The Aroma of Coffee and of Praising God

No coffee can be good in the mouth that does not first send a sweet offering of odor to the nostrils. – Henry Ward Beecher

Such an interesting observation.  Now I know there are a few people who do not like coffee and therefore cannot quite relate but for the majority of us as we think on the wonderful fact related to us let us also ponder a spiritual parallel.  When we offer our sacrifice of praise it is an aroma that is more pleasing to God than the wonderful aroma of fresh coffee in the morning is to us.  

Now that is biblical.  It is said in a slightly different fashion in Scripture but God is thrilled by our little demonstrations of genuine love for Him.  He actually looks forward to fellowship with us.

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Essence of Holiness

Always remember the essence of Christian holiness is simplicity and purity: one design, one desire: entire devotion to God. – John Wesley

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First Priority

The first priority of my life is to be holy, and the second goal of my life is to be a scholar – John Wesley

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My reply to the current plank eye societal situations: Be fathers to children you produce. Be respectful to women, especially the ONE YOU PROCREATE WITH! Honor your father and mother, even if you don’t know who they are because of their mistakes and ill-begotten lifestyles. Honor the country you live in and if you don’t like the policies in force, run for office and seek to pass legislation that corrects the failures in our society. Admire your heritage. Know American history so you don’t repeat the errors that consumed generations. Respect the military and your elders. 
Is there any mention of skin color?
It is truly sin of omission and commission if you don’t pursue these virtues.
And by all means, recognize your Creator. You did not come from slime, pond scum or a monkey’s tail, so don’t act like it. With God you have all the dignity, values and virtues and purity that he imparted to you at Creation. You just have to recognize and receive and be grateful.
Revisionists want you to forget, turn a blind eye and rebel against this information. Pursue truth. Jesus said, “I am the Way, the Truth and the Life. No man confess to the father except through me.” Seek truth…is that clear enough?

Help from God

As long as you feel your own weakness and helplessness, you will find help from above. – John Wesley

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Keep Your Eyes on the Prize

He (the devil) always sends errors into the world n pairs — pairs of [apparent] opposites.  He relies on you extra dislike of one to draw you gradually into the opposite one.  But do not let us be fooled.  We have to keep our eyes on the goal and go straight through between both errors.  We have not other concern thatn that with either of them. – C. S. Lewis

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Humility and patience are the surest proofs of [entire sanctification] – John Wesley

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When you set yourself on fire, people love to come and see you burn – John Wesley

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Avoid Drifting

“We drift toward compromise and call it tolerance; we drift toward disobedience and call it freedom; we drift toward superstition and call it faith. We cherish the indiscipline of lost self-control and call it relaxation; we slouch toward prayerlessness and delude ourselves into thinking we have escaped legalism; we slide toward godlessness and convince ourselves we have been liberated” (D.A. Carson, “For the Love of God”).
“As a matter of fact, if you examined a hundred people who had lost their faith in Christianity, I wonder how many of them would turn out to have been reasoned out of it by honest argument? Do not most people simply drift away?” (C.S. Lewis, “Mere Christianity”).

Hebrews 2:1 warns us of the danger of drifting away from God: “Therefore we must give the more earnest heed to the things we have heard, lest we drift away” (NKJV). To “give earnest heed” is to “pay close attention” to the things we have learned in Scripture or we will drift away from it and from God. May I admonish you to “not grow weary in doing good,” as Galatians says, “for in due season we shall reap if we do not lose heart.” And what shall we reap? A recompence of reward for all who sincerely serve in doing well for God. This reward will certainly be given to us at the proper time — if not in this world, then undoubtedly in the next. – pastorwardclinton