Naked, Embarrassed, and Exposed?

Then Put Something On

Shereen K Lashua

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Copyright ©2009, 2013

“Unless otherwise indicated, Bible quotations are taken from THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan Publishing House.

Table of Contents

Chapter 1

Starting Out Naked

Embarrassed

Exposed

Supernaturally Clothed

Deciding Daily

Preparing For A New Look

Chapter 2

What Not To Wear

Statement T-shirts: Getting Rid of Anger

Immodest Outfits: Take off Sexual Impropriety

Spiritual Costuming: Put Off Lying

Ostentatious Clothing: Lay Aside Selfish Desires

A Uniform: Burn Legalistic Attire

Chapter 3

Putting On New Outfit

The Underwear of Humility

The Slacks or Skirt of Compassion

The Shirt of Gentleness

The Shoes of Kindness

The Jacket of Patience

Chapter 4

Now Accessorize

The Belt of Mercy

The Purse of Faith

Deep Pockets of Forgiveness

The Smartphone of Peace

The Watch of Self-Control

Chapter 5

Crowned with the Ultimate Accessory: Love

A Gift from the Heart of God

Crowned a Winner

The Jacuzzi of Love

Dry Off and Get Dressed

Wearing Love

Chapter 6

Putting on my Face

A Pregnant Woman’s Glow

The Mess in the Mirror

A Radiant Face

Unveiling

A Certain Look

Chapter 7

A Sense of Style

My Own Unique Flair

Others Have Style Too

An Appealing Style

Encouraging Others to Find Their Style

Certain Styles Are Inappropriate

Chapter 8

Dealing with Scars

Plastic Surgery: The Process

Necessary Pain

Caution: Avoid Unqualified Doctors

Follow the Doctor’s Instructions

Accepting the New You

Chapter 9

Put On Some Muscle

How to Put on Muscle

Stretching Your Muscles

Strength Training

A Workout for the Heart

Working off the Flab

Chapter 10

Am I Properly Dressed?

I Am Cold Lord

Easily Injured

That’s Embarrassing

I’m Wearing the Emperor’s New Clothes

Dressed in Beauty and Glory

About the Author

Contact Information

Chapter 1

Starting Out Naked

“For just as through the disobedience of the one man the many were made sinners, so also through the obedience of the one man the many will be made righteous.” Romans 5:19

It only took one sin to leave mankind spiritually naked, embarrassed and exposed. Adam and Eve were living in the Garden of Eden, free from the realization that they had on no clothes. There was no shame associated with it, and they didn’t have to worry about a harsh climate causing damage to delicate skin. They weren’t harmed by bugs, thorns or wicker furniture. The garden was a place of perfection, suited for their whole being.

God, Jehovah-Jireh (God the provider), had provided for all of their physical needs. The goodness of God didn’t end there. He provided responsibility for the garden and dominion over the animals for intellectual stimulation. They found perfect companionship and support to meet their emotional needs. God, himself, walked in the garden with them so they could glorify and enjoy him. Talk about a spiritual high! It was the perfect climate spiritually, emotionally, intellectually, and physically for their holy nudist colony. It was not sinful or inappropriate. Then it happened. One sin and everything changed.

God still loved them and cared for them, but their sin brought consequences that they hadn’t anticipated. They no longer would have easy food and comfortable surroundings. Their sin had another very serious physical cost. They would physically age and eventually die. Their intellectual health would be compromised by the pain of sin along with their emotional health. Their sin damaged a once perfect marriage. They no longer found fulfillment in their work. The worst thing was the separation from God, spiritual nakedness, embarrassment and exposure brought on by one bad decision.

This idea may seem harsh, but God says, “For whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles at just one point is guilty of breaking all of it” (James 2:10). If I get stopped for speeding and I tell the police officer “I haven’t robbed any banks or assaulted anyone”, I don’t think that will make him forgive my speeding. I still broke the law even though it was just one part of it and I will have to pay the penalty. It does come with consequences like embarrassment, higher insurance rates, and having to explain it to my husband.

Adam and Eve, to their detriment, had made the wrong decision. They had true moral guilt before a perfect and holy God. It cost them dearly. They had broken the law of God.

Embarrassed

“Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they realized they were naked; so they sewed fig leaves together and made coverings for themselves.

Then the man and his wife heard the sound of the LORD God as he was walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and they hid from the LORD God among the trees of the garden.”

Genesis 3:7-8

Adam and Eve disobeyed God and everything changed. They now knew they were naked. They realized that sin had opened their eyes to some things they had not expected. Can you imagine their shock? It must have been that feeling of panic one gets after dreaming that they were giving a speech in front of a large audience without any clothes on (go ahead and admit it, I know I’m not the only one to dream that). Anyway, you get the picture and what a vivid picture it is.

So Adam and Eve did what anyone would do under the circumstances. They do their best to cover up. They used what they had and sewed fig leaves together. You are naked and need to cover up, use what you have. In the movies, it’s a newspaper, pillow or a towel. These impromptu outfits have proven to be inadequate to cover nakedness, prevent embarrassment or keep exposure at bay. So it was with Adam and Eve.

Picture it for a moment. We are watching two grown adults running around in a garden looking for something to cover their naked bodies. All they find are fruits and leaves. Since sin had come into the picture, it was probably a bit like married couples act on reality TV shows.

“Keep looking.”

“I can’t find anything!”

“God’s going to be here anytime and how are we going to explain this?”

“Just tell him the truth, it is your fault.”

“My fault, how do you figure that? You were the one that told me about the fruit looking so appetizing.”

“But you are head of the household, and it is your responsibility to keep us from trouble. You failed!”

“Nothing is ever your fault. Is it? It’s always me.”

“Always you? We have never been in trouble before. How can you say ‘always you’? I hate when you say always…”

So they sewed together fig leaves. I’m not sure what they used for thread or how many leaves they put together. I don’t know how much of themselves they were able to cover. I do know that they tried their best but knew that it was inadequate because they still felt compelled to hide from God. Maybe the leaves were drying out by then and starting to crack apart. How awkward. You can’t sit, bend or move because if you do your clothes will go to pieces.

The moment they have been dreading arrives. In all glory and majesty, the King of the Universe comes to walk with Adam and Eve, as is his custom. God comes to visit, and they are spiritually and physically naked. A disintegrating outfit was all they could come up with to keep God from noticing the problem. Nice try, but he noticed.

Human efforts are not enough to cover our spiritual nakedness. Adam and Eve’s physical problem was serious, but the real problem was their spiritual nakedness. They could not hide that from God. People try so hard to cover themselves with spiritual fig leaves, but they just aren’t adequate. The outfits we make dry out, start to crack apart, leaving us once again with feelings of shame and embarrassment. Exhausted and humiliated we attempt to cover ourselves or hide from God, but it can’t be done. He notices our condition.

In God’s love and grace, he has pity on us. He calls us to admit our sin, throw out the inadequate fig leaf outfit, quit hiding and allow him to provide the clothing necessary for life. He loves us so much he even dresses us in a new outfit, the perfect clothing for the climate and conditions in which we find ourselves living.

Put It On

Read Genesis 3

Take time today to take a walk, sit on your porch or work in your garden. Look for anything you think you could cover your nakedness with like leaves, grass, or fruit. How would you put your outfit together? Would you feel covered enough to go to the grocery store?

Put yourself in Adam and Eve’s place. Would you be comfortable enough to speak face to face with God?

Pray and ask the Holy Spirit to reveal to you the spiritual fig leaves you have been attempting to use for covering. Pray and let God know that you understand that your efforts to cover yourself are as inadequate as the fig leaves from the garden.

Exposed

“So the LORD God banished him from the Garden of Eden to work the ground from which he had been taken.”

Genesis 3:23

Adam and Eve had no idea what they were in for when they had to leave the Garden of Eden. They had been living in a place of safety and security. Finding food was simple. God came and spent time with Adam and Eve. They walked in the garden together with Him. They had never been in want or need. Never! They had been living without any pain or suffering. No marriage problems.  God provided everything they needed.

Now, because of their sin the earth was cursed. They would suffer, having to work hard and experience pain. The earth would produce thorns which would be painful, especially if you were naked. Adam and Eve had no concept of this new corrupt and sinful world that they were entering. How would they know what to wear?

What if you were going on vacation to an unknown destination, with unknown hazards, and had to make your own outfit in preparation? What if you hadn’t even experienced a different climate because you had lived in the same location your whole life? You never read a newspaper, saw a magazine or watched a TV show about different parts of the world. Would you be able to plan and prepare adequately?

Adam and Eve had not experienced sin or the fallen world. They had absolutely no previous experience with what they were now about to encounter.  Can you imagine their ineptitude for this change?

I believe they were highly intelligent. They just got themselves in to a mess and were ignorant of the seriousness of the it. The person without Christ is in a similar situation. Many of them are intelligent, competent in their own surroundings but ignorant of the seriousness of their situation. They don’t know where they are headed, and they are not outfitted to go there.

Many Christians also have this problem. Instead of acknowledging our ignorance when new circumstances arrive, admitting that we may be unaware of the dangers, we rush forward, wearing nothing but fig leaf clothing. We don’t know all the future holds. We have not experienced all that life may bring. Only God knows the future and what we need to wear to face it.

For this reason, God intervened. If he had not clothed Adam and Eve by his grace and love, they would have had to face the harshness of the world disastrously unprepared.

“Cursed is the ground because of you;

through painful toil you will eat of it

all the days of your life.

It will produce thorns and thistles for you,

and you will eat the plants of the field.

By the sweat of your brow

you will eat your food

until you return to the ground,

since from it you were taken;

for dust you are

and to dust you will return.” (Genesis 3:17-19)

Fig leaf clothes would not be durable for work. They certainly would not protect from the thorns and thistles. They would be ripped apart. A fig leaf outfit would not absorb the sweat running off of them. This would cause discomfort. I can’t imagine that fig leaf clothing would be warm either.

It was necessary to put on something else. Since Adam and Eve had run around the garden looking for the best thing to hide their nude bodies from their Creator, they were obviously not up to the challenge of making anything better. They had no experience, and they could not foresee the difficulties they were going to face. God would have to provide the new clothes, and they would need them quickly.

They were getting ready to move. They hadn’t followed their lease, so their landlord was throwing them out. They had one rule. Do not eat of the tree in the middle of the garden or you will die. They broke the rule. Death was now part of their legacy. And, they were moving, leaving their only home.

Put It On

Do you know what your future holds? Have you had enough experience in life so you can be completely prepared and knowledgeable about any and all circumstances you will encounter? Are you aware of all dangers lurking out there in the world?

“Do not boast about tomorrow, for you do not know what a day may bring forth.” (Proverbs 27:1)

“In his heart a man plans his course, but the LORD determines his steps.” (Proverbs 16:9)

It should be clear that we need to depend upon God who knows the future and can prepare us for whatever is ahead. Make a list of the things that you think will happen today and another one for the week ahead. Review your today list this evening. How well did you do at predicting the future? How many things did you miss? Did you have a lot of interruptions? At the end of the week, review your week list. How did you do? Do you know enough about the future to run your own life?

We do not know where we are heading, or the climate we will encounter. So God made plans. He told us what to wear and what not to wear. He alone knows what kind of outfit will protect us from the dangers of the world. He knows what will keep us most comfortable in the harsh environment in which we live.

Supernaturally Clothed

“The LORD God made garments of skin for Adam and his wife and clothed them.”

Genesis 3:21

God had to provide the clothing necessary for Adam and Eve. It would not be without loss and pain. Adam and Eve did not think to make clothes from an animal. Remember Adam had named all of the animals. He was familiar with each of them. They lived in peace and harmony together. Sin had changed things on the earth. Up to this point Adam and Eve had not known anything about death.

God in wisdom and power knew what their physical body needed in the way of protection. He knew what their soul needed, salvation from the penalty of sin. The only way to atone for their wrongdoing was a blood sacrifice. The way to protect them physically was to take a life and give them the clothing (skin) of that animal.

Heading out into the world, away from the beautiful garden, Adam and Eve would carry with them a constant reminder that a life had been taken because of their sin. They journeyed into the world with a gift from God, new clothes, at the expense of an innocent life whose blood was shed so that Adam and Eve could be clothed in something new. It was a costly gift, but they would have the option of using or not using this gift from God. It was an option to put off the clothing that God had placed on them at the risk of harm and suffering.

The new clothing wasn’t super-glued to their bodies. They had to choose to put it on every day. It wouldn’t do any good if they left it hanging in the closet and went out naked. Each day as they took out their clothes they would remember the animal whose life was taken to provide for them. They would be reminded that they were sinners that could do nothing to cover over their guilt. Dressing afforded an opportunity to reflect on the greatness of a loving God who provided the exactly what they needed in spite of their disobedience.

The clothing covered their nakedness adequately which allowed them again be comfortable in the presence of God. The relationship was restored. This new outfit would be a protection from the world. It would bring an opportunity to share the love of God with others when they asked about the outfit. What they wore was, of course, a one of a kind design by the famous, creative, fashion designer, God. Good things would result from choosing to put on the clothing, and unpleasant things would result from leaving it in the closet.

How foolish Adam and Eve would be to go out naked when they had clothes designed by God. Nakedness might feel freeing at first, but as they got injured or embarrassed they would realize they should have put on their clothes. At the end of the day they would see scars and wounds that were unnecessary reminders of rebelling against God’s perfect will. They would be sore and need time to heal. Their willingness to meet with God would be inhibited. They would have a hard time explaining to a perfectly holy being why they keep choosing their own way, especially when his way is best.

It is difficult enough to live in this world when you are prepared. It becomes much more difficult when you decide to live naked. Just like Adam and Eve, we can choose to put on the clothes that God has given to us, or we can go out into this world spiritually naked. Our spiritual clothing is not super-glued to our soul. We have a choice to apply the character of God or to leave our spiritual clothes hanging in the closet.

We need to put on our designer outfits created especially for us by God and start living the abundant life. We need to clothe ourselves in the gift of God, and then we will remember the life given for us. We will be reminded that our guilt is gone because our great and loving Savior atoned for our wrongdoing. Others will ask about our beautiful outfit, giving us the opportunity to share the gospel, the good news of God with them. Most of all we will honor and glorify the One who loved us so much that he died to clothe us in his skin. Because of this, when we stand before the Creator of the Universe he will not see our spiritual nakedness. He will see the glory and righteousness of Jesus.

Put It On

“You are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus, for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ.” (Galatians 3:26-27)

A life has been taken because of our sin. Jesus sacrificed himself so we could be clothed with his character and glory. Do people see the character of Jesus and God’s glory when they look at your life? Do you choose daily to put on the outfit you have been given, or have you assumed it was supernaturally super-glued to you requiring no choice on your part?

I do take some time getting ready every day. I follow a somewhat regular “routine”. I brush my teeth, pick out clothes and take a shower. I put on lotion, get dressed and blow dry my hair. You probably have a similar routine, more or less involved maybe. This week as you follow your routine, ask God to reveal to you a similar pattern for a spiritual routine that will prepare you spiritually for each day. Just as no two people have the same morning routine to prepare themselves physically for the day, we should also develop a unique way of preparing ourselves spiritually. You need to take the essential elements (we will be discussing these throughout the book) and apply them to your life with your own personality and style. Ask the Lord to prepare you and teach you to be consistent in building your daily spiritual routine.

Deciding Daily

“Behold, I come like a thief! Blessed is he who stays awake and keeps his clothes with him, so that he may not go naked and be shamefully exposed.”

Revelation 16:15

God has called believers to a life of communion with him, but we often revert to our old patterns breaking that communion. We think of this as some mystery that seems hard to solve, but it is remarkably simple.

When one of my children openly defied my commands, it caused tension in our relationship when I found out. They were not comfortable to enjoy our relationship until we worked through the misbehavior. As long as they were defiant, we were in opposition, and it was not acceptable. When my child returned to me with a willing and obedient attitude we were able to move beyond the misbehavior, discuss the consequences and restore our fellowship.

This is exactly what Adam and Eve went through. They defied Almighty God. This caused guilt, shame, embarrassment, and a broken relationship. They could not come to their Heavenly Father and enjoy their walk in the garden because they had sinned. Hiding didn’t change it. Trying to cover it up didn’t make it right. Blaming others didn’t fix it either. Only honest confrontation with the one they had wronged could begin the reparations. Once everything was out in the open, so to speak, God could begin dressing them in the right outfit to cover the problem.

God began to repair the relationship when he sought Adam and Eve because he wanted to spend time with them. God wants a relationship with us, so he seeks us. “For the Son of Man came to seek and to save what was lost” (Luke 19:10).

Although God was seeking them, Adam and Eve were not comfortable meeting with God while they were naked. We have the same problem. We are spiritually naked before God. God calls to us to come out from hiding, and quit trying in to cover up our own strength. Then we admit our need. We must be willing to admit the problem and allow God to dress us in his righteousness. The specific problem is this; “There is no one righteous, not even one; there is no one who understands, no one who seeks God. All have turned away, they have together become worthless; there is no one who does good, not even one.” (Romans 3:10-12) This is why God seeks us! He knows we aren’t seeking him. For there to be a relationship, it has to be initiated by God.

What God seeks to do with us is to clothe us in the righteousness of Jesus so we can enjoy a relationship with him. We can come boldly before him once we are dressed. There is no longer a reason to be embarrassed or ashamed. We can then run out into the garden and walk with God.

Once we have the outfit, it is a gift from God and ours to keep. “Blessed are they whose transgressions are forgiven, whose sins are covered. Blessed is the man whose sin the Lord will never count against him” (Romans 4:7-8). God won’t take it back, but we have the same choice as Adam and Eve after we get the new clothes. We can choose to leave them at home in the closet or daily put them on. If we go out without getting dressed, we suffer difficult consequences for running around spiritually naked. We will suffer embarrassment, and exposure and the things of the world will harm us.

We have to get honest with ourselves and one another. We have so many Christians running around without the attributes of God covering their spiritual nakedness. We talk about the beautiful outfit we have been blessed with, but we don’t put it on.

We have all kinds of excuses. We might get it dirty out there in the world. It might put people off if I wear it openly. It is a special costume for Sunday. My favorite is “I don’t have time”. Don’t these seem ridiculous when you see them in print? None of us would go out physically naked based on such pathetic excuses. It is time for a change.

Put It On

Consider carefully your communion and enjoyment of God. Do you long for a deeper and more fulfilling relationship? Start today by looking back at the day when you first were clothed in the righteousness of Jesus. Remember the joy of walking with God. Do you sing with the Psalmist “Restore to me the joy of your salvation and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me?” (Psalm 51:12).

This is the joy of the Lord. We have been given the opportunity for the abundant life. All that is involved is that we get up and get dressed in the beautiful clothes God has given us and go walk with him.

Let’s consider the negative side also. Have you been embarrassed about your walk? Do you talk differently than you appear most of the time? Are you one of the many believers who habitually forgets to dress? Let’s change this. Start by praying and asking God what your new routine should entail. Ask him to use the next nine weeks to reveal to you what you are missing and what you need to add to your spiritual outfit. Give him the freedom to do your makeover. He is the spiritual fashion designer that knows exactly what you need and what will look best on you.

Preparing For A New Look

“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!”

2 Corinthians 5:17

Now that we have established the importance of being spiritually dressed, we will spend the next nine weeks learning how to put on the outfit that God wants us to wear. There are some fundamental principles that you must understand if you are to be successful in applying God’s truth to your life.

First, and most important, is that you have to know Jesus as your personal Savior. We do not have the ability to clothe ourselves in Jesus and his righteousness until we have accepted the gift of salvation from God. Adam and Eve had to submit to God and allow him to dress them, or they wouldn’t have clothing to cover them and protect them. If you have never admitted your sinful state to God and come to him in submission to him as your Lord, this is the first step. You cannot put on what you do not own. Only those who by faith have come to Jesus have spiritual clothing. “You are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus, for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ” (Galatians 3:26-27).

Another essential truth is that there is not a formula for living a virtuous Christian life. Just like dressing yourself physically, you try out different styles, you wear what works for your responsibilities, and pick your own colors. Times change and so will the outward expression of God’s attributes in our life. Living like this takes time, thought, planning, work, and effort. It takes frequent consultation with the Great Fashion Designer. Let’s find the place where we are comfortable in the clothes God has given us to wear. And remember, we need to leave room for other believers to express themselves in their own style.

Although we don’t want to define everything about others clothing or conform our dress to look exactly like everyone else in the church, there are certain principles that we will have to follow to be considered well dressed believers. These are the principles we will focus on during the next nine weeks. It is your responsibility while working closely with God, to apply these basic truths in your own unique way.

Each of us has a different role in the church, and we need to dress for our job. A stay-at-home mom does not dress in the same clothing as a business woman. Neither of them dresses like a lady police officer or a Wal-Mart Employee. They may all wear the same articles of clothing, but they are of different styles, colors and serve different purposes. We need to apply this to the spiritual clothes we wear. If we have different responsibilities, we should appear different from one another. God did not call us to be clones for Christ. We are children of the Living God, each unique, special, valuable, and important.

One other thing happens when we start changing our outfits. People talk. As you begin transforming your look, you will have supporters and critics. If you ever changed your career, you may have started wearing different clothing more suitable for the new job. Maybe you have changed your hairstyle or your style of clothing? Have you tried new makeup styles? Then you have probably experienced people talking. It happens when you change your outfit spiritually also. Some will be excited and give you compliments. Others will be critical. Be prepared. I’m not trying to discourage you from changing. I just want you ready so you will not be easily swayed away from the  work God wants to do in your life.

Oppose the critics by involving yourself in a support group. Find some friends that you can share with. Let them know you are planning on changing your spiritual outfit. Share your need for support and encouragement. Ask them to share when they notice changes that are beautiful, right, and good. Journal the compliments and praise God for them, and pray for God to free you from the inappropriate criticism. Let’s become over comers so we can share in the glory of God.

Put It On

In preparation for next week, read Colossians 3:1-17.

Pray about your support group. Ask God to reveal those that he has chosen to be encouragers in your life. When you feel that God has shared with you those best suited to the task, share with them your desire to make some changes in your life. Ask if they will pray for you, and encourage you as you work toward glorifying God in a deeper and more meaningful way.

Chapter 2

What Not To Wear

“You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; to be made new in the attitude of your minds; and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness.”

Ephesians 4:22-24

I don’t know about you, but when I plan to get new clothes I have to get rid of some of the old ones. I just don’t have room to store everything. Since we are going to be expanding our spiritual wardrobe, it might be best if we start by getting rid of the old first. It’s not only a smart idea because I say so, but that’s where God starts too. He says we should put off the old, get a new mind from him and then put on the new. So let’s start cleaning out our closet.

In this chapter,  we will be discussing some of the characteristics that Christians should be discarding, just like old clothes. They are no longer useful or beneficial. If you started a new job, you wouldn’t wear an old uniform from another company to work at your new place of employment. That would be ridiculous. It is just as ridiculous for God’s children to continue dressing in their old, ragged uniform from their past.

You have a new job. You are called to be holy. “But just as he who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do; for it is written: 'Be holy, because I am holy’” (1 Peter 1:15-16). He wants to outfit you for holiness, so he asks you to give up the old clothes from your past. This is often difficult because those old things have become so comfortable. Some have a sentimental attachment. Others just seem to fit you so well. So this task of cleaning out won’t be easy. It will require commitment, resolve and willpower.

Remember, God wants to give you a whole new spiritual wardrobe that will look fabulous on you. It will be just your style, fitting you perfectly. He does ask that you make room by getting rid of the old. Let’s determine to do what God wants and willingly give up the old things we have been wearing too long.

Statement T-shirts; Getting Rid of Anger

“My dear sisters, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry, for man’s anger does not bring about the righteous life that God desires.”

James 1:19

Have you ever noticed how many rude sayings are out there on t-shirts? Many people wear things that show their anger toward others. Some are intended to stir up anger. Some are offensive and shocking. You can tell a lot about a person’s worldview by what their t-shirts say.

You can tell a lot about a Christian by the way they handle anger. Some Christians just put that volatile emotion right out there for people to see. Wearing it like a statement T-shirt. Our society applauds justified anger. Many in the Christian community have been drawn into this wrong pattern of thinking.  We must stop justifying anger and line ourselves up with the attitudes of God.

When someone makes you mad, and the anger starts welling up inside of you, is it usually because they have sinned against a Holy God and you are indignant that they would dare treat the Creator of the Universe that way? (This would be righteous indignation) Or is it usually something more like, “I can’t believe they did that. How stupid! Don’t people ever think of anyone but themselves? Can’t they see what a problem this is for me?” (This would be anger) I know for me that anger is much more common in my life than righteous indignation. We must change this, and it isn’t easy.

With the world encouraging us to show and express our justified anger, many of us haven’t even realized what a problem this has become in our lives. With excuses like, “If I’m mad they might as well know it. At least I’m not a hypocrite” we continue to wear our anger instead of changing it. The statement that we wear is often offensive and shocking.

Maybe you control your anger better. You might get your irritation across to others by joking or by clever words. I see people wearing those kinds of t-shirts all the time. You know the ones I mean. They say things like “Stupid isn’t against the law so you are free to go” or “I’m not a nag, I’m a motivational speaker.”

Although these may seem funny on the surface, we can see that the ideas behind them are unhealthy for a Christian worldview. If we want to be like Jesus, we need to examine the little ideas and sometimes even funny things we say. Are they based on angry feelings we have that we feel a need to express? We do get angry at people that we believe are acting stupidly. We also get upset when others point out our sins. Even if we express anger in a funny way it isn’t acceptable. God says to quit wearing it.

“But now you must rid yourselves of all such things as these: anger, rage, malice, slander, and filthy language from your lips” (Colossians 3:8). The Bible clearly states that we must get rid of anger. We are to stop wearing it. Anger is a common emotion worn frequently. We must learn to put it off because anger is not to be part of the believers clothing. This seems impossible if we rely on our human efforts, but in the power of God we can change the way we dress. Colossians 3:2 tells us how to do it “Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things.”

When we choose to think of life from a heavenly point of view all the many things that anger us begin to seem so unimportant. When we set our minds on heavenly things we are not as likely to get angry because someone has 20 items in the 10 items or less line at the grocery store. If God’s glory, grace and mercy are filling our minds, we are not going to lose our temper because our husband or kids didn’t take out the trash. So combating anger starts by saying to yourself, “Since I know I have eternal life with God in heaven, does this really make a big difference?”

I find that most of the things I have been worked up over have not been worth it. They are petty and trite when compared with the eternal. In other words, anger is valueless, rubbish, or trash. It does not make a flattering outfit, nor does it give healthy protection.

