To Sweeten Our life and that of Others

Was hearing a teaching about a week ago. The teacher was speaking on Polycarp.

It was the city of Smyrna that contained a temple of the Olympian Zeus, with whose cult that of the Roman emperors was associated. Olympian games were celebrated here, and excited great interest in people who came from great distances.

The extreme interest excited by the games at Smyrna may perhaps account for the remarkable ferocity exhibited by the population against the aged bishop Polycarp. It was exactly on such occasions that what the pagans regarded as the unpatriotic and anti-social spirit of the early Christians became most apparent; and it was to the violent demands of the people assembled in the stadium that the Roman proconsul yielded up the martyr. They had to have something to culminate their hatred!

The letter of the Smyrnaeans, in which the account of his martyrdom is contained, represents the Jews as taking part with the Gentiles in accusing him (Polycarp) as an enemy to the state religion-conduct which would be inconceivable in a sincere Jew, but which was quite natural in those which the sacred writer characterizes as "a synagogue of Satan" (Rev 2:9).

Polycarp was executed before the mass of people with a great sword: a blade if you will.  In his dying, a great wonderful scent filled the area and out to the city which was the scent of the fragrance of the Lord. The Lord’s scent filled the atmosphere! And what would they speak? What captured them that day when Polycarp died?

2 Corinthians 2:12-17  12 Furthermore, when I came to Troas to preach Christ's gospel, and a door was opened to me by the Lord, 13 I had no rest in my spirit, because I did not find Titus my brother; but taking my leave of them, I departed for Macedonia. 14 Now thanks be to God who always leads us in triumph in Christ, and through us diffuses the fragrance of His knowledge in every place. 15 For we are to God the fragrance of Christ among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing. 16 To the one we are the aroma of death leading to death, and to the other the aroma of life leading to life. And who is sufficient for these things? 17 For we are not, as so many, peddling the word of God; but as of sincerity, but as from God, we speak in the sight of God in Christ.  NKJV

Hosea 14:4-7    4 "I will heal their backsliding,  I will love them freely,

For My anger has turned away from him. 5 I will be like the dew to Israel;  He shall grow like the lily,  And lengthen his roots like Lebanon. 6 His branches shall spread;  His beauty shall be like an olive tree,  And his fragrance like Lebanon. 7 Those who dwell under his shadow shall return;  They shall be revived like grain,  And grow like a vine. Their scent shall be like the wine of Lebanon.   NKJV

Song 4:9-12   9 You have ravished my heart,  My sister, my spouse;  You have ravished my heart  With one look of your eyes,  With one link of your necklace.

10 How fair is your love,  My sister, my spouse!  How much better than wine is your love,  And the scent of your perfumes Than all spices! 11 Your lips, O my spouse,  Drip as the honeycomb;  Honey and milk are under your tongue;  And the fragrance of your garments  Is like the fragrance of Lebanon.  NKJV

Psalm 45:8-9   8 All Your garments are scented with myrrh and aloes and cassia, Out of the ivory palaces, by which they have made You glad. 9 Kings' daughters are among Your honorable women;  At Your right hand stands the queen in gold from Ophir.  NKJV

 

Our garments, the robes of righteousness, scented with myrrh and aloes and cassia. We are robed in righteousness. We take on His scents while spending much time with Him.  Displayed in Jesus ,we experience the beauty that He always gives. He is the self-less giver. We must abandon this world to know real love and real beauty!

That one purpose is to let God be Himself through us engulfed in the flames of holiness and released from all other afflictions. In the covenant keeping God, we are to come to His grace, consecrate ourselves not by taking it lightly, but a command of God for every believer……that our relationship is with Jesus, Our Husband!  ……..AS the body of believer’s it is a relationship and separated unto Him, we should know no other! God has spoken the language of love through His Son. And His Royal Son is coming for His Bride.

We give thanks, for it is Your presence that prevents deception or falsehood from taking hold:  Building our faith against all falsehood ….Psalm 101:7 He who works deceit shall not dwell within my house; He who tells lies shall not continue in my presence.

