we must live decent lives for all to see. Don’t participate in the darkness of wild parties and drunkenness, or in sexual promiscuity and immoral living, or in quarreling and jealousy. 14 Instead, clothe yourself with the presence of the Lord Jesus Christ. And don’t let yourself think about ways to indulge your evil desires.

sometimes it is hard to decide what God has placed in our spirit or what is our own desire... I am not talking about sinful things.. but instead of our purpose.. the bible tells us that God wants us to know our purpose so that we can walk toward it... yet sometimes you wonder.. was this your own desire instead of God's voice? or has it just happened that for once in our lives.. our desires agrees with God's will? has God changed me so much that finally I desire the things that are in His will? that would surely be a sign and wonder...

people imagine that the old testament isn't truth anymore... God is still the same God... He does not change.. although we keep on trying to change Him... yesterday someone tweeted that we are no longer under the old covenant... but instead under the new covenant of grace so we no longer have to fulfill the law... and I almost responded.. then I realized that He will reveal His ways in His own time.. I am not the truth for everyone who is not ready for it (THAT was a HUGE revelation...) God has not cancelled out either the covenants or the expectations from the past... there is nothing that tells us that God decided we no longer have to live in agreement with the 10 commandments.. .He did not cancel out the curses that go along with disobedience or the blessings that go with obedience... people try to choose only the blessings but never any of the results of their sin... accept all of it or none of it... God knows we cannot be sinless.. and He forgives us when we sin if we repent and turn from it... we don't have to sacrifice anymore because Jesus was the sacrifice for all sin.. for all time... that is the freedom we now enjoy...

1 Corinthians 7

1 Now regarding the questions you asked in your letter. Yes, it is good to live a celibate life. 2 But because there is so much sexual immorality, each man should have his own wife, and each woman should have her own husband.

3 The husband should fulfill his wife’s sexual needs, and the wife should fulfill her husband’s needs. 4 The wife gives authority over her body to her husband, and the husband gives authority over his body to his wife.

5 Do not deprive each other of sexual relations, unless you both agree to refrain from sexual intimacy for a limited time so you can give yourselves more completely to prayer. Afterward, you should come together again so that Satan won’t be able to tempt you because of your lack of self-control. 6 I say this as a concession, not as a command. 7 But I wish everyone were single, just as I am. But God gives to some the gift of marriage, and to others the gift of singleness.

8 So I say to those who aren’t married and to widows—it’s better to stay unmarried, just as I am. 9 But if they can’t control themselves, they should go ahead and marry. It’s better to marry than to burn with lust.

10 But for those who are married, I have a command that comes not from me, but from the Lord. A wife must not leave her husband. 11 But if she does leave him, let her remain single or else be reconciled to him. And the husband must not leave his wife.

12 Now, I will speak to the rest of you, though I do not have a direct command from the Lord. If a Christian man has a wife who is not a believer and she is willing to continue living with him, he must not leave her. 13 And if a Christian woman has a husband who is not a believer and he is willing to continue living with her, she must not leave him. 14 For the Christian wife brings holiness to her marriage, and the Christian husband brings holiness to his marriage. Otherwise, your children would not be holy, but now they are holy. 15 (But if the husband or wife who isn’t a believer insists on leaving, let them go. In such cases the Christian husband or wife is no longer bound to the other, for God has called you to live in peace.) 16 Don’t you wives realize that your husbands might be saved because of you? And don’t you husbands realize that your wives might be saved because of you?

headship...

I think a large percentage of the issues we have in life come down to one problem.. we are not taught the laws of headship and authority...

as a child we are taught to respect our elders.. we are forced to obey our parents.. and all we think about is when we are 18 we will no longer have to be subjected to listening to anyone... well that is the largest lie that anyone ever told someone.. or allowed them to believe... in my next life.. I will not allow my children to imagine they will be their own boss when they hit adulthood...

we are ALL subjected to authority... even if you are the head of everything... you still fall under the authority of God.. you don't have to accept it.. but it is still truth... we have bosses at work.. bosses at home... bosses at church.. yet somehow.. we walk around with the mistaken imagination that our opinion and thoughts need to be heard.. this is a lie.. people do NOT have to listen to you... they may CHOOSE to listen to your ideas or your thoughts.. but if they are in leadership.. they are not required to hear what you think... that is really hard for us to swallow.. and I think the reason it is so hard to accept is because of the flawed way we are taught to be our own boss as adults... when in reality.. . regardless of your position... you are never the last authority.. you may be the last one that many of us hear from.. but everyone has to answer to someone...

we all need to come to a place where we can accept where we are.. if we are leaders.. we need to lead who we are chosen to lead.. yet we need to keep in mind that we have a leader over us.. we need to stop thinking we are king of the hill.. we need to learn to submit to the authority God has placed over us.. regardless of the choking feeling it brings... and we need to teach this truth to our children...

Romans 13: 4 For the one in authority is God’s servant for your good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for rulers do not bear the sword for no reason. They are God’s servants, agents of wrath to bring punishment on the wrongdoer. 5 Therefore, it is necessary to submit to the authorities, not only because of possible punishment but also as a matter of conscience.