God knows best. He knows that anger harms my relationship with him. He knows that anger is a distraction to accomplishing the righteous works he wants to accomplish in my life. The Lord knows that it is unhealthy for our physical bodies to be enraged. He wanted the best for each of us, so he said get rid of the old angry t-shirts. They aren’t any better than the fig leaves. You need to lay them aside so I can dress you in a new outfit that I designed especially for you.

Put It On

Think over the things you have been angry about during the past week. How many of those things would not have mattered if you focused your mind on things above?

Cleaning the angry t-shirts out of our spiritual wardrobe may be difficult. Many of us have relied on expressing our anger as a form of emotional release. It should be easier to give it up if you remember that God has something better for you. We are trading in the old for something brand new. If you are in the habit of making excuses for your anger, you need to confess this to the Lord. Jesus came to free us from the bondage of sin.

“‘In your anger do not sin’: Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry, and do not give the devil a foothold” (Ephesians 4:26-27) Refraining from anger keeps the devil from making his way into our lives. That’s an excellent reason to get rid of anger. Memorize this verse as a reminder of this important fact.

Immodest Outfits: Take off Sexual Impropriety

“It is God’s will that you should be sanctified: that you should avoid sexual immorality; that each of you should learn to control his own body in a way that is holy and honorable, not in passionate lust like the heathen, who do not know God; and that in this matter no one should wrong his brother or take advantage of him. The Lord will punish men for all such sins, as we have already told you and warned you. For God did not call us to be impure, but to live a holy life. Therefore, he who rejects this instruction does not reject man but God, who gives you his Holy Spirit.”

1 Thessalonians 4:3-8

Christian women are usually careful about outward modesty. We know better than to go to out in public in skimpy clothing. It is something we conform to early in our Christian life. We want to fit in with others in the church, so we change our outward appearance. We look like everyone else and by doing this we free ourselves from ridicule and gossip. That’s the easy part. Changing our mind and heart is harder, especially in our society.

The lessons we are trying to learn are about the inner woman. Our culture constantly bombards us with lies about sex and our sexuality that can affect our hearts and minds. If you hear something often enough, it is easy to start believing it. We need active opposition to the world’s views. We need to challenge prevailing thought, comparing it to God’s Word, so we don’t start believing the lies and contaminate our minds and souls.

Sex is a wonderful gift from God. We can praise God for this expression of love.  Sex and sexuality have a place in the believer’s life. We should not be so prudish that we distort its beauty and by our inappropriate attitudes turn it into something ugly. We want to celebrate the beauty and wonder of a right sexual relationship. The problem is our view gets distorted by sin. “So I tell you this, and insist on it in the Lord that you must no longer live as the Gentiles do, in the futility of their thinking. They are darkened in their understanding and separated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them due to the hardening of their hearts. Having lost all sensitivity, they have given themselves over to sensuality so as to indulge in every kind of impurity, with a continual lust for more” (Ephesians 4:17-19). Our minds are often dressed immodestly, and we exhibit worldliness because of it.

We tell jokes that are inappropriate. We watch and read inappropriate material causing our minds to go wild. We lust and many are even addicted to pornography. According to Clay Jones, founder and President of Second Glance Ministries, “20% of all Christian women are addicted to pornography.” (ChristiaNet.com poll) That’s not all. He also says “60% of the woman admitted to having significant struggles with lust, 40% admitted to being involved in sexual sin in the past year.”

It should be obvious by these appalling statistics that the world’s views have infiltrated the church. This should not be. “But among you there must not be even a hint of sexual immorality, or of any kind of impurity, or of greed, because these are improper for God’s holy people” (Ephesians 5:3).

We are to be people set apart for God’s special use. God chose to dwell within each believer. We are his temple. Each of us is called to exalt him, lifting him to his rightful place as King and Lord of our lives. When we choose to sin instead, we demean God by taking him with us into sinful places and situations. For God to humble himself so much that he is willing to live within us when we act right is incomprehensible, let alone in a temple defiled by immorality.

Sexual sin has become easy to hide. Our church families don’t check our internet histories. Our friends can’t read our minds when an attractive man walks by. Few others know what we read, watch on TV, or what music we listen to. Since these sins do not yet outwardly embarrass us, we go on tolerating them and defiling God’s temple. We do the unthinkable and cause our Holy God and Savior to live in a corrupt and polluted temple.

We consider these private sins, but they are not. As with any sin, it doesn’t just harm us, but it harms those around us. Remember Adam and Eve? They had no idea that their sin would be handed down to all of mankind. They could not even start to comprehend how their sin would affect others. We have no idea how much pain our sin can cause.

“Flee from sexual immorality. All other sins a man commits are outside his body, but he who sins sexually sins against his own body. Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your body” (1 Corinthians 6:18-20).

How do we overcome sexual sins? We flee. The definition for flee (Merriam-Webster’s 11th Collegiate Dictionary) is “to run away often from danger or evil” or “to hurry to a place of security”.  This is exactly what we are called to do. Get away from the evil and hurry to a place of security, the arms of our Heavenly Father.

Running from evil could be as simple as turning off the TV or cancelling a magazine subscription. It may be difficult. It may require confession to someone you love. You might need counseling or an accountability partner. It may be hard to throw out the immodest outfit that you have been covering your heart with, but believe me; God has something pure and beautiful if you will throw off the old.

Put It On

Pray specifically asking God to reveal the influence our society’s sexual philosophy has had on your mind and heart. Confess any sin and pray for protection against the lies our culture perpetuates.

Actively oppose the world’s views by thinking truth about sex when you are confronted with the lies. If you see an explicit billboard remind yourself how degrading it is to use a real living person, created in the image of a holy God, as an object of lust. When you watch TV or a movie that promotes promiscuity, remember that it is just a movie. They don’t show the consequences of this behavior.

If you have a serious problem in this area, get help from a Christian organization prepared to deal with this issue. There are many fine choices online. Your church leadership may have resources for you. You may find a friend or group of women willing to be accountability partners. Best of all, our heavenly Father loves you, is willing to change you and to dress you in Jesus’ righteousness.

Spiritual Costuming: Put Off Lying

“Do not lie to each other, since you have taken off your old self with its practices and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator.”

Colossians 3:9-10

One of the hardest things for people new to Christianity is that everyone at church seems to be so good. The new believer knows who they are and where they’ve come from and can’t imagine anyone at church having the same issues or problems. They are unable to open up and express themselves because they are embarrassed. Pretty soon they learn to wear the Christian costume so nobody can tell they are any different from the others in the church.

The problem is that Christianity isn’t about acting as if we are Christian clones; it is living our real life as loved and accepted children of God. Children mess up, and we love them anyway. We love them dirty and we love them clean. We love them when they are happy or when they are sad. We love them when they behave and when they sin. So it is with our heavenly Father and so it should be with God’s people.

The statement “do not lie to each other” can also be stated “do not put on falsehood”. The Greek word is the word we get pseudo from. A common term we use is pseudonym or pen name. A pen name is a fictitious name used to disguise the true identity of the author. Wearing a spiritual costume is to be pseudo or fake, fictitious, or phony.

“Be made new in the attitude of your minds; and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness. Therefore each of you must put off falsehood and speak truthfully to his neighbor, for we are all members of one body (Ephesians 4:23-25).” To put off our costume and be truthful with one another requires a new attitude in our mind. We need to know that we are new in Christ. Our new life has nothing to do with who we were or how we perceive ourselves. It has everything to do with who we are in Christ. We are now wearing righteousness and holiness.

The old person has passed away. When we trust in Jesus, our old person is crucified with Christ. That old nature no longer lives, but Christ lives in me. To put on a costume to cover ourselves out of pride or conformity is to lie about our new nature. The Greek word for truth has the idea of not concealing or hiding but being true. Our new nature is about becoming in reality the person we now are in Christ, righteous and holy.

With these facts in mind, we understand that it is not putting on a spiritual costume and playing the role of Saint Whoever (insert your name). It is being transformed from the inside out. We don’t need to pretend to have attained any level of goodness for the benefit of others. That is falsehood. We need honest change from the inside out and show the righteousness and holiness of God at work in our life, molding and changing us into his image. This is truth.

You may have a hard time putting off the costume you have been wearing. It is especially difficult if you have been in a place of authority and have fashioned a beautiful costume over many years. I read on a bumper sticker once, “Following Jesus isn’t for sissies”. That is so true. It is tough to make the change from playing a role and actually being that person. Playing a role only requires you to act when you are on stage. Being requires living it even in the privacy of our own mind and soul.

There are benefits to just acting the role. People applaud you. You receive positive critical reviews. You can let down after you come home. You can constantly update your costume to please any audience. It is initially safer than exposing the real you. This is why so many people live this way.

However, there are serious drawbacks as you continue in this kind of false life. The audience of One that you are supposed to be playing for is not applauding. Your heavenly reviews are suffering. You are never content when you get home because your performance could have been better. As you get older, you realize the costume can’t cover up all the flaws anymore. The safety you were striving for vanishes. You no longer remember which performance you put on for which group and you find yourself more insecure than ever.

“Dear children, let us not love with words or tongue but with actions and in truth” (1 John 3:18). Let us put off our costume and live in the truth. You may feel undressed or underdressed for a while, but God will begin to outfit you in holy clothing that brings glory and honor to him. You will then receive applause from heaven as your performance pleases him.

Put It On

Take a few minutes and scan through the book of 1 John. Look for the verses that contrast lies and truth. Do you see the importance God puts on living in truth?

Go through the book one more time and look for the passages that compare light and darkness. The false things of life conceal the truth just as the darkness conceals the beauty we see in the light. Notice the benefits of living in the light.

Plan today to put off the costumed, fake, pseudo you and come out into the light. Quit performing on a darkened stage and genuinely live the abundant life out in the light of God’s goodness and truth.

Ostentatious Clothing: Lay Aside Selfish Desires

“You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires”

Ephesians 4:22

It is so common today to see people in showy outfits trying to stand out as unique and memorable. They love to draw attention to themselves. It is the goal of many young people to grow up to be celebrities. They want to be noticed. They want to be a star. Many girls dream of walking the red carpet with all eyes on them. If they can’t do it in front of millions on TV, they do it in their own small arenas.

The word ostentatious describes so many today. It means “marked by or fond of conspicuous or vainglorious and sometimes pretentious display”. Women and girls with ostentatious clothing are the ones that dress to be conspicuous and showy, desiring to be the center of attention. They are seeking praise and glory for themselves. You’ve seen them. They dress like they are going out on a yacht, when instead they are going fishing from the dock. They wear outfits suitable for the opera to go to an amusement park. I saw a TV show where a lady wore an evening gown to a barbeque which was pretentious.

People make comments when they observe this kind of self-seeking. Comments like “Who do they think they are?” Or “What makes them so special?” My personal favorite is “Whom are they trying to impress?” They may get some limited self-satisfaction, but for the most part, they just look foolish for trying too hard.

The sad news is that many Christians dress themselves in spiritually ostentatious outfits. They draw attention to themselves. They want all eyes to look at them and notice their spiritual outfit. In their pride, they demand praise and glory. They lift themselves up as special and above the rest of the lowly church members.

Do you want to know the even sadder news? I have been that person. As a matter of fact, we have all been that person at one time or another. When we seek our own selfish desires we are exalting ourselves above others and even above God. This will not bring us to the place we want to be or to the status we are trying to obtain. Paul told the Galatians “For the sinful nature desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the sinful nature. They are in conflict with each other, so that you do not do what you want” (Galatians 5:17). So we need to walk according to the Spirit of God not according to our selfish desires.

In Philippians chapter 2 Paul says “Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit”. He uses Jesus as the ultimate example of one who was not self seeking. Jesus is God. He deserves to be exalted and lifted up. He chose to take on the “nature of a servant” and come to earth as a man. He could have come to earth and demanded that everyone bow before him as King of Kings. He deserves that kind of exaltation. He chose instead to be a servant unto death. He is now exalted and at the right hand of God.

Paul tells us to stop doing things out of selfish ambition and to think of others interests and needs. He tells us that as we humble ourselves like Christ did and quit complaining about it, God will do a work in us so that we will “shine like stars in the universe as you hold out the word of life” (Philippians 2:15). Follow God’s plan and you will have what you are seeking. He will exalt you, and you will shine like a STAR!

Put It On

“Dear friends, I urge you, as aliens and strangers in the world, to abstain from sinful desires, which war against your soul. Live such good lives among the pagans that, though they accuse you of doing wrong, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day he visits us”. (1 Peter 2:11-12)

Do you have sinful desires that lead you to self promotion? If we are seeking to be exalted, we are not exalting the One who deserves glory. I find that when I am feeling that I deserve credit and honor for how fantastic I am it is because I am not remembering who God is. Paul tells the Corinthian church that they need to quit boasting about the things they have received. They had done nothing. It was God blessing them. Read Psalm 145 (out loud if possible) and focus on God and why he should be exalted. This will humble you and put you back in the proper place: The creature before a Mighty Creator.

A Uniform: Burn Legalistic Attire

“I desire to do your will, O my God; your law is within my heart.”

Psalm 40:8

When our children were born, they were born into our family. My husband and I did not have children to build an army of clones that thought, dressed, stood, saluted, and marched identically. There are similarities, but for the most part we raised individuals who cooperated together in a group called “the family”. We allowed room for preferences, personality differences and even peculiarities.

One year around Easter time I took my kids shopping for new outfits. We wanted to get a picture with them wearing matching outfits. We went to a store and tried to pick out suit jackets and ties that the boys liked, and then I would get a dress for our daughter that matched. My boys couldn’t agree. One wanted a jacket that was gray with pink, lavender, and light blue flecks. He also wanted a pink shirt and a purple tie. The other one wanted a dark gray solid jacket with a white shirt and a black tie.

My boys were six and four at the time of this dispute. Their preferences in clothing continue to be different from one another to this day. It’s ok. They enjoy each other, play sports together and both serve God. They don’t always enjoy the same activities, they play different positions on the sports teams, and they serve God in different capacities. Even though they express themselves differently, they are still members of our family.

I didn’t have to dress them identically to prove they are members of my family. They enjoy each other without conforming to each other’s style. They don’t have to do everything the same to play on a team together. In fact, it is preferable that they play different positions and learn to cooperate.

If we can have a successful family that cooperates and loves without stifling the individual, why does the family of God often feel compelled to dress everyone in a uniform and take away individuality? If we are in a church that wears dark gray jackets and black ties, we often ostracize those in colorful jackets with pink shirts. Shouldn’t we be more concerned about family unity than style?

I hope you understand that I am speaking figuratively. I sure hope no church keeps people out based on their shirt color. Still, some of the other things that we wear with pride are equally divisive. We like old music. We like new music. We want piano and organ, but the rest want a band. We insist on this company’s Sunday school material. We want potlucks every three months, but the leadership voted on once a month. We want quiet when we come into the sanctuary. We want good fellowship when we come into the sanctuary. It is not wrong to have an opinion on these things, but to make them law is wrong.

If you have been in church any length of time, I’m sure you can add your own legalistic rules to this list. The church has had these problems from the beginning. Paul wrote to the church at Galatia about this very problem. People were adding extra rules to salvation so the believers would look right. They added circumcision, feast and holy days, dietary restrictions and other Jewish traditions. Paul was very angry about this. He knew that it was robbing the Galatians of their joy.

He reminded the Galatians that they were members of God’s family. As we have discussed, family has room for individuality. Yes, there are principles to follow, but there is also freedom. “It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery” (Galatians 5:1). We have been freed from wearing a uniform of conformity. We no longer have to fight and argue over the letter of the law. We don’t have to agree on everything. If we are so self centered that all rules have to go our way, we rob ourselves and others of the joy of family.

As members of God’s family, we are allowed to have our own style. We are not God clones or some military organization that strips the individual of his unique identity to force conformity. God wants us to accept the differences as members of the same family with the same goal, glorification of God.

I will leave you with a word of caution. “You, my sisters, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the sinful nature; rather, serve one another in love” (Galatians 5:13). God did not make us free so we could do anything we wanted. He made us free so we could love each other as a family and work toward the will of God. Burn your uniform of legalism and find your own style.  But after burning legalism, you still need to wear something. You are not free to run around naked. Next week we will look at the pieces of clothing God wants us to wear.

Put It On

Pray for all Christians that have lost their joy because they have been bound by legalism. Pray for your local fellowship, especially the leaders that as they make decisions for the family of God that they will find the right balance between God’s rules and the freedom he has given us.

Pray for those that have harmed you by holding you to a legalistic standard that robbed you of the joy of serving Jesus.

Pray that you will not become so angry at the legalists that you become bitter towards them.

Pray that you will have the strength to be your own person in a society and in churches that force conformity. I suggest prayer to oppose legalism because it can only be combated by the power of God. Even Peter fell victim to peer pressure and submitted to legalism (Galatians 2:11-14).

Chapter 3

Putting On Our New Outfit

“Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience.”

Colossians 3:12

Isn’t God good! Not only does he give us the new clothes needed to dress as daughters of the King, he teaches us how to dress. We are going to take the separate articles of clothing and put an outfit together that will allow us to represent the kingdom of God in royal fashion.

This chapter will focus on some basic clothing items. We will learn about the underwear of humility. A foundation garment that any well dressed women will wear. The rest of our clothing can not look its best without humility underneath.

The skirt or slacks of compassion and the blouse of gentleness will provide suitable coverage to prevent exposure to the elements of the world. They keep us warm and show off our style. It is fun to put them on.

We will also get to put on everybody’s favorite, shoes! We will put on the shoes of kindness so we can go out of the house prepared to serve. And lastly, since we are going out of the house grab your jacket or sweater of patience and you have a basic outfit.

The Underwear of Humility

“He guides the humble in what is right and teaches them his way.”

Psalm 25:9

When we set out to get dressed in the morning, there is an order which we follow. Underwear goes on first. We wear it under our clothes. The underwear of humility is intended to be built on, hence the phrase “foundation garments”. Throughout many centuries undergarments were designed to provide the right foundation to make the outer clothing look its best.

The underwear provided the shape for the outer clothing. Women have been willing to wear all kinds of undergarments to achieve the look they desired. It probably wasn’t easy to get used to it and sometimes it was difficult to wear. Nevertheless, they persevered so they could get the look. They wore corsets, crinolines, hoop skirts, bustles and girdles. Today we suffer through push-up bras, pantyhose and thongs.

Our spiritual underwear also needs to be put on every morning as we put on the attributes of God. Humility is just like our underwear. It isn’t always easy to get used to, but it is necessary if you want to get the look. Our outer clothing will not fit appropriately if our humility isn’t on right.

According to Charles Spurgeon, biblical humility is “a right estimate of one’s self”. We will not have a right estimate of ourselves unless we have a correct estimate of God. When we keep him in a right a perspective we will not esteem ourselves too highly, neither will we feel worthless or devalued knowing that he loved us enough to die for us. True humility will not be a problem if we continually reflect on the glory of God.

Jesus is the perfect example. He always placed the Father and his will ahead of everything. Living in this way made him humble. Humility was his underwear. It was the foundation of all his other actions on earth. He came to the earth in humility. Jesus humbled himself and left the glory of heaven to live among people in this sinful world. He came as a baby, born to a poor couple and his first bed was a feeding trough. His first clothes were strips of rags. Talk about humility. From his example,  it is obvious that humility needs to be put on first.

We already know a couple of things about putting on the underwear of humility. It provides a foundation, and it goes on first. This leads into the next thought. You wear it under your clothes, not over them. I know this sounds old fashioned, but I am a firm believer that if your underwear is showing then it is not doing its job. Do you remember the singers that made it popular to wear underwear as outerwear? There wasn’t much humility in their actions. They were showing off. They were seeking to be the center of attention by this behavior. They wanted to be noticed and stand out.

This makes it obvious that when humility shows, it isn’t doing its job. Humility that shows is not true humility. It was never meant to be an outer garment. When it shows, it is fake humility, and that isn’t humility at all. It is prideful self-exaltation, which is the opposite of what we are looking for.

In contrast to these singers, we are daughters of the King of Kings. We are to dress ourselves in character that demonstrates God to the world. I have never seen a princess that shows off her underwear. That would be inappropriate protocol. As daughters of the King we must follow appropriate protocol where humility is concerned. “Be completely humble” (Ephesians 4:2). Jesus said, “learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart” (Matthew 11:29). “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble” (1 Peter 5:5). “Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up” (James 4:10).

There is another significant truth about the underwear of humility. It is uplifting. I won’t go into too much detail here. You can picture it yourself. Anyway, when we humble ourselves there is a guarantee in scripture that we will be lifted up. This is a promise that is stated more than once. You can find it in Luke 1:52 and 1 Peter 5:6. We can trust God to exalt us in his way and time. And it to let Him exalt us than to try and exalt ourselves by wearing our underwear over our clothes, drawing unhealthy attention.

Wearing humility may be a little uncomfortable at first but it will lay a proper foundation for our outer garments. We can easily put it on first thing as we start our day exalting God and putting him in the first place in our lives. When we choose to put on humility, we have a promise from God that he will lift us up!

Put It On

Read this passage

“Now as Jesus was going up to Jerusalem, he took the twelve disciples aside and said to them, ‘We are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be betrayed to the chief priests and the teachers of the law. They will condemn him to death and will turn him over to the Gentiles to be mocked and flogged and crucified. On the third day,  he will be raised to life!’

Then the mother of Zebedee’s sons came to Jesus with her sons and, kneeling down, asked a favor of him.

‘What is it you want?’ he asked.

She said, ‘Grant that one of these two sons of mine may sit at your right and the other at your left in your kingdom.’

‘You don’t know what you are asking,’ Jesus said to them. ‘Can you drink the cup I am going to drink?’

‘We can,’ they answered.

Jesus said to them, ‘You will indeed drink from my cup, but to sit at my right or left is not for me to grant. These places belong to those for whom they have been prepared by my Father.’

When the ten heard about this, they were indignant with the two brothers. Jesus called them together and said, ‘You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their high officials exercise authority over them. Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be your slave–just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many’” (Matthew 20:17:28).

Do you see the problems that were caused by James, John and their mommy? Self seeking behavior does not bring unity but causes division. Pray that God will help you put on humility in order that you may bring unity and not discord.

The Slacks or Skirt of Compassion

“Filled with compassion, Jesus reached out his hand and touched the man. ‘I am willing,’ he said. ‘Be clean!’”

Mark 1:41

Now that we have our underwear on let's start dressing in the clothing that others will see. This is the outfit that we have been given from God. Wearing his designer clothing will show his greatness and glory, bringing him praise and honor.               It will also keep us from embarrassment and exposure.

The word compassion is translated as “bowels of mercies” in the King James Version of the Bible. The reason for this is that the Greeks thought that strong and passionate emotions came from deep within a person. Compassion comes from the same root as bowels or intestines.

The Hebrews also spoke of compassion as coming from the lower and deeper regions of our bodies. They use the same root word for womb as for compassion. They believed that tender and affectionate feelings came from deep within the lower regions of the body.

We need to examine what God’s view of compassion is if we are going to understand what compassion is and how we are supposed to wear it. The Hebrews spoke often of God’s compassion. Many times it is in the context of a parent having compassion on their child. What a beautiful picture! When a baby is born it is naked and helpless. If a parent (or someone) doesn’t have compassion on that new infant, it has no hope or chance of survival. It can do nothing for itself. It is totally dependant on another for its very life.

God knows our frailty and has compassion on us as a parent has compassion on his child. “As a father has compassion on his children, so the LORD has compassion on those who fear him; for he knows how we are formed, he remembers that we are dust” (Psalm 103:13). In Isaiah 49:15, God compares his compassion for us to that of a nursing mother who has compassion on the child that she bore.

In the New Testament,  it is spoken of as a strong and compelling emotion. It is an emotion so strong that it requires action. Jesus had compassion on the crowds that followed him. He understood their need for food, so he provided food for the multitude that had been with him for three days. He was afraid they would collapse on their way home. Another time, “When Jesus landed and saw a large crowd, he had compassion on them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd. So he began teaching them many things” (Mark 6:34). Jesus had compassion on them when they were sick, and he healed them.

Jesus had compassion on us because we were lost in our sin, so he died for us. This is the kind of compassion we are to wear, compassion that causes action. We are to have a sense of responsibility of caring for others, emanating from the deep regions of our inner being. When a parent has this attitude toward a child, it causes action. We don’t just sit around saying I have compassion on my hungry baby. When we have compassion, we get up and feed the baby. This is what putting on compassion involves.

When we talk of putting on the slacks or skirt of compassion, we are talking about wearing something on the outside that people are allowed to look at to see what is inside. Just as it would be inappropriate to walk around in public without pants or a skirt, it is inappropriate to walk around without putting on compassion. It is not enough to have it inside. The compassion that God wants us to have, that will bring glory to his name, is compassion that others can see.

If we want to wear compassion, we must allow God to teach us right attitudes about others. The truth is that everyone is weak and in need in some area of their life. Everyone, in some way, is immature and young requiring an adult to provide what they can’t provide for themselves. Nobody is without pain or sickness whether it is spiritual, physical, mental, or emotional. It is our calling as God’s chosen people, to show his compassion to this hurting world.

The father of the prodigal son accepted his son back with open arms. He threw a large party because his son came home. He dressed him in fine clothing. All that the son needed was provided for by the father. The Bible says that the father did this because he saw his son coming and had compassion on him.

When we see people coming tattered and torn, we are to embrace them and meet their needs. This is the compassion of the father that we are to present to the world. Without God’s compassion, we are half dressed Christians. We wouldn’t walk around without our pants on; we better not walk around without compassion.

Put It On

Read the parable of the “Prodigal Son” from Luke 15:11-31. Can you picture the compassion and understanding that the father was bestowing on the son? This is the compassion we are to show to others. It does not require them to be right or moral, but it does require us to act in God’s compassion.

Many women have a compassionate heart and deeply feel for others who are hurting. Our calling today is to move from feeling and understanding to action. Who is God sending to you today? Do you need to start by showing more compassion to the needs and hurts in your own family? How about in your church, neighborhood and community? Pray about this and ask God to show you the specific people in your life that you need to show compassion.

Keep in mind the father of the prodigal son did not try to care for all sons everywhere, just the one that he saw coming to him. You need to be in tune with God’s direction. You can’t care for everyone. God will lead those in need to you. Keep your eyes open.

One other word of caution; do not attempt to do this in your own strength. You will not be able to bear up under the weight of the hunger, sickness, sadness, sinfulness and immaturity that you encounter. Compassion flows from the heart of God. The slacks of compassion are supernatural clothing that God wants to dress you in. Submit to him and allow him to provide compassion that is an exact fit for you.

The Shirt of Gentleness

“Let your gentleness be evident to all.”