By building our faith in these words of God, those who work deceit shall not dwell within our house. They will not continue in our presence. Another we speak is that We are NOT canceled but we do cancel threats of harm or property damage that belongs to God’s sons and daughters: Luke 4:28-30 NKJV So all those in the synagogue , when they heard these things, were filled with wrath, 29 and rose up and thrust Him out of the city; and they led Him to the brow of the hill on which their city was built, that they might throw Him down over the cliff. 30 Then passing through the midst of them, He went His way.  WE also speak that those who would cancel us, that they would have an encounter with Almighty God: their hearts would be drawn to the truth of His Word, to the love that covers Him…leading to life to bring change to their hearts!                                                                                 

Acts 14:21-28 NKJV And they had preached the gospel to that city & made many disciples, they returned to Lystra, Iconium, & Antioch, 22 strengthening the souls of the disciples, exhorting them to continue in the faith, & saying, “we must through many tribulations enter the kingdom of God.” 23 So when they had appointed elders in every church, & prayed with fasting they commended them to the Lord in whom they had believed! From Acts 14: 21-22 Tribulations: Paul taught the kingdom of God. He also taught that ‘kingdom” people will suffer trials and tribulations. “ ……….we must through many tribulations enter the kingdom of God.”

Victory is available but not instant:2 Thessalonians 1:5 which is manifest evidence of the righteous judgment of God, that you may be counted worthy of the kingdom of God, for which you also suffer; 6 since it is a righteous thing with God to repay with tribulation those who trouble, you, 7 & to give you who are troubled rest with us when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven with His mighty angels.  God did not promise life without struggle; Dominion is being recovered by the presence of the King within us, ministered by the Holy Spirit’s power.

 

1 John 5:4 For whatever is born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world----our faith.  We confess :Romans 8:31-32  What then shall we say to these things? If God be for us, who can be against us? 32 He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things?   We confess: Proverbs 21:31  The horse is prepared for the day of battle, but deliverance is of the LORD.    We confess: 1 Corinthians 15:55-58 NKJV  O Death, where is your sting? O Hades, where is your victory? 56 The sting of death is sin and the strength of sin is the law. 57 But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. 58 Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your labor is not in vain in the Lord.

Faith in God carried Polycarp through the valley of death. It brought him face to face with God. He held honor to God. His garments and body would have been strewn with dirt, blood and ruin, but while he was dying his scented life was a tribute unto God and no one can take that from him or you ever.

What will our last days be on earth? Will we see the Lord coming in His glory or will we face the valley of death….that place of sorrows? Should it come, it is not over and we are not done, we have the scent of the Lord as we continue in His presence to His place and to His glory forever. Amen and Amen.

                                             New teaching at: Voice of Prayer 

Violent take it By Force

https://youtu.be/5Dpru3QmJb8

Visit my You Tube channel Voice of Prayer for more teaching 

http://bit.ly/1tNyBhV

New teaching at: Life Giving Wells

Call to Prayer in Weight and Dimension

https://youtu.be/AOaC7bsr1m0

Visit Life Giving Wells You Tube Channel for more teaching

http://bit.ly/2wgu1kw

Now Posting to Rumble 

Voice of Prayer

https://rumble.com/c/c-1425534

And

Life Giving Wells

https://rumble.com/c/c-1428234 

                                                 Life Giving Wells now on Spotify Podcast!

                                https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/dashboard/episode/e24hn5g

A Kodak Moment or the "Son" Moment

I remember the Kodak camera era. What innovative equipment to capture a moment in your life! Yes, those Kodak moments were in the 20th century. I still have many of those moments of my life, my families live's captured for all time or till they fade, get wet or worse. Yet it is something to hold in your hand.

And sometimes I come across that which is not rightly focused on anything. I examine and think "what happened on this day"? I try to envision the day and what camera we might have used or what was available that did work. Well, it looks out of focus, yes, completely blurred and rather grainy!

Yes, those were the days. Today it is taking them and putting them on your laptop and printing them out yourself. Now that is a chore!
And with me choosing which one to print takes even longer and can take me hours to get just one job done!
Yeah, should be the faster, right, wrong!

