Not good enough or Sweet Aroma??

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Not sure about you but this is pure temptation and sin for a girl like me??

 My hubby decided to send me this picture along with another while he was out in California for the Shepherd's Conference. My response was "I hope you bring some home!" Could you imagine? How do you choose what to eat? A little of each please! I am a junk food junkie!! He did bring home some Diddy Riese cookies. Those were amazing!! Anyone heading to LA please bring some back!! Please!!

I picture this when I think of what would be a Sweet Aroma to me! This is not what God had in mind, I am sure, when he commanded our offerings to be a sweet or soothing aroma (depending on translation). I decided to look up the word soothing aroma (NASB translation). The Strong's Hebrew definition a quieting, soothing, tranquilizing - Humm!! So our offerings are to be soothing and/or sweet to our Lord. If we are to give something sweet, then why do many girls feel like they do not measure up? Or not good enough?

I have begun this year reading the bible in a year. I choose the McArthur Daily Bible to make it easy. Easy to keep track of what I need to read. It's great, if you start on January 1st. Only downfall, it would be hard to pick it up now and start reading. Well, harder to know its March 17th and I am reading January 21st. Maybe that's just me - a little OCD!  Back to what I was saying - As I am reading I began  to take notice how many times the words "sweet aroma" is in the text. I started to underline it! I have become more and more interested with this word. How many times in our everyday talk to we say "WOW worship was a sweet aroma!" or "That prayer was a sweet aroma"? We don't talk like that, yet it is in the bible so many times! I was told by James McDonald in a sermon that if the same thing is in the Bible over and over again - it must be important! So, our offering being a "sweet aroma" must be important. 

Notice it does not say we are a "sweet aroma" it says our actions are to be a "sweet aroma".  Or it can be the opposite- a sour,bitter aroma. 

So how does my mind go from a "sweet aroma" to not being good enough? or not measuring up? Well, in study today we were talking about 2 Timothy 3: 16-17 and the word "adequate"  hit me. Adequately equipped for every good  work. So the offering we give to the Lord through our service to Him is the "sweet aroma" of what He gives to us!  He gives us the Word to teach, reproof, correct, and training in righteous so that the man (woman) of God may be equipped for every good work.  So why is it then that we, girls, do not feel we are good enough? Well, because we miss the idea of that scripture - that we cannot  be equipped for any good works with out the Lord. We (I) make much of self and think I somehow have something in me that could be good enough. That, my dear, is pride! That is thinking high of my self even in my thought of how "bad" I am.  I miss the point that the only good thing I could have in me is the Holy Spirit and He is the only One who is perfect and good. No matter what without the Spirit I will NEVER be good enough. We will NEVER be good enough.

We will only be good enough to be equipped for His good work. And the only way we will be equipped-  is if we are exposed to Scripture on a regular basis. So the thought of any of us being good enough is a lie! That to me is freeing! I can't do enough, be enough without Him! 

It's not me - it is ONLY Him! I can only obey Him!! Humm!! Obedience - that's another blog, my friend!

Carmen was here! :)