Philippians 4:5

I picture this shirt as something kind of frilly with flowing sleeves, all white and embroidered with a delicate design. Our English word for gentleness comes from the French word that meant gentility. It was speaking of the nobles, those of high birth, a lady or gentleman. I picture the French nobility dressing in frilly white shirts (at least in movies), so that’s where I came up with that thought.

The word not only spoke of breeding and culture, but of manners and respect. The gentility believed that they had a high calling because of their fortune to be born in the upper classes of society. They were the privileged ones and thought that they must show a sense of respect and kindness to those that were not so fortunate. Good manners and good breeding meant showing compassion and benevolence to the lower classes.

People knew the nobles by their clothing, but it wasn’t only about what they wore, it was an attitude. A noblewoman was cultivated and polished from her youth. She was taught to be honest, faithful and upright. She had required training in certain activities that were considered virtuous. We of course know that dance and eloquent speech were among these activities. Some you might not be aware of were: to be clever; to love learning; to have good manners, and to appreciate and encourage the talents and abilities of others.

Of course,  they were also known by their clothing and outward appearance. They were neat and tidy. Their beautiful white shirts and the rest of their outfits did not have stains or dirt on them. Their life was not one of hard labor but rather one of ease and enjoyment. They didn’t do much to get their clothes messed up.

Now that we know where our idea of gentleness came from, let’s apply it to our spiritual outfit. Before we discuss anything else, we need to understand that we are born into a noble family. In love,  we have been adopted as children of the King of Kings through Jesus Christ. “Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God–children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God” (John 1:12-13). We are children of noble birth, and we need to act like it.

I believe that gentleness starts as a change of attitude and eventually we wear it naturally. We will appear regal and noble to those we meet. How? By wearing Christian character  and by living as children of the King. We are royalty!

It is not enough to be born to privilege. It is crucial that we are trained in gentleness and study propriety. How do we train for our privileged position? We are trained by those that have lived as nobility. This would be the older women in the church. “Likewise, teach the older women to be reverent in the way they live, not to be slanderers or addicted to much wine, but to teach what is good. Then they can train the younger women to love their husbands and children, to be self-controlled and pure, to be busy at home, to be kind, and to be subject to their husbands, so that no one will malign the word of God” (Titus 2:3-5).

That passage from Titus sounds like the training of the French nobility. Train them to be honest, faithful and upright. They were trained in virtuous activities. I contend that it requires eloquent speech to take care of a husband and children. Wouldn’t you say that it helps in our homes to be clever, to love learning, to be polite and encourage? How about appreciating the talents and abilities of others?

We should learn to do these things in our homes first. Learning to wear a gentle nature in our families is where we start. Gentlewomen were trained at home so they would be prepared to go into the world and present themselves in an appropriate manner. Let us train in our homes and churches to go into the world wearing the attitude and clothes of gentility.

God through Jesus has provided the shirt of gentleness to all who are of his royal birth. We don’t have to work or toil to gain our possessions or place in his kingdom. We are provided with all we need, including a beautiful shirt of gentleness. We have no need to labor and mess up our beautiful clothing. Jesus provided a life of privilege for God’s children. “I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full” (John 10:10). As children of the King, enjoy the abundant life and show compassion (remember last lesson) and a gentle spirit to everyone.

Put It On

Examine yourself in these areas, then consider ways you can train yourself to do better.

Also jot down the name of anyone who may be able to help you with your training. Ask God to give an opening to that relationship.

Respectful of others?

Good manners?

Clever (not smart aleck)?

Love learning (not necessarily book learning, but more of a natural curiosity about God and life)?

Polite?

Encourage and appreciate the talents and abilities of others?

The Shoes of Kindness

“This is what the LORD says: ‘Let not the wise man boast of his wisdom or the strong man boast of his strength or the rich man boast of his riches, but let him who boasts boast about this: that he understands and knows me, that I am the LORD, who exercises kindness, justice and righteousness on earth, for in these I delight,’ declares the LORD.”

Jeremiah 9:23-24

God’s kindness is demonstrated or exercised. Most of the Old Testament verses that discuss kindness include a form of the verb “to show” in the sentence. God’s kindness is not just talked about. It is not just a feeling or emotion that he has towards us. God’s kindness is shown to us through his actions.

Kindness is very straightforward. It is simply moral conviction in action. Kindness takes our beliefs and gives them an outward expression. It is the shoes that take God’s love out into the world. Part of the good news is that God showed undeserved kindness by sending his son. “But when the kindness and love of God our Savior appeared, he saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy” (Titus 3:4-5). We are commanded to go into all the world and share the gospel of Jesus. Since that is the case, we are under obligation to share God’s kindness with those around us.

One definition of kind is “of a kind to give pleasure or relief”. Isn’t that what God did for us? He has given us the pleasure of being his child and relief from the penalty of sin. Now he wants us to wear his kindness. Let’s put on the shoes of kindness and head out into the world and bring pleasure and relief.

God wants us to be kind, but he does not give a list of kind acts and say go do these. He tells us in Galatians chapter five that kindness comes from the Spirit. After that it says “Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit” (Galatians 5:25). Each of us gets to put on the shoes of kindness that we choose while walking in step with the Holy Spirit. There is freedom to express our own style in how we show kindness, but we must show kindness to others.

I see three things that are necessary to prepare for showing kindness; Notice the need, decide how you can meet it and put the plan in action. God saw our need of a Savior. Without him,  we would have no lasting pleasure or relief. In his great wisdom,  God knew the perfect plan from before history, and by sending Jesus, he put it into action.

So many acts of kindness don’t happen because we are not following this plan. We ignore needs because we are too busy to notice. We forget that those around us are longing for pleasure and relief from the worries of life. Sometimes we notice but we don’t think it is our responsibility to meet the need. Remember God had not sinned but he is the one that met the need that we had for salvation. He chose to do it because we needed it. Lastly, we are a bunch of procrastinators. We have a plan, but we will get to it later.

Recently one of my friends had a heart attack. She was sent by helicopter to a hospital about 90 miles away. I got the message late in the evening. I knew she was going to be there a while, and others would be checking on her. I tried to justify not going down to see her the next day.

I didn’t sleep well that night. The Spirit said come walk with me and I am going to the hospital. The next morning I decided to put on my shoes of kindness and to go. When I got to the hospital my friend starting crying and said, “You made my wish come true. I was hoping you would come and here you are!”

I realized as I never had before the importance of small acts of kindness. I didn’t do anything but sit and visit with my sick friend. I am thankful for the time I spent with her. It encouraged me as much or more than it encouraged her. I could have talked myself into procrastinating, disobeying God and missing out on a wonderful blessing. The memories I have of that day are all the more precious because a few days later my friend died.

Not everyone that knew this friend went down to the hospital that day. Some sent cards, some called, and some took care of things at her home. They all put on their own shoes of kindness and went the way God had led them. It would have been crazy if everyone showed up at the hospital at the same time. What chaos if everyone tried to go to her tiny home to clean and do chores. We each followed God’s leading and it worked out to be a tremendous blessing for all who participated. It also blessed God to see his children showing kindness to one another.

“The greatest thing a man can do for his heavenly Father is to be kind to some of his other children.” HENRY DRUMMOND (1851–1897)

Put It On

Think about your style of kindness. Consider how you can reach out to others regularly.

I call and visit people. My daughter sends text messages and picture messages. I have friends who send cards, bake, give gifts, donate money and encourage. I also take grocery carts back into the store. I used to work at a store and know what hard work that job is. You will have many experiences that will give you clues on how to be kind to others and show the love of God. Something easy and inexpensive is a smile!

The Jacket of Patience

“…then, I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received. Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love.”

Ephesians 4:1-2

To prepare yourself for the cold bitter winds that you will encounter, you need to put on your jacket. The outer covering for our new spiritual outfit is patience. Patience keeps your clothes from getting wet or messed up. It keeps you from growing cold. Leonardo da Vinci once said, “Patience serves as a protection against wrongs as clothes do against the cold. For if you put on more clothes as the cold increases, it will have no power to hurt you. So in like manner you must grow in patience when you meet with great wrongs, and they will then be powerless to vex your mind”.

We can’t allow the problems of the world to vex our minds, shifting our mental focus away from humility, compassion, gentleness and kindness. Many people do not realize the importance of patience. But doesn’t it seem silly to think about humility, compassion, gentleness or kindness without patience? The outfit just isn’t finished if you don’t put on the jacket.

Think about how odd the outfit would look without patience. How nice to meet a genuinely humble person that is concerned about others and their needs first. How easily messed up it is if they aren’t patient. It would be like saying “I will be glad to help you and care for you in any way you need. You are my priority in this situation, as long as you HURRY UP AND LET ME KNOW WHAT YOU NEED.” You wouldn’t feel like this person truly wanted to help.

Wouldn’t it be strange if someone said “I have real compassion for you and want to come alongside and comfort you, but I’ll only do it my way, in my time schedule so don’t mess me up”? Patience is a necessary part of our outfit, without it you will be all wet. The storms of life will take their toll on your other clothes.

How do we gain patience? You have probably heard the old joke that you shouldn’t pray for patience because God will send trials so you can learn it. Rev. Henry Ward Beecher gives a clear and concise discussion of how we can learn patience. He says, “There is no such thing as preaching patience into people unless the sermon is so long they have to practice it while they hear. No man can learn patience except by going out into the hurly-burly world and taking life just as it blows. Patience is riding out the gale.”

I don’t know about you, but I have learned to protect myself against the elements from experience. I wear sunscreen when I drive my Mustang convertible around Phoenix because I have been burned before. If I am ever in North Dakota in February again, I will wear mittens so my hands don’t get chapped. I keep rain ponchos in my trunk since I last got drenched at an amusement park because I was ill prepared. The cold wind and storms do not intimidate me as they used to. I have a waterproof jacket with a hood and fleece lining. I am warm even when the world is cold.

When we experience the elements that cause spiritual pain and suffering, we can use that experience to teach us to prepare the next time. We start by asking God to dress us adequately for the simple things first. As our patience grows we will learn to weather the storm without getting all wet.

Patience seems to be a skill that we often talk about but rarely challenge ourselves to learn. It’s like cooking. If someone asked me if I could cook, I wouldn’t answer, “I can describe a kitchen for you”. I also wouldn’t say, “I read a cookbook once.” I might ask them what in particular they wanted me to cook. Some things I have already experienced and can cook. Others I have no experience with.

This is how patience is. If I want to learn it, I have to prepare for it and then experience it. I can’t honestly say I can cook if all I have ever done is read cook books. If I haven’t experienced it, I’m not sure how I will do. Knowing how to describe situations where we need to be patient but not applying it is similar to a person describing a kitchen but not cooking in it. We need to stop talking about patience and get out there and experience life.

Patience grows as we allow God to direct us and we put our trust in him. Nothing comes up that God doesn’t know about. Nothing we encounter is too big for him to tackle. No storm is out of his control. Patience is a steadfast commitment to trust God and rest in him no matter what adversity we encounter.

Put It On

The history of Joshua gives me encouragement to be patient. He endured a lot and yet he was faithful to the end. This gives me confidence that I can have patience too! I serve the same God full of power and he promises to be with me just as he promised it to Joshua.

Joshua didn’t start out as anybody special by the world’s standards. He was a slave in Egypt. When all of the Israelites left Egypt under Moses leadership, Joshua was among them. Moses must have noticed some leadership skills because he called Joshua, Caleb and ten other men out of the crowd and sent them to explore the land that God wanted them to conquer. Joshua and Caleb trusted God and wanted to go into the land because it was magnificent. The others said it was too scary and encouraged the nation of Israel not to go. Not only did they dissuade the people from following God, these dissenters started a riot and everyone wanted to stone Joshua and Caleb.

When the people wouldn’t obey, God decided that no one from that generation would get into the Promised Land except Joshua and Caleb. For forty years, Joshua traveled with this group of nomads that wanted to stone him. He suffered with them as one by one they died off in the desert. They wandered and suffered until God finished with that generation. He finally brought the new generation into the land he was giving them.

I don’t know about you, but I am not sure that I would be that good natured or patient with this bunch of sinners that caused me a forty year delay in getting my inheritance from God. Not only was Joshua faithful and patient, he was given the role of leader by God Almighty after Moses died. In Joshua chapter 1, we see how Joshua stayed so strong. This is what he believed, “Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the LORD your God will be with you wherever you go” (Joshua 1:9)

Read Joshua chapters 23 and 24 and you will see how this patient man finished his life, still serving God.

Chapter 4

Now Accessorize

“I delight greatly in the Lord; my soul rejoices in my God. For he has clothed me with garments of salvation and arrayed me in a robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom adorns his head like a priest, and as a bride adorns herself with jewels.”

Isaiah 61:10

We will now look at the necessity of wearing and using the accessories that are gifts from the one who loves us. God has bestowed many practical gifts on his children, expecting us to use them to live a pleasing and glorifying life. An extraordinary life seems like an unattainable goal until we learn to utilize the supernaturally provided accessories.

We will see the benefits of wearing the belt of mercy that holds our compassion up. The purse of faith is a necessity, and we won’t excel without deep pockets full of forgiveness. The smartphone of peace will remind us of God’s organization, as will the watch of self-control.

God provides each of these generously. He gave mercy, faith, forgiveness, peace, and self-control when we didn’t deserve them. He provided exactly what we had needed before we knew we had need of it. They are gifts, not an earned wage. They are beautiful accessories to wear proudly as signs and tokens of his affection so that others will see that we belong to the Beloved.

The Belt of Mercy

“Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful”

Luke 6:36

The belt of mercy accessorizes and compliments our slacks of compassion. When we discussed compassion we learned that it was a deep emotion that compelled us to action. We want to add the mercy of God to that compassion. This will help us hold our slacks up were they belong. We don’t want them sagging leaving us exposed and embarrassed. Let’s put on our compassion and see what the belt of mercy looks like with it.

Jesus told a story that clearly explains his view of mercy. This account comes from the book of Matthew, and it’s about a man who is forgiven an enormous debt by his king.

.               The story begins with the king settling accounts. In reading through some old records, the king found that a certain man owed him a large debt. He called the man to the courts and confronted him about the money. When challenged with the facts, the man agreed that he truly owed the money.

The amount of indebtedness was huge. Jesus used the largest denomination of money, the talent and the largest Greek number, 10,000 to express this enormous debt. If we were going to tell the story we might say something like, “he owed 100,000 bars of gold, which are each worth around $240,000 each.” It is an unimaginable sum, sort of like trying to comprehend the national debt. Impossible!

The king was going to sell everything the man owned, including the man and his family members as slaves. Even if the king had chosen to do this, the money recouped would not have made a dent in the total bill. The man had no options. The decision was totally up to the discretion of the king. So the man begged for compassion and mercy.

The King had compassion. He was compelled to action, so the king showed mercy to the man. He didn’t renegotiate the debt so the man could afford the payments. He didn’t give him a new due date. He didn’t tack on a late fee and expect payment next month. He showed unbelievable mercy and forgave the entire debt. Not one cent was owed. The record was wiped out just as if it never existed. The man was forgiven the debt even though he deserved punishment.

Think of the joy and excitement. The man and his family probably jumped, danced and excitedly ran to tell their friends. The weight had been lifted, and they were free. They had a new life. This was certainly a day to celebrate and remember forever.

The story doesn’t end there though. The man goes home and starts back to work. The routine of life sets in. The joy isn’t as evident anymore. He is still happy when he thinks about the king’s mercy, but he doesn’t think about it much anymore.

One day he encounters a man that owed him some money. It wasn’t much, a couple hundred dollars or so. That wasn’t the point though. It was the principal of the thing! If you owe money, you should pay it back. The man grabbed the debtor and started choking him. “Where is the money you owe me? I want it back you freeloader. You won’t get away with this fraud. You are on your way to jail.”

The poor man begged for mercy, “Please sir, forgive me and give me time to pay. Have mercy on me. I know I don’t deserve it, but I’m begging you.”

The debtor was refused mercy and ended up in jail.

The neighbors saw this and started talking. “Isn’t this the guy that the king let off?”

“Yeah and he owed a couple of billion dollars? He should be patient with someone that owes him just a couple of hundred dollars.”

“Let’s go tell the king what he’s doing.”

When the king hears about it, he is outraged. “You wicked servant,” he said, “I canceled all that debt of yours because you begged me to. Shouldn’t you have had mercy on your fellow servant just as I had on you” (Matt 18:32-33)?

As we read this story, we all agree with the king. If you had the happy fortune to be forgiven billions of dollars, the least you could do is to forgive a few hundred. We agree in principle, but do we agree in practice?

We, like the pardoned man, have been forgiven an unimaginable debt. We were sinners that could not begin to pay for the offenses we had committed against a holy and perfect God. “And you, who were dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcisionof your flesh, God made alive together with him, having forgiven us all our trespasses, by canceling the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands. This he set aside, nailing it to the cross” (Col 2:13-14 ESV).

God’s mercy needs to be at the center of my outfit. It will hold up my compassion and keep my gentleness tucked in. The belt of mercy holds the outfit together so my humility doesn’t start showing and cause embarrassment. It complements my shoes of kindness and the jacket of patience.

Always the focal point, God’s mercy is displayed where all can see it. It brings glory to him and is a constant reminder of what he has done for us. We don’t want to forget the wondrous gift that we have been freely given. If we leave our belt of mercy at home, we are likely to act like the man in the story, and we don’t want to do that. Our desire is to emulate the king.

Jesus gave life when we deserved death. He provided all of our needs along with heavenly blessings although we owed an insurmountable debt to him. He filled us with hope when we were overcome with despondency. He set us free when we only expected slavery. He sacrificed himself while we were still his enemies. This is mercy. Emulate the King.

Put It On

Read Matthew 18:23-35.

Forgiven not because he deserved it, but because of the king’s mercy. His life would be totally different now. He was no longer overwhelmed by debt, worry and stress. This man was given a new life that was filled with abundance rather than debt. Consider your past and the debt you owed to God.

Read Titus 3:4-8, Ephesians 2:4-10

Both of these passages talk about God’s mercy and the expected outcome. He showed mercy to us and now expects us to do the same, bringing praise, glory and honor to the Him. We do this by showing the same kindness, patience, mercy, humility and compassion that God showed us. We are to demonstrate these attributes through our good works. Whom do we do it for? The same people God did it for: the undeserving; those who owe us; the despondent and discouraged; slaves to sin; and our enemies. Look for opportunities to show God’s mercy.

The Purse of Faith

“For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness, and to goodness, knowledge; and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; and to godliness, brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness, love. For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.”

2 Peter 1:5-8

Little girls love purses. They will carry them around even if they are empty. When they get older, they realize that it is handy to keep a few things in their purses. Their moms give them lip gloss and tissue to put in it. When they are teenagers, they add feminine hygiene products, money, maybe keys and an MP3 player. By the time we have been carrying a purse for a few decades we need wheels on it to pull it around because it is so full of stuff.

We start carrying a medicine cabinet with us, including pain relievers, antihistamines, band-aids, and throat lozenges. Add that to the office we lug around. Pens, pencils, rubber bands, scissors, a calendar, a notepad, are all piled in. We can’t go out without our make-up either. As we get older, this often takes up the most space because we need it more. Don’t forget everything you need to do business. Slide in the checkbook, credit cards, coupons, and cash. A few more things and we are ready to go; sunglasses, keys, cell phone, business cards, pepper spray, a book, a snack and bottled water. Now we are prepared for every inevitability.

My purse wasn’t always so full. I added things as I had a need for them. When I was young my purse was a fun toy. As time went on, it became a useful tool. As circumstances changed, I had a need to carry some different items. I started carrying band-aids after I had children. I started carrying a cell phone when I had teenagers. I began carrying coupons when we were on a tight budget.

This is how faith works. When we are young in the Lord, it is enough to walk around just carrying our new found faith. As we grow, we add things to it that are useful for our circumstances.

Peter tells us that God “has given us everything we need for life and godliness” (2 Peter 1:3). God wants us to participate with him in his nature and to stop acting like the world. He wants us to be the best citizens of his kingdom that we can be. For this reason, we should start taking the good things God has given us and throw them into our purse of faith. And the Bible doesn’t only say to add them but to be diligent to add the necessities.

What should we add? Peter tells us the answer! First, be good. Do what you already know is right. This is where most young believers start. They realize they need to act right if they are going to please God. So they do what they know. It doesn’t stop there though. You need to add knowledge. You start to gain an understanding of how God wants you to live, experience him and escape the pain of this world.

Now add self-control to your knowledge. Self-control is learning restraint when your desire and will conflict with God’s desires and will. Keep yourself from opposing God. Control your passion and let God’s passion flow through you. This is pictured in Ephesians 5:18, “Do not be drunk with wine …but be filled with the Spirit”.

God knows that self-control isn’t easy to add to the bag. Sometimes it seems downright heavy. So the next thing we are commanded to add is perseverance. Stick with the Lord. Keep it up consistently. Don’t stop. Your muscles will grow, and that bag won’t seem heavy.

Now add godliness. This is often hard because we don’t have a clear definition of godliness in our minds. When we find this word in the New Testament, it means living our lives in a way that honors and pleases God. Our mere existence should bring glory and praise to our Merciful Savior. Every moment should be an act of worship. “Offer your bodies as living sacrifices …this is your spiritual act of worship” (Romans 12:1).

There are two more things listed that we need to fit in our purse of faith, brotherly kindness and love. We need to have a fondness and affection for others. Each person is a unique creation of God. If we truly love the Creator, we will respect what he has created and learn to view it from his perspective. When we have this attitude, God’s love is able to flow through us.

If we don’t diligently add these qualities to our faith, we are like a nearsighted person (2 Peter 1:9). Like someone who left home without their glasses, someone who forgot their purse and isn’t ready to face life. We all know that feeling. That panic you feel when your purse isn’t with you. Many Christians live in a constant state of panic because something is missing. They aren’t adding to their faith.

Remember, we don’t add all of these things at once. And we don’t add all we need of each item the first time around either. We keep adding stuff. When we do this, it keeps us “from being ineffective and unproductive” (2 Peter 1:8) Isn’t this why we carry everything we do in our purses, so we will be effective and productive away from home? We are away from our heavenly home, so be sure you don’t leave home without the things you need.

Put It On

Take a few minutes and go through your purse (No I’m not making you clean it out. That’s a different lesson). Pull out a few items and think about why you added them. Was it so you looked presentable? What do you need to add to your faith so that you look more presentable as a representative of God?  Was it for your health and well being? What do you need to add to your faith so that you are spiritually healthy? Was it for your enjoyment? What do you need to add to your faith so that you enjoy God’s fellowship more?

Get in the habit of asking this type of question as you pull things out of your purse over the next few weeks. Ask the Lord to show you the spiritual application and to remind you to add to your faith.

Deep Pockets of Forgiveness

“Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you.”

Colossians 3:13

The other day I was upset because I had been wronged. There was no doubt about it. The other party had injured me. What they did was clearly a sin, and I had a hard time letting go of the pain.

Of course, it was Sunday morning when I was thinking about this. I prayed “Lord, let me focus on you and not the problem. I want to attend church, encourage others, and worship you with my whole heart”.

While I was in the shower, The Lord reminded me to put on my spiritual clothes. Have compassion for the other person. Be gentle and kind. Humble yourself and be patient. So I tried to think of ways I could act in an honorable way when I saw this person, but I couldn’t keep my mind on the right attitudes.

Every time I tried to think proper thoughts, I would think back to the problem. I was even writing a script to a fake argument in my mind. I couldn’t let it go. I tried to plan to do right, but I kept thinking what was wrong.

Then I remembered Colossians 3:13. “Forgive whatever grievance you may have against one another”. I had put on my outfit, but hadn’t reached into my pockets and pulled out forgiveness. In fact, I had totally forgotten that I had pockets.

God gave me the ability to forgive. “His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness” (2 Peter 1:3). I know my spiritual pockets are deep and filled with forgiveness. My job is to reach deep into those pockets, pull out the gift of forgiveness given to me through his divine power and apply it to the situation.

It isn’t easy. An idea is prevalent in our culture that you don’t forgive unless the other person shows remorse and apologizes. Of course, an attitude of contrition is desirable. People should regret their sin and show a concern for those who have been injured by their actions. But, in God’s kingdom and the culture of heaven, contrition and regret do not have anything to do with whether we forgive or not. We do it because God has commanded it.

Choosing to forgive means that we no longer hold the wrong against the offending party. Just as God through the sacrifice of Jesus, no longer holds our sin and offenses against us, he asks us to release others from meeting our expectations. Not because they deserve it but because we are to emulate God. He is a loving Father who says to us “I want what is best for you, so do as I do because everything I do is right and trustworthy”.

Forgiveness reflects the glory of God and allows us to be living examples of his goodness. It also encourages others by showing kindness and tenderness. “Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you” (Ephesians 4:32). But there is another benefit to forgiveness that we often forget about. A forgiving heart is essential to good health.

On the Mayo clinic's web site,  you can find a list of the benefits of forgiveness. The physical benefits include: lower heart rate; lower blood pressure; reduced chronic pain; and less stress. Of course,  the connection between emotional and mental well-being and our physical health has been known since ancient times. “A heart at peace gives life to the body” (Proverbs 14:30). As we keep this in mind, we realize that there is no down side to forgiveness. It benefits everyone and harms no one.

It doesn’t mean that it is not hard. Consistent exercise is hard. Healthy eating habits are hard, especially when yummy smelling fast food can be found on every corner. Consistently teaching and training children is not easy. Faithfully attending and participating in church requires consistently choosing what is beneficial and right. Forgiveness is no different from any of these things. We need to form healthy and consistent habits that cause forgiveness to be the pattern of our life.

Consistency is the key because sometimes we have to forgive the same person for years for the same offense. It seems that our pockets are empty. It can feel like we have given until there is no more to give, but God has more forgiveness than you can imagine.

Read the book of Judges and you will see what I mean. The book is a cycle of the Israelites doing “evil in the eyes of God”, repenting, God granting forgiveness and deliverance and the people turning away again. It happens over and over again and yet God continues to forgive. He didn’t stop there either. God continues to forgive people to this day. “The Lord our God is merciful and forgiving, even though we have rebelled against him” (Daniel 9:9).

This same forgiveness that has been shown to God’s children is the same forgiveness that should be freely bestowed by God’s children. I applied this truth and went to church on that Sunday morning focused on God and his goodness rather than the pain I had been wallowing in earlier. The offending party didn’t apologize or ask for forgiveness, but in obedience I found peace for my heart. As John Ortberg said, “The only thing harder than forgiving, is not forgiving.”

Remember, God fills your pockets with the needed forgiveness. You will never run out, so give freely.