In truth though I am led back to the Bible and handling those pages like I do those pictures. In those pages I see lives, men and women alike, and how they were changed from glory to glory in God!
I think that is why I love holding the pages of the Bible in my hands, feeling those pages and looking into those words that fill page after page with such exciting adventures of people who either loved God or hated Him. There were those who ran with His Word and His power to touch other people's lives and some just played the game never really knowing Him.
In the space of a couple of hours, I love to read over someone's life, like David's, or Jeremiah's and see what touched their hearts. There were so many qualities in them, and they had some failures as well, yet they knew God.
Coming on the time of His sacrifice, I am remembering my day to receive Him as Lord. And in receiving Him, we move to His realm. We must understand that the Word of God is spirit and truth..........and if our flesh man has not died, he must do it so the spirit man in us can rise in power.

Genesis 8:20-22
20 Then Noah built an altar to the LORD, and took of every clean animal and of every clean bird, and offered burnt offerings on the altar. 21 And the LORD smelled a soothing aroma. Then the LORD said in His heart, "I will never again curse the ground for man's sake, although the imagination of man's heart is evil from his youth; nor will I again destroy every living thing as I have done.

22 "While the earth remains, Seedtime and harvest,
Cold and heat, Winter and summer,
And day and night
Shall not cease."  NKJV

Yes, SEEDTIME and harvest while the earth remains is paramount for God placed seed in us. In the moments before being conceived a sperm had to have persistence to find that egg. It had to keep moving, not understanding where it was going, but it was for destiny.
And it that destiny, a child is born. In that destiny found from the seed that God created long ago.

We find our way today with persistence, with and endurance that will never quit!

Our prayer time is to seek God's heart and hear Him give His heart on those things concerning us, our families, our neighborhood and community. Our prayers are to be that incense that is sweet aroma and is soothing to God. As we keep reaching, we change. In reaching and seeking we are allowing the Holy Spirit in our prayer time to water the "seed". In that time we call the "altar" time......with God, we allow the watering to begin. For the altar is surely the place to meet God. It is the opportunity to give time, and lean to Him to understand His ways of doing things.
For one like Abraham (Genesis 22) we see him always going to do what the LORD God asked him to do in that which involved the "sacrifice". Truly we are the "living sacrifices" and are to be those accepted by God.

Romans 12:1-2
12:1 I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. 2 And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.  NKJV

Our reasonable service: is that which is done according to the Word of God. And to do that, we are to be transformed by the renewing of our minds to prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.

His Word that is spirit and truth will lead us into His ways, thoughts that are so much higher than ours.

Isaiah 55:9

9 "As the heavens are higher than the earth,

so are my ways higher than your ways 

and my thoughts than your thoughts. NIV

1 Peter 2:4-8
4 Coming to Him as to a living stone, rejected indeed by men, but chosen by God and precious, 5 you also, as living stones, are being built up a spiritual house, a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. 6 Therefore it is also contained in the Scripture,

"Behold, I lay in Zion
A chief cornerstone, elect, precious,
And he who believes on Him will by no means be put to shame."

7 Therefore, to you who believe, He is precious; but to those who are disobedient,

"The stone which the builders rejected
Has become the chief cornerstone,"  8 and

"A stone of stumbling
And a rock of offense."

They stumble, being disobedient to the word, to which they also were appointed.  NKJV

1 Peter 2:8 Amplified Bible.....And, A Stone that will cause stumbling a Rock that will give [men] offense; they stumble because they disobey and disbelieve [God's ] Word, as those [who reject Him] were destined ( appointed) to do.

It is built in "the spirit" first and seen later in the natural. To those obedient keep hearing and keep seeking. We must start in prayer, receive His Word that grows us, strengthens us, and expands us to be a spiritual house, a holy priesthood to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. Being established in that way, we are the precious in His sight. We will never be put to shame. We are to be the obedient!


