A Scented Rose...

Sooooo I LOVE roses!!! Roses are absolutely BEAUTIFUL!!! BUUUUUT have you everrrr noticed that there is a HUGE difference between...

 store bought roses and...

 

home-grown roses???

We have some very lovely roses outside of our home. 

I just LOOOOVE to go out front and take in their beautiful scent!!!

Buuuuuuut YOU JUST CAN'T do that with store bought roses!!! For some reason, store bought roses have no scent...which to me, makes them slightly less beautiful! Now don't get me wrong, They're STILL beautiful, just NOT AS BEAUTIFUL!!! I can't help but wonder WHY??? WHY don't store bought roses have a scent??? Are they FAKE??? Nope, they're not fake...they are REAL!!! Touch them, hold them, look at them...THEY ARE REAL ROSES...buuuuut...they have NO SCENT!!!

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I decided to do a research on the matter to find out... 

WHY store bought roses

have NO Scent?!?!?

 My research showed me that the reason WHY store bought roses no longer have a scent, is because over time the rose fragrance was bred out of them so that they could grow a quicker crop, which in turn makes MORE profit$$$!!! Also because they have been cultivated to last longer in a vase, rule of thumb is the stronger the smell the lesser the vase life. They are bred just to look pretty longer.
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 It comes down to two things: MONEY AND LOOKS!!!  But to me, YOU CAN KEEP YOUR UNFRAGRANCED STORE BOUGHT ROSES a rose isn't truly a rose if it has no scent!!!
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This really got me to thinking about us as Apostolic Christians!!! I think that sometimes, we get SOOOO Apostolic looking, that we forget our scent. Don't get me wrong, we're REAL Apostolics, we believe Duetoronomy 6:4, ONE GOD, Jesus name baptism, we have NO DOUBT about our doctrine, we believe holiness through and through...buuuuuut somwhere a long the way, we either forgot or NEVER really discovered our Apostolic scent!!!

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What is our scent???

OUR scent is our TESTIMONY!!! It doesn't matter if your 4th generation Apostolic, or if you were raised by a drug addict...We've ALL GOT A TESTIMONY!!! We've got a story, God delivered us all from something and we need to know it!!!

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When I was a baby I was sprinkled in baptism by a Catholic priest, the titles father, son, and Holy Spirit called over me....buuuuuuut I THANK GOD...that there was a man with a burden for NYC that brought THE TRUTH to my Mom!!! There was a neighbor across the street that witnessed to my mom about WHAT GOD had done for her!!! She invited my mom to church!!! One day my mom FINALLY gave in and went annnnnnd Glory to God we've been going ever since!!!

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 AND when I was 6-years-old, I was filled with the baptism of the Holy Ghost, and REBAPTIZED in immersion of water, IN THE NAME OF JESUS CHRIST for the remission of all my sins!!! Just like the Bible says in Acts 2!!! That's my testimony!!! That's my story!!!  Thats my scent!!! Thats my aroma!!! And I don't ever want to stop smelling of it!!!

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I hope, that I don't ever become SOOOOO APOSTOLIC, that my Apostolic scent is bred out of me!!! I want my [future] children to one day know, they may have been born into this, BUT THEY were born SINNERS...destined to hell...BUUUUT... Jesus died for their sins!!! God did something for them!!! I want them to know that they HAVE this because they had a grandma that chose to live for God!!! That it was a neighbor across the street that invited her to a church in NYC that was started by a man from Missouri who answered the call of God from his own pastor that had a burden for the city of New York!!! That's their TESTIMONY!!! That's their story! That's their history! That's their scent!!! I don't want the generations that come after me, to ever lose their aroma!!! God forbid that they ever let their scent to be bred out of them!!!

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We've all got a testimony and when we know our testimony and when we share our testimony, that's when we go from being JUST a rose, to being a scented rose. Not only are we different on the inside and on the outside, but there is a savor, a smell that comes off of us. People will want to be around us more than others, simply because we can't shut up about the Goodness of God!!!
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We can never allow ourselves to become so set on programs to bring in  souls, that we lose our scent!!! We can't just see them as another number...THEY ARE A SOUL!!! We've got to share with them what Jesus did for us!!! Tell the your testimony!!!  Its your aroma that will draw sinners to Christ!!!

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 We cant let this scent be bred out of us, we've got to be scented roses in this world!!! There are mega churches popping up everywhere, even in "Pentecost", they are drawing the crowds, they've got their numbers, they're building, they're expanding, they've got their bright lights, they're fog machines and all they're programs. They laugh at us, they mock us, say we're old fashioned, that we're out of step, out of tune, not with the times!!! They say they're drawing their thousands while we still can't think outside the box!!!

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Just cover your ears!!! . Don't listen to what they say, they may be producing "church members" daily, by the thousands, but they're NOT converting sinners to saints. All they're doing is quickly growing comericalized church members that never really change and don't truly have a testimony in their lives. They may have their numbers, their crowds, and their perfect "Christian" look, buuuuuut

 WE'VE STILL GOT OUR SCENT!!! 

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We've still got the presence of God in our services, not just a hyped up worship team!!! We don't PRACTICE before we dance in the spirit!!! We still weep, we still cry, we STILL REPENT!!! We still know our testimony!!! We still remember where Jesus brought us from!!!

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 There are STILL  lost, desperate, souls out there that are looking for more than JUST A PRETTY ROSE!!! There are still souls looking for More than just a fluffy-cotton-candy-feel-good-message that doesn't change them, but an anointed message that brings conviction and results in a true transformation in their lives! 

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They're looking for a SCENTED ROSE!!! 

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In a world of fake-comericialized-store-bought church members

Don't let your scent

be bred out of you!!!

Be a SCENTED ROSE!!!

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“They shall speak of the glory of Your kingdom, and talk of Your power, to make known to the sons of men His mighty acts, and the glorious majesty of His kingdom.” (Psalm 145:11-12)

♥Mary Frances :)