Put It On

Make a list of people that you need to forgive. Include yourself if that has been a problem for you. Take each situation to the Lord and ask him to fill your pockets with the necessary forgiveness. Remember this may not happen all at once. You may have to work on it day after day. It will be especially important to be consistent if anger, bitterness and resentment are deep seated.

Pray Ephesians 4:32 and Ephesians 5:1.

Lord, let me be kind, tenderhearted and forgiving just as you are. Jesus brought about an opportunity for closeness and peace with you. Let me offer that opportunity for closeness and peace to those I love by showing them forgiveness in your name. Let me imitate you just as small children imitate their parents. I know it won’t be perfect, but let it be a sincere reflection of the goodness I have seen in you.

The Smartphone of Peace

“Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful.”

Colossians 3:15

A smartphone is a powerful tool with impressive features. The features I use most on my smartphone are the calendar/appointment book, the address book and the “To Do” list (OK! I’ll be honest. I also play games on it.) It is a handy little gadget that keeps things in order for me. With one push of a button, I know what my schedule is or how to get in touch with family and friends.

This kind of order brings comfort and peace. God’s peace comforts me spiritually when I access the smartphone he has given for keeping order. The problem is that I have often been confused about where God wants me to be and when he wants me to be there. I have struggled to know with whom he wants me to keep in touch.  I am often unaware of what items are on his “To Do” list.

When I wasn’t using the smartphone that had been programmed and designed by God, my spiritual life was disorganized and often unproductive. During these times,  I had no peace. Striving to gain peace in my strength didn’t work. Eventually, I decided to see how God wanted to organize my life. By letting his schedule and his contact list take priority, I found peace.

God’s “To Do” list is short and sweet. “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind”; and, “Love your neighbor as yourself” (Luke 10:27). This seems simple enough. That’s how my “To Do” lists always look; simple enough on paper, but they take planning, hard work and time to complete them. This is no different.

Next we check to out our contacts. God brings contacts into our life, and they are not always the people we expect. They don’t always need our attention when it is most convenient either. Jesus explains this in the same passage as the verses above. He tells the story of the Good Samaritan. Our contacts are, therefore, the people that we meet along the path of life. We need to remember this as we go through our days.

It helps if we remember we aren’t being interrupted; we are being led to a divine appointment. God is adding to our contact list and filling our days with his schedule. He expects us to use our spiritual Smartphone in his service and to follow his agenda. This may require us to forgo our plans. We may have to attend to our enemies. It may cost us something. It won’t always be fun. It always requires discipline, but it will result in peace. “No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it” (Hebrews 12:11).

Jesus did not set his own agenda. He did what the Father asked. Since Jesus knew his schedule, contacts and “To Do” list were set by the Father, he accepted each challenge as a divine opportunity to glorify God in his body, even to the point of death. The result of this was peace, ours with God. “Since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ” (Romans 5:1).

The Apostle Paul followed Christ’s example. He didn’t always get to do what he had planned. He ended up in jail in Philippi. God used this seemingly inconvenient interruption as a divine appointment. Paul and Silas accepted the situation and used the opportunity to pray and sing hymns. That night after an earthquake Paul and Silas had the chance to share the good news of Jesus with the jailor and his family. The result? Eternal peace as the whole family trusted Jesus as their Savior.

Paul sent a letter to the Philippian church, which said, “Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me—put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you” (Philippians 4:9). The Philippians knew Paul’s history. Members of their church had come to know Jesus as Savior through Paul’s lifestyle that included peace in all circumstances. A few verses earlier he told them not to worry about anything. Just pray and give thanks, then God will give you peace that you can’t imagine.

Living in the will of God will bring us peace. “You will keep in perfect peace

him whose mind is steadfast, because he trusts in you” (Isaiah 26:3). This is a glorious promise, but it goes even farther than this. When we are using our spiritual smartphone in the service of God, it brings opportunities to share the truth of Jesus with others. This is our chance to share about the eternal peace that only God can give.

“The fruit of righteousness will be peace; the effect of righteousness will be quietness and confidence forever” (Isaiah 32:17)

Put It On

The smartphone of peace is a gift from God, but as with any gift you must use it. The way we are to access this gift of peace is to line our behavior and thoughts up with God’s. One of the definitions of peace is “harmony in personal relationships”. We must be in harmony with God if we want to be at peace.

Read Psalm 119:165, Job 22:21, and Proverbs 16:7.

Do you see the pattern? Submitting to God, obedience to his word and pleasing him bring peace.

In Malachi 2,  we can see a contrast between obedience to God and disobedience. The priests were being rebuked for not honoring God. In verses 5 and 6 of that chapter, we see that peace comes to those that obey and revere God. Verse 6 ends by pointing out that many are turned from sin by righteous behavior.

If we have a desire for those around us to know Jesus, it must start with our obedience and reverence for God. When others see that we are at peace with God, opportunities will arise that allow us to share how they too may find peace. Pray that you will seek peace with God by obedience and reverence.

The Watch of Self-Control

“For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men. It teaches us to say ‘No’ to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age, while we wait for the blessed hope—the glorious appearing of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ, who gave himself for us to redeem us from all wickedness and to purify for himself a people that are his very own, eager to do what is good.”

Titus 2:11-14

We all know what it means to live within our time constraints. Some of us know what it means, but we are not very good at it. Others are always on time and faithful to their schedules. Nevertheless, we all understand about picking and choosing how our time will be used. We also recognize the affects when we don’t pick and choose carefully. We end up feeling rushed as we play catch up. The pressure builds, and we feel overwhelmed with everything that needs to be accomplished. This is not a happy place.

This unhappy state leads to despair. Sometimes it seems like we will never catch up. We often give up and then whatever responsibility is left undone looms in front of us, ominously reminding us of our inadequacies.

On the other hand, when we manage our time well, we feel free to enjoy our accomplishments. We feel free to enjoy our relationships. The ticking of our watch no longer haunts us. In fact, the rhythmic ticking can bring a sense of well being and comfort.

Self-control works in a similar way. It restrains us by placing reasonable constraints on our behavior. We all understand the idea of self-control. Some of us are skilled at it, and some are not. Even so, we all know that self-control is a positive attribute and necessary to a successful life.

When you take a course in time management, you encounter certain phrases and ideas over and over again. “Time management is essential to success”. “The key to happiness and achievement is time management”. “Use your time wisely and you will reach your goals”. In other words, plan ahead and then use your watch.

We can easily substitute self-control for time management. Self-control is essential to a successful Christian walk. The key to happiness and achievement in the Lord is self-control. Use self-control and align your passions and desires with God’s will then you will reach the goals he has established for you. In other words, plan ahead so you can control yourself.

Self-control does require planning ahead. This lesson was drilled into my mind during an incident a few years back. My son was in an accident with the family car. The car was drivable, but the latch to the hood was damaged. Three different men at three different body shops warned me about the latch. I thought a lot about what I would do if the latch came undone and the hood flew up.

I planned ahead. I chose not to drive the car until I had to take it to the body shop for repairs. That morning I rehearsed in my mind what action I would take to prevent a problem or deal with one if it came up. Keep my speed low. If necessary roll down the window and use the double yellow line as a guide. I pictured where each safe pull-out was just in case I needed it. I also warned my son who was driving another vehicle behind me about the problem.

As you have probably guessed by now, the latch came undone, and the hood flew up into the windshield. I put my plan into action and all turned out well. I was quite shaken up, but we took care of the problem and arrived safely at our destination.

The Lord used this incident to teach me the importance of planning ahead to control myself. In that still small voice that God uses to speak to our inner being, he said to me “Sheri, this is a superb example of practicing self-control in all of life. Plan ahead so you don’t panic and do the wrong thing. Avoid the disasters you have been creating. Plan to control yourself.” If the problem had caught me off guard, I may have panicked, and the results could have been disastrous.

“Like a city whose walls are broken down is a man who lacks self-control” (Proverbs 25:28). A person who lacks self control is a disaster waiting to happen. There is no protection from the enemy. It’s messy. A sense of fear and anxiety exist in both of these situations.

Discipline will keep us from the attacks of the enemy and our situations will be less messy. We will sleep better at night knowing we live in peace and comfort because we have learned self-control.

Put It On

Memorize:  “Every athlete exercises self-control in all things. They do it to receive a perishable wreath, but we an imperishable” (1 Corinthians 9:25 ESV).

If you never use your watch, you will not do well with time management. If you do not use self-control, you will not be effective or joyful in the Lord. Take some time now to plan to act right today. Here are some ideas to help get you started.

Are you going to be stuck in traffic? Listen to worship music or a Christian audio book to help you focus on the Lord and not the situation.

Are you going shopping? Plan for long lines. Take a prayer list. Share about your faith with someone in line.

Are you likely to encounter someone who frustrates you? Make a mental list of that person’s admirable qualities and think on those things.

Do you have chores to do? Do them as unto the Lord.

Athletes train hard to accomplish their goals. Self-control demands training. Controlling your thoughts, attitudes and actions (self-control) requires careful thought and planning. Don’t let life catch you off guard, guard your life with self-control.

Chapter 5

Crowned with the Ultimate Accessory: Love

“And over all these virtues put on love.”

Colossians 3:14

Love starts in the heart of God and by his grace he crowns us with it. God sees us as holy, blameless and beautiful and crowns us winners in the only pageant that ever matters. This love is free to all and everyone can be a winner. We win when we become God’s child. At that moment,  a coronation ceremony takes place, and we are crowned by our Heavenly Father, the King, with a tiara that makes manifest his love for us. The tiara of love crowns us as a winner.

Love is the ultimate accessory and looks fantastic with the rest of our outfit. Love will never clash with the clothes that God has given us. It only enhances the overall look. Our true beauty is revealed by it. So wear it proudly.

A Gift from the Heart of God

“Later I passed by, and when I looked at you and saw that you were old enough for love, I spread the corner of my garment over you and covered your nakedness. I gave you my solemn oath and entered into a covenant with you, declares the Sovereign Lord, and you became mine.”

Ezekiel 16:8

Thousands of little girls fanaticize about winning pageants. They dream of wearing a beautiful gown and matching heels. They picture themselves in perfect hair with flawless makeup. They pursue their talents, singing in the hairbrush, ballet in the kitchen and playing “Chopsticks” on the piano. They envision the day when TV viewers every where will love and admire them.

The dream isn’t usually about winning the scholarship; it’s about being beautiful. They might like flowers, but the bouquet is not the prize they envy, it is the admiration. The thrill of competition may sound good in theory, but what they aspire to be is not one of the participants but the winner, the best, the one who is crowned with love.

I am here to tell you that if you know Jesus as your Savior, you have already won the most prestigious pageant of all. You walked the stage of life in your best outfit. You presented your best talents. You sought the judges’ approval. You dreamed of being crowned with glory.

When we came before the only holy and righteous Judge, we realized that the best clothing we had was “filthy rags” (Isaiah 64:6). Our best talents were not righteousness, but rubbish (Philippians 3:8). We had no righteousness or goodness of our own. We wanted the approval of the judge, but we never measured up.

God loved us so much, not because of anything inherently virtuous in us, but because “God is love” (1 John 4:16). We looked a mess and still he chose us. “But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8). He loved us not because we deserved it. We couldn’t present ourselves before the Judge in an acceptable way.

God knew this and loved us anyway because he is love. He knew that if he clothed us, gave us talent and approved of us, we could stand before him in the pageant of life and on through eternity as winners. He chose to crown us with his love and glory through Jesus Christ his son (Romans 8:30-31, 39). We have been made beautiful in Jesus.

Although this was a free gift for us, it cost Jesus dearly. Jesus took on the ordinary and became unattractive so we could become extraordinary and attractive. “He had no beauty or majesty to attract us to him, nothing in his appearance that we should desire him. He was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows and familiar with suffering. Like one from whom men hide their faces he was despised, and we esteemed him not (Isaiah 53:2-3).

Instead of a crown of admiration, love, glory, and honor befitting the King of Glory, Jesus wore a crown of thorns. Instead of a robe of righteousness he was stripped, and his clothes were divided among his captors (John 19:24). Instead of cheers and tears of joy, the people yelled in a unified voice, crucify him. The insults and curses that reached his ears should have been the cries against us and our character, but Jesus took on himself the iniquity of us all (Isaiah 53:6). He did this so we could be declared beautiful in the sight of God.

We are declared beautiful, and we are allowed to wear God’s characteristics since we are his children. “How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are!” (1 John 3:1).

True beauty, the kind of beauty that allows you to win in the pageant of life comes from God. It is the beauty he had bestowed on us when we became a new creation in Christ. It is the beauty of quietness, peace, gentleness and love. It is a beauty that emanates from within and shows the glory of the living God without.

Put It On

God loves you and has poured out his love to you through Jesus Christ. “This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins” (1 John 4:10). Meditate on this verse.

Today, praise God for loving you. Praise him for declaring you righteous, holy and beautiful in his sight. Praise him for crowning you with his love.

Crowned a Winner

“I adorned you with jewelry: I put bracelets on your arms and a necklace around your neck, and I put a ring on your nose, earrings on your ears and a beautiful crown on your head.”

Ezekiel 16:11-12

This passage from Ezekiel is specifically speaking about the city of Jerusalem, but an application can be made to all that “have passed from death to life” by God’s love and matchless power. The allegory starts in verse three. God sees a foreign baby that is unwanted and rejected. It is incapable of saving itself so God who is “rich in mercy” gives life to this baby. He doesn’t stop there; he feeds it, clothes it, watches over it as it grows and pours out abundant blessing on the one he loves.

He feeds her with fine flour, olive oil and honey. Like manna from heaven, it is the perfect provision in the perfect amount for the one in need. And it sounds delicious. Who doesn’t love biscuits and honey? Yummy!

Praise our Saviors Holy Name, he doesn’t stop with just the bare necessities. He provides from his abundance. In verses 10 through 13 he lists the abundant gifts that he gave to the one he loved. He gave an embroidered dress, leather sandals, fine linens and expensive clothes.

Now we come to the part you have been waiting for; the jewelry. The Lord adorned the one he loved with gifts, an evidence of his strong affection. He didn’t just give the gifts either; he placed them on his love. A bracelet for the arm, a necklace around the neck, a ring on the nose and earrings were gifts from the King of Kings. They were gifts from the lover of our soul. After all these things, he adorns the one he loves with a crown.

The Lord bestowed splendor on the one he loved and made her “beauty perfect” (Ezekiel 16:14). When God had completed her outfit, she was gorgeous from head to toe. This is exactly what he has done with you and me.

We have been saved from certain death. “You were dead in your transgression and sins” (Ephesians 2:1), “but because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ” (Ephesians 2:4-5). He didn’t leave us to die in the field of sin and pain, but mercifully picked us up and raised us as his own.

Our loving Father fed us with the Bread of Life. Jesus said “here is the bread that comes down from heaven, which a man may eat and not die. I am the living bread” (John 6:50-51). Jesus is the one that sustains us and provides nourishment day by day so we can live for the Lord. The nourishment that Jesus gives is filling, sweet and provides energy to live and grow for God’s glory. His provision is delicious and exactly what we need!

He has clothed us in his character. When we walk in the Spirit, we are wearing the attributes of God and they look fabulous on us. They fit perfectly and enhance the beauty that our Creator endowed us with.

To top it all off, God places on us a crown of love! As we saw in the last lesson, he lavished his love on us (see 1 John 3:1). He gives us sparkling jewelry, a banner or sash that says, “Loved by the King” and crowns us with a beautiful tiara that only the richest monarch could afford.

King David understood God’s deep love for his people and it made him joyful and happy. He couldn’t keep from singing. This is from one of the songs he sang to the Lord. “Praise the Lord, O my soul; all my inmost being, praise his holy name. Praise the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits—who forgives all your sins and heals all your diseases, who redeems your life from the pit and crowns you with love and compassion, who satisfies your desires with good things so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s” (Psalm 103:1-5).

We are undeniably crowned winners. We have been crowned with God’s love! It just doesn’t get any better than that.

Put It On

Prepare your heart and mind to write a song or poem for the Lord. Think over this lesson: All you need has been provided. Great blessings have been poured out on you. You are crowned with God’s love.

Start your song with the first two verses from Psalm 103. “Praise the Lord, O my soul; all my inmost being, praise his holy name. Praise the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits.” Now write to the Lord from your inmost being. Allow the Spirit to reveal to you the benefits you have received from God.

End your song the way David ended his, “Praise the Lord, O my soul” (Psalm 103:22)

The Jacuzzi of Love

“Keep yourselves in God’s love as you wait for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ to bring you to eternal life.”

Jude 21

God declared his love for us. We were chosen “in him before the creation of the world” (Ephesians 1:4). We were created “in his own image” (Genesis 1:27). “While we were still sinners Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8). And last lesson, we learned that we were declared winners by God. In these actions,  (and many others) God made his love evident.

In just these few examples, we see that God provides the kind of love that we all long for. In love, God respects, enjoys and values us. Our value to God is immeasurable. He created us to be in a love relationship with him, enjoying one another. God wanted us to walk in life with him. We are so valuable to him that Jesus died to buy us back from sin and death.

God’s love is also respectful. He respects us! Two of the definitions for respect, from the Merriam-Webster’s Dictionary are: “An act of giving particular attention: Consideration” and “the quality or state of being esteemed”. God shows special consideration, or respect, for each one of us as individuals. He makes a relationship available but never forces himself on us. He desires us but never out of selfishness. He loved us first, when we had nothing to offer him. Why? Because he holds us in high regard.

We know that God loves us, so we need to keep ourselves reflecting on and trusting in this love. Keeping ourselves in God’s love isn’t a matter of doing or being something so God will love us. Rather, it is knowing that he loves us and abandoning ourselves to the love relationship that he began.

I enjoy sitting in our hot tub that is out on our back porch. We live in a rural area, in the mountains. It is extremely quiet, beautiful, and private. The quietness relaxes my mind. The beauty calms my soul. The privacy allows me to be myself and ease my emotional stress. Blowing jets and warm water loosen tight muscles, bringing relief to my tired body. Aaahhh!

It is wonderful to spend time in the hot tub, but the benefits don’t end when I get out. I leave relaxed and calm. I’m warmed through and through. The luscious experience sticks with me for hours, and the memory draws me back often. I long to be there again enjoying the peace and comfort.

Keeping ourselves in the love of God is a similar event. I call it, relaxing in the “Jacuzzi of Love”. It should be a rejuvenating event that eases our mind, soul, spirit, and even our bodies. We should take time to release our control over our worries, thoughts, and emotions to the comfort of God’s love. We need to allow his blessed presence to encircle us in comfort, peace and joy.

My hot tub is always warm and ready for me, and God is ready for us to rest in his love. My time in my hot tub is beneficial for my body, soul, spirit, and mind. Imagine the positive benefits of soaking up God’s love. The advantages I gain from sitting in hot water on my back porch last for hours. Sitting in the presence of God and basking in his love will bring profits that are eternal. Once again I must say, Aaahhh!

We now know that we are to keep ourselves in a place to experience God’s love and that it is incredible when we do it. The best part is that it is extraordinarily simple and incredibly beneficial. We should take time on a regular basis to jump into the vastness of God’s love.

In the first three chapters of the book of Ephesians, Paul declares the blessings that are ours in Jesus Christ. He gives a beautiful description of how we are loved by God (see esp. verses 1:4-5 and 2:4). He ends this section with a prayer. “And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God” (Ephesians 3:17-19).

This is my prayer for you. That you will discover the vastness of God’s love and enjoy time basking in it.

Put It On

Soak in God’s love for a time today. Here is a list of some of my favorite passages, hymns and memory verses that remind me of God’s love. Maybe you will enjoy them too!

Biblical passages

Ephesians 1-3

Psalm 103

1 John 4:7-19

Hymns

“Here is Love Vast as the Ocean”

“And Can it Be That I Should Gain?”

“Jesus Loves Me”

Memory verses

Jeremiah 31:3

Lamentations 3:22-24

Zephaniah 3:17

1         John 3:1

Dry Off and Get Dressed

“Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity.”

Colossians 3:12-14

We are God’s chosen people. We are set apart for a special purpose, to be God’s instrument to reach the world with his love. And we are loved, not as the world loves, but loved in perfection by a faithful and compassionate God. Now get dressed.

The verses above are a command. We don’t have a choice. We have to get out of the hot tub and do our chores. God wants us to enjoy quiet times with him, but he also wants us to cooperate with him to reach sinners with the good news of Jesus Christ, the gospel of our salvation. We have jobs, chores, family, and personal responsibilities to attend to.

I trust that you had a wonderful time soaking in the love of God. I pray that it warmed your heart and comforted you with peace and joy. Meeting with God is always supernatural. It was probably a mountain top experience.

There is a story in the gospels about a quiet time the disciples had with Jesus. Peter, James, and John were on the mountain with Jesus when suddenly Jesus started to shine. Moses and Elijah showed up and they were glowing too (and they had been dead for hundreds of years). This was unquestionably a supernatural mountain top experience.

Peter thought it would be a smart idea to stay up on the mountain. He offered to build shelters for the glowing ones. I am sure that the answer he got was not expected. “A bright cloud enveloped them and a voice from the cloud said, ‘This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased. Listen to him!’” (Matthew 17:5).

The disciples were scared and fell on the ground. I understand that response. I would have been pretty terrified too! According to the account in Matthew, Jesus touched them, told them to get up and not to be afraid. They looked around, and it was a quiet time again with Jesus. Then they came down from the mountain.

This must have been fabulous for all involved. It must have been especially wonderful for Jesus. For the moment transfigured, communing with beings from the heavenly realms and hearing loving words from his Father. I wonder if, for a moment, he thought about Peter’s idea. I’m sure he knew it would be nice to stay up there on the mountain, but he had been called to do the Father’s will. He had to go and do the job that he alone could do.

Moses had a similar experience. He was up on the mountain with God for forty days, enjoying personal time with his Lord. Then God told to him to go down from the mountain. The people had turned to idol worship, and Moses needed to intervene. Under those circumstances, I am sure Moses wasn’t excited to leave the presence of God to go deal with a sinful nation, but that was the job he was called to do. He obeyed and did it.

Jesus and Moses both enjoyed other times on the mountain with the Father, but they continued to come down to do the will of God as long as he wanted them to. When their job was over they went up the mountain and God took them home.

You need to leave your “Jacuzzi of Love” even if it is a mountain top experience. Get dressed and go do the job God called you to do. The blessing of spending that time with the Lord will be a comfort as you go. You will be prepared to serve. You will also be blessed with an appealing side effect.

When I get out of my hot tub, I am relaxed and calm. People notice this. It is out of the ordinary. When Moses met with God, his face glowed so much that it scared the people. He had to wear a veil because the glory of God shown so brightly about him. After Jesus spent quiet time with his Father, he came back and revealed the glory of God in miracles and by his wisdom.

You like Jesus and Moses are loved by God. You like Jesus and Moses are called to a distinctive and unique purpose. Renew yourself in the “Jacuzzi of God’s Love” and dry off. Get dressed. Then go and fulfill your calling with the glory of the living God brightly shining through you.

Put It On

When you spend time with the Lord today, bask in his love again, but before you start, ask him to reveal to you when it is time to leave and go to work. God told Moses when to leave. Jesus told the disciples when to go. God will reveal to you when it is time to go.

When he touches your heart and tells you to go, it will be in the form of a command. It was for Moses. “Then the Lord said to Moses, ‘Go down, because your people, whom you brought up out of Egypt, have become corrupt’” (Exodus 32:7). It was for the disciples. “Get up.” “Do not be afraid.” They obeyed. We need to obey too.

Wearing Love

“But if anyone obeys his word, God’s love is truly made complete in him. This is how we know we are in him: Whoever claims to live in him must walk as Jesus did.”

1 John 2:5-6

We are loved by God. This love is a personal, individual love. We do need to enjoy it, rest in it and explore it. But as we saw in the last lesson we are still required to go out and show others the love of God. We are to wear it in public.

This takes effort on our part. To do this, we have to submit to God’s plans for change in our life. These are outlined in the scripture. Many people see these plans as a list of rules and regulations that we follow to make God happy with us. I see them differently.

Following God’s law is not about making him happy with me, it is for my benefit. God uses the principles and truths in scripture to bring out the best in us. He crowned us because he loved us. Now he wants to make the beauty he has bestowed on us evident to everyone. This will bring honor and glory to Him and joy and peace to you and me.

You were made to be beautiful for God and others. “Let love and faithfulness never leave you; bind them around your neck, write them on the tablet of your heart. Then you will win favor and a good name in the sight of God and man” (Proverbs 3:3-4). Who doesn’t want to be favored by God and man?

You are already beautiful to God. You already have his favor. He chose you and saved you. He clothed you in righteousness. He sees us without sin because Jesus took it away. He sees our full beauty that sin hides. He wants us to live this life as sin free as possible so others will see the beauty that he sees. A plan for a makeover is described in his Word, and we must follow it.

I love “feel good” movies with happy endings. Two of my favorites are My Fair Lady and Miss Congeniality. They are wonderful examples of hidden beauty discovered and developed.

God wants to be your Henry Higgins or Victor Melling. He knows best. He knows what it will take to make you into the beauty he knows you can be. One catch, you must submit to the work he wants to do. Eliza Doolittle and Gracie Hart had to follow the directions of their teacher or the makeover would have failed. It required obedience.

It is not easy. You cannot be a wimp. Changes can be painful. Gracie Hart’s transformation in Miss Congeniality required the removal of stray hair. She had to be waxed. It was part of the beautification process. Waxing isn’t for wimps.

It is a process. Give it time. You can’t do it all right always. You will make mistakes, just learn from them. You will embarrass yourself and God. He is willing to take the chance, are you? Any good mentor allows the student to try out their new skills. God is a good mentor.

Do you remember the scene from My Fair Lady when Eliza went to the races and shocked everyone when she described her aunt’s possible murder? People were already surprised by this discussion and then she screamed out an obscenity at the horse. Whoops!

This did not negate what she had already accomplished. It just pointed out the work that still needed to be done. Henry Higgins continued the process. The Great Mentor will continue working with us when this happens.

Wearing the love of God and showing the beauty that we were designed for requires many changes:

Attitude changes. Gracie Hart had to change her view of pageants and the girls that participate. We will change our attitudes about God and Christians as we grow.

Changes in our thought processes. Eliza Doolittle needed to see herself as special, not common. Many Christian women struggle with this also.

Emotional changes. Learning to find joy in the process was difficult for both of these characters. Eliza started singing one night when she finally made the changes in her speech patterns. Gracie was reminded by Victor, “Smilers wear a crown, losers wear a frown”.

The movies wrap this all up in a few hours. Don’t be fooled. Putting on the love of God, living a life that honors him and blesses others, will require a lifetime of submission to God’s mentoring.