2 Corinthians 2:14-17
14 Now thanks be to God who always leads us in triumph in Christ, and through us diffuses the fragrance of His knowledge in every place. 15 For we are to God the fragrance of Christ among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing. 16 To the one we are the aroma of death leading to death, and to the other the aroma of life leading to life. And who is sufficient for these things? 17 For we are not, as so many, peddling the word of God; but as of sincerity, but as from God, we speak in the sight of God in Christ.  NKJV

Now thanks be to God who leads us in triumph! When? ALWAYS!
AND in that walk, we are the diligent to keep working toward seeing His Word formed in our lives and seeing that we are victorious. We become the fragrance of His knowledge in every place.......an aroma..........and in that we "are the fragrance of Christ among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing. It is to one person the aroma of death leading to death and to another the aroma of life leading to life. Those who operate in diffusing that aroma speak in the sight of God in Christ. Speaking in clarity and clearness is our role!
If someone is not receiving that Word, then are they operating in the "flesh" creature?

If we stay in His Word, we are the protected. When we speak as He did, we speak in clarity and clearness that is direct to His plan and purpose for our lives and those of others.



Ephesians 5:15-21
15 See then that you walk circumspectly, not as fools but as wise, 16 redeeming the time, because the days are evil. 17 Therefore do not be unwise, but understand what the will of the Lord is. 18 And do not be drunk with wine, in which is dissipation; but be filled with the Spirit, 19 speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord, 20 giving thanks always for all things to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, 21 submitting to one another in the fear of God.  NKJV

We are to be about walking as the wise being attentive, and using the time diligently knowing the Lord's will.It is being about His plan. In being filled with the Spirit, we are speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs. We are those who sing and make melody in our hearts to the Lord. It is giving thanks to Him for all things to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. Submitting to one another in the fear of God. That submitting is keeping the peace and love ruling. If it isn't doing that, then we need to find out why! We are to keep a walk of the Spirit. We are to stay in alignment with Him and abide in His peace. If we are the bumpy, the waddling, much like a vehicle out of alignment running down the road on 4 wheels, then we must find out why we are the ones out of alignment!
We may want to run with God, but end up on the bumpy roads, the rutted roads of the rigorous routines of previous leaders at home, in the church or even in certain ministries. But the bumpy roads can be removed when we stay with God.


Proverbs 2:12-15
12 Wisdom will save you from the ways of wicked men,
from men whose words are perverse,
13 who leave the straight paths
to walk in dark ways,
14 who delight in doing wrong
and rejoice in the perverseness of evil,
15 whose paths are crooked
and who are devious in their ways.
NIV

Staying in God's wisdom directs us away from wicked men whose words are the twisted speech. There is no clarity in them. They are those who leave the straight paths to walk in the dark ways delighting in doing wrong. Yes their paths are the crooked, the perverse..........and are the devious.
Make sure you know those who lead you in teachings and praying. Make sure you know God has sent them. Should any come and darken the gathering, who speak perverse language, then take it to the JUDGE!

Yes take it to the JUDGE! Just like the woman in Luke 18.


Luke 18:1-8

18:1 Then Jesus told his disciples a parable to show them that they should always pray and not give up. 2 He said: "In a certain town there was a judge who neither feared God nor cared about men. 3 And there was a widow in that town who kept coming to him with the plea, 'Grant me justice against my adversary.'

4 "For some time he refused. But finally he said to himself, 'Even though I don't fear God or care about men, 5 yet because this widow keeps bothering me, I will see that she gets justice, so that she won't eventually wear me out with her coming!'"

6 And the Lord said, "Listen to what the unjust judge says. 7 And will not God bring about justice for his chosen ones, who cry out to him day and night? Will he keep putting them off? 8 I tell you, he will see that they get justice, and quickly. However, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on the earth?" NIV

The woman kept going like we should in prayer. Keep going and asking what or on whose behalf you are praying. For He will not put you off! He is our justice! And He is the way that has straight paths. It is the unending way of truth leading us every forward into eternity.



