Sweet or Sour: How Do You Smell to God?

By Tommy Dennard

Imagine having everything together for a superb presentation that you believe is commendable, worthy, and acceptable. Only to your dismay that your offering is not at all sublime but subpar. Prepare for a different perspective as God's sense of smell is discussed and how it applies to us, whether we are sweet or sour.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Christian Faith Publishing, Inc.
• Release date: Apr 27, 2021
• ISBN: 9781644580011

Book preview

cover.jpg

Sweet or Sour

How Do You Smell to God?

Tommy Dennard

Copyright © 2018 by Tommy Dennard

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods without the prior written permission of the publisher. For permission requests, solicit the publisher via the address below.

Christian Faith Publishing, Inc.

832 Park Avenue

Meadville, PA 16335

www.christianfaithpublishing.com

Printed in the United States of America

Table of Contents

Part 1

Part 2

Part 3

Part 4

Part 5

Part 6

Part 7

To my daughters, Trinity and Serenity

You’re the apple of my eye

Foreword

What started as articles for the ministry’s newsletter has blossomed into words I personally feel are worthy of any publication or periodical.

God has not only spoken to us through his holy word, but has reached out to us in a variety of ways.

Through God, Bro. Dennard has and is opening our spiritual understanding as we yield our time and attention to what God has to say.

Prepare to be encouraged and enlightened as in-depth analysis of God’s word is undertaken.

I’m so very proud of Bro. Dennard’s initial foray into the literary world and trust you will enjoy as much as I have.

Pastor Thomas R. Hoy Jr.

New Life Ministries Inc.

Introduction

This is for those of us, the thousands, tens of thousands, hundreds of thousands, if not millions who have had the misfortune and the displeasure of being subjected to the stinging criticism of those whose opinion of them was lower than dirt. For those whose self-worth have been decimated and destroyed, simply for the lack of insight from friends and family who could not nor would not recognize the value in them. Harsh words that hurt like acid, berating, belittling, and wordless deeds that wore away your spirit. No More. God says differently. Let’s see what scripture, the first, last word of authority, has to say about you. This is for you.

First off, Psalm 139:14 states that you are fearfully and wonderfully made. No one on this earth has the right to devalue you based on your appearance. God made you. He took his time and fashioned you just as he wanted you. In fact, of all the creatures he made, you have the explicit and exquisite honor of being made in his image. It doesn’t get any better than that. Since he made the outer shell, certainly he didn’t leave the inner working to chance. Something special and of great appeal is in every one of us. Let’s look further.

God admonished Samuel, the prophet, about not looking at the countenance or height of stature (1 Samuel 16:7). God was and is looking on the inside and wants to find something delightful to his liking. He’s put similar things in you, though you may or may not be aware of them. It just has to be stirred up and drawn out, like the ingredients of a good sauce or soup. More on that later . . .

To those of you that have been told that you aren’t anything. To those of you who have been asked, What good are you? To those of you who have been asked, Why are you here? or Why are you put up with? The question was asked, Can any good thing come out of Nazareth? Jesus’s own life answered that question.

You have value, you have worth. You do have a skill, a talent, an ability. You were not a mistake. Somewhere, sometime, somebody will look at you through God’s eyes and physically or verbally stir up the gift in you. Trust in him and his timing. It’ll happen. Mark my words.

— —

If people really knew what was in you, they would handle you differently. David’s father couldn’t see past him being the youngest, smallest, not worthy of much attention, almost to the point of forgetting he existed. But God saw . . . Moses was a fugitive and a stutterer, had a horribly low opinion of himself, but God had other plans . . .

The prophet Samuel saw himself only as a child and told God that! But God said . . .

So forth and so on, many instances are recorded in scriptures where the individual that God has his eye on is not necessarily the first pick. All too often people with unique talents and abilities are passed over because they don’t meet criteria, standards, expectations, or fit the mold. I just love that song by Marvin Sapp, He Saw the Best in Me. Firsthand personal experience helps me identify with the song’s intent. From the valley low of the scorn and ridicule, from unloving people, to the