One morning when I arrived to work, I made a quick stop by the bathroom. As I opened the door, I quickly realized that someone had gotten there before me, and left behind a funky, powerful stench…as it flooded my nostrils, I could hardly breathe.

I reached for a can of aerosol air freshener. As I released it into the air, it filled the room and fought hard to remove the funk, but I could still smell both.

Abominations ‘stink in the nostrils’ of God…Sacrifices (praise) are a fragrant aroma.

Today our sacrifices are PRAISE rather than BLOOD thanks to the one-time sacrifice of Yeshua the Messiah…

Hebrews 10:10 (ESV)

¹⁰ And by that will we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.

Hebrews 13:15-16 (NKJV)

¹⁵ Therefore by Him let us continually offer the sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of our lips, ^[a]giving thanks to His name. ¹⁶ But do not forget to do good and to share, for with such sacrifices God is well pleased.

Yes sin is sin, but abominations are sins that are much more disgusting to God… just as some sins are much more disgusting to us.

Abominations are spiritual funk that we release into the physical and spiritual world.

How do you feel when you smell something disgusting?

How do you feel when you smell a fragrant aroma?

Think about all of the abominations, blasphemies, insults, and idolatry that you notice being released into both the physical and spiritual world everyday, sometimes by people who call themselves Christian…

This is spiritual funk and stench that is released into the nostrils of God.

Now, think about the praise and blessings that you witness on a daily basis.

Praise fights to eliminate spiritual funk as it floods the nostrils of God.

Are you releasing more spiritual funk? Or, are you releasing more praise?

Have you ever noticed what Jesus told the crowd after He fed over 5000 people. He called them out for not valuing the miraculous signs He did and the fact that He was doing the works of the Father. He pointed out that they were just following Him because He fed them. In other words, they valued Him, but only for what they could GET OUT OF HIM. They valued what He could do, not who He was…

John 6:26 (NLT)

²⁶ Jesus replied, “I tell you the truth, you want to be with me because I fed you, not because you understood the miraculous signs.

Think about the people in your life who truly value you and who you are. These are the people who value the ‘INTANGIBLES’ that you bring to the table. Those closest to you; who enjoy quality time with you; those who are genuinely concerned about you; those who truly miss you when you aren’t around. They make your life worth living.

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They are the people who will be there for you whether you’re up or down, through good and bad. They value helping YOU look good…These are the people who VALUE YOU.

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Then there are those people who value the ‘TANGIBLES’ that you bring to the table….

Your skill-set…

Your finances…

Your talents…

Your innovation…

Your muscle…

Your hustle.

They may never even acknowledge that they value you, but they prove it through their actions. However, they ONLY value the ‘tangibles” that you bring to the table.

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These people could care less how you feel. They aren’t genuinely concerned about you, and they don’t want to spend any quality time with you. They value how you make THEM look good. These are the people who VAL-USE YOU.

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Pray for the discernment to distinguish between the people who VALUE you, and those who VAL-USE YOU.

They’re everywhere…

In your family…

On your job…

In your church…

Everywhere.

And, be conscious of the people you may be VAL-USING in your life.

THE BLESSING IN WHEN SOMEONE IS TRYING TO ‘USE YOU’…

BE BLESSTIFED!

God is…

All-powerful!

All-knowing!

And, everywhere at the same time.

There is nothing impossible to Him, but there’s still a few things He can’t do…

He can’t die.

He can’t lie.

He can’t fail…

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And, He can’t be a MOTHER.

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Yes, I know we say He’s a father to the fatherless and a mother to the motherless…and He can fill those voids in our lives, but…

Notice what Psalm 68:5 says…

A father of the fatherless, a defender of widows,
Is God in His holy habitation.

It says that our loving heavenly FATHER is to the fatherless, but not a mother to the  motherless.

He’s our FATHER, but,

God gave a special role to women. He gave them honor of being the first connection to every life on this earth. To nurture every life…to introduce every person to the world, and with that role comes a special bond. There’s nothing like a mother’s love.

Even when it comes to our salvation, in the fullness of time, God still didn’t step outside of the authority He gave to women by still using a woman to bring His Son into the world.

Yes, He could have made another man of ‘dust’ if He wanted, but He chose Mary to be a Mother to our Lord and Savior, Yeshua, Jesus Christ.

Galatians 4:4 (NKJV)

⁴ But when the fullness of the time had come, God sent forth His Son, born^[a] of a woman, born under the law,

There’s nothing like a mother’s love!

That’s why it’s possible for some women who didn’t even physically birth a child into the world to still have the anointing to fulfill a mother’s role and love…it is a gift of God to the child and mother.

In those unfortunate circumstances when a mother does not live up to her role, even though a father can step it up or step in…nothing can ‘replace it’. Sometimes there is just a void, unless another ‘woman’ steps in (grandmother, aunt, sister, adopted mother).

So thank God for all mothers, even if yours didn’t live up to her responsibility, because that’s who God chose to bring you into the world.

Praise God for the blessing of mothers!

BE BLESSTIFIED!

It’s one of the most abused and misused statements and deflections…

“You can’t judge me!”

“Judge much?”

“Only God can judge me!”

Identifying what the bible says is sin isn’t judging. To identify something is to recognize and name it.

Recognizing and naming sin is NOT judging. It’s our responsibility as disciples to hold one another accountable and to let ‘sinners’ (we are all sinners saved by grace) that they are falling short of God’s standards.

John 7:24 (NKJV)

²⁴ Do not judge according to appearance, but judge with righteous judgment.”

Ephesians 5:11 (NKJV)

¹¹ And have ^(A)no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather ^[a]expose them.

Disagreeing with a sinful lifestyle is not a phobia. For example, if I have a child that uses marijuana for recreational use, and disagree with their regular use of it, that doesn’t mean that I hate them or make me afraid of them. I’m not a ‘marijuana-phobe’. WHEN YOU’RE FALSELY ‘DIAGNOSED’ WITH HOMOPHOBIA…

However, assuming that you know what is inside someone else’s heart…

Assuming that you know their motives…

Or pronouncing condemnation on them…

Are all examples of judging.

Saying that the cup in the picture above is green is not judging it. But, assuming there is coffee inside of it is. Assuming it can only be used for coffee is. The fact is that it may prefer being called a mug.

“YOU’RE JUDGING ME!”… is often the response to an assumption or a conclusion based on someone’s established behavior, character and that’s not judging, that’s their fruit.

Matthew 7:20 (NKJV)

²⁰ Therefore by their fruits you will know them.

BE BLESSTIFIED!