Put It On

God is the most loving Father, thinking only of what is best for us. When we know this, understand it and live it, we show God’s love to the world.

Jesus said, “If you love me, you will obey what I command” (John 14:15). This is not meant to force us to prove our love by how righteously we act. Many people falsely believe this, and that’s sad.

When you love someone, truly love them, you trust them, respect them and want to please them. You honor their wishes. It is not drudgery it is a joy to please the one you love. This is what Jesus is saying. If you truly love him you will want to please him: by believing that he only wants what is best for you; by respecting his wishes and plans; and by pleasing him with a joyful heart.

When we show this kind of love to another person, people see God’s love in our attitude and actions. They also hear us speak in loving ways. We are clothed in love, and it is evident.

This is the kind of love relationship we should have with the Lord, wearing our love out in the open for all to see.

Meditate on these verses today and ask God to touch you with the excitement of the day you fell in love with him.

“I know your deeds, your hard work and your perseverance. I know that you cannot tolerate wicked men, that you have tested those who claim to be apostles but are not, and have found them false. You have persevered and have endured hardships for my name, and have not grown weary. Yet I hold this against you: You have forsaken your first love. Remember the height from which you have fallen! Repent and do the things you did at first. If you do not repent, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place.” (Revelation 2:2-5)

Chapter 6

Putting on my Face

“For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ.”

Galatians 3:27

Putting on my face! I love this old fashioned phrase because it reminds me of old black and white movies and TV shows. I also think it sounds funny. It’s as if these women think they had a blank piece of skin with no eyes, nose or mouth and they are going to paint them on. It is a funny thought.

We know what they mean by it though. They are going to put on their makeup to enhance their features. They want to look their best before they go out.

Most of us choose to fix our faces. We start as the person that God made us. Then we fix little blemishes. We add some color. We learn to embellish our best attributes.

There are a number of reasons we do this. Many women feel naked without their makeup. Some feel less embarrassed and more confident. More women are using makeup, creams and lotions as protection against sun and pollution. They don’t want to expose their skin and risk damage.

In order not to be naked, embarrassed and exposed, let’s look at some truths about our spiritual face. Let’s discover ways to put on a godly countenance so we will radiate his glory to the world.

A Pregnant Woman’s Glow

“And we pray this in order that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and may please him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God, being strengthened with all power according to his glorious might so that you may have great endurance and patience, and joyfully giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in the kingdom of light.”

Colossians 1:10-12

Once we come to know Jesus as our Savior, a new life comes to dwell in us. This new life is God himself in the person of the Holy Spirit (Romans 8:9). We were dead in our trespasses and sin, and God gave us life. This life that is in us is to produce fruit. We are now to give birth to things in our living body that our dead selves were incapable of producing. This is possible because the Spirit is within us producing life.

We are in essence, pregnant with life from God. A life which grows in us until we give birth to the fruit that is maturing in us. We should take great care to nurture the life within. As we do, others will see the glory of God in our face just as they see a healthy rosy glow on a pregnant woman’s face.

What a tremendous opportunity we have. We are so loved by the Supreme Being of the entire universe that he chose us to carry his life inside of us. He doesn’t stop there; he allows it to grow to maturity in us. This new life, as it grows to maturity within us, bears his character and nature. From the beginning of time, he planned to share his life with you and to produce new life through you.

In the course of a pregnancy, the body goes through a lot of different stages. The face shows the stages clearly to the world. Early changes in your body aren’t too comfortable. In that first trimester when you are sick you can look a little worn out. It is much the same in your spiritual life. At first you are so excited about the new life you have in Jesus, but soon after it gets difficult. You begin to realize you will have to make many changes for this new life to develop. This can take a mental toll on you.

You learn quickly that you need to take proper care of yourself for the sake of the new life. As you take in healthy nourishment, get enough rest and exercise, you start feeling better. As you feel better, it shows on your face. You start receiving compliments on your complexion. People start asking personal questions about your growth and the fruit growing within.

When the life inside grows to this point, you have the opportunity to share with others how exciting this experience is for you. It may seem weird at first, but pretty soon you become accustomed to it. You even start to enjoy the interest and look forward to opportunities to talk to people about the experience.

Soon you become totally overwhelmed at the miracle that is happening in you. Every day brings renewed awe and joy. You can’t contain the thanksgiving that pours out to the Creator of life. What a glorious God who allows us to participate in his life giving power that brings hope to mankind. Your face is happy and content because you are loved and give love.

A small setback usually takes place just about the time you feel most excited about this adventure. People, all people, those you know and those you don’t, start touching you. They move close and invade your space. Then they feel free to touch your belly, forgetting that they are touching you and not the life that is within. They want to be close to you so they can be close to the new life.

I wonder how Jesus felt about this. People knew that life, eternal life flowed from him. Many didn’t understand how to obtain it, so they just touched him. They drew close. They were drawn to life. When people touched Jesus, they were healed, blessed, forgiven and loved. They were given life. They were desperate and without hope, but they found life in Jesus.

As people see our face full of joy and life, they will be drawn to the hope that we radiate. We should be ready and willing to share with others who ask about the life and hope that we have. “But in your hearts set apart Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect” (1 Peter 3:15).

Our faces reveal more about our inner selves than we sometimes realize. We need to nurture the life within if we expect to have a radiant glow on our face. As the life of the Spirit begins to cause fruit to grow, people will notice. Be ready for them to ask about the hope that is in you. Be ready for them to draw close trying to touch the life that you have. Be ready to turn a kind and compassionate face toward them and share Jesus.

Put It On

Look for ways to nurture the life within. If we are to enjoy healthy growth, it will require discipline. Seeking to discipline ourselves in our spiritual lives requires us to abstain from some things and to choose to participate in others. Just as when we are pregnant, we choose to abstain from caffeine and we choose to add vitamins to our daily regimen. To protect and grow in our spiritual life, we can abstain from food (fasting), noise (silence) and people (solitude). We can also choose to participate in healthy activities like Bible study, prayer and fellowship with other believers.

Read Galatians 5:16-6:5. Make a list of things to abstain from and a list of things to participate in. Remember you are keeping yourself healthy by these choices so the life inside will grow to fruition.

The Mess in the Mirror

“Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like a man who looks at his face in a mirror and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like. But the man who looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom, and continues to do this, not forgetting what he has heard, but doing it—he will be blessed in what he does.”

James 1:23-25

I have recently enjoyed the privilege of attending two important weddings. I was the mother of the groom twice this past year. My sons are both privileged to enjoy God’s favor as he blessed them with beautiful Godly wives. I was thrilled and excited for the boys. I love my new daughters-in-law. I did have one worry before the weddings. Who was going to do my makeup and hair?

I looked in the mirror and realized I needed help. I am more of a T-shirt, shorts and flip-flops kind of girl. I can shop for a dress that looks fabulous, and I can find shoes to match, but the face and hair are killers. I am not skilled at them at all.

I know when I look in the mirror that something needs to be done, but where do I start?  When you don’t practice daily and the time comes when it is necessary to put on your best, it seems impossible. Do I start with teeth whitening, moisturizing, covering up flaws, getting rid of unwanted hair, tanning or applying sun screen?

The same scenario plays itself out when I view myself in the mirror of God’s Word. I glance at myself and see many areas that reflect the flaws that I possess. I have tended to do the same thing with the truth I see about myself in the Bible and the truth I see in the mirror. For a few minutes after looking at my reflection, I think about what could be done to improve the situation. It doesn’t take long for me to get busy with the things of life and forget about how I appear to others.

It sounds just like the man in the book of James. Doesn’t it? Knowing the truth about how we look doesn’t change our face. It takes effort and we must make choices about what needs to be altered. To look good for the weddings required not just knowledge about what was wrong, but the desire and the necessary effort to improve.

I have dry skin and live in a dry climate. It is a fact. I know it, and I believe it. I also know that if I stay hydrated, drinking plenty of water it helps. I also have some excellent face creams that are dermatologist recommended. They feel good when I put them on and make a noticeable  difference when used according to the manufacturers’ recommendation.

I do have a problem though. I am not disciplined in drinking the amount of water that I need, and I only put on moisturizers and lotions when the problem gets extremely distressing. It helps a little when I do this, but to get the best benefits I need to make these things a habit. It would have also been helpful if these were a habit before the weddings. I would have had fewer things to be stressing about in preparation for the big days.

So many of us live our Christian lives like this. We know so much about the Bible. We have sound beliefs, but we do not choose to apply this knowledge consistently so that it becomes the habit of our lives. We look in the mirror and see ourselves lacking, but we walk away before we have implemented a plan to make true and lasting changes.

If we truly want people to see God’s glory and love in our faces, we must look into scripture learn the truth and then with determination implement a plan of attack to make the necessary changes. In 1 Corinthians 9, the apostle Paul compares the Christian life to training for a race. It requires strict discipline. In verse 27, he says “I beat my body and make it my slave.” God’s truth and knowledge must conquer our bodies so that our whole being honors and glorifies God.

Start making changes today. Don’t wait. You shouldn’t wait until you have to be prepared for a big event. Change one small thing today. Plan to make it a habit. As you conquer one issue, ask God to reveal another and start to make that one thing a habit. Eventually, the flaws will be covered. The teeth will be white. You will be moisturized and hydrated. You will be put together, beautifully reflecting the Glory of your Holy God.

Put It On

When you look into the mirror, over the next few mornings, pay attention to the habits that you have developed. Brushing teeth, washing, toning moisturizing, putting on makeup, plucking eyebrows, brushing hair, etc. These habits are a learned behavior. At one point in time,  you had to determine that they were a priority and set time aside and make an effort to do them.

To put our best spiritual features forward the same planning, effort and determination has to be applied. Start small but add something to your spiritual routine: Join a Bible study. Set aside more time for prayer. Make a thanksgiving notebook. Plan and start a new area of service (something as simple as a phone ministry to shut-ins).

As you make these changes, remember that you are trying to look your best for the Lover of your soul. It is for God’s pleasure that you are doing this.

A Radiant Face

“When Aaron and all the Israelites saw Moses, his face was radiant, and they were afraid to come near him.”

Exodus 34:30

Radiant is a common word used in descriptions for makeup, lotions and spa treatments. This advertising works because women want a radiant glow. As Christian women, we want a radiant glow that comes from being in the presence of God.

Radiance is not something we can easily put on. Most makeup lines and spa treatments promise radiance by giving us a fresh and natural look. I personally don’t think my fresh and natural look is that radiant, because if it was, I wouldn’t need the spa treatment or the makeup. I have learned that I look better when I have a tan. It doesn’t have to be too intense, just a bit of color, to help me glow.

A tan is a natural look with benefits. I feel better if I get out in the sunshine. When you feel better you look better. If I have a tan, I am protected from burning too easily. Small amounts of sun exposure also provide vitamin D.  It also helps that I live in Arizona where I have the opportunity to get out in the fresh air and sunshine almost every day.

I think that tanning is similar to what Moses experienced when his face was radiant. For Moses, it wasn’t exposure to the sun but to the brilliance of God that made his face shine. We can also shine with the glory of God and enjoy the benefits if we tan in the presence of the Son.

Sounds good, but how do we bask in his presence until we glow? Can I actually shine with God’s glory? Yes. Let’s look at some principles from Moses story to learn how.

“Now Moses used to take a tent and pitch it outside the camp some distance away, calling it the ‘tent of meeting.’ Anyone inquiring of the LORD would go to the tent of meeting outside the camp” (Exodus 33:7). Moses deliberately planned to meet with God. His plans included a place and required him to set time aside. When we chose to tan, we have to plan time to be out in the sun. It seems silly to think that we will get a tan sitting in our living room watching TV, yet many people think that reflecting the glory of God requires nothing more. We must plan to meet with God if we are going to shine for him.

Another thing Moses did was to set up the tent outside of the camp. I think this was necessary to get out from under the shade of the world. If he allowed the situations of the day to hang like a cloud over him, he wouldn’t receive the full benefit of the radiance of God. So he positioned himself right before the Lord without allowing anyone or anything from his daily life to block the Light. He sat in the light, not in the shade.

This was a habit with Moses. He knew that one time in the sun was not enough to get a decent tan. Let’s look at an important phrase from Exodus 33:8 says “Whenever Moses went out to the tent.” This was not a one time event. Moses went to meet with God regularly. To get a decent tan, you must be consistent. A noticeable change is not noticed the first time you tan for ten minutes. And tans fade fast too. Routinely basking in the glory of God is the only way for us to shine consistently.

The glory of God is something we are supposed to wear. There is a problem though. We cannot put it on. Although it is a gift from God, we cannot choose to put it on. I can’t just choose and plan to put on a tan. I can place myself in the right circumstances to obtain a tan, but I can’t put it on. The glory of God is available, and we should be wearing it, but we can’t put it on. We must plan to be in the presence of God where the glory shines. We have to arrange the time, place and proper attire for the tanning session. We need to come regularly, before the throne of the Living God, dressed in humility (undergarments) ready for the True Light to shine on us.

We won’t just look better if we have the glory of God shining in us; we will also have protection from the elements and added vitamins in our spiritual selves. We will grow into thankful women who are thrilled to live where they can get out in the fresh air and sunshine of God’s presence regularly.

Put It On

Read Exodus 33:7-23 and Exodus 34:29-35

Identify at least three things in this passage that encourage you to seek the glory of God. Now identify the conditions that could be upsetting or frightening if you shone with the glory of God. The glory of God will leave its mark on you. Be prepared to stand out from the crowd. Moses was undoubtedly seen as an oddity. How do you think your family and friends will react if you embody the glory of God? Will it upset them? Will they ask you to cover it up?

It may cost you something to follow God into his glory, but “no one who has left home or wife or brothers or parents or children for the sake of the kingdom of God will fail to receive many times as much in this age and, in the age to come, eternal life (Luke 18:29-30).

Unveiling

“But whenever anyone turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away.”

2 Corinthians 3:16

“And we, who with unveiled faces all reflect the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into his likeness with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.”

2 Corinthians 3:18

When most women in our western culture think of wearing a veil it is associated with a bride on her wedding day. Dressed all in white, the bride walks down the aisle on the arm of her father. When she meets up with the groom, the veil is lifted, and her beauty is revealed. She radiates joy and the groom beams with pride and pleasure.

I wondered whether this image would bring clarity to the verses in 2 Corinthians about veils and unveiling. It didn’t take long for me to realize that I needed  more background if the above verses were going to make sense to me. As I soon discovered, there are exciting truths revealed when the veil is removed.

The exact history of the veil is hard to trace. Almost every culture has a use for veils somewhere in its history. Many of the purposes for veils were and are of religious significance. I found it intriguing that almost every purpose for their use could be an application for the verses we are looking at today. So let’s look at the history I discovered.

People from a number of different cultures wore veils to distort or cover their faces in order to be protected from evil spirits. Since we have turned to the Lord, the one true Spirit lives in our inner being and we now live unveiled revealing his glory. We no longer need to be fearful of the evil spirits of this world. Jesus has conquered them. It is no longer necessary for us to hide our faces from the spirit of the world, the spirits of jealousy, fear, deceit, or error for God’s glory is revealed when we face the powers of darkness with unveiled faces revealing the glory of the Spirit of God. The veil is taken away.

Arranged marriages are foreign to our culture, but they have been practiced in much of the world throughout history. Some young women and promised brides wore veils to keep their intended from seeing them prior to the marriage, for fear that the bridegroom would back out. We wore a veil to cover our sinful ugliness fearing that we wouldn’t be accepted. Isn’t it fantastic that Jesus knew what we looked under the veil and still accepted us as his own? He wasn’t tricked into accepting us. Our union with him was planned by the Father before the beginning of time (Eph 1:11). Jesus knew what we were like before he lifted the veil. He still chose to lift it and in doing so, he revealed the glory of God, putting away our sinfulness, transforming us into beautiful brides by his love.

This leads nicely into the next reason for veils. When a bridegroom lifted the veil it was considered a sign of his acceptance and approval of his new bride. We have been accepted by Jesus. We belong to him for eternity. He will always be faithful and true to his promises. And since he accepted us we are now members of the family of God. Our beloved lifted the veil and took us to be his own.

Veils were also a sign that the young woman had not yet been initiated into the ways of man. The uniqueness of the marriage relationship was still unfamiliar to her. She had not yet experienced intimacy and pleasure with a lover. Before Jesus took us as his own, his ways were unknown to us. We longed for a special relationship of love and closeness, but it was not yet realized. When Jesus lifted the veil we were initiated into the ways of God. We finally understood true intimacy and love. Our spirits were united in God’s holy love, and we now and forever belong to him.

“For we know, sisters loved by God, that he has chosen you, because our gospel came to you not simply with words, but also with power, with the Holy Spirit and with deep conviction.” 1 Thessalonians 1:4-5

Put It On

A wedding ring is a reminder that a man has lifted the veil and accepted his bride to be his own. It is a symbol or a token of the pledged love. God has given us a token of his pledged love. It is the Holy Spirit. God chose us, included us in Christ and sealed us with the Spirit. We are marked by the Spirit. Just as a wedding ring says, “Hands off she already belongs to someone”, the Spirit indicates to all that we belong to God by manifesting God’s glory in us.

We should no longer cover ourselves with the veil of worldliness. We have been unveiled by Jesus and we should proudly wear, for all to see, the glory of God in the power of the Spirit. In this way, all will know that we belong to God and to him alone.

Ask the Spirit of God to reveal ways in which you are veiling God’s glory and preventing others from knowing you belong to him and him alone. Once they are revealed to you ask Jesus to come and unveil you again allowing the transforming power of the Spirit to shine forth in your beautiful face.

A Certain Look

“For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ.”

2 Corinthians 4:6

Have you noticed how many shows and movies about modeling there are these days? They often talk about women with “a certain look.” One advertisement says, “Do you have the look?” And another says, “She’s got the look.” Everybody has a look. What they are looking for is a specific look.

Sometimes we hear people refer to others with a look specific to certain decades. For instance, “She looks as if she stepped right out of the seventies.” Some people have looks that tell about their feelings. “She looks mad” or “She looks happy”.

Many of the older Christian women that I knew from my youth had a certain look. No matter what the young people were doing, it seemed that these ladies were unhappy with them. To all outward appearances, these women were bitter and disagreeable. We used to say that they were the ones that had been baptized in lemon juice so they couldn’t help having a sour expression.

As Christian women, we are called to a certain look. Sour isn’t it. We are to have a bright and cheerful appearance. Not a phony or put on fake expression of pseudo joy, but an expression of true contentment and peace that manifests itself in our appearance.

To obtain God’s certain look, we need to consider a few verses. First, “A happy heart makes the face cheerful (Proverbs 15:13). This should be no surprise. Faces are extremely expressive. If you are genuinely happy deep in your soul, it will show outwardly.

So the key to a cheerful face is a happy heart. How do we obtain a happy heart? “Happy is the man that findeth wisdom, and the man that getteth understanding” (Proverbs 3:13 KJV). In other words, happy is the person who applies the knowledge and truth that God gives them, leading to a moral, ethical and righteous existence. You will be happy if, in your inner being, you know you are doing the things God wants you to do.

This idea is restated in Ecclesiastes 8:1. “Who is like the wise man? Who knows the explanation of things? Wisdom brightens a man’s face and changes its hard appearance.” This implies that we can gain wisdom, and it can change a hard appearance into a bright one. We have to choose to apply the knowledge that we receive from God for it to change us.

In Genesis chapter 4,  we have the story of Cain and Abel. Abel brought a sacrifice that was acceptable to God. Cain brought the sacrifice that he wanted to give. This was given out of a prideful heart, not from a heart of worship. It was not a sacrifice pleasing to God.

Cain knew what God wanted but chose to do things in his own way. It didn’t only displease God, but it upset Cain. “Cain was very angry, and his face was downcast” (Genesis 4:5). God shares wisdom with Cain. “Then the LORD said to Cain, ‘Why are you angry? Why is your face downcast? If you do what is right, will you not be accepted? But if you do not do what is right, sin is crouching at your door; it desires to have you, but you must master it’” (Genesis 4:6-7)

There is no reason for us to be downcast before the Lord if we do what is right. Our face will brighten and be cheerful. Cain didn’t learn this lesson. The Lord warned him that sin was at the door. Cain did not accept the wisdom of God and ward off the evil that was waiting at the door. Instead, he opened the door to sin and ended up sent away from the presence of God.

Cain chose murder to solve his problem. When he encountered Almighty God after his sin, he was a smart aleck to God when the Lord asked about his brother. I can just imagine the look he had on his face. That disgusted look that says, “What are you asking me for? You already know what happened.” If my mom had been there, this is about the time she would have said, “You better wipe that smart aleck look off your face.”

God knew that wiping the look off wouldn’t be enough; the change had to happen in the heart. Cain had been warned to protect his heart so he would not be downcast, but he allowed sin to rule him rather than God. After committing murder, I wonder if he looked different, wearing the hardened look of a criminal

Sin affects us. It can even damage our appearance. If we want to portray that “certain look” of a godly woman, we must battle against the sin that is waiting at our door.  Find wisdom. Gain understanding. Live according to God’s principles. This will give you a cheerful and bright face.

Put It On

The way to a happy heart is in submission to God in all areas of your life. Where should we start? How will we ever be happy?

Take time to sit quietly before God. Let him reveal the changes he wants you to make now, today. You should listen carefully and patiently, knowing that he will lead you into truth. He wants you to have his wisdom and knowledge.

Once he has revealed necessary changes, act immediately in obedience to his voice. Don’t put it off. The benefits, a happy heart and a cheerful face wait.

Chapter 7

A Sense of Style

“I will walk about in freedom, for I have sought out your precepts.”

Psalm 119:45

Each one of us has a unique sense of style. We can’t even describe all of the different styles that exist. Each person adds her own flair, creating an individual manner of dress. This is the reason many people complain about uniforms. It inhibits their ability to express who they truly are.

Finding our own sense of style in the Christian life allows us to enjoy our individuality. It also gives us the opportunity to enjoy the uniqueness of others. We can find true joy in our spirit and have fun in Christ as we learn to be ourselves. The joy and fun are only enhanced as we acknowledge the freedom in Christ that all believers have to pursue him in their own fashion.

Of course,  God has given us basic rules that we have discussed previously. We are to put on specific pieces of clothing (attitudes and behaviors). There are a few specifics on how this clothing is to look, but many details are missing. This leaves the freedom for our own style to be expressed.

We must remember that we are representing the Great Designer. We want people to praise and honor the maker of the outfits.  He chose us, real women each with her own strengths and weaknesses, not super models, to wear his distinctive creation. He could have shown his glory to the world using mannequins or models but instead he chose to include unique individuals with their own size and shape to cooperate with him, for his glory and honor.

With these things in mind let’s look at the opportunity we have to live as Servants of the Lord Jesus Christ with our own panache.

My Own Unique Flair

“Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.”

2 Corinthians 3:17

Has Christianity ever seemed like a difficult fit for you? I used to feel like a large square peg trying to be crammed into a small round hole. The Christian life seemed so restrictive. I didn’t see a way to be myself and serve God, because I couldn’t change myself enough to look like the Christian “Stepford wives” that I encountered in the church.

Did God actually call me to be his child and then decide he didn’t like the child that I was? That idea didn’t seem compatible with the God I kept reading about and interacting with. You know, the God who loved us and died for us while we were still sinners (Romans 5:8) The God who saved us for good works (Ephesians 2:10). He is the Father who lavished love on us and called us the children of God (1 John 3:1).

From everything I had learned, God seemed happy with me. Why wasn’t the church ok with me? Why couldn’t I live the Christian life that others expected me to? I soon discovered that I needed to find my own style. I always felt out of place because I tried to be like everyone else.

I soon realized that people are called to wear different spiritual outfits depending on their gifts and service. Some wore spiritual business suits and others wore spiritual formals. The vast majority wore business casual holy attire. My problem was that I wore sacred and devout play-clothes. I assumed (and so did others) that I was somehow habitually underdressed, but that was not the case.

When I began seeking God’s standards for how I should apply the gifts he had given me, I realized that I was a play-clothes person. I was dressed as I should be for the responsibilities God had called me to. "There are different kinds of gifts, but the same Spirit. There are different kinds of service, but the same Lord. There are different kinds of working, but the same God works all of them in all men. Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good (1 Corinthians 12:4-7).”

When we learn to live by the Spirit, we will be comfortable in the outward expression of the gifts he has given us. We will learn that there is freedom to be the unique individual that he created us to be. The great women of the Bible enjoyed the freedom to be themselves and yet serve God and others.

Noah’s wife was a mother, mother-in-law and zoo keeper. She was saved from destruction because she followed God’s plan of salvation. She must have been extraordinarily strong to stand by Noah as he built the ark.  She also survived living with all of those animals for a year and the destruction of the world as she knew it.

Deborah was a judge and military leader. Barak who was the head of the army said he would not go to battle unless she came with him. So she travelled with the army. They were outnumbered 10 to 1 and yet she trusted in God. When the hand of God defeated the enemy, Deborah wrote a song of praise to the Lord.

Esther was a beautiful woman. She spent a full year getting beauty treatments and learning how to please the king before she was chosen as queen. In this role,  God used her to save the Jewish people.

Rachel was a shepherdess. Lydia was a business woman. Priscilla was a tent maker. Martha was a most hospitable homemaker. Rahab was a prostitute. Ruth was a foreign widow. Mary, the mother of Jesus, was a teenager. They all have one thing in common. They used their unique talents, abilities, and stations in life to serve God and those around them.

We should be enjoying the freedom we have to serve God just as we are. He does not want a church of “Stepford wives”, he wants a church full of individuals using their talent, ability and life situations to bring glory and honor to him as we cooperate with and serve those around us.

You are special and unique! You have gifts and talents that will benefit the church body. “I now realize how true it is that God does not show favoritism but accepts women from every nation who fear him and do what is right. (Acts 10:34-35)” Your sense of style is just what the church needs. That is why God called you!

You are called to be yourself for Jesus. Serve him where you are. Live a righteous life in your own individual style. “Only let each person lead the life that the Lord has assigned to him, and to which God has called him. This is my rule in all the churches” (1 Corinthians 7:17, ESV).

Put It On

Make a list of your gifts, talents, and natural qualities. Pray through this list and ask God to use each of these things to glorify himself and bless others. If he brings ideas into your mind on how you could use your unique style, write them down. Ask a few friends to pray with you toward those goals and then act upon the word God spoke to your heart.

Others Have Style Too

“For we were all baptized by one Spirit into one body—whether Jews or Greeks, slave or free—and we were all given the one Spirit to drink.”

