Do You Smell Good To God?

Do You Smell Good To God?
Here is how to answer:

Do you believe Jesus died and rose again for your sins? Do you follow Him by grace (that means, He did the work to save you, you can't save yourself) and by His Holy Spirit?

 If you believe and follow Jesus Christ as the Lord, Saviour, and interactive Leader of your personal life, then you smell good to God!
Want proof? Here it is:

2 Corinthians 2:14-15 in the Holy Bible:
The Geneva Version says:
2Co 2:14 Now thanks be unto God, which always maketh us to triumph in Christ, and maketh manifest the savour of his knowledge by us in every place.
2Co 2:15 For we are unto God the sweet savour of Christ, in them that are saved, and in them which perish.

The English Standard version says:
2Co 2:14 But thanks be to God, who in Christ always leads us in triumphal procession, and through us spreads the fragrance of the knowledge of him everywhere.
2Co 2:15 For we are the aroma of Christ to God among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing,
So offer your worship this Christmas day, and everyday, and it will be a spiritual kind of frankincense, just like the literal frankincense that the wise men offered Christ when he was 2 years old.

Romans 12:1-2
Rom 12:1 I Beseech you therefore brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye give up your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable serving of God.
Rom 12:2 And fashion not your selves like unto this world, but be ye changed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what that good, and acceptable and perfect will of God is.

ESV:
Rom 12:1 I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship.
Rom 12:2 Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.

Let us worship Him, Christ Jesus the Lord. As the Geneva and the English Standard versions of the Bible put it, surrender your bodies (turn away from sin and lust and accept Jesus' blood payment for your sin) and offer your thanks, praise, prayer, worship, and service to Him. This is the reasonable  and spiritual thing to do on Christmas, and every day!

Merry Christmas to you all. God Bless,
Pastor Curtis

Meme Commentary: I Was Reborn This Way

Inventions require instructions from the inventor

I saw a post that describes to me, a more and more prevalent attitude today. It starts off as "motivational" and "inspirational", but then becomes quite defiant. Allow me to show you an example I found posted on a social media website.

There were two unsavoury words that have been censored to spare our sensibilities. As a side note, swearing is not only vulgar, but it shows a lack of knowledge of the language being spoken. A lack of thought and display of rebellion is what the above photo is showing.

I got thinking about the assertion in this social media viral image that the pipe "can be a towel rack" if it believes. Who invented the pipe? Is it a water pipe? Gas pipe? If it is a pipe, then the inventor and builder of that pipe would be the one to tell us how it is used. Correct? If it was a case of a person selecting a career or developing a hobby, I can agree: pursue your passion and don't let the world stop you! But the poster is not addressing a career choice or a hobby, it is addressing a way of life, and more essentially, an identity.  See, if the pipe is free to live like a paper towel dispenser, then why doesn't it? One reason is that it doesn't open on one side to allow the roll to be inserted. Why doesn't it open? It was not designed that way. Besides, if it could, then whatever was in the pipe will come out and leak! That is potentially harmful, or at least messy. So if the inventor and architect of the house wants a paper towel dispenser, he would build one. That is a matter of identity. The issue here, is that the poster is not just encouraging us to chase our dreams in jobs and hobbies and causes (which I agree with), it is telling us something much more serious. It is asserting erroneously that you can change your identity all by yourself. But identity is not for the pipe or the cat to decide. Identity comes from the source. What, you may ask is the source? A better question is "Who" is the source! The answer? The Inventor is the source!

Identity Comes from the Inventor. Identity Determines Function. Changing function does not change identity.

It was an inventor, a person, that gave the pipe in that picture its identity AND function. And it is the same with that cat. It was the Inventor, The Lord, who gave that cat its identity as a cat. The cat may act like a towel but it will never be a towel. That is because function and identity are two separate yet related issues. You, like the pipe and the cat, cannot set your own identity or change it by yourself. Your natural identity was determined by your parents and natural family line. Your spiritual identity can only be found in your Heavenly Father, through Jesus.

Joh 14:6  Jesus said to him, "I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. Joh 14:7  If you had known me, you would have known my Father also. From now on you do know him and have seen him."  

Jesus is showing us His identity by relating to His Father. The natural principal reflects the spiritual.

 It is the One who brings us forth that gives us our identity. And out of that identity flows the actions accordingly.
You cannot change your identity by changing your features, or by acting differently. You cannot really change your identity at all. You can only come to Jesus and let Him RESTORE your identity. That identity that Adam and Eve lost ( "children of God" ) is now restored to you and to me! There are rights and privileges that come with such a powerful identity. And ANYONE who is hungry can come to Jesus!

The Bible teaches that our identity comes from the one who invented Heaven and earth. He invented Humans. He invented the marriage union between one man and one woman. He invented and designed human relationships. He is the One in Whom all things consist. He is perfect. Thus, He made no mistakes in His original design. Because of mankind's choice to sin, we ruined what He made. But Jesus has restored us to the Father, (the Inventor/Creator). He has restored us to not only our original function, but our original identity! This identity can only be found in the one who made you and died for your sins, and rose again on the third day!

Joh 5:24 (ESV) Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life. He does not come into judgment, but has passed from death to life.

So, according to Jesus, above, it is not about believing what YOU think, it is about believing what the FATHER says through JESUS!
Jesus promises you today, that if you believe Him, you are protected from judgement for your sin. He forgives all who turn from sin and believe on HIM! That is GREAT news! It is not religion or mankind that saves you, but pure grace (unearned favour) from JESUS to you! It is a relationship to your inventor, a reunion.

So when the poster above deals with "believing" it is getting the source wrong. You are not the source, you cannot invent or give identy to yourself truly. You weren't there when you were being made. Thus, the TRUE source is Jesus! HE is the one to Believe! He is the one who made you and can identify you and GIVE you identity. It is time to receive Jesus:


John 1:12-13 12 But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God, 13 who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God. Ah! And here is where your true identity kicks in. Once you are reunited with the One who made you, He identifies you as His child! Only those who believe Jesus have the power or right to be children of God. That is what the Word of God says. And once you do believe in Jesus, your identity is restored. You are now a child of God, a son or a daughter of the most high. You have rights in the King! He tells you what you are made for. He shows you with His own earthly example how to live life by faith. Don't try to invent or reinvent your self. You were born into sin, but God wants you to be "Reborn this way"!

Joh 3:3  Jesus answered him, "Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God."
Joh 3:4  Nicodemus said to him, "How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother's womb and be born?"
Joh 3:5  Jesus answered, "Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God.
Joh 3:6  That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.
Joh 3:7  Do not marvel that I said to you, 'You must be born again.'



I was reborn this way, Jesus tells me who I am!