Revelation 22: 3 No longer will there be any curse. The throne of God and of the Lamb will be in the city, and his servants will serve him.


as a woman.. I have learned a great truth about God's idea of headship... when God places a head over you... He then speaks through the head... the reason He does this is not to make you less.. but to stop confusion.. women are very influential to a man... if God speaks to a man and the woman is in disagreement.. she will use her influence to sway him... so God solves that... He stops telling her things that have to do with anything other than her PERSONAL relationship with Him... God still speaks to you about what He wants from you personally.. but where you have a head.. He stops giving you insight... so that the man can be free to lead in the direction God would have you go as a unit... this has been hard to accept.. but finally there is some kind of understanding.. and for that I say.. PRAISE THE LORD!!

to be in submission to the will of God:
in the family... let the head lead...
in the workplace... let the boss lead...
in the church... let the pastor lead...

they don't answer to you.. .they don't need your ideas and opinions unless they ask for them... learn to be silent and take your issues before God Himself who will surely stand up on your behalf... if they are wrong.. it is God they will answer to... not you... do your part.. submit to your authorities.. God does not see us all as heads... regardless of position.. we are ALL servants to the Most High God..

covenant...

Jeremiah 34: 18 Because you have broken the terms of our covenant, I will cut you apart just as you cut apart the calf when you walked between its halves to solemnize your vows. 19 Yes, I will cut you apart, whether you are officials of Judah or Jerusalem, court officials, priests, or common people—for you have broken your oath. 20 I will give you to your enemies, and they will kill you. Your bodies will be food for the vultures and wild animals. 21 “I will hand over King Zedekiah of Judah and his officials to the army of the king of Babylon. And although Babylon’s king has left Jerusalem for a while, 22 I will call the Babylonian armies back again. They will fight against this city and will capture it and burn it down. I will see to it that all the towns of Judah are destroyed, with no one living there.”

I think we don't realize the seriousness of a covenant... I am not really talking about the covenant of marriage, although that is included.. I am talking about covenant between us and God... there are things in our relationship that we have told Him we will do.. we will be obedient.. we will put God first.. we will have nothing before Him.. we will repent when we sin.. we will be good to other people... we will live righteously before God...

yet.. when it becomes uncomfortable or the cost is too high.. then we want to back out and say that is not exactly what we meant... we leave churches because we are uncomfortable... we leave relationships because we are uncomfortable.. we are not committed to reading our bible and spending time alone with God... we say that we do not have time for this.. but in truth.. our relationship with God is the most important relationship we will ever be in.. how can it not have a priority status? how can we not spend time with Him?

if we were to study covenant and the seriousness of it.. we would be far less likely to jump into using those words.. covenant can only be broken by death... in covenant you are giving up your life... you are giving yourself to God completely... and you will not leave Him.. no matter where He takes you... I think this also teaches us true love.. because it is forever.. not a disposable love like we are used to finding... God is eternity.. our relationship with Him is for an eternity.. all things on this earth will pass away.. children.. spouses.. jobs... us.. we will all be here for only a limited time.. yet God will be with you forevermore... so we really need to focus on Him... everything else will fall into place.. UNDER Him...

temptation...

1 Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted there by the devil. 2 For forty days and forty nights he fasted and became very hungry. 3 During that time the devil came and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become loaves of bread.”
4 But Jesus told him, “No! The Scriptures say, ‘People do not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.”

I am being honest with you when I say to you that I do not understand why Jesus turning stones into bread was a big deal... it has something to do with allowing the desires of the flesh to rule us... in my own experience when we are tempted with these things.. just like in this instance... the enemy doesn't have to sound like he is necessarily trying to get you to do something wrong.. and in my own experience you get confused... and in my experience.. God may warn you long before it happens.. telling you that this particular thing is going to happen and that you need to resist it... but when it comes.. it sounds like it is God talking.. and you can get confused.. and then sometimes.. you fall into it... and then you stand there.. and all of a sudden you are unsure if you ever heard the voice of God.. or possibly the enemy has been deceiving you all your life... because of this.. I pray that God will give me a gift that will help me discern the voice of the enemy that he can never again cause me to do something that would be out of the will of God...

5 Then the devil took him to the holy city, Jerusalem, to the highest point of the Temple, 6 and said, “If you are the Son of God, jump off! For the Scriptures say, ‘He will order his angels to protect you. And they will hold you up with their hands so you won’t even hurt your foot on a stone.’” 7 Jesus responded, “The Scriptures also say, ‘You must not test the Lord your God.’”

this one is a little easier to understand.. this is about doing things to test God... as if we didn't trust Him I guess... idk.. I am not sure that I trust God as I should.. but I am pretty sure I don't want to go jumping off something to see if I can... I have a hard enough time doing what I am supposed to do that is scary without adding things to it...

8 Next the devil took him to the peak of a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory. 9 “I will give it all to you,” he said, “if you will kneel down and worship me.” 10 “Get out of here, Satan,” Jesus told him. “For the Scriptures say, ‘You must worship the Lord your God and serve only him.’” 11 Then the devil went away, and angels came and took care of Jesus.

this one was about a waste of time... now surely satan knew that the kingdom of this earth is Jesus' anyways if He wanted it to be... this is dealing with pride in a person.. obviously not a sin that Jesus dealt with... although most of us do deal with it somewhat.. we want to be recognized for all that we do.. we want someone to tell us thank you for being so great... not something we get very often.. and we imagine that it isn't really pride.. we just want to be appreciated... again going back to the fact that Christ came here as a servant to mankind.. what makes us imagine we will be any different...