1 Corinthians 12:13

In the last section,  we covered, how crucial it is for us to serve the Lord in our own style. It is often hard work to find that style and break out of the mold that we thought we had to squeeze into. Once we do it though, we feel great! We start enjoying our relationship with the Lord and others in the church so much that we think that they should do the same thing we are doing so they can be blessed too.

This can become a problem. We start enjoying our style because it suits us; then we begin to think that everyone would be happier with our style. We start expecting everybody to put on what makes us comfortable. It doesn’t matter if it fits them.

Whether we admit it or not we all like conformity. My dad used to say “Sure you want to be a nonconformist as long as you have other nonconformists to conform to”. This is true in the church also. We tend to group together with parts that are just like us. We get together with those who have the same gifts, the same ministries and the ones involved in the same activities.

This is contrary to Biblical teaching. Paul talked to the Corinthian church about this. “There are different kinds of gifts, but the same Spirit. There are different kinds of service, but the same Lord. There are different kinds of working, but the same God works all of them in all men (1 Corinthians 12:4-6).” Paul uses the body as an example of this. You need hands, feet, ears, eyes, liver, kidneys, etc. If your body is going to function. If a church is going to function, we can’t all be feet.

If we are going to reach the world for Jesus, we must be working together with our varying styles in a unified manner, encouraging the freedom that is in Jesus. When we clump together with only those with the same style that we have, the only people we can reach are those who feel comfortable with our style. On the other hand, when we learn to accept and encourage everyone to live for Jesus in the way he has designed for him or her, everyone will feel welcome to participate with us.

There are many gifts of the Spirit. There are some rules to how they are to be worn. We must have love on with them. The Spirit must approve of the outfit. They are to be an encouragement to others. We don’t wear them in pride.

There is freedom though. For instance, let’s say there are a few people in your women’s group that obviously have the gift of hospitality. They wear it openly, and everyone enjoys it. They don’t all have to be hospitable in the same way. One may always have cookies and coffee on hand for anyone who drops by. One may throw barbeques for varying church groups. Still another may host fancy dinner parties every Sunday afternoon. They are each wearing their hospitality in their own style.

It is easy to allow this freedom to others when they are feeding us. Do we allow them their freedom when it conflicts with our style? Hymns or choruses? Inductive study or devotional reading? Traditional or contemporary? Sunday services or Saturday night? I am sure you get the point by now. None of these things is always right or always wrong. They are just style differences, and we can learn to accept them all.

For the church to function as one body as Paul describes it in 1 Corinthians, each part must do its job the way that the Head, Jesus Christ, tells it to. It would be a dysfunctional body if the foot was always second guessing the hand or the ears were questioning the eyes. Our body works together well because there is only one boss, the head. The church would function better if we quit second guessing what the other parts were doing and we just focused on how we are to wear our gifts for the glory of God.

We have to encourage and enjoy the styles of others in the body of Christ if we are going to unite and further the Kingdom of God. “Speaking the truth in love, we will in all things grow up into him who is the Head, that is, Christ. From him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work (Ephesians 4:15-16).”

Put It On

Read 1 Corinthians 12:4-13:13. Let the Spirit speak to your heart from this passage. Listen for God to tell you how you can support, encourage, serve and love the body of Christ in your own style led by the Spirit.

An Appealing Style

“And now I will show you the most excellent way.”

1 Corinthians 12:31

We are aware that we are not all alike. We understand that each of us is unique, bringing individual gifts, talents and abilities into the body of Christ. How can we find unity when each of us is called to be an individual? How do I develop my own personal style without having it conflict with that of everyone else? How do I develop an appealing style?

The Apostle Paul was keenly aware of the dissension that can arise in the church when each individual is serving, praying, sharing and living in their individual way. He wrote the church at Corinth about this very thing because they were not wearing an appealing style. They each had unique God-given gifts, talents and abilities, but something was missing.

An important piece of instruction was inserted right in the middle of the chapters on spiritual gifts and how they are to be used in the church. It is 1 Corinthians 13. This is the passage called “the love chapter”. It describes how love behaves.

We often hear this passage read at weddings, and it should be applied to marriage and family. But it is intriguing that Paul did not place this message in a passage about husband and wife relationships. Why did Paul place this powerful message on love where he did? He wanted us to have an appealing style that honored God.

As believers,  we have been placed into the body of Christ. He is the Head, and we are each a part of the body. Our responsibility is simple. Obey the Head. When I go for a walk, my hands, feet, stomach and eyes are all doing something different, but still I am productive and accomplishing what my head has decided needs to be done.

This is what happens in the church when everyone is seeking a common goal. The goal decided on by the Head. We function together while we are individually enjoying our own style. We are functioning independently and in unity at the same time.

The Lord Jesus, who is the Head, has directed the body. Here is the goal. “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another” (John 13:34-35). Since “God is love” (1 John 4:8), love must be the overarching theme of the church.

Paul explains the importance of this in the first few verses of 1 Corinthians 13. He says that no matter how impressive your gifts, without love they are worth nothing. He goes on to explain that the love he is talking about is not a warm fuzzy feeling. It is developing our own distinctive style within the boundaries of God’s character.

Each one of us should put on the gifts of the Spirit in our own individual fashion with the love of God as the unifying factor. Paul wanted the Corinthian church to understand that God cared about each individual and wanted to work in and through every believer. “But in fact God has arranged the parts in the body, every one of them, just as he wanted them to be” (1 Corinthians 12:18). But he also wanted to make clear that our individuality would cause dissension if we did not have God’s love to guide us in developing our own style.

He gave us a definition of love: “Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres” (1 Corinthians 13:4-7). This is quite a standard, isn’t it?

You can now see why Paul put this in the middle of a section on the gifts of the Spirit. If believers checked themselves by this list there would certainly be unity, but it wouldn’t come at the expense of individuality. A body of believers that lived in this way would be fulfilling Jesus command. They would be displaying the love of God for his glory and honor and the well being of the entire body.

Our gifts, talents and abilities need to be developed and used in our own unique way. God called us as individuals. But we can’t stop there. Love must be the overarching theme of our style. Adding love is what makes our style appealing.

Put It On

When using your gifts, talents and abilities, your motivations matter. Motivated out of love, we encourage individuality and unity. Make a list of loves characteristics from 1 Corinthians 13:4-7 (It would be helpful to memorize that passage). Now check your motives for serving in the body against the characteristics of love.

We all find areas where we don’t quite measure up. Remember this is God’s standard of love. It is the ideal. It is the most appealing style of all. We are not to despair when we realize we fall short. We are to strain and push forward toward a heavenly heart and attitude.

“Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already been made perfect, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. Sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus. All of us who are mature should take such a view of things. And if on some point you think differently, that too God will make clear to you” (Philippians 3:12-15).

Encouraging Others to Find Their Style

“Only let each person lead the life that the Lord has assigned to him, and to which God has called him. This is my rule in all the churches.”

1 Corinthians 7:17 ESV

We enjoy complete freedom in Jesus Christ. We are set free from sin and death. We are free from condemnation (Romans 8:1-2). We are free to reflect the glory of God (2 Corinthians 3:17-18). We are free to enjoy a relationship with God (Ephesians 3:12).

As we have discussed, we are free to express our own individual style. God wants us to enjoy this freedom but not at another’s expense. We are to be especially careful with the young in the Lord. We are to encourage them to try out different styles until they find what suits them. We need to be sensitive to their areas of maturity and immaturity.

It is so much fun to hang around with little girls who are trying out new styles. They expend considerable effort, but usually the results are comical. They wear shoes that are too large. They put too many clips, pins and ribbons in their hair. Many times the outfits don’t match, but they are so proud of themselves and think they look beautiful.

Researchers who have studied childhood development all agree that this form of play encourages growth. It stimulates their thought processes by allowing them to compare and contrast, to reason, to learn to plan and develop their memory. It is a healthy part of growing up.

Although they are not dressing themselves in a way that would be featured in “Vogue magazine”, it is creative and fun. But the fun can stop abruptly if an older sibling or adult comes by and tells them that they look silly If they are told often enough that what they are doing is silly, they will quit trying. They will fall into a habit of dressing in a way that will not draw ridicule.

Another way to stop a child from enjoying their search for their style is to compare them with others, including you. When we share our opinion about style as the only standard the child feels that they have no choice but to dress just like you if they are going to please you and others. Originality seems foolish.

All of the good things that we want them to learn from creative play can come to a standstill. They may continue in immaturity since they haven’t had the opportunity to grow. They may never find a unique style that truly suits them because they have learned to wear what they believe is the only acceptable look.

We have so many Christians who are in this place. They may want to try something new. Use their gift in a new way. Sometimes they try on all the jewelry at once. They may fix their hair in ten ponytails. They put on an outfit that does not fit them. It is ok if they are trying new things in order to develop into the person God has called them to be.

We have a tendency to correct too much and play together too little. If we are to encourage the young in the Lord, we need to let them try out their style. We also need to encourage and support all that is suitable. We also need to add little correction unless there is sin. It takes prayer and wisdom from the Word to differentiate between immaturity and sin. Allowing and encouraging proper growth is a tremendous blessing to the whole body.

We want to encourage originality in our young believers. How fabulous it is to let them grow naturally, they learn to compare and contrast truth and error for themselves. They will learn reasoning skills and how to think plans through. As they put on different fashions and are accepted, it builds healthy memories of living in the family of God.

Young Christians often have a hard time finding their style. They feel pushed to grow up, so they copy someone else’s look. This is not true growth. In fact, it stifles healthy growth. They look ok on the outside, but they have never made their relationship with God and his church uniquely their own. How sad that they have had to grow up so fast.

Young believers need patience, positive direction and play time to grow in the Lord. Let them try on different hats in the church until they grow up and know what clothes suit them. New believers are so full of joy and excitement (just like children). We need to encourage that joy and find it a source of delight and pleasure. Don’t put a damper on the fun.

Put It On

If you are a young Christian who is being pushed to dress like a grownup but you haven’t had time to play yet, I have a suggestion. Talk to a mature lady in the church and explain that you would like to try different hats. Let her know that you have not been in God’s family long enough to find your own unique style in the church. Ask her to help you try out your own unique style in many areas of the church. In this way you will work with many others, gaining insight from their experience and you will find the areas of service that perfectly suit you.

If you are a mature woman in Jesus and already have a style, be on the lookout for young women with abilities similar to yours and offer to mentor them. You can help them to find their own unique way of doing it. You may even learn some new things. Be open to the fun and excitement that she will bring to the situation.

Certain Styles Are Inappropriate

“You, my sisters, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the sinful nature; rather, serve one another in love.”

Galatians 5:13

This chapter has been about unique individuals with their own style living for the Lord. This is a liberating truth. It allows us to be ourselves before God and in the church. This is indeed a marvellous truth, but sadly some try to take advantage of this freedom.

As we work to grow into our style, there are some things that are not appropriate. God did call us as individuals just as we are, flaws and all, but he did not expect us to stay there. The Bible is abundantly clear on this. “For God did not call us to be impure, but to live a holy life (1 Thessalonians 4:7).”

Many of us do not openly and blatantly sin against God. We try to hide or make excuses for the “little” problems we still have. Many of us use our style as an excuse for not changing. We say “Well that’s just the way I am”.

We must change this attitude if we are going to encourage others to accept our individuality and if we are going to glorify God. The responsibility is “to be made new in the attitude of your minds; and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness” (Ephesians 4:23-24).

To be like God in righteousness and holiness means that we stop making excuses. It means that we strive to wear our outfits without spot or blemish. It means that we must be honest with ourselves. Sin is no longer an option. We have been given new life in Christ. The old sinful life is dead.

I am as guilty as everyone else in excusing my sin because it is part of my style. I have often excused tactless and rude behavior as being straightforward; Lazy as relaxed and low key; Faithless as examining the evidence; Uncooperative as independent. As you can see, clever semantics do not make sinful behavior righteousness and holiness. It is just a way for us to lie and be dishonest to ourselves.

The saddest part of all of this is that we are dishonoring a Holy God who sacrificed his life to save us. Another consequence is that we suffer. We miss out on God’s best for our lives when we continue in sinful habits and behaviors. Enjoying our unique style can be full of joy and freedom, but if we continue to walk in sin we give up that freedom. Jesus said, “I tell you the truth, everyone who sins is a slave to sin” (John 8:34).

True freedom is liberty from sin. Liberty is defined as, freedom to act according to your own will. For the believer,  our will, desire, our deepest longing is to love the One who redeemed us from the penalty of sin and death and instead gave us life and peace. Living in this way brings true liberty and freedom. It lifts you into the heavenly realms. It draws you to the bosom of the Father. In his presence, you will be praised and encouraged for all that is good and right about your style. The things that are wrong will be tested, tried and refined in the heat of God’s love and holiness.

The Lord does not want us to wear sinful behavior. As his beloved children, he wants us to wear those things that allow us to live the abundant life. He does not want us to wear things that aren’t stylish either. When we use our freedom to cover up sin, it looks awful. It’s like wearing an oversized, shapeless, dark overcoat whose only purpose is to hide what’s underneath. God has given us freedom to choose our own style. We don’t want to dress ugly call it a unique style.

Instead, use every chance to dress in a way that pleases God. He loves your individual style when it is centered in righteousness. Seek to please him as you develop your own spiritual fashion. “Live as free women, but do not use your freedom as a cover-up for evil; live as servants of God” (1 Peter 2:16).

Put It On

Do some research today. Look through some magazines, watch a little TV, search online, or go to a thrift store. Look for the ugliest, least stylish outfit you can find; if possible keep a picture or drawing of it.

Think of how ugly you would look in that outfit.  Imagine the embarrassment and shame you would feel wearing that outfit in public. As you go about your day, use that mental picture as a representation of how sin looks on you. This should help you to understand what sin does to your spiritual style. It destroys it.

Chapter 8

Dealing with Scars

“But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds we are healed.”

Isaiah 53:5

There are times when we put on our face, get dressed, and deck out in our accessories but still feel embarrassed and exposed. It is not because we are naked. The glory of God is covering us, and others see the face of Jesus when they come into our presence, but we know something is still wrong. Our confidence is low, and we feel unattractive. I believe, that in these times, we need spiritual plastic surgery to remove scars.

We have all been wounded and injured by sin. Sometimes it is our own sin and sometimes it is the sin of others that cause our spiritual wounds. No matter how we got disfigured, it is often difficult for us to move forward in our walk with the Lord when we feel ugly or damaged. The clothes, makeup, and accessories are essential, but they don’t remove scars. Only the Great Physician has the power to remove the marks of our past and make us whole and unblemished.

Removing scars can be quite complex. The Great Physician may have to perform spiritual plastic surgery. When we need serious work done, we should we settle for anyone but the best? Others may offer to help heal wounds, but it is crucial that we go to the One and Only One that knows you. Remember God created you.

Many have gone for help to unqualified people for spiritual plastic surgery and have ended up with less than perfect results. Some have even been further mutilated. How many people have stopped attending church or fellowshipping with believers because they have been harmed by those that claimed to be healing and helping them? God alone has the power to make us whole again.

Jesus came and died so we can be healed from the wounds of sin, past, present, and future. In these lessons,  we will discuss how vital it is to trust God, submit to his treatment and be patient as we heal. Let the Lord, your healer, do spiritual plastic surgery removing those old scars.

Plastic Surgery: The Process

“Humble yourselves, therefore, under God’s mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time. Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.”

1 Peter 5:6-7

It is not uncommon for our past to leave us with scars. On my body,  I have a number of scars. All are small and do not cause significant embarrassment. It would be silly for me to stress and worry over these blemishes. They have healed and do not cause pain. I never feel a need to bring them up to a physician.

However, I have known others who have had scars and wounds that did need a physician's care. Sometimes our wounds have been inflicted on us by someone else, sometimes even a doctor. I knew of one lady who had surgery, and the wound was not closed properly. This caused immense pain, and she had to go in and have the scar redone, just to ease the pain. You may know of someone who was in a car accident and had to have plastic surgery to fix extensive scarring on her face. Other people have scars from violent crimes that were committed against them.

It is also common to find people with scars that they have inflicted on themselves. Some of these situations may have been brought on through ignorance or stupidity. Other times you meet people that knowingly harm themselves.

It doesn’t matter how people get their scars. There may come a time when they choose to see a physician about them. They may want them fixed because their blemishes remind them that they are damaged. Living with the disfigurement may fill them with painful memories, embarrassment, or physical discomfort.

This is also true of scars of the heart and spirit. Thankfully we have a God with the power and desire to heal. He created each one of us and, so he knows exactly how to make us whole. If we come to him as the Great Physician and ask for healing, he will remove flaws and imperfections.

If you have scars from the past that are keeping you from feeling spiritually beautiful, spiritual plastic surgery may be necessary. It is not going to be easy or pain-free. The first step to healing will be the realization that you cannot cover up the scars and pretend that they are not there. You have to decide to get help. You also have to decide to get help from the only one that has the ability to restore your spirit and heal your heart.

The first step to getting plastic surgery is to be humbled by the scar. The displeasure they feel prompts them to get professional help. Someone who is not humbled, embarrassed, or unhappy with the old scars does not seek help. We will seek God’s healing only after we humble ourselves admitting that something needs his correction.

To admit we are flawed is painful, but if we humble ourselves before God he can change it. For those of us that need plastic surgery of the heart becoming vulnerable and open before the Great Physician is the beginning of the process. Once we uncover the wound and quit trying to cover it up, we are on the road to recovery.

Next we have to put ourselves under the mighty hand of God. Humbling ourselves is acknowledging that we cannot change the problem. We should trust him to make the necessary cuts and revisions, placing ourselves under God’s hand. We give him the chance to perform the process that he, the trained professional, knows is best for us.

In his infinite wisdom, he will take us through the cutting, slicing, scraping, and stitching whatever will be best for our particular problem. Are you worried? Don’t be! He will do an excellent job because he can’t do less. Plus he cares for you. He cares for you perfectly. He even gives you anesthetic before he does the surgery.

He asks us to count backwards as we give our worries, fears, doubts, and concerns to him. 1 Peter 5:7 asks us to give up anxiousness. The word translated anxious means “concern that is disruptive”. We certainly do not want to disrupt the work that God is doing. Surgery requires precision. Casting our anxieties on God is the anesthetic that allows the surgeon to proceed without our disruption. Scar removal will be less painful and more effective without worry.

After surgery,  we head to post-op.  God doesn’t leave us there in the post-op ward by ourselves though. He stays with us until in “due time” he get us up and going. He doesn’t leave assistants there to watch over the healing, he stays with us so he can lift us up.

If you are worried about this process, don’t be. Yes,  it is going to be hard. Yes,  it will be painful. Yes,  the healing process takes time. But God cares for you. He will take you through the whole process with love and concern. In the end,  it will be worth it as those scars are permanently removed and even the memory of them begins to fade.

Put It On

What scars have you been hiding? Have you been too embarrassed to deal with them? Have you been afraid of the pain? Did you believe they were permanent and nothing could be done?

Today (don’t put it off), humble yourself before the Great Physician and let him show you what can be done. Let him lead you through the procedures necessary to remove the scars and along with them the shame and embarrassment that they have caused. The hardest part is making yourself vulnerable by admitting you need help. It is ok. Open up. God practices doctor-patient confidentiality.

Make up your mind to quit worrying and then count backwards, relax, and let him do his miraculous healing work.

Necessary Pain

“Humble yourselves, therefore, under God’s mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time. Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you. And the God of all grace, who called you to his eternal glory in Christ, after you have suffered a little while, will himself restore you and make you strong, firm and steadfast.”

1 Peter 5:6-7, 10

I do not like pain. Most people don’t. In our modern world,  we sometimes think that we should try to avoid all pain, discomfort, or suffering. Of course, this is impossible, and we should also remember that pain is not always a terrible thing. Sometimes the suffering is worth it.

A beautiful garden is worth the aches, pains and scratches that we endure to cultivate it. Enjoying a big family dinner makes us quickly forget the aching back, little burns, and tired feet we endured to prepare it. It is worth the sore, tight muscles from working out at the gym when we finally fit back in our old jeans. It is worth the uncomfortable nights, swelling feet, and stretch marks when we finally hold our newborn baby.

We sometimes have to endure necessary spiritual pain. In the end,  it is worth it. We are restored and made “strong, firm, and steadfast”. Christians throughout the world and throughout history have chosen to submit themselves humbly under the mighty hand of God. They endure a short term suffering. In the end when the bruising and swelling (suffering) subside we are left strong, firm, and steadfast. The glory that God graciously bestows on us is eternal although our suffering is temporal.

It is astonishing to me that women subject themselves to many physically painful treatments and procedures that change them temporarily. The effects may last months or sometimes years. The Lord asks us to submit ourselves to his transforming work. This change last eternally and yet we often shy away in fear. We must be brave and allow the Lord to do the cutting away of the old to make us healthy and whole in him.

The painful process begins as we reveal our true selves willingly to God. We already know about our scars, and so does God. The difficulty arises when we choose to humble ourselves under his mighty hand. This involves a choice to lay our souls bare, revealing our glaring imperfections. It requires exposing our ugliness to the only One perfectly beautiful and without flaw. How embarrassing, but also how freeing! “Then I acknowledged my sin to you and did not cover up my iniquity. I said, “I will confess my transgressions to the Lord”— and you forgave the guilt of my sin” (Psalm 32:5); or “Evening, morning and noon I cry out in distress, and he hears my voice. He ransoms me unharmed from the battle waged against me, even though many oppose me” (Psalm 55:17-18).

If you are anything like me, you are anxious and uncertain as you hear that this pain is necessary. I avoid going to the doctor. I don’t go unless I absolutely have to go. My reason for avoiding medical help is that it is almost always painful and embarrassing. I have an aversion to both of those things. I have discovered that this mind set has often caused more pain and more embarrassment than I would have encountered by going to the doctor in the first place.

I guarantee that if you subject yourself willingly to the pain and embarrassment that humility will require of you it will save you from greater pain and embarrassment later. You will never be content and happy in your relationship with God as long as you are trying to cover up scars and imperfections. It is much easier to have them removed and not have to deal with them again.

Allow the Great Physician to start the process of scar removal. The humbling comes first, and then the mighty hand of God does a work. He does it because he cares for you. He will lift you up, and your new self will be firm, strong, and solid.

Put It On

Today, now, this moment, humble yourself before God. Show him the scars and wounds that you have. Pray for guidance. The Great Physician’s expertise will lead you as you decide what areas need spiritual plastic surgery. Once he shows you where the work is needed. Submit to the changes he recommends. Follow his instructions completely. Do not expect all of the work to be done overnight. Patiently submit to God and his work for however long it takes. You will be healed.

For help with self inflicted scars read Psalm 51. For help with wounds inflicted by others read Psalm 56. For general encouragement while you are healing read the gospel of Luke. You will see how compassionate and powerful our God is. You will be reminded of God’s love for the broken and scarred. You will be encouraged to bow before our Lord and allow him to do a miraculous work in you.

Caution: Avoid Unqualified Doctors

“From the least to the greatest, all are greedy for gain; prophets and priests alike, all practice deceit. They dress the wound of my people as though it were not serious. ‘Peace, peace,’ they say, when there is no peace.”

Jeremiah 6:13-14

Have you ever watched any of those shows that document botched plastic surgeries? They are scary. There are people who have humbly submitted themselves to the wrong surgeons and have ended up mutilated. These patients did not receive the improvements that they longed for. They ended up more scarred and humiliated. How tragic.

These patients have paid thousands of dollars to be disfigured. They often jeopardize their health permanently. It takes an emotional toll on them. The time, effort and expense expended were worthless. It ends up costing many times more money to return to a place less healthy than the one they started in. Some can never get the help they need to fix the problems.

Many people in this world trust their spiritual health to unqualified spiritual health workers. Many are in the religion business because they are greedy of gain. They make grand promises. Their brochures are beautiful. They enlist all the best sales people and many trust them. When the truth is found out, we learn that they don’t have the qualifications and expertise necessary. They get their money upfront and leave a trail of spiritually injured and maimed patients in their wake.

This is not new. It has been going on throughout history. The children of Israel had this problem. They dealt with people who worked their way into spiritual leadership, but weren’t qualified for the job. Their main reason for pursuing these positions was greed. They would deal with the deep wounds and scars by putting on band-aids. They would pretend that the disfigurement that they were seeing was not a serious problem. Those that came for help were sent away with a pat on the back, and a casual, “everything is going to be fine”. Don’t worry. It is not as bad as you think. Peace, peace.

It is bad enough that there are unqualified people willing to harm us for personal gain, but there are also many unqualified, well meaning folks who end up harming us. When you need a plastic surgeon a general practitioner will not do. When you wish to have scars removed, the paramedics won’t help. You can’t hand the scalpel to the prep nurse and say, “Have at it”.

We often treat our spiritual needs in a casual and careless way. I wouldn’t let someone I didn’t even know or hadn’t researched give me medical advice, let alone do surgery on me. Most people wouldn’t. Yet we take our hurts and pains to the yoga instructor at the gym and expect her to provide the deep healing that we need. We listen unquestioningly to the guy on TV with funny hair, yelling spiritual words. We believe he has the magic potion that will save us from the pain of spiritual surgery.

When we need scar removal and old wounds fixed there is no one who can do this procedure properly but God. Anyone else will at the best, leave you with the scars and blemishes you came to them about. In many cases though, they leave you worse off, mutilated, broke, your self-confidence shattered and with a lengthy healing process ahead. “This is what the Lord Almighty says: ‘Do not listen to what the prophets (that I did not send or speak to, vs. 21) are prophesying to you; they fill you with false hopes. They speak visions from their own minds, not from the mouth of the Lord’” (Jeremiah 23:16).

Qualified spiritual leadership will lead you to the Great Physician for this kind of surgery. For God alone has the skills and knowledge to remove sin and its effects from our lives. If anyone else promises a quick fix and an easy procedure rather than directing you to God avoid them. Save yourself the pain, embarrassment, and cost of an unqualified practitioner mutilating you.

Do not put your faith in any other. Do not put the scalpel in the hands of someone else. When God heals it is perfect and complete. And it is only through him that we can receive the total healing that we long for. “By faith in the name of Jesus, this man whom you see and know was made strong. It is Jesus’ name and the faith that comes through him that has given this complete healing to him, as you can all see” (Acts 3:16).

Put It On

During the next few days, pay close attention to the spiritual advice you are given, solicited and unsolicited. Ask yourself these questions about the person giving the advice.                             1. Do they have something to gain if I follow them?

2. Are their words deceitful? Do the things they are saying line up with the truth of God’s Word?

3. Are they minimizing the effects of sin and its ultimate consequence in our lives?

4. Do they say peace, peace, when there is no peace? Do they promise that everything will be perfect in this sinful world? Do they act like the deep wounds you have are not serious?

“Dear friends, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world” (1 John 4:1). We often allow the false teachers to mutilate us. They sound well meaning on the surface so we don’t check their credentials. We need to check them out and be extremely careful whom we trust. We should never put a spiritual scalpel in the hands of an unqualified physician.

Follow the Doctor’s Instructions

“Great peace have they who love your law, and nothing can make them stumble. I wait for your salvation, O Lord, and I follow your commands. I obey your statutes, for I love them greatly. I obey your precepts and your statutes, for all my ways are known to you.”

Psalm 119:165-168

It is comforting to be able to go to the Great Physician and reveal your pain and suffering. It is a big step when we allow him to do spiritual surgery. After that the healing begins. But to enjoy the results that we are longing for, we must follow the Physicians instructions.

If we go for surgery, the doctor prescribes an antibiotic, but if we don’t take it, we risk infection. If he recommends no lifting and we ignore him, we might rip out our stitches. Often a pain reliever is given after surgery. If we don’t take it and are in a lot of pain, we suffer needlessly.

There is a story in 2 Kings about a man who sought healing from God, through the prophet Elisha. His name was Naaman, and he lived in Syria. He was a great man, a man of valor. He was a commander in the Syrian army and knew the king. Although he was immensely wealthy, he had a problem that money could not solve. He had visible scars and needed God’s help because he was a leper.

One of the members of Naaman’s household was a little slave girl from Israel. The little girl told Naaman’s wife that there was a prophet who could cure her husband. With this new knowledge and a new hope, Naaman went to the king of Syria and explained the situation. The king wanted to help, so he said, “Go now, and I will send a letter to the king of Israel” (2 Kings 5:5).

With the king's blessing, Naaman headed for Israel. He took with him loads of money and servants. This entourage shows up in Israel and meets with the king. When the king of Israel reads the letter he is so upset that he rips his clothes. The king responds sarcastically, “Am I God, to kill and to make alive, that this man sends word to me to cure a man of his leprosy?” (2 Kings 5:7).

Elisha the prophet hears about the whole thing and tells the king to send Naaman to him. Naaman shows up at Elisha’s house with horses, chariots, silver, gold, gifts of clothing and servants. This huge caravan shows up, and Elisha doesn’t even come to the door. He sends instructions to Naaman through a messenger. “Go and wash in the Jordan seven times, and your flesh shall be restored, and you shall be clean” (2 Kings 5:10).

Wow! Healing for Naaman was a day’s journey away. He just had to travel 15 or 20 miles to the Jordan River and wash. That sounds easy. The freedom from a disfiguring illness was just 7 baths away. The only problem was that Naaman didn’t want to obey God’s Word. The prophet was God’s messenger to Naaman, but since Naaman didn’t like what Elisha said or how he said it, he didn’t want to obey. In fact, the Bible says, “he left in a rage”.

He travelled all the way from Syria, he found the prophet, he offered to pay a fortune, but he was not willing to humble himself and be obedient to the simple plan of God. He wanted healing but did not want to obey the Great Physician. He longed to be free of this disease, but pride prevented him from getting well. He only had to obey God.

Naaman reacted as many of us do. We are willing to go just so far until we think we know better. Naaman wanted to wash in a cleaner river. The Jordan is muddy. He was also upset that Elisha hadn’t just walked out and healed him by waving his hand. He had a preconceived idea of how God should work.

Aren’t we just like that? We wouldn’t presume to tell a plastic surgeon where the cuts should be made, how deep he should go, what kind of stitches to put in, or what instruments we prefer he uses. We go and submit to him as the expert. If we want to be free from spiritual scars, we should not presume to tell the Great Physician how it should be done. He is the expert.

One of Naaman’s servants finally spoke up. He told Naaman that he was willing to do something difficult, shouldn’t he at least try this simple cure. In essence,  the servant said, “Aren’t you at least going to try it? Just wash and become clean.”

Naaman swallowed his pride and washed seven times in the muddy Jordan. It doesn’t tell us what was running through his mind, but I’m sure he had doubt mixed with excitement. I wonder if he grew pessimistic, or hopeful as he drew closer to the seventh dunk in the river. I also wonder if he continued complaining. We don’t know, but we do know that he followed through with the treatment.

Naaman followed God’s Word, and he was healed. Obedience to the Great Physician freed him from the scars and his skin was restored and became like the skin of a child. He was now scar free.

Put It On

We want to be healed from our scars. Just like Naaman, we seek far and wide for answers. We are willing to spend money on counselors, books, and conferences to get help. Those in authority are often confused when we ask them for help. They aren’t sure what to do either. Naaman looked for healing in all the wrong places, but he finally found the true source of health. It came from obedience to God’s Word.

I too have thought like Naaman. I finally receive the answer for my pain and suffering, but I start questioning the sense of it. I explain to God the way I want it to work out instead of doing the simple things he has called me to do. I hold on to my pride and think I know more than the Expert.

Right now, pray.

O Lord, you are the Expert. You are the only one who knows how to heal my spiritual scars. You alone know the best treatment. Humbling myself before you, does not stop with showing you my scars. That is only the first step. I must continue to be humble and follow your prescription. I must complete the treatment.

Lord give me the strength to dunk myself all seven times. Do not allow me to get tired or discouraged on the sixth washing. Let me complete the treatment plan you have outlined for me. As I come to you in faith, lead me to the exact plan of healing that you have for me, and I ask by the power of your Spirit that I remain humble before you.

Accepting the New You

“And the God of all grace, who called you to his eternal glory in Christ, after you have suffered a little while, will himself restore you and make you strong, firm and steadfast.”

1 Peter 5:10

We all long to be strong and firm. We truly desire to have unfaltering and steadfast strength. Spiritual plastic surgery can give us a lift. It can restore our younger good looks. It can firm us up. In 1 Peter, we see that it does happen when the Lord works, but it is after we have suffered a little while.

The surgery process is not painless. It brings suffering. But the healing process is sometimes the most difficult. We want to be restored and firmed up immediately, but the healing process takes a little while. There may be bruising. The scars have to heal. Stitches need to dissolve or be removed. Bandages need to be changed and eventually removed.

During this healing phase,  our apprehension can grow. Questions may rush through our mind. Was the surgery successful? Am I healing well? Will I like the new look? Will others like the new look? Can I trust the surgeon? It is not abnormal to have doubt. Peter doubted that he could walk on water. Thomas had doubt even though his closest friends told him the truth, the truth that they had seen Jesus alive after his resurrection. In fact, all of the disciples doubted that Jesus was actually with them on the beach after his resurrection.

We are encouraged to be merciful to those who doubt in Jude 22. God is merciful to those who have questions and doubts. He will lead us and show us the truth. He removes the bandages and stitches, then heals the wounds so that the doubts can fade away. Then we can start letting go of the past and accepting who we are in Christ.

It won’t be easy. Even as the wounds start fading and our doubts are falling away, it is still hard to remember that the old is gone, and the new has come. I heard a young woman talk about this very thing. She had her teeth fixed. Before the cosmetic changes, she was embarrassed and would not smile. She was nervous and afraid throughout the procedures. Her doubt and fear was removed when she saw how lovely her smile looked at the end of the process.

She still had a problem. The old habit of covering her ugly teeth was deeply ingrained. She continued to cover up her beautiful teeth because she forgot that she had been changed. She hadn’t yet accepted the new smile as part of herself. She still clung to the image of the old self.

To change those old habits required that she consciously thought about her new smile. When she remembered that the old ugly teeth were gone, she could smile freely. When she wasn’t thinking about the new look, her old habits came back into play. She had to form new habits to reveal the sensational new smile that she had.

When she fell back into old habits, it didn’t matter if she had a new look or not. Nobody could see it. She covered it up by the old behavior. When practicing the old habits, she did not remember she was scar free. She still felt blemished even though the old look was gone.

When we are healed from our past by the Great Physician, it doesn’t mean we won’t have any fear, doubt, or apprehension. The old habits and thoughts have to be deliberately changed. We have to renew our minds with God’s truth. We must fill our hearts and heads with the Word of God, by an intentional effort. If we go on thinking we are scarred and wounded, we won’t live to the full potential of one who has been healed. We must accept the new person that we have become and enjoy the freedom that our new beauty brings.

Put It On

Have you been in the habit of seeing yourself as a rotten sinner not sure if Jesus truly called you? If you know Jesus as your Savior, this is not reality. Get used to the new you. Read these passages:

“While Jesus was having dinner at Matthew’s house, many tax collectors and “sinners” came and ate with him and his disciples. When the Pharisees saw this, they asked his disciples, “Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and ‘sinners’?” On hearing this, Jesus said, “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. But go and learn what this means: ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice.’ For I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners.”” (Matthew 9:10-13)

“But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved. And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, in order that in the coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus.” (Ephesians 2:4-7)

Have you been in the habit of viewing yourself as a scarred and broken victim? Jesus takes victims and makes them into victors. Read these passages:

“For everyone born of God overcomes the world. This is the victory that has overcome the world, even our faith.” (1 John 5:4)

“What, then, shall we say in response to this? If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all—how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things? Who will bring any charge against those whom God has chosen? It is God who justifies. Who is he that condemns? Christ Jesus, who died—more than that, who was raised to life—is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us. Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? As it is written: “For your sake we face death all day long; we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered.” No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us.” (Romans 8:31-37)

As you read your Bible this next week, write down verses that tell you who you are in Christ. Meditate on those truths to transform your mind, pushing aside false perceptions accepting God’s reality.

Chapter 9

Put On Some Muscle

“Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power.”

Ephesians 6:10

We all want our clothes to look fabulous and fit well. Muscle is a perfect foundation for good clothing. For our spiritual clothing to look its best on us, we need to put on some spiritual muscle. Not only will we look better, but we will be healthier, stronger, and feel better.

Yes, I am going to say that dreaded word. To put on muscle, you must exercise. There are significant benefits to spiritual exercise. They are similar to the benefits of physical exercise and include improved moods, boosted immunity, a strong and vigorous soul, a healthy heart, and less flab to carry around.

If you are thinking that this chapter sounds like work, you are right. If you are thinking that you might skip it, think again. Christianity is not a spectator sport. It requires you to participate. There is no place in the Bible that describes a passive (couch potato) Christian. The Bible describes Christians as active participants in God’s work. They run, fight, walk, hold on, stand, lift up, and endure. To do what God has called you to do you must be fit.

Exercise is easy to talk about, but difficult to implement. You will need to trust the Spirit to give you the determination, discipline and self-control necessary. Let God be your personal trainer. He knows what it takes to run the good race, bear one another’s burdens, and take up our crosses daily and follow Christ.

Let’s look at spiritual exercise and get an idea of what it is and how we will benefit. There are many choices, something for everyone. Each one of us can grow strong in the Lord. We need to stretch, lift, and do cardio. In return, we will build muscle. Don’t give up. Determine today to work hard and enjoy the benefits.

How to Put on Muscle

“Seek the Lord and his strength; seek his presence continually!”

Psalm 105:4 ESV

Putting on muscle is simple. Not easy but simple. We seek God and his presence, and then we become spiritually strong. Simple, right?

The practices that help us to seek God have been called spiritual disciplines. Spiritual disciplines are exercises that build us up and make us strong. They do this by focusing our hearts, minds and bodies on seeking God and leading us into his presence.

When we habitually enjoy God’s presence, we gain strength. When we are isolated from his presence, we lose our strength.

When David had sinned against God, he felt far from the Lord’s presence. In Psalm 38,  he said that he had no strength. He was wasting away. His only hope was to come once again into God’s presence to find renewed strength. He ends Psalm 38 with this plea “O Lord, do not forsake me; be not far from me, O my God. Come quickly to help me, O Lord my Savior” (Psalm 38:21-22).

The weight of the world’s sin hung on Jesus. It was painful and heavy. Something else sapped his strength. A dark cloud came over him. And when the light of God’s presence left Jesus, he cried out “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me”? Then all of his strength left him, and He died.

There is no strength for us outside of the presence of God. Do you need to build spiritual muscle? Are you longing for your soul to be healthy and strong? Do you desire immunity from the disease of sin? Dear sister, do you yearn to live an active and abundant life in Jesus. Exercise discipline in your life. Come into the presence of God.

I have a gym membership. I enjoy going to the gym. I feel fantastic after I go. It builds me up, emotionally, mentally, and physically. Since this is the case, why don’t I go more often?

It does me no good to buy a membership if I rarely go to the gym. I need to make it habitual. I need to discipline myself. It is easy to make excuses. It is easy to stay at home and be a couch potato, but that won’t make me strong.

I also won’t receive the most benefit if I don’t learn about the gym and its equipment. If I walk in to the gym and am too overwhelmed, I may not stick around. I will miss out on the workout and the benefits that come with it. I must take time to learn about the equipment. I go to a big gym. I am not going to learn about everything in my first outing. I need to make learning about the gym habitual. I need to discipline myself.

Others have exercised before me. They know what works. If I use their proven tips and techniques, I too can have the same successes. I will have to work at it. I must apply their advice to my exercise plan. I can’t just listen to it or read about it. I have to make it habitual in my routine. I need to discipline myself.

Do you see the pattern here? Gaining strength from the presence of God is attainable. It will require forming healthy habits and disciplining yourself. This is why the tips and techniques for coming into God’s presence have historically been called spiritual disciplines. They are tried and true techniques for getting strong, but you must apply them.

We are going to be looking at some of these disciplines and how they build us up. You will be starting slowly if you have never worked out spiritually. If you are already a regular exerciser, maybe you will see a way to become more balanced or stronger in a weak area.

Over the next few days, we will look at different disciplines. I broke them into three different groups of exercises. There are those that stretch us. Lifting weights build us up. Then there are the cardio exercises that work the heart. Finally, we will see how building muscle using these exercises burns off flab.

Put It On

This is my prayer for you: “May our Lord Jesus Christ himself and God our Father, who loved us and by his grace gave us eternal encouragement and good hope, encourage your hearts and strengthen you in every good deed and word” (2 Thessalonians 2:16-17), and “May the Lord direct your hearts into God’s love and Christ’s perseverance” (2 Thessalonians 3:5).

Today I ask you to commit yourself to“Seek the Lord and his strength; seek his presence continually!” Schedule time for the exercises you will be learning. Determine to learn how to discipline yourself properly. It is simple, but not easy. Pray with me that “the Lord will direct your heart into God’s love and Christ’s perseverance”. Make today the beginning of your spiritual muscle building.

Stretching Your Muscles

“I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know him better. I pray also that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, and his incomparably great power for us who believe.”

Ephesians 1:17-19

Stretching is important. It keeps you flexible. As we age our muscles tighten up, adding stress to our body. Remaining flexible reduces this stress. When you stretch, you release tension and relax. And finally, stretching lowers your risk of injury when you do other exercise.

Spiritual stretching is necessary for the health of the whole body. When we join with one another in a relaxed, tension free environment it brings glory and honor to God. We are flexible, or submissive to one another in a way that pleases God. We are also less likely to be injured by the movement and choices of the body. Wow, what a payoff. Who doesn’t want these benefits?

So what is spiritual stretching? It is natural movements that are extended and held in order to lengthen the muscle. They are activities or situations that we already participate in, but we need to learn to stretch and extend them so that we gain greater benefits. It is the process by which we make the whole body more balanced, controlled, and limber.

The stretching exercises that I have found to be of enormous benefit are solitude, silence, meditation, stillness before God, private worship and adoration. This is by no means an all-inclusive list. This is the list of the stretching exercises that have been helping me. They are also disciplines that have been done for centuries by believers around the world.

Each is a simple movement. They become difficult and more beneficial when we extend and hold them. If you are anything like me, you will read this list for the first time and say, “they don’t seem like much of a stretch”. They aren’t until you try to hold them. I didn’t realize how much trouble I had being still and patient until I started practicing these disciplines.

Solitude is a time away from interaction with others. It is time you spend with God alone. It can be done anywhere. You can choose to be alone in a quiet room (this is easier) or right in the middle of a crowd. The only stretch involved is making this a time for you to be alone with God. He is the one that loves you and has beautifully clothed you. This is time for him to enjoy his handiwork. He desires personal time with you. No interaction with others is allowed (turn off the phones).

Silence is similar to solitude except you need a quiet place. It is the opportunity to have things as quiet as possible so you can hear from God. It is a time to allow the winds, earthquakes, and fires of life to pass by and listen for the gentle whisper, God’s voice (1 Kings 19:11-12). You can’t hear the whisper if you are surrounded by noise.

Concentrated thinking on God’s word is meditation. It is also simple. You take a small passage and think about it. You think about this until God reveals himself through the passage. Just remember to keep your mind on the passage. Don’t let it wander. That’s the stretch.

Quieting your heart and being still before God is not easy. It requires extraordinary concentration. It is a difficult stretch. In our culture, everything is so fast moving. Being still before God is an opportunity to slow down. For many of us, that is difficult. We feel that if we aren’t doing something, we are wasting time. We must come before the Lord and leave the stresses and anxieties of life before him. We have to lay down our worries and pick up peace.

It is sad to say but sometimes our corporate worship is not about God. Many times our thoughts wander, we think about those around us, and there are even times we are trying to please others instead of God. Times of private worship teach us to make it about God and him alone. There is no one else there to impress. Our worship isn’t being judged, and we have fewer distractions. It can be for him and him alone. This stretch is beneficial for the muscles that keep balance in the body.

Our God is worthy of adoration. We need to let the Lover of our souls know how much we adore him. It is only right that we verbalize our appreciation of him and his character. This forces our thoughts upward. It compels us to know our Lord better. This brings excitement and joy when we realize who our God is and how much he loves us.

Stretching will let us begin to live in the power that God has for us. It is just the beginning of our muscle building, but oh what a beginning it is.

Put It On

Pick one of these stretching exercises and set aside time each day over the next week and do it. You don’t have to do it perfectly, just do it consistently. A little progress is better than no progress.

After the week is up, note the benefits that you are reaping. Have you noticed improved flexibility? Are you less stressed and more relaxed? Are you ready to do more exercising? The next lesson will be about weight lifting. Be prepared by stretching ahead of time.

Strength Training

“Each one should test his own actions. Then he can take pride in himself, without comparing himself to somebody else, for each one should carry his own load.”

Galatians 6:4-5

If we are going to carry our own load, we must be strong enough to do it. What a great feeling when we can carry our own stuff. It is embarrassing when we are weak and can’t do a job which should be simple for us. Strength training builds us up so we can lift those heavy loads when we need to and saves us from embarrassing situations.

Strength training and weight lifting offer some terrific benefits. Increased strength is just the beginning. You also get strengthened tendons and ligaments. When you regularly lift weights, you also gain muscle mass, bone density and increase your metabolism. Blood pressure, cholesterol, and body fat are all reduced, and you have more energy.

Spiritual strength is not a luxury. It is a necessity. We have loads to lift, burdens to carry. Jesus made this clear. He said, “And anyone who does not carry his cross and follow me cannot be my disciple” (Luke 14:27). And he plainly states that it is not a onetime lifting of a heavy cross (Luke 9:23). Jesus calls us to “take up our cross daily”. Weight lifting is a part of the Christian life. The better trained the easier lifting is going to be.

It is not only for our benefit either. It also supports those who are weaker or in need of extra help. Paul instructed the Galatians to, “Carry each other’s burdens”. In 1 Thessalonians 5:14, it simply says, “help the weak”. God wants us to be strong so we can support the weak. “We who are strong ought to bear with the failings of the weak and not to please ourselves” (Romans 15:1).

Gaining strength so we can help ourselves and others is a compelling enough reason to start training. But there are others. Our blood pressure stays low, preventing unnecessary headaches and strokes. It keeps our arteries clear so the breath of life can oxygenate our hearts, keeping it healthy and strong. We also lose fat from our lives. Shedding the flab that is weighing us down is freeing.

I know you want to start strength training right now. Plan for it to be hard work, and persevere. Let’s look at some ways to build lean spiritual muscle. Remember, I am not giving you a complete list, just some basic exercises to start with. As you gain strength, your Personal Trainer, our God of power and strength, will lead you into more and varied exercises. He will also adapt each one to meet your particular needs.

Prayer is simple. It builds muscle tone as you lift up yourself and others to the Lord. As you spend time in prayer, you will find yourself gaining strength and lifting heavier and heavier situations to the Lord. Prayer starts as a simple act of submission but becomes a powerful muscle builder. The strength you gain will allow you to carry your own load and to carry others’ burdens.

Study is another strength builder. What are we to study? God! He is a worthy subject. How do we do it? There are different kinds of study. All are necessary. First you can read about him in the Bible and learn from other trustworthy sources. These sources may include high-quality books, recorded sermons, podcasts, or your pastor’s outlines from Sunday. You can look at his creation and investigate truths about him. Studying subjects like science, history, geography, and even math can lead us to a heavier knowledge of the creator of all life. “Great are the works of the Lord, studied by all who delight in them” (Psalm 111:2 ESV).

Memorize the Word of God. We are invigorated as we stand firm in the Word. “Your words have supported those who stumbled; you have strengthened faltering knees” (Job 4:4). When Jesus was tempted in the wilderness, he was weak in body but repelled the devil with the Word of God. Hebrews says that he sustains “all things by his powerful Word”. His powerful Word will sustain you through the load carrying, too.

The last one we will look at is self-sacrifice. To be strong in the Lord, we need to lift up others. Selfishness is easy. Spiritual couch potatoes have not exercised selflessness. It is a difficult exercise. It can be so painful when you begin that you might be inclined to get lazy and quit. Don’t quit. Persevere. There are two verses that give a great description of this style of strength training. “Love your neighbor as yourself” (Galatians 5:14), and “Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves” (Philippians 2:3).

You do not need to seek perfection. No one is perfect but God. You should be persistent. You just need to be consistent in building your strength by habitually exercising. Start today.

Put It On

Put on some muscle this week by exercising your memory. Memorize these verses about strength.

“She is clothed with strength and dignity; she can laugh at the days to come.” (Proverbs 31:25)

“Proclaim the power of God, whose majesty is over Israel, whose power is in the skies. You are awesome, O God, in your sanctuary; the God of Israel gives power and strength to his people. Praise be to God!” (Psalm 68:34-35)

“Therefore I will teach them— this time I will teach them my power and might. Then they will know that my name is the Lord.” (Jeremiah 16:21)

A Workout for the Heart

“May he strengthen your hearts so that you will be blameless and holy in the presence of our God and Father when our Lord Jesus comes with all his holy ones.”

1 Thessalonians 3:13

Cardiovascular exercise increases our ability to carry oxygen to our body. It also makes the body more efficient in its use of oxygen. Our heart becomes stronger, and we pump more oxygenated blood to the body. On the return trip, our blood carries away waste. Improved oxygenation makes us healthier and increases our immunity. Every organ in our body reaps benefits.

We know that a healthy heart is essential to the Christian life. We can’t put on muscle without it. We can’t live a life of strength in the Lord if our heartbeat is weak. A feeble heart prevents us from living fully. To live the abundant life, we must discipline ourselves to get regular cardio exercise.

The benefits of spiritual cardio exercise can’t be overstated. The Holy Spirit is the breath of life within us. For our whole being to be permeated by God’s spirit, we must have a healthy heart. The Spirit works within us building our immunity to sin. He carries away the waste that pervades our bodies. Every part of our being, every organ is made strong as our heart pumps oxygenated, Spirit filled, breath through our life.

Without regular exercise, we take shallow breaths. The Spirit does not move deep inside of us. We are at much greater risk of diseases of the heart and brain. We end up spiritually obese, carrying around excesses that leave us fatigued. We feel sluggish and useless, and our ability to function dwindles. Many Christians live a compromised life for no other reason than a lack of exercise.

Planned and disciplined obedience to the commands of God is the exercise that strengthens our hearts. We first start by walking in God’s commands. God promises that it will benefit us. “But I gave them this command: Obey me, and I will be your God and you will be my people. Walk in all the ways I command you, that it may go well with you” (Jeremiah 7:23). As our hearts our strengthened in him, then we learn to run. “I will run in the way of your commandments when you enlarge my heart” (Psalm 119:32 ESV)!

We can’t start out running, but it will come. Many people get discouraged because they try to exercise too hard instead of exercising consistently. We know that the commands of God are many. We get overwhelmed trying to follow them. The Lord knows we need to walk until our hearts are enlarged. We need to take one command at a time and work at it. Go at a steady and constant pace to get your heart pumping.

I want to remind you that exercise isn’t about perfection, it is about persistence. The more regimented we become the more our body will be infused by the Spirit. We will gain endurance. We will be healthier, and people will notice the changes. This brings glory to God as others see his strength in us.

What specific exercises should we do for heart health? There are two basic categories, love God and love your neighbor. Each day we should seek one specific exercise from each one of these categories and discipline ourselves to do it. These are the commands of God that we walk in so that it will go well for us.

I know these categories are broad, but that is how cardiovascular exercise is. Anything that increases our heart rate and makes us breathe harder is exercise. What can we do today to increase our heartbeats for God and others? What can we do today to allow the Spirit of God to permeate every cell of our body to bring health and carry away the disease of sin that is in my life?

Although the choices are broad, you must pick a specific exercise or you will not get started. People can run, garden, kayak, vacuum, or hike Mt. Kilimanjaro to get a cardio workout. You must pick one and plan to do it. You can’t just think about it, or you will never get going. You can’t do many at once either.

Spiritual cardio is the same way. You can pray, clean bathrooms, share the Word of God, sing, read a book to a child, or eat. The key is to do it for God and others. Not out of selfishness, but in obedience to God’s command to love him and love others. “Each one should use whatever gift he has received to serve others, faithfully administering God’s grace in its various forms. If anyone speaks, he should do it as one speaking the very words of God. If anyone serves, he should do it with the strength God provides, so that in all things God may be praised through Jesus Christ. To him be the glory and the power for ever and ever. Amen” (1 Peter 4:10-11).

Pick some exercises and get going.

Put It On

If the idea of spiritual exercise oxygenating us by the Spirit is still vague (or you just need a few ideas), use these verses as a jumping off place:

“For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; and to godliness, brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness, love. For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.” (2 Peter 1:5-8)

Now make a list of things you can do (do is an action word) that will encourage each attribute that we should be striving for. For example, to add goodness today you may choose to speak kindly even when aggravated. You may want to watch healthier TV with your family. It is always a smart idea to get places on time. Eat healthy. Ask God to reveal the specific exercises that he wants you to do. Don’t try to do too much at once. Pace yourself. Persevere and over time you will see impressive results.

Working off the Flab

“Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us.”

Hebrews 12:1

“In your struggle against sin, you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood.”

Hebrews 12:4

We can’t talk about putting on spiritual muscle without talking about letting go of the spiritual flab. It is so easy to hang around enjoying God’s abundance. Sometimes we do it so much that we start getting flabby. To add to the problem, some Christians never exercise. They do as little as possible. They don’t realize how much they are hurting themselves by their lack of activity.

The verses in Hebrews make it clear that we are to run without excesses that hinder us. The writer of Hebrews used an example from his culture to describe what this means. He used an extreme example. The people he compared us with were trained athletes. James M. Freeman, in The New Manners and Customs of the Bible, describes them this way, “The competitors, through severe training, had no superfluous flesh”.

We hear a lot about physical obesity today. We know it is dangerous. Spiritual obesity is dangerous too. We need to exercise so we can get rid of the “superfluous flesh”. As we commit ourselves to stretching, strengthening, and building healthy bodies filled with the Spirit, something sensational happens. We start letting go of junk that is holding us back.

Sin is part of the junk we need to rid ourselves of. “But now you must rid yourselves of all such things as these: anger, rage, malice, slander, and filthy language from your lips” (Colossians 3:8). “Therefore, rid yourselves of all malice and all deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and slander of every kind” (1 Peter 2:1). When we exercise these sins melt off of our souls. Anger can’t coexist with God’s love. We can’t praise, pray, give thanks, encourage, sing hymns and slander people at the same time. As we gain strength, test new limits and start to take pride in who we are (Galatians 6:4), hypocrisy falls away. A fit and healthy person does not have a life style that allows for flab. A Spirit filled, exercising believer does not have room for sin.

Sin isn’t the only thing that we need to get rid of though. Some things may be profitable or even healthy, but they aren’t in our best interest right now. These things need to be thrown off. Maybe laid aside for a time. Maybe they will have to be given up permanently.

In our physical life,  we make these kinds of choices all the time. We may take vitamins. We don’t take too much vitamin A or our hair can fall out. We sleep, and it is necessary for our health. Too much sleep is not healthy though. Work is beneficial, but all work and no play… You get the idea.

To be spiritually strong, we need to fellowship. It is healthy. But too much time spent with other believers may be preventing us from “going and making disciples of all nations”. Reading commentaries and Bible study books can be advantageous for muscle building. This kind of reading becomes unhealthy if you neglect reading the Bible for yourself. How many ministries can one person do well? You see, sometimes even ministries can become flab.

As we exercise in the Lord, under his direction and leadership, we will firm up and trim down. If we are going to be strong enough to run, we must exercise. As we do the things that hold us back, the flab will be burned off. We will have more stamina. We will endure.

After all, how many of you have exercised in the Lord so hard that you sweated blood. Jesus did. He sweated blood and shed his blood in his run for the Lord and for us. It isn’t too much for him to ask that we just sweat off our excesses. Is it?

Put It On

It is sometimes difficult to let go of our comforts and shed a few pounds. It can be difficult to shed our spiritual excesses too. This may be hard, but today is the day to examine our schedules and look for excesses. We need to look at our habits, even admirable ones and see if they are actually helping, or hindering our run for the prize.

This is not something you can do on your own. You must enlist the one who marked out your race. Our Awesome God longs to work side by side with you. He wants to train you personally for this life-long marathon. He also desires to run alongside and enjoy the race with you. Let him prepare you. He knows best.

“You are awesome, O God, in your sanctuary; the God of Israel gives power and strength to his people. Praise be to God!” (Psalm 68:35)

Chapter 10

Am I Properly Dressed?

“Then Saul dressed David in his own tunic. He put a coat of armor on him and a bronze helmet on his head. David fastened on his sword over the tunic and tried walking around, because he was not used to them. ‘I cannot go in these,’ he said to Saul, ‘because I am not used to them.’ So he took them off.” (1 Samuel 17:38-39)

We have guidelines for our clothing, but we also have the freedom to make our own selections. God gave us choices and allows us to determine what we will wear. Sometimes we try on things that don’t work. We need to be aware of how our clothes are working for us and make the necessary adjustments.

David was going into battle. It made sense to try on armor since it would give him added protection. But after moving around in it, he was aware that the heavy armor wouldn’t work for him. He wasn’t used to it. Although his decision defied conventional wisdom, he went into battle properly dressed because he wore the outfit that worked for him in that situation, the Power of God. “You come to me with a sword and with a spear and with a javelin, but I come to you in the name of the LORD of hosts” (1 Samuel 17:45).

We encounter so many different situations each day. We end up trying on many different outfits. Some work and some don’t. We need to be sure that what we are wearing is not based on our judgment, but rather on “His divine power that has given us everything we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness. Through these, he has given us his very great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate in the divine nature and escape the corruption in the world caused by evil desires” (2 Peter 1:3-4). We must examine our outfits and our reflection many times a day in this light.

God’s power and the knowledge we have gained in him give direction to the decisions we will make. They lay the foundation as we consider where we are going; if we are going to be warm enough; are we protected from the enemy, and don’t forget that one wardrobe malfunction, can cause considerable embarrassment for us and discomfort for those around us.

David considered how he could best serve the Lord and give glory to him. We should also dress to be the best representative of the glory of God in every circumstance. Sometimes this goes against the norm. It usually goes against the world’s view on what is proper. Many times it even goes against common sense, but it is based on a spiritual sense. David knew this. He defeated the giant clothed in the power of God, not the armor of man.

I Am Cold Lord

“See to it, sisters, that none of you has a sinful, unbelieving heart that turns away from the living God. But encourage one another daily, as long as it is called Today, so that none of you may be hardened by sin’s deceitfulness.” (Hebrews 3:12-13)

I do not like to be cold. It is an extremely uncomfortable feeling. I do not like to be spiritually cold either. That is also uncomfortable, but it does happen. Sometimes I plan my outfit without checking the weather report. There are also times I forget to dress in a manner that would protect me from the cold, cruel world that saps the fire from my soul.

The Lord allows me choices in the outfit that I wear. There is freedom in the Lord. Sometimes I take that freedom too far and end up trying to look trendy rather than protecting myself from the cold. That’s when the suffering begins.

Cold can cause aches and pains. Extreme cold causes hypothermia. When this occurs the symptoms become more and more severe. So it is necessary to wear the correct clothing to be protected from the detrimental effects of the cold.

The fact that the author of Hebrews says to the believer that they should “see to it” that they do not turn from God indicates that we can choose a life of sin even after we are believers. This is a cold life away from the passion and zeal for the Lord that keeps our hearts warm. We are to encourage each other daily to avoid sin and its resulting chill on our spirit. The author of Hebrews encourages that while it is today, we are to be concerned about staying warm wrapped in the robe of righteousness, rather than frozen hard by sin

But what happens when we do get cold? There are times in each believer’s life when they feel cold. The warm passionate feeling for God that we once felt has been replaced by a chill. Why? How can we prevent a cold spirit? What happens if it goes on too long? Once the hypothermia sets in, can it be reversed?

Spiritual hypothermia comes when we are exposed to sin, ours and others, without the protection of the garments of God. We must be covered in spiritual clothing always. When we go out without getting dressed, we are easily chilled. We can’t live in this world without encountering sin and its chilling effects on the soul. “For everything in the world—the cravings of sinful man, the lust of his eyes and the boasting of what he has and does-comes, not from the Father but from the world(1 John 2:16)

Since we know we will encounter cravings, lust, pride, and boasting, we need to be prepared. We wouldn’t leave our house naked, in freezing weather, and expect to be warm. We shouldn’t go out into the sinful world expecting to remain unaffected if we don’t get dressed first. The sin will chill us to the bone.

The first sign that we are spiritually cold is discomfort. We get shivers and our breath gets shallow. We no longer allow the Spirit to fill us deeply and slowly. We take quick rapid breaths that do not oxygenate our system. Numbness to sin comes next. Interestingly enough, as we get numb we start to feel warm. This is not the truth. This is a sign that our spiritual hypothermia is getting worse.

As the cold continues, we become lethargic. Work and movement become difficult. We begin to stumble. Our words are slurred, and our thoughts are confused. We no longer have the strength to be productive.

When spiritual hypothermia sets in, we must recognize that we are cold, and we need help. With every bit of strength we can muster, we should move toward the warmth of God’s Spirit. The only place warm enough to start defrosting our icy hearts is in front of the throne of God. For it is before the throne of God that the Spirit blazes. “Before the throne, seven lamps were blazing. These are the seven spirits of God” (Revelation 4:5). The Spirit warms and purifies us so once again we will be functioning, clear headed and productive. With renewed warmth and strength we can again head out into the world zealous, hot, and passionate for the things of God.

It is also crucial that we dress to protect ourselves from the cravings, lust, pride, and boasting that makes us cold. Put on humility, gentleness, kindness, compassion, and patience to protect from the sin that chills us and saps the life from our soul. We need to insulate ourselves against the wickedness that is freezing our hearts. Jesus warned that growing lawlessness would cause hearts to grow cold (Matthew 24:12). We must wear the supernatural clothing that he gave us in order to stay warm, protected from the chill of sin. We cannot stand fast in the freezing world if we are trying to stand out there naked.

Put It On

Have you allowed yourself to get chilled by sin? Are you struggling from spiritual hypothermia? A warm place is waiting for you. A loving Father wants to bring you close to himself where you will gain strength and zeal for life. You will find purpose and he will allow you to participate in his kingdom.

Isaiah went before the throne of God. He was made keenly aware of the chill sin had brought on him and he realized that he lived in the midst of a cold people. The hot coal touched him, warmed him to the things of God, purified him from sin, and made him passionate, hot, and zealous for his King.

Read Isaiah 6:1-6. Spend some time this week studying Isaiah’s ministry. You will see someone on fire for the Lord.

Easily Injured

“But the Lord is faithful, and he will strengthen and protect you from the evil one.” (2 Thessalonians 3:3)

Have you ever decided to prune the rose bushes on the spur of the moment? I have. There was one problem. I wasn’t dressed for the job. I was wearing shorts, a tank top, and flip flops. Many of you gardeners are probably laughing hysterically at my stupidity. I can look back and laugh with you now. The wounds have healed.

How scraped up and sore I was though. The scratches didn’t seem bad at first, but they ended up being itchy and annoying later in the day. All I could think about was how irritating those silly scrapes were. Since that is what was occupying my mind, that is what I kept talking about too. I’m sure those around me got sick of the complaining.

It would have only taken a few minutes to go inside and change clothes before I started yard work. It would have saved hours of agony for me and all those that had to listen to my complaints. If only I had used some wisdom in this situation.

I was easily injured because I had not put on the right clothing needed for protection. I could have blamed the rose bushes. I could have blamed God for putting thorns on the rose bushes. In reality,  it was my fault for not dressing for the job at hand. If I were sitting in a lounge chair reading a book, my clothes would have been fine, but they were all wrong for gardening.

Just this morning I was hanging out in my spiritual lounging clothes when I got a phone call. This phone call was thorny, and I was not prepared. I ended up hurt and discouraged. I hadn’t prepared myself for the activities of the day but jumped in with both feet and am now suffering the consequences. I was too easily injured today because I wasn’t wearing enough spiritual clothing to protect me.

As I struggled with the pain, I started complaining to someone else. They weren’t even sympathetic! I have discovered that I go out unprotected and expose myself to harm so often that those around me are tired of it. They want me to get over my whining and complaining. They wish I would quit heading into life unprotected. They want me to quit acting like it is someone else’s fault that I am suffering.

It is not right that I see life as a scary, sad and negative journey because I am easily injured. If I would wear protective clothing, I could go through life with less pain. Then I would see life as exciting, abundant, and full of joy. This seems like a simple choice and yet I continue to act in a childish way. I argue that I will be OK without my bike helmet, knee pads, shoes, gardening gloves, etc. My loving Father keeps warning me to put on the protection that he has for me so I can be safe, strong, and happy. I need to listen and quit being strong-willed.

“For the Lord gives wisdom, and from his mouth come knowledge and understanding. He holds victory in store for the upright, he is a shield to those whose walk is blameless, for he guards the course of the just and protects the way of his faithful ones. Then you will understand what is right and just and fair—every good path. For wisdom will enter your heart, and knowledge will be pleasant to your soul. Discretion will protect you, and understanding will guard you” (Proverbs 2:6-11)

On this side of heaven, the Lord doesn’t promise a garden without thorns. He does promise to protect us from thorns. This occurs when we trust in his wisdom, knowledge, and understanding. Put on the protection of the Lord and free yourself from being easily injured. Be wise. Listen to your Father and be safe.

How thankful I am that I have a loving Father that pours out his Spirit as a balm for my wounds.  How thankful I am that he gently reminds me that these booboos can be prevented by putting on his strength and protection. How thankful I am that I can trust in his strength and power because he is faithful.

Put It On

As you can tell from this lesson, this one hit home for me. I have often walked through the thorns without protection. I’m sure my friends are sick of listening to my whining.

My family told me that I had to get healed and find a way to protect myself from the thorns. They wanted to enjoy me instead of tolerating me. They were tired of listening to me complain. The thorns of life did not have to cut me up as much as they did. I wasn’t happy because my mind was always on the pain. I have been learning to let God clothe me in his strength and protection. Not perfectly but I am getting better.

Are you suffering from wounds that could easily have been prevented if you were wearing the Lord’s wisdom, knowledge, and understanding? Do you forget to go out in God’s strength and protection? Ask the Lord to reveal to you what you need to put on to avoid further injury. Don’t put it off. Do it today. Life is more enjoyable when you aren’t in constant pain.

Remember to be cautious of what the world suggests for protection. The world may suggest anger, retaliation, bitterness, or intolerance. These things may seem like useful tools, but we know that the world’s armor is not what helps us to win battles. David went into battle protected by the power of God. He wore nothing that the world felt necessary. He defeated a giant who had the biggest and best equipment that the world had to offer. The giant died. But David who was protected by God’s wisdom, knowledge, understanding, and strength was uninjured.

That’s Embarrassing

“You say, ‘I am rich; I have acquired wealth and do not need a thing.’ But you do not realize that you are wretched, pitiful, poor, blind and naked. I counsel you to buy from me gold refined in the fire, so you can become rich; and white clothes to wear, so you can cover your shameful nakedness; and salve to put on your eyes, so you can see.”

Revelation 3:17-18

A few years ago a new term was coined to describe an old impropriety. You will likely remember the incident that lead to the new terminology. It was halftime at Super BowlXXXVIII,starring Justin Timberlake and Janet Jackson. For some reason that I still don’t understand, Justin Timberlake was tearing off some of Janet Jackson’s clothes and too much came off. He later described the incident as a “wardrobe malfunction”.

That situation caused far-reaching embarrassment. Sponsors, television networks, and families across the nation were affected by this slip up. How awful for Janet Jackson and her family. This situation seemed to be the most talked about and reported story of her life. Her name and reputation will forever be linked to that incident.

The church at Laodicea had a similar wardrobe malfunction. It is a common impropriety in the church today too. They are no longer hot for the things of the Lord. They have let the riches and comforts of the world lull them into complacency. They no longer dress carefully, and their nakedness is showing. God’s encourages them to come once again to him for the things that cover their nakedness instead of attempting to use the leaves of the world’s fig tree.

It is not uncommon for Christians to dress partly with clothes from the Lord and partly with leaves they find in the world. This is the perfect set up for a wardrobe malfunction. Leaves don’t attach to clothing well and easily blow (or pull) off.

The leaves are decorated and disguised beautifully by the world. Sometimes they look remarkably like the real clothes. Don’t be fooled. Only the spiritual clothes designed by God should be worn by his people. Anything else is counterfeit and lacks the quality to hold up when it is most needed.

The world’s clothing is enticing, because it is cheap. It even has similar logos and names to imitate God’s designer wear. But look closely and you will see that the imperfections are there. It won’t bring the true joy and excitement that the genuine article brings. It will also be terribly embarrassing when others call attention to the fact that it is a fake.

It will be even more embarrassing when you have that inevitable wardrobe malfunction. You may have seams rip, zippers break, or material fray. When these things happen we are left naked, showing our bare selves to the world. I know that I want God’s perfect outfit covering my flaws and flab. I do not want to expose my naked self to the world. Only by wearing God’s perfect outfit are we protected from exposing our human nature to the world.

This kind of exposure brings shame: First to the individual; then to the family of believers; finally to our Great God. God has designed a spectacular outfit for us to wear. When we go out with his name and label, we should be wearing his complete outfit. When we improvise or wear cheap imitations we are falsely representing his ability, creativity, talent, and greatness. We in essence credit him with what is cheap and fake. The Bible says, “Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your body” (1 Corinthians 6:19-20).

To honor God with our bodies we need to wear the outfit he has clothed us in and wear it well. Remember, “A good name is more desirable than great riches; to be esteemed is better than silver or gold” (Proverbs 22:1). There are no wardrobe malfunctions when we dress to please the Lord our God. We should seek to uphold the family name. We will not be embarrassed when the desire of our hearts is “his name and renown” (Isaiah 26:8).

On the other hand, those who constantly go about with their spiritual skirts tucked in their pantyhose, low necklines sans double-sided body tape, or forget their underwear, especially on a blustery day, will be shamed. We need to examine our outfits and make sure we are wearing our clothes the way they were meant to be worn. We need to check the labels and wear nothing but the Lord’s designer brand. We need to clean the back of the closet and get rid of the leaves posing as clothing. We need to see these things as potential wardrobe malfunctions. We need to recognize the danger they pose to our reputation, but not our reputation alone. We also represent the church and a Holy God. We carry the family name. “Be imitators of God, therefore, as dearly loved children” (Ephesians 5:1).

Put It On

Memorize and meditate on these verses today.

“Glorify the Lord with me; let us exalt his name together. I sought the Lord, and he answered me; he delivered me from all my fears. Those who look to him are radiant; their faces are never covered with shame.” (Psalm 34:3-5)

I’m Wearing the Emperor’s New Clothes

“When pride comes, then comes disgrace, but with humility comes wisdom.”

(Proverbs 11:2)

I love the story of the Emperor’s New Clothes. Everyone was pretending that it is ok for the emperor to be walking around without clothes. They were afraid to tell him the truth for fear that they would be thought stupid. The proud emperor was too foolish to notice or admit that he didn’t have anything on, even after he realized it. And then there are two tailors of nothing, lying and cheating the emperor. They are not even concerned that they will be found out and that their “see through design” will be exposed (yes exposed) for the sham (or shame) that it is.

It sounds so silly and ridiculous, but this scenario is being played out in our churches today and it isn’t ridiculous. It is sad. Actually, it is sad, ugly and appalling. It is one of the reasons that Christians are mocked and laughed at. It is hard to take us seriously since we are a group that follows and imitates the unclothed, prideful emperors of our day.

Christians have a tendency to judge their piety based on what they don’t do or what they have put off. Each Christian denomination has its own rules on what makes a person a “dutiful Christian”. Most churches have stated and unstated laws that allow them to evaluate how each member’s faithfulness. These self-imposed standards may include things like “Thou shalt not dance” and “Thou shalt not smoke”. Some think it is worldly to use electricity. Some think it is a sin for women to wear slacks or jeans. Some have deemed cards and dice off limits because they are used at times for gambling. Many boycott movies, television, and entertainment companies.

I don’t have a problem with each individual group deciding what is of benefit to their Christian community. I am opposed to the idea that Christians who abide by the dictates of their Christian community have a reason for pride or a superior attitude over others. I am also sad that we tend to define ourselves by who we aren’t rather than by who we are.

We throw out anything we believe is old clothing not worthy of our title, daughter of the King. The problem is we go into the royal procession like the emperor only wearing our pride. We need to put something on. We need to be known for the attributes and character that we wear not for what we have thrown away. I do not want people to determine who I am and how I live based on the rubbish they find me throwing out. I want them to know me and my lifestyle based on what I regard as valuable and what I hold on to.

If I continue in my pride like the emperor, without clothes, having thrown off what is average or common-place, I have fallen into the trap of the greatest liar and swindler of all time. Satan doesn’t mind if we throw off perceived or real sins as long as our pride remains the center of hearts. The enemy’s goal is to keep us from centering our lives on God and clothing ourselves in holy attributes.

To dress in holy character means that we do have to take old clothes off. The old clothes of inappropriate attitudes of the heart must be tossed. “You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires” (Ephesians 4:22). This will in turn change our outward behavior. We will have a different set of rules and standards. They won’t be rules and standards based on pride. It doesn’t stop there though. We must “be made new in the attitude of our minds; and put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness” (Ephesians 4:23).

The emperor was tired of wearing what was common. He chose to set himself apart by his own efforts and ideas. This pride was his downfall. The enemy crept in and took advantage. Many people were led astray by the emperor’s ridiculous behavior.

When we try to set ourselves apart artificially by adding rules and regulations, it is generally a pride issue. We end up dressing ourselves in nothing, but we think it is really something! We often continue in this pride even when people are pointing and laughing.

Throughout history,  this has been a problem for mankind and Satan too. Pride was the downfall of Lucifer, the morning star. He wanted to be higher than God. When he allowed pride to make him the enemy of God, Lucifer, now known as Satan (the adversary) decided to work at bringing down the human race. He started with Adam and Eve and ever since, pride has been a deceptive outfit that we continue to try on. Funny thing is it seems so appealing, but it is actually nothing, just a lie that leaves us looking foolish. “When pride comes, then comes disgrace, but with humility comes wisdom” (Proverbs 11:2).

Put It On

In the world, we are bombarded with lies about what spiritually looks stylish. If it was only in the world it would be easier to repel, but the lies have crept into the churches too. We must put on God’s truth and character, and it must be done without pride. Pride will bring shame and disgrace, the opposite of the look we are trying to achieve.

We can dress in the same outfit as the person next to us, but if we have added pride, our outfit will be tainted by the lie of the enemy and people will notice. Or more accurately, they won’t notice what we have put on; they will only notice that we appear to be like the emperor, parading about unclothed.

We can combat pride in ourselves and in our accomplishments by focusing on the glory of God. Meditate on how great and wonderful our God is. In the light of his splendor and majesty, you will gain a right and true perspective of yourself. In the light of God’s glory, we realize pride is even less acceptable than a bikini at the opera.

Saul realized it when Jesus spoke to him on the road to Damascus. Moses and Aaron fell before the Lord when his glory filled the tabernacle. The pride of Pharaoh was nothing compared to the power of God. Ezekiel fell on his face before the brightness of the Lord. All will bow before Jesus who has been exalted by his father.

Read Psalm 99. Then clothe yourself in the character of God without even a hint of pride. Let all glory go to God.

Dressed in Beauty and Glory

“For Aaron’s sons you shall make coats and sashes and caps. You shall make them for glory and beauty.” (Exodus 28:40 ESV)

Aaron and his sons were consecrated as priests of Israel. They were to represent God to the people. It was also their responsibility to intercede for the people with God. They were called by God for this specific purpose. God himself laid out the plans and rules for their service in the tabernacle.

There were many rules for the priests. There were even rules about how they dressed. They dressed in a way that set them apart as the special servants of the Most High. They dressed in an outfit designed by God. Moses received the design while on the mountain with God, along with The Ten Commandments and directions for the tabernacle.

Exodus 28 is a whole chapter describing the outfit that God designed for the priest. The next chapter describes the consecration ceremony. It is interesting that what they take off is not even mentioned. They did not represent God by what they took off, but by the consecrated outfits that they put on. Putting on the clothing that God provided was essential to portraying God’s glory and beauty to the people. What they took off is not even significant enough to mention.

The priests wore God’s designer label as they sacrificed, served, and worshipped in the tabernacle. They didn’t have a choice or say in the design. They were to wear it every time they served. This outfit was not just functional, although it was that. It was also ornate and gorgeous. These outfits were made for glory and beauty.

There were a number of pieces to this outfit. One was an ephod which can best be described as an apron. It was a garment that was a sign of service. Attached to that was the breastplate. It was an ornate piece of material with gold and jewels on it. It was to represent the responsibility for judgment over Israel that had been bestowed on the priest. It was a constant reminder of the enormous responsibility the priest carried. It was also a reminder of how precious God’s people are since each tribe was represented by a precious gem.

The ephod and breastplate remained attached to one another. God planned for service, wisdom, and leadership to be intertwined. He also planned for the priests to be caring. The precious stones were worn close to the heart. It was a reminder that God carries his children close to himself.

The priest also wore a beautiful blue coat that was decorated with bells and yarn pomegranates. On his head,  he wore a turban with a headband that was engraved with an inscription that said, “Holy to the LORD”, signifying that he was set apart for the sacred. His service was consecrated by God for God.

We “are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that we may declare the praises of him who called us out of darkness into his wonderful light” (1 Peter 2:9). We have been chosen as special people “Holy to the LORD”. We have been given clothes that are designed by God. They are for beauty and glory. When we wear them, we are to represent the Lord, the King of glory. We are to take the responsibility of service and leadership that we have been given seriously. It is our blessed duty to care for those that are loved by God. Our brothers and sisters in the Lord are our precious jewels that we can bring close to God by wearing them close to the heart.

Every piece of clothing that we have been given serves an essential function. When wearing it, we are prepared for the sacrifices our calling demands from us. Acceptable and holy worship requires us to come in the attire suited to an appearance before the King of Kings. Just any old outfit won’t do. We need the one God designed because it is the only one suited for our high calling.

Very often we get caught up in the function of the outfit. Although function is an issue, it is not the only issue. The overall effect God was looking for was to exhibit his beauty and glory. He meant for us to look stunning as children of the King of Kings.

Living the abundant life includes clothing that suits our status. We have been given “everything we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness”. We have the opportunity to participate in the divine nature. We just have to choose to put on all the good and perfect gifts that have come down from the Father of lights.

Put It On

We have studied for ten weeks about learning to dress in appropriate spiritual clothing. We have covered a lot of material and worked at applying it. But this is only the beginning. Ten weeks is a good start, but we can’t quit putting on our clothes just because the book is finished. My prayer for you is this:

“Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity. Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful. Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom, and as you sing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs with gratitude in your hearts to God. And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.” (Colossians 3:12-17)

About the Author

Shereen Lashua has been teaching women’s Bible studies for more than 25 years. Shereen’s other ministries have included AWANA, high school Sunday school, VBS (teacher and director), youth ministry, AZ Southern Baptist Disaster Relief and short term foreign missions. She speaks for women’s events and is currently Vice President of SISTER Ministries, an outreach to formerly incarcerated women.

Contact Information

To get more information about Shereen’s writing or speaking ministry, contact her at:

Website and Blog

http://shereenlashua.com

Email

Shereen@shereenlashua.com

Mail

PO Box 6955

Goodyear, AZ 85338

Phone

(623) 850-3537

To learn more about SISTER ministries visit our website at

http://sisterministries.org