In John 5, we find Jesus stating that the Father judges no one. So all was entrusted to judgment and the Son was to see over it. It was stated that all may honor the Son just as they honor the Father. See below:
John 5:22-23
 22 Moreover, the Father judges no one, but has entrusted all judgment to the Son, 23 that all may honor the Son just as they honor the Father. He who does not honor the Son does not honor the Father, who sent him.  NIV

It is better to obey God and heed His warnings. We are to pray and find what He is red flagging on that we must avoid. In our day to day and our work with others, the protection lies on that which is of Jesus Christ and He as the Judge. Pray! And let Jesus be the JUDGE in your day! Pray and water that "seed" that is a greatness in and through God and brings glory to Him.
It is that which is freedom but not to go and do all the wild and wrong things to glorify what?


In that moment of today, that rides out like a wild surf on the ocean water, are we bringing glory to God in our prayers and in our speaking to others.If we are riding high, is in His power and His might? Is it through the Holy Spirit?
Is there clarity in His word..........such a clearness that everyone hears and knows clearly that we represent God and Him alone.

If there is a moment being taken today of your life: will it appear clear and bright for God or will it be the out of focus, the dimly lit room, with nothing being viewed but completely blurred........distorted and of no use. It does not take a lot to distort a picture. Any false moves can cause distortion!
You ask me or anyone who just came from an eye appointment!

Yes I still have some of those blurred or out of focus pics and I keep a few them. One was of our baby daughter in her crib. And the others were of me and my husband. Still, God has a plan and it is for His glory and may we find our moment in the "Son"!

James 4:13-15
" 14 Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes. NIV



For it is in Him that we will live, move and have our being. If it isn't, then find out why!
And only you can do that. No one can do it for you! That relationship begins with talking to God in the name of Jesus. The Comforter, the Holy Spirit will guide you into His perfect love, peace and plan. The seed in you will grow and become what He intended for your life!

God will always do exactly what He as said He will do. He never changes. If we are joining the group, then what "role" has God told you to fill. He placed something in you from the foundation of the world. He also places people around us to help in determining that place, but we must be the those resilient to say, " I know God and He loves me." "He will bless me with all that I need." "I will embrace those God sends to surround me in His love, His peace and His plan!"

Jesus said this:

Luke 10:18-24
18 He replied, "I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven. 19 I have given you authority to trample on snakes and scorpions and to overcome all the power of the enemy; nothing will harm you. 20 However, do not rejoice that the spirits submit to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven."

21 At that time Jesus, full of joy through the Holy Spirit, said, "I praise you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and learned, and revealed them to little children. Yes, Father, for this was your good pleasure.

22 "All things have been committed to me by my Father. No one knows who the Son is except the Father, and no one knows who the Father is except the Son and those to whom the Son chooses to reveal him."

23 Then he turned to his disciples and said privately, "Blessed are the eyes that see what you see. 24 For I tell you that many prophets and kings wanted to see what you see but did not see it, and to hear what you hear but did not hear it."   NIV


Jesus full of joy through the Holy Spirit spoke: "I praise you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth because You have hidden these things from the wise and learned, and revealed them to little children. Yes, Father, for this was Your good pleasure."

We must come humble before the Lord, and ask His plan and direction for us. Are we not to be the demanding or even the scornful!  We are to look to Him for He has the plan for our lives. We must find how we fit in that plan.

"Blessed are the eyes that see what you see........for I tell you that many prophets and kings wanted to see what you see, but did not see it, and to hear what you hear but did not hear it."

Humble yourself. Come before His presence. Worship Him and pray. Seek His guidance. And hear from heaven, for He will direct your steps that are ordered just for you.

Psalm 37:23-24
23 The steps of a good man are ordered by the LORD,
And He delights in his way.
24 Though he fall, he shall not be utterly cast down;
For the LORD upholds him with His hand.  NKJV

That "steps" are companionship. The companionship of a good man.........is confirmed. And He favors the way with "conversation".
There must be some kind " of Kodak moments" or the "Son" moment.........to have time with God. To have history with Him, spend time is a companionship. It is costly!
That time of companionship will water you, and will give place to the "you" God has in His heart, and what He intended, and planned for. YOU are not here by mistake. God does not make mistakes! Get that focus on Him, be watered by the Word and by prayer in the Spirit. We will see you at the victory line in clarity and truth! Amen!

You can also visit my Youtube channel The Voice of Prayer for more teaching at http://bit.ly/1